On Facebook there is a feature which allows users to remove people from their list of friends, dubbed by users as "unfriending". I wish Facebook would enhance this feature. Unfriending someone is childish and cowardly. It allows people to silently end a friendship without having to confront the offender (or victim, as the case may be). Such a tool is used primarily for petty and emotional purposes and rarely for logical reasons.
I consider myself quite fortunate. Despite my controversial nature, my list of friends has been steadily growing. There have been a few casualties on the way up, but I can count them on one hand. In no case was I unfriended by someone I had any emotional connections to (that I've noticed anyway). While I don't miss them, I can't help but wonder what the catalyst was. Such things are important to know. Why? When you run a business, and customers drop away, you try to identify the cause in order to improve your business. I regard social networking friendships, blog subscribers, etc. in the same fashion. My goal is to generate discussion on difficult topics, while not driving people away. It would be nice to identify the exact post or cause of such an extreme action.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Should Churches Host Easter Egg Hunts?
This topic came up in a recent Facebook post. My friend posted that she felt it appalling that churches would hold an Easter egg hunt. She and her husband felt the church should avoid anything whose origins were pagan. They reasoned that Satan uses these rituals, even today, to distract people from God and should not be practiced.
I am from an agnostic family, but frequently went to church with friends. I attended Assembly of God, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and Disciples of Christ Churches during my youth. Not one of them held such an attitude regarding Easter. In fact, I don't recalling knowing that any Christian's were opposed to these traditions.
It wasn't until I became older and moved to the south end that I began to encounter a new breed of Christian. I met believer's who were against Christmas Trees, the Easter Bunny, and even Harry Potter. Has Christianity become more extremist or has the south end always been this way? I really don't know, but I never agreed with such insanity. To me, this is the kind of thinking found more among extremist Islamic societies, not mainstream Christianity.
What could possibly be "Satanic" about Harry Potter? It quickly became obvious to me that this view was held ONLY by Christian's who had not actually read it. Obviously, this is a work of fiction--a fantasy. No one reading it would ever confuse it with reality. Why don't these Christian's also oppose the Wizard of Oz or The Chronicles of Narnia?
My favorite Halloween costume has always been a witch. I love witches, magic, and making the cackle. Note I am NOT a Wiccan, do not practice magic, and do not believe in magic. My love for ghost and witch stories has not turned me into a witch (which these particular Christian's would brand 'Satanic').
Much like Halloween, many of our Easter traditions stem from ancient pagan rituals. These rituals were practiced by the ancients who knew nothing of science. They developed complex myths to explain the world around them. These myths attempted to answer questions, such as, "Why is there death?", and, "Why didn't the crops grow?". In such a society, people make connections between events and prior actions. So, if a spouse cheats and there's a thunderstorm afterward, the superstitious minds of the ancient people would perceive that as the wrath of a god or gods.
These societies would always be attempting to guess what the gods wanted from them to ensure their survival and happiness. Naturally, the ultimate deciders were those in authority. The practices which developed ensured the survival of the community by forging a common mindset among the people.
The ancient rituals have nothing to do with Satan, but are based on these myths. Just because these myths are disagreeable to our modern way of thinking doesn't mean that Satan inspired them. People are quite inventive on their own. This was a culture who didn't understand science and didn't have a supernatural being to guide them. These religions evolved over thousands of years as a way to explain what the ancient's didn't understand. They had no knowledge of science, so they were naturally superstitious and developed their 'theology' as a way to explain the universe. This is a well-known socio/psychological phenomenon.
This celebration preceded the resurrection of Christ. Christ did not resurrect on that day. Rather than abolish a celebration that was deeply rooted in the culture, the church decided to invade the holiday and take it over. They took old traditions and put a different spin on them. They "Christianized" them. The church redefined these symbols and rituals. Easter Sunday (or whatever you prefer to call it) NEVER had anything whatsoever to do with the resurrection.
Who cares what these rituals meant to the ancient societies? They are completely devoid of any superstition today. They have been "purified" by their association with Christ and, nowadays, secular fun. If people want to engage in innocent fun on Easter, it doesn't detract from Christ, since he has nothing whatsoever to do with in the first place. That being the case, there's no reason for hundreds of 'once a year' Christians to go to church that day.
I am from an agnostic family, but frequently went to church with friends. I attended Assembly of God, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and Disciples of Christ Churches during my youth. Not one of them held such an attitude regarding Easter. In fact, I don't recalling knowing that any Christian's were opposed to these traditions.
It wasn't until I became older and moved to the south end that I began to encounter a new breed of Christian. I met believer's who were against Christmas Trees, the Easter Bunny, and even Harry Potter. Has Christianity become more extremist or has the south end always been this way? I really don't know, but I never agreed with such insanity. To me, this is the kind of thinking found more among extremist Islamic societies, not mainstream Christianity.
What could possibly be "Satanic" about Harry Potter? It quickly became obvious to me that this view was held ONLY by Christian's who had not actually read it. Obviously, this is a work of fiction--a fantasy. No one reading it would ever confuse it with reality. Why don't these Christian's also oppose the Wizard of Oz or The Chronicles of Narnia?
My favorite Halloween costume has always been a witch. I love witches, magic, and making the cackle. Note I am NOT a Wiccan, do not practice magic, and do not believe in magic. My love for ghost and witch stories has not turned me into a witch (which these particular Christian's would brand 'Satanic').
Much like Halloween, many of our Easter traditions stem from ancient pagan rituals. These rituals were practiced by the ancients who knew nothing of science. They developed complex myths to explain the world around them. These myths attempted to answer questions, such as, "Why is there death?", and, "Why didn't the crops grow?". In such a society, people make connections between events and prior actions. So, if a spouse cheats and there's a thunderstorm afterward, the superstitious minds of the ancient people would perceive that as the wrath of a god or gods.
These societies would always be attempting to guess what the gods wanted from them to ensure their survival and happiness. Naturally, the ultimate deciders were those in authority. The practices which developed ensured the survival of the community by forging a common mindset among the people.
The ancient rituals have nothing to do with Satan, but are based on these myths. Just because these myths are disagreeable to our modern way of thinking doesn't mean that Satan inspired them. People are quite inventive on their own. This was a culture who didn't understand science and didn't have a supernatural being to guide them. These religions evolved over thousands of years as a way to explain what the ancient's didn't understand. They had no knowledge of science, so they were naturally superstitious and developed their 'theology' as a way to explain the universe. This is a well-known socio/psychological phenomenon.
This celebration preceded the resurrection of Christ. Christ did not resurrect on that day. Rather than abolish a celebration that was deeply rooted in the culture, the church decided to invade the holiday and take it over. They took old traditions and put a different spin on them. They "Christianized" them. The church redefined these symbols and rituals. Easter Sunday (or whatever you prefer to call it) NEVER had anything whatsoever to do with the resurrection.
Who cares what these rituals meant to the ancient societies? They are completely devoid of any superstition today. They have been "purified" by their association with Christ and, nowadays, secular fun. If people want to engage in innocent fun on Easter, it doesn't detract from Christ, since he has nothing whatsoever to do with in the first place. That being the case, there's no reason for hundreds of 'once a year' Christians to go to church that day.
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