Today is my favorite holiday, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ, commemorated by egg hunts, Passion plays, and barbecues.
Something I learned this morning while reading the 200 year old book, The Origin of Pagan Idolotry (Faber) is that the pagans, especially in Palestine during the time of Jesus, believed that gods were human souls of departed mortals. They worshipped those who transcended the challenges and hardships of mortal life on this earth. "Demons" in the Bible, claims Faber, were the ghosts of these heros.
I can't imagine anything more troubling to a pagan idolater than to see an actual human being coming back from the dead in an actual human body. Jesus was not a ghost like the heros whom they idolized. You could touch him and feel resistance. Therefore today I celebrate our Lord's triumph over pagan idolatry. Our world, in my opinion, is reverting back to the ancient practice of pagan idol worship. Now, as much or more than ever, is the time to present our truly resurrected Lord to the heathens who worship false impressions of God.
Faber said that pagan idolatry always manifests itself in cruelty and obscenity (read: abortion and pornography). Our world is ever more apparently cruel and obscene. Pagans worship many gods (planets) in order to explain the truths of God in a convenient, non-judgmental way (example: evolution). Our population is ever more fearing the destruction of their planet.
Pagan idolatry has been around as long as any other religion and offers alternative explanations for everything we believe. There are many resemblances between true God worship and false god worship. This is why we, today, have so much difficulty with the Easter holiday and it's symbols. Easter is rich with pagan symbolism (the egg, the rabbit, flowers, etc), and all these symbols can easily point one to either idols or Christ. The direction greatly depends on the messenger.
Therefore, let's not be too concerned with the pagan roots of the symbols of Easter, but how all these things point to the flesh and blood that walked out of the tomb on Sunday morning almost 2000 years ago. We worship a man who is also God, who is high above all planets, universes, and hardships of a dying planet. He desires worship and devotion. He condemns worship and devotion given to anything or anyone else.
He is risen. He is risen indeed!
Comments