Easter: Beyond the Bunnies

[DarthLadyKiller]

Easter is a really special moment of the year; spring is coming, everybody eats chocolate or real eggs, stores go kamikaze with pictures of the Easter bunny, everyone has those little pipe-cleaner chicks on their hats, cakes, flower arrangements, etc. Who could not like Easter? (Ok, some of those rabbit costumes are kind of scary). But, nonetheless, amidst all of this happiness, people often forget to be happy about one big important thing. The reason all of these things are.

Easter is the celebration of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, I am sure the above statement has made a lot of non-Christians think, "Oh, no. Not that! (yawn)" or "They don't have enough scientific evidence to show that that even happened." or "I don't have time for Christian beliefs." Not so. Read on. Even if you are not a Christian, you can still enjoy and celebrate Easter with almost as much enthusiasm as us. Let me explain. In celebrating Christ and His resurrection, we celebrate topics that can be celebrated by all. Topics such as life, hope for life after death, hope in general, the power we have to change ourselves and our surroundings, comfort, being able to start again when we make a mistake, love, friendship, and other things. Most of the things I have just named are generally valued by most people of most faiths. (I include Atheism as a faith, they have faith that there is no faith)

A quick recap on the Easter story, using points to make for faster reading.

1. Jesus was a man whom Christians believe to be the son of God or God Himself, depending on their denomination.

2. Jesus performed many miracles and set an example for us on how we should live if we want to be happy.

3. Jesus loves us all.

4. Jesus instituted the Sacrament as a way for us to continually regain spiritual cleanliness.

5. Jesus suffered for all the sins, sorrow, pain, and sickness of every human being that has ever walked the earth and ever will walk the earth. The pain was so great that drops of blood came from every pore. This is called the Atonement. This sacrifice can be used to help us when we are suffering, and can be used like an eraser for our sins if we repent. Jesus already suffered the consequence on our behalf.

6. Jesus was betrayed and sentenced to death by people who did not like Him.

7. Jesus was crucified on a cross and then His body was taken to a tomb.

8. Jesus rose again from His tomb. He was the first to be resurrected and Christians believe that we can also be resurrected like he was when we die.

9. Jesus came to His apostles and told them to share His gospel (gospel means "good news") with everyone.

Now, whether you believe that story or not, you can still celebrate in your way, according to your faith, what it means to you to be new, clean, comforted, to have something to look forward to, to feel like no matter who you are or what you have done, you can change yourself in any way you believe possible.

To fellow Christians, please take the time this Easter season to read the story. I suggest the Book of Mark since it is shorter. Remember this, story, think about it, and hold on to the message. There are a lot of people who would try and discourage you from believing this. Satan is real, he will try and make you feel worthless, like you can not do anything. This is a total lie and Easter reminds us of this.

In finishing, I would like to share a short video that celebrates Easter which I think is beautiful.

Now, go off and enjoy your chocolate bunnies before somebody else does.

[ladsin]

Ugh. There's no extrabiblical resources attesting to the existence of Jesus, and the gospels appear to be written as myth, not history.
But I don't know why you need Christianity for Hope. I have plenty of hope for a brighter future and life in general, and I am generally content with my life without any religion much less Christianity.

[ladsin]

*Extrabiblical contemporaneous

[Curmudgeon]

Roman historical records don't count? And if you are demanding firsthand written accounts, then by that standard, Socrates and a whole host of ancient Greeks and Romans did not exist either.

[ladsin]

@Curmudgeon can you present the references your referring to?

And it's certainly possible that Socrates didn't exist. Also I didn't say Jesus didn't exist, just that there were no accounts of him. This is because if he did exist as a person, then the gospels are grossly exaggerating his fame. Even Pliny didn't know what the crimes, or beliefs, of the Christians were.

[ladsin]

Records you are referencing would've been the better way to say that.

[Paris13]

Beautifully Done, hun.
Jesus is the True Reason of the Season, and the Bunny, hunny, is Just for Fun for Everyone. xx

[Paris13]

Thank you for the Vote of Confidence. xx

[I-am-a-nobody]

Au contraire...
My meditation this Easter (or better Resurrection Sunday) was that the resurrection of Jesus, while being the most awesome triumph to date is of NO benefit to the one who does not believe.

I Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We have a living hope. They have a dead hope. Our hope is an eternal hope. There hope is at best temporal.

Even people like @ladsin must admit they have no long term (as in eternal) hope for themselves. If ladsin lives 1000 years, it still ends in death according to his own worldview.

[ladsin]

I wouldn't call it hope to live at the beck and call of a sycophant though 😂

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
I think you meant to call me the sycophant.
As in - a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage.
But no, yielding to God actually means freedom.
I need to do it more.

In a semi-related and more secular way, I'm now reading "The Paradox of Choice".
Ever read it?

