A nod to Easter

Today is Easter Sunday and it seems only fitting that I should mark the occasion. This is the most important day in the Christian faith of which there are still more adherents than Muslims (but the Jesus folk better start getting busy in the bedroom if they want to keep the lead position). This is the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ who is reported to have walked from his tomb, following his execution, and risen to heaven to be with his father, God. This is the visual image of the path Christians are to follow to gain everlasting life in the "next world."

Much is made of Christmas, the made-up birthday of Jesus, especially in the recent repeated seasonal wars with the PC army and the Multicults. But, the fact remains, that without Easter, there might not even be a Christian religion today.

I personally don't buy into any of this stuff, although I think it makes for great stories. I love Christian traditions like Christmas and Easter simply because they are part and parcel of my Western heritage. I would not throw them away simply because I have become a Humanist in my head and my heart. Christmas in particular has universal appeal beyond its Christian roots if only because of the simple refrain one hears at that time of year, "peace on Earth and goodwill towards mankind." What else should one wish for no matter what faith or belief?

Oddly enough, I grew up in a Christian (Protestant) family. My father regularly attended church and I also dutifully attended Sunday school until my early teens. I learned all the Bible stories. Then I chose the non-religious life. My current wife was very religious to a point much later in life, and, even though church attendance is not something she bothers with today, she still maintains her belief in God, angels, the Bible stories, etc.

At Easter, they often recycle good old biblical epics on the television movie channels, with Charleton Heston leading the Israelites out of Egypt, or winning a chariot race. I often wonder when he appears before Ramses why he doesn't shake his staff in the Pharaoh's face and shout, "From my cold dead hands." Maybe that scene got left on the editing room floor.

My wife and I like to sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch these dramas. She is always amazed, knowing my irreligious attitudes, how I can quote the scripture before the character mouths it on the screen. I tell her that I did not waste my time at Sunday school, even if I have chosen to go in a different direction.

Cartoon, courtesy http//doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/