Thank a Pagan

If you do not have any atheist or agnostic friends in your life I highly recommend getting some.

In fact, I am currently in the market for some new unsaved friends so if you know of any feel free to give me their info. It isn't healthy for people to have too many Christians friends.

Aside from challenging your faith and reminding you about God's call for evangelism and stuff atheist and agnostic friends are always great about reminding you about some really fun facts pastors usually fail to mention in their sermons.

Like the fact that pretty much every major Christian holiday has some secret pagan origin that at some point the Church brushed over and forgot about in attempt to gain a monopoly of Western holiday traditions. 

Yep. Christmas trees and Easter eggs are apparently straight from the ancient devil worshipers themselves.

Though there is a lot of truth in many of these claims the Christian generally takes one of two opinions in regards to these accusations. Either they ignore them and write them off as "liberal atheist fanaticism" or they express gratitude to the Church for Christianizing everything the pagans started for themselves (after all- the pagans took Mardi Gras and Halloween from us so it's only fair).

This Easter season I propose a third option. Let's thank the pagans for a change.

Any good atheist will tell you that almost everything about the celebration of Easter has its roots in a wide variety of pagan rituals from several different cultures and time periods all over the world. These rituals were ubiquitous and always centered on the arrival of Spring and the new life which it suggested. The Church, many argue, simply noticed that their observance of the resurrection of Jesus happened around the same time as these rituals so in an attempt to steal everyone else' thunder simply absorbed some of these rituals into its own tradition.

But isn't it a strange coincidence that the whole world seemed to be celebrating a season of new life at the very same time of year that New Life actually became a reality through Jesus?

Everyone everywhere recognizes that the arrival of Spring is somehow significant to the meaning of life itself. It is the most visible and obvious illustration of the dead things of the world coming to life in an extravagant array of beauty, which is exactly the very heart of the entire Christian message. So thank you pagans, for reminding us that the empty tomb is not simply a happy moment in the history of Christianity. The empty tomb is symbolic of the fact that God is bringing the dead things of our world back to life. He is resurrecting those places in our soul that have too long felt the bitter winds of Winter and is starting to bloom something inside of us that is bound to flourish. The celebration of Easter is not just a rehashing of some old wives tales but a reminder that the physical changes we see in the world around us in this seasonal transition are just metaphors for what God is already doing in and throughout His Creation.

With the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy I, as well as my fellow Trekkers around the world, have been thinking a lot about the end of Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan. Don't judge me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Long story short, Mr. Spock chooses to sacrifice himself for the sake of the rest of the crew in an emotional climax that still makes me tear up a little (now you can judge me). I don't feel bad about spoiling this for you because the movie has been out for almost thirty years so you have had plenty of time to see it. Plus, he comes back to life in the next movie.

Coincidently, Spock's body is shot into space (the Star Trek method of burial) and lands on a planet which just so happens to be undergoing an experimental Genesis Project. If I haven't completely lost you by now let me explain what this Genesis thing did. It basically was a device that could be shot at a dead and lifeless planet and turn that environment into an incredible thriving ecosystem. So picture this, Spock's lifeless body crash lands into a planet the moment it is being infused with supernatural overabundant life. And lo and behold, Mr. Spock comes back to life!

This is the same situation in which we find ourself. The story is over and Creation has doomed itself. We did not survive the toils of Winter and it is time for our burial. The season of life that we have been in for so long has finally defeated us. 

But then there is Genesis. A New beginning.

There is an empty tomb and seasonal transition. The stars ans the planets align just right and all of the sudden new life is penetrating the darkness we left behind. 

Sometimes life can take us out. Sometimes the seasons of pain, confusion, depression, or apathy can be so long that they finally defeat us and we throw in the towel.

Sometimes it's been three whole days since your Savior was defeated and laid in a tomb.

But Sunday is coming and with it, Spring. And with Spring comes life. The pagans had something right. There is something going on in the Universe that is bigger than any death we could experience.