Comments on: What Makes A "Good" Christmas?

Ben Stein Says It's Not What Under Your Tree But What's In Your Heart

[rushlimpdrug]

I, like the author, am Jewish. But I would never be so presumptuous as he is and describe what a good Xmas would be LOL. Maybe CBS can get a priest to write about what a good Chanukah would be too LMAO.
Posted by gopsux at 08:07 AM

I thought something similar.
Arrogance to talk about how another religion is doing it all wrong.
It would be great if CBS had a Muslim/Islamist talk about how Jews are not properly celebrating Chanukah.
I also saw Ben Stein''s game show once and it was pathetically stupid.
Every time I see Ben''s photo he half possum half moose.

[eggy1620]

This past weekend I witnessed exactly what Ben is speaking about. My family%u2019s Christmas together used to be low stress, inexpensive, and involve mass. Now it%u2019s conusmer porn. An annual competition between siblings to get your house to look like the photos in the high end interior design magazines. Who can cook the most expensive food. Who can hire the best caterer. Who gets the kids the best gifts. Debates between stay at home moms over how much to tip the maid for the holiday. This year%u2019s addition to family Christmas: a professional Santa. The frivolity only grows.

[lajones06]

you do not have to belong to any religion to see what is happening to our culture regarding greed and apathy. ben stein is right, we have lost the meaning of what we celebrate. it is not about material objects. it is a spirit that we have in all of us that has been lost for whatever reason. whether you are a jew or christian or muslim, we should all, as humans, reach out to one another and not be concerned with the profit margin determining a good or bad christmas. for those of you that do not get his meaning, you are part of the problem and can''t see that you have sold your soul.

[lajones06]

you do not have to belong to any religion to see what is happening to our culture regarding greed and apathy. ben stein is right, we have lost the meaning of what we celebrate. it is not about material objects. it is a spirit that we have in all of us that has been lost for whatever reason. whether you are a jew or christian or muslim, we should all, as humans, reach out to one another and not be concerned with the profit margin determining a good or bad christmas. for those of you that do not get his meaning, you are part of the problem and can''t see that you have sold your soul.

[lajones06]

you do not have to belong to any religion to see what is happening to our culture regarding greed and apathy. ben stein is right, we have lost the meaning of what we celebrate. it is not about material objects. it is a spirit that we have in all of us that has been lost for whatever reason. whether you are a jew or christian or muslim, we should all, as humans, reach out to one another and not be concerned with the profit margin determining a good or bad christmas. for those of you that do not get his meaning, you are part of the problem and can''t see that you have sold your soul.

[tyjohn47]

His old game show ''Win Ben Stein''s Money'' was the most intelligent, best game show on TV hands down. Too bad it''s not on anymore.

While I don''t agree with most of his politics; Stein is that rarest of conservatives (or liberals too for that matter) in the same style as George Will. Pricipled, uber intelligent, extremely well-read and will listen to opposing viewpoints without being scared that somebody who debates them might actually make a valid point from time to time.

There isn''t enough of that right now and it is sorely needed.

[regulateit]

I think some of you are not connecting with what he is really saying. I am a christian and I can''t begin to tell you how manipulated I feel by the press and the stores. Daily I hear if this season was a "good" sales season. The majority of stores and a national economy is based on sales during Christmas.

I respect all religions and do not consider mine superior. I do not even believe in practicing in a church. My relationship with God is personal. I do not believe he can only hear me with clarity in a house of worship. He is with me always. I just talk outloud to him. I ask him for the strength to make me a better, more loving human being. For the intelligence, to respect and listen to others points of view and the clarity to take a deep breath when I feel stressed and see the whole picture, not just a view through a window.

[fordham33014]

Ben Stein is a voice of reason in a world of disvisifness and hatred. I wish Ben Stein was running for President. It probably could''nt happen and he would not win because he is too level headed and the liberals could not support rational behavior.

[juwboy]

brianbwb:

I could write a Ph.D. dissertation on the points you bring up, so I''ll just give you a few of my immediate thoughts (intolerance is a continuing topic in these Comments, so I''m sure there''ll be more opportunities to address your other issues).

Would I follow the instructions of a cleric if I disagreed with him/her? No, but I''m highly educated in a Western sense. On AVERAGE, the followers of Muslim imams, globally, are barely literate and have been implicitly brain-washed from birth to look up to and obey one of the few educated persons they know, the local imam. On the instructions of an imam, or a Hitler, or a local Ku Klux Klan bigwig, rampaging lynch-mobs of uneducated morons can be quickly assembled and perform unspeakable acts under the umbrella of protection created by their numbers. Louis Farrakhan didn''t call DIRECTLY for a pogrom against Jews, but he came THIS close to it. I could give numerous examples, where analogs of his "gutter religion" insult have led to mobs rampaging through Jewish sections of cities, not just in Germany and the Middle East, but in every European country and even in America. Not only in the last century, but over the entire last MILLENNIUM. Don''t you know anything about the Inquisition?

My time on this public library terminal is almost up, unfortunately -- only 1 minute left!

[brianbwb-2009]

A Moslem theologian, Syaikh Muhammad Bin Shalih Al-Uthaymeen, has just declared that, if a Moslem says, "And a Merry Christmas to you, too", to a Christian who has just given him seasonal greetings, then the Moslem has committed a grave sin.

So if Kahane says that exchanging greetings with a gentile is a sin, would you believe that also?

Or if Oral Roberts says that greeting a homosexual is a sin, you would also assume that all Christians thought such?

Can you not tell the difference between a minister and a religious pimp?