On God and Christmas Trees – Ben Stein

At the heart of the ‘Season of Lights’ – both Hanukkah and Christmas – is the God who is Love – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. May we uphold and reflect the light of His love and truth in the growing darkness of hatred and violence that threatens to envelop the world. To that end, here is a relook at a commentary by Ben Stein.

May our hearts be filled with His blessing, Shalom and love now and always,

~Keren Hannah

Quite a few years ago, in 2005 to be exact, after ‘Happy Holidays’ became more politically correct a greeting than ‘Merry Christmas,’  and Christmas trees were called ‘Holiday trees,’ the following was written by TV presenter 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 the God of Israel 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 [named celebrities] and we aren’t allowed to worship God?  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.

Ben Stein