Ben Stein Commentary

I had a nice blog draft that I was preparing but my friend, WRU, brought this over to a private message board. What Ben Stein had to say was so thought provoking that I couldn't resist.

"My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.
She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said O K.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread< STRONG> like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards.

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein"

Now let's look at what John Paulus writes (although I don't think this is him because he can't spell "aggravate" correctly in his fake Clay IMs so I doubt he knows what conundrum means let alone how to spell it):

"Clay and his Claymates have been backed in a corner with Church debacle.

Here's how I see it:

1. If he performs at the church he will then prove he supports active discrimination.

2. If he performs he will demonstrate that money come before principle and integrity.

3. If he performs at the church it means he has no consideration for his friends who will be performing at a place which will not and does not accept them.

4. If the church cancels him it will be because they could not get assurances that he was straight and is who he professes to be.

5. If Clay cancels it would mean that he succumbed to the pressure.


Quite the conundrum.
John Paulus | Homepage | 10.07.07 - 4:49 pm | # "

Neither Clay nor his fans are backed in a corner; you do NOT have that power, JP. Perhaps the church sees this concert as a way to bring lost children into the fold but perhaps it's divine intervention and God is using Clay (a straight male), Jessie and Sean (2 gay men), Angela and Quiana (2 beautiful black women) as an example of how it's meant to be. We're all human beings; life and this beautiful Earth was meant to be shared.

One of my favorite courses at Ohio State was "A History of Religion" where I analyzed (that's what I do) the process. My take is that the books of the Bible, the Koran, et al were basically written by men for men and interpreted by men in different languages. Through the centuries of translations the books may possibly have become slanted toward empowering men more than women and possibly taking the inner termoil of some with certain inclinations (same sex attraction) and making it something evil out of fear.

I believe in interpreting these books for myself and not taking them literally BUT I concentrate on the lessons learned and try my damnedest to accept and care for everyone. I would give you my last dollar and I would give you the shirt off my back if I found you in need more than I. If my need was as great as yours then I would share my last dollar and rip my shirt in half so we could both cover our shoulders (and my tatas) to keep them warm.

It seems Clay, though raised a devout Southern Baptist boy, has taken his lessons learned and he decided for himself that God is inclusive and that's the way he wants to be. Books can't decide who is evil; that's up to individual interpretation. My interpretation of what has happened the last couple of years is that YOU, your supporters, Gay fanatics who think everyone owes them a living and power freaks in the entertainment industry have fought long and hard to be thought of as evil. You can only control yourself; you can't control Clay or me. You can only have a temporary affect.