GOD, Jews, Christians & Atheist

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday  Morning  Commentary.

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 creche, 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 celebrities 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 these celebrities 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 andJane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane 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 a few years ago) 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 okay..

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 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 yet?

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 o f 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 S

Michael Blosil Suicide: Marie Osmond's Son Dies In Los Angeles

Marie Osmond's son Michael died Friday in Los Angeles after leaping to his death from his apartment.

Michael had struggled with depression in the past and in 2007, at age 16, he went to rehab.

In March 2009 Marie gave an interview to People magazine saying he was out of rehab and better,

"Those kinds of things are really very hard for a teenager to deal with," she tells PEOPLE. "And if he ever wants to talk about it ... he will, but it has to be their choice. It's not my choice."

Read Full Story

Old Roommates Gone Wild

Pair charged with illegal deer hunting

Men allegedly used spotlight just before season opened

By E.B. FURGURSON III, Staff Writer

Published 12/07/09

Maryland Natural Resources Police charged two men last month with using a spotlight to hunt deer and numerous other charges in Bowie Maryland.

Police charged Mark Wallace and Sean Birckhead with poaching on Nov. 22.

Police responded to a complaint of illegal hunting on property adjacent to Bay Sox Field in Bowie at 9:20 p.m.  The call was placed by the cleaning crew of the Bay Sox facilities when they saw a light shinning in the woods and then heard a shot.  The officers located Mr. Wallace & Mr. Birckhead in the woods riding an all-terrain vehicle with a freshly killed eight-point, whitetail buck.  When the officers started questioning the pair Mr. Wallace started shouting I am a farmer and I am entitled to do whatever I want on my property.  He was becoming very unruly and a 10-33 call went out (officer needs assistance), resulting in county and state police responding.  Two P.G. County and one state police vehicle immediately responded along with air support.  Even with the overwhelming police force, Mr. Wallace was still acting like a possessed man.  The county officer finally tazered Mr. Wallace, the officers then handcuffed and shackled his legs. 

An investigation revealed that Mr. Wallace & Mr. Birckhead apparently used a spotlight and a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot the deer.  Both men were charged with casting the rays of artificial light with an implement capable of killing a deer in possession, possession of deer during closed season, hunting deer on Sunday, and hunting-pursuing wildlife with an off-road vehicle. Additionally Mr. Wallace was transported and incarcerated upon suspicion of alcohol & drug related charges.  Further charges pending against Mr. Wallace, the shotgun, spotlight, a flashlight, ATV and Mr. Wallace’s truck, knife, empty pistol holster, Alaskan Beaver Hat and the deer were confiscated.

The cleaning crew, who wouldn’t identify themselves with this reporter, said that boy is certainly one sick puppy.  He acted like a hillbilly from Appalachia, on the other hand, they said the other guy just looked drunk and kept his mouth shut.

The charges came just days before the Nov. 28 opening of the firearms season for deer. From now until Dec. 12, and again on two days in January, hunters will be out en masse trying to bag their 12-deer limit: 10 antlerless and two antlered whitetails.

"The two-week deer firearm season is the main event for many Maryland hunters," said Brian Eyler, DNR's deer project leader. "Deer hunters look forward to sharing time with family and friends in the woods and having venison on the table."

Deer hunting has waned in Anne Arundel and other areas of the state over the years as access to open land has dwindled amid ever-expanding suburbia. The proximity of possible hunting grounds to residential areas led the DNR to outlaw high-powered rifles in many counties, including Anne Arundel and Queen Anne's.

Hunters are limited to using shotguns during firearm season, presumably because of the limited range of a shotgun blast as opposed to a rifle. But advances in technology have increased the wallop of a shotgun. Rifle slugs and barrels are now available for hunters to attach to shotguns.

The whitetail was nearly hunted into oblivion as the state's population grew and its habitat was destroyed. A concerted effort to boost the deer population back in the beginning of the last century banned deer hunting until the early 1930s. The first year hunting was reinstated there were 32 deer taken.

Last season 100,437 deer were taken, a little more than half of them in the two-week firearm season.

There are other opportunities for deer hunters, among them bow-hunting and muzzleloader seasons.

Overall, hunters reported taking 8,232 antlered and 16,152 antlerless deer so far this year, the agency reported.

"We are very satisfied to see hunters taking nearly twice as many antlerless as antlered deer," said Pete Jayne, DNR associate director for game management. "Harvesting antlerless deer is a critical part of our deer management plan."

Maryland Gazette Rick Hutzell and Staff Writer E.B. Furgurson III contributed to this story.