Easter observations
Dear editor:
Sonny Starnes asked, “Can someone explain what eggs, chicks and bunnies have to do with a supposed Holy Day? No matter how I look at it, it does not compute.”
He may not realize that there isn’t one supposed “Holy Day” that falls on Easter; there are many, and each is different. One Holy Day celebrates dressing up children and giving them a hunting adventure while the parents celebrate the joy of their children. Another celebrates a family tradition that has nothing to do with spirituality but is loosely connected to the resurrection of a non-Biblical being. (The biblical Being is so, so different from what is celebrated, and the events of that resurrection are also so, so different, the various texts giving the details that are mostly lost in these celebrations.)
One Holy Day once in a great while falls on Easter: Pesach (literally, “Skip-Over,” known more commonly as “Passover”). That Holy Day is just as much misunderstood as the real events of the resurrection described in the Bible. Nearly all involve lambs; one involves a goat or sheep lamb that is slain in a biblical sacrifice after being brought into a house as a member of the family for several days. The biblical Pesach doesn’t involve bunnies or eggs. Also, the biblical Pesach strongly speaks of two far-future events, the first involving a great slaughter of “bad guys” and a second involving a great celebration in which a risen King and Messiah drinks wine for the first time since the Pesach described in the so-called “New Testament.”
Sonny stated, “The Bible makes no mention of long-eared, short-tailed creatures who deliver decorated eggs to well-behaved children.” He is right; but then, the Bible makes no mention of anyone dying on Friday, either, and it doesn’t mention anyone arising on a Sunday. The traditions mentioned in churches are about as accurate as the inclusion of long-eared, shorttailed creatures. I have never had the privilege of hearing in any church a biblically accurate description of what took place.
Sonny continued, “It all sounds familiar to pagan customs of spring festival celebration fertility.” Does he expect something different? Humans enjoy celebrations of myths; myths are fun, while truth can be quite sobering and painful.
When Sonny stated, “Christians have intertwined pagan customs with religious significance,” he was wrong if he meant biblical Christians. If he meant “those who claim to be of one of the many Christian-titled faiths,” he is right.
He then stated, “How is it possible to honor God by bringing pagan customs to God’s House?” The only biblical “God’s House” is either the temple in Israel or the Tent of Appointment in Israel, neither functioning today. Thinking of a local church building as “God’s House” is just as wrong as using Easter eggs. Referring to a group of those truly born of God, 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, God’s building.” James Wilson Hot Springs