[ladsin]

No, I meant to say beck and call of a god who wants you to be a sycophant, but I had a brain fart. I didn't mean anything about you, I apologize if it came across that way.

No, but is it about how free will is an illusion? That's what it sounds like

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
It's about how more choices don't necessarily make people happier.
He goes on how a supermarket gives you about 100 choices of crackers and we're no better off for it. In one example, he mentions that when employees got more 401k options, they got overwhelmed and chose not to even enroll (even with the employer match)!

I think of how it was when I was a kid and there were only 4 channels on TV, but the shows were like 100 times better.

[ladsin]

Ok, what's the relevance? I'm not sure I understand

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
The relevance is that Christianity (i. e. the narrow way), which limits choices and "freedom", is superior to the broad way (""which leads to destruction").
It all goes back to this question by someone I believed to be an atheist:
www.girlsaskguys.com/.../q2320323-religious-people-i-dare-you-to-stop-believing-in-a-god-for-a-month
Amazingly, they picked me as the most helpful guy.

Anyway, Christianity as liberating is one of my themes the last couple months.

[ladsin]

How is it liberating?

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
Short answer... It is liberating in that it eliminates foolish choices and attitudes, while broadening into other spheres of freedom. (this probably sounds too mystical.)

For one, I have one wife that I'll be married to 'til death do us part, rather than musing, "I wonder if that new hot secretary would want to have a fling with me."
It also means accepting a lower middle class lifestyle and seeing my kids 7 nights a week rather than trying to "better my situation" and working 14 hr. days. It also means coaching kid's basketball and affecting the next generation rather than not giving a flying fig about the next generation. And of course from a "religious" perspective, it means knowing God's forgiveness and trusting in His sovereign plan for my life.

[ladsin]

It's liberating because it eliminates foolish choices and attitudes." Which? How do you know?
Christian couples get married at nearly the same (if not the exact same) rate as non religious persons. Seeing your kids and coaching basketball also has nothing to do with Christianity.
Not caring about the next generation though, we may agree about that.

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
"It's liberating because it eliminates foolish choices and attitudes." Which? How do you know? "
It eliminates being a workaholic and womanizer in my life, though to be fair some unbelievers aren't workaholics or womanizers. I'm convinced that following God leads to a better life, but sadly it is not demonstrated too well by the Christian church in general or sadly by me in particular (at times). Still, I can usually trace failures back to not obeying God. Likewise, I can trace success back to trusting and obeying God.

"Christian couples get married at nearly the same (if not the exact same) rate as non religious persons."
And practicing (non-nominal) Christians who marry, STAY married at a higher rate. Abstaining from sex before marriage (which should be satandard practice) is also linked to a lower divorce rate.
ifstudies.org/.../counterintuitive-trends-in-the-link-between-premarital-sex-and-marital-stability

[ladsin]

Born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce: 33% have been married and divorced. The survey did not determine if the divorce occurred before or after the person had become born again. However, previous research by Barna has shown that less than two out of every ten people who accept Christ as their savior do so after their first marriage.

In fact, when evangelicals and non-evangelical born again Christians are combined into an aggregate class of born again adults, their divorce figure is statistically identical to that of non-born again adults: 32% versus 33%, respectively.

[ladsin]

Thirty percent of atheists and agnostics had been married and subsequently divorced. However, the three-point difference from the national average was within the range of sampling error, suggesting that their likelihood of experiencing a dissolved marriage is the same as that of the population at-large. A representative from Barna also pointed out the atheists and agnostics have lower rates of marriage and a higher likelihood of cohabitation, a combination of behaviors that distort comparisons with other segments.
-Barna Group

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
Yeah, there was a big study by George Barna that said Christian essentially had the same divorce rate, that's why I qualified what I said to only include practicing Christians (i. e the guy who shows up to check out the girls in their Easter best doesn't count). People that attend church at least once a week and read their Bible regularly do much better. Divorce < 5%, I saw somewhere, but not here.
www.christianitytoday.com/.../...-in-marriage.html</a>

[ladsin]

Yeah, that just seems to be a no true Scotsman fallacy to me. It seems like the Christians who have a vested interest in the statistics skewing the other way created a study with such narrow parameters.

[I-am-a-nobody]

@ladsin
Well, it's a "narrow way", thus narrow parameters.
To be honest, my personal experience is that serious Christians do better than any study I've seen. I know... anecdotal...

[John_Doesnt]

It's an obvious rip off of earlier religions, but people always scream "zeitgeist!!".
Easter was just stolen: the eggs and bunny are evidence of this.

[Iron_Man]

Happy Easter. The Lord has risen, it's all about the Lord Jesus Christ Easter

[Red88xxx]

I love Easter and they are beyond the cute bunnies

[Anonymous]

very informative