Sunday, April 15, 2012

The intellectual dishonesty of Easter

Last week was Easter; the time when Christians are to believe that Jesus Christ, their saviour, was to have been crucified and then arose from the grave. Their ritual demonstrates blood cult roots, where they partake in holy communion. During this event, a cracker would represent the flesh of Christ, and wine would represent the blood. As I was a child when I learned to partake in this ritual, grape juice was used instead of wine.

The problem came when, at home, we would decorate boiled eggs, go on an Easter egg hunt, and were led to believe their was an Easter bunny who was responsible for creating these eggs and hiding them. You see, none of this fits with the story of the crucifix. When I asked, the response was, "It`s just a fun thing to do." If it was a fun thing to do, why didn't we decorate eggs every Sunday? Clearly, there must be meaning to this ritual of decorating boiled eggs, because so many people do it and have been doing it in various western cultures for many generations. As a Christian, it was necessary for me to allow myself to become intellectually dishonest to ignore the meaning of this tradition which clearly had nothing to do with the resurrection story. Even the name Easter didn't seem to have any meaning or connotation with the resurrection of Christ.

Allowing oneself the luxury of intellectual honesty permits one to discover the truth that Easter was not originally based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that the decorating of eggs and the story of the Easter Bunny has been passed down through the generations in celebration of a much older and more meaningful celebration, where the decorating of boiled eggs is very significant. I've discovered that the origins of Easter are secular in nature, based on observable celestial and seasonal events. In the Northern hemisphere, Easter occurs at a time when the weather turns warm, and life returns to the planet. Flowers bloom, leaves emerge from their buds, and animals like bunnies become much more active. It is a very good reason to celebrate, as the days get noticeably longer and warmer, and peoples' moods become generally much more cheerful.

As an atheist, I remember my Christian past and feel sorry for the Christians I know who are still burdened with this unnecessary guilt at a time of year when they should be happy, care-free, and celebrating the warmth and new life sprouting up around them. I hope that, one day, they can allow themselves to become intellectually honest, and instead of attending mass on Easter Sunday, enjoy that time with their friends and family, decorate some eggs, and get outside and breathe in the life that surrounds them at this time of year.