What's All The Fuss About Easter?

Tomorrow, on Easter Sunday, Western Christianity will celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus. It is typically the most well-attended service of the year. So, why all the fuss?

Non-Christians are quick to point out the pagan origins of the Easter holiday and its true that the name "Easter" does have its roots in ancient polytheistic religions or paganism. I doubt any educated Christian would dispute this. The name "Easter" is never mentioned in the original scriptures, nor is it ever associated Biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For this reason many Christians and churches prefer to use the term "Resurrection Sunday" rather than Easter to refer to the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Many reference books claim that the name “Easter” derives from Eastre, the Teutonic goddess