My Sunday Thought for Easter 2016

Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."

-- The Gospel of Thomas

Ever wonder what the state of Christianity is in the world today?  Ever thought about why Christianity seems to be losing the battles and the war?  Take a minute and look up Easter Images on Google.  You'll find voluminous images of bunnies and eggs, but very few Christian images for a day so holy.  Now, look up Christian Easter Images.  Now ask yourself, why you have to add Christian to a search dealing with a Christian holy day.  Personally, I think this is God's way of ensuring there is a definitive line between those that keep these days holy, and the selfish masses that want all the benefit without any investment of faith.

I love it when people buy gifts for under the Christmas tree or candy for the Easter basket, while proudly declaring their atheism.  This is a flagrant declaration of stupidity, ignorance, or idiocy, and all of it selfish.  They want to partake of the Holy day without any consideration for the faith and meaning.

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.

-- Mahatma Gandhi

It would seem big business has determined Christ is not required for Easter, either.  Everyone is quick to celebrate it, yet the reason is lost in all the candy and stuffed animals.  Easter, like Christmas, has become another victim of explicit and implicit atheism.  Christianity, and any symbols of it, is being rejected by the offended, and the faithful are buying into it.

While we're discussing blasphemy, here's a few paragraphs for the radical Islamic terrorist.  We Christians no longer go around executing heretics for any "blasphemy" that doesn't harm anyone but themselves, nor do we arbitrarily redefined acts as blasphemy simply because a pope, or other religious leader, says it is.  God blessed us with independent thought, and we like to exercise the gift.  We do, however, celebrate the artistic renderings of our prophet and our God; we don't kill people for exercising the artistic ability God blessed them with.  If the art is tasteless, we point it out and pray for the thoughtless moron that produced it.  I mean, really?  You expected more from French humor?  Killing them wasn't what Christ would do.  It might be what radical Islam would do, but this was never intended by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), nor is it intended by the Qur'an.

There were many drawings and paintings of Muhammad (pbuh) prior to the edict handed down, at a later time, by some egotistical imam as a control of the faithful.  These paintings, drawings, and renderings, have been, supposedly, hidden from public view, if not destroyed.  We, as Christians, take our transgressions in stride, fully aware that our judgment will come from on high, and not from some religious zealot excusing their killing of innocence by calling it the "will of Allah."  Heresy, is heresy, and saying that you speak for God while demanding the killing of God's most loved creations, is heresy.

Interpreting any religious text to excuse an agenda that's contrary to the philosophy of one's deity, or prophet, would seem blasphemous.  Christian's of faith are well aware of this, as are Jews of faith, and most of the peaceful Islamic world.  All are Abrahamic religions, yet peace seems to be elusive.  We make it elusive by interpreting those same scriptures to read so we can condemn and hate the entire religion, instead of just the heretics misinterpreting them; two wrongs making an even greater wrong at the expense of our souls.  Just saying.  But, I digress.

As for Easter and Christmas, those without faith might argue Christ never lived, wasn't a virgin birth, wasn't crucified, and never rose from the dead.  Those without faith might say.

Is the Shroud of Turin the death shroud of Christ, showing the image of the dead Jesus?  Has his mother, Mary, appeared to the faithful in Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe?  Have there been miracles which only faith can explain?  Did Christ endure the torture of the Passion, never denying his God, simply to die for the sins of mankind?  And, did he rise again?  When we die, will any of us rise again?  Will any of us realize the promise of an afterlife in God's kingdom?  For people without faith, the answers to these questions, and so many others, can only be answered with, "No."

Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life.

-- Janine di Giovanni, journalist

For people of faith, however, the answers are different.  The answers are different because there must always be hope.  Life without hope is no life at all.  Life without conviction and faith is an empty shell between a gift of life and an eternity of death, that is, unless there is hope of forgiveness.  For people of faith life holds more hope, love, tolerance, understanding and forgiveness, than others might even consider.  One might say that faith means hope and hope, like love, is forever.

Are there miracles?  I want so much to believe there are.  I think, deep down inside, mankind would really like to believe there are.  We have, all of us, done a poor job of living our faith.  We say we are Christian, or Jew, or Muslim, or Buddhist, and yet, in each case, we cannot even agree enough among ourselves to have one sect in each religion, much less agree to have one religion.  Our ego gets in the way of any Word we may have received from on high.

“I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Resurrection and The Life; whoever trusts in me, even if he dies, he shall live."

-- John 11:25

Jesus stated there are only two great commandments of God:  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  And, yet, we quarrel, argue, deny each other, and wage war in the name of our loving religion.

Are there miracles?  I want so much to believe there are.  It is all a matter of faith.  I think I'll start by believing that Christ endured the torture of the ages for mankind, that He forgave his tormentors from the very cross they nailed Him to, and that he died while crucified on that same cross to rise again just days later.

"Jesus Christ did not come into this world to make bad people good; He came into this world to make dead people live."

-- Lee Strobel, Christian apologetic author

Let these be the miracles that drive our faith this Easter Sunday.  Let these be the miracles that allow us, people of all faiths, to find common ground and understanding, to find peace and love, to "leap into a whole new way of thinking."

"The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking."

-- Deepak Chopra

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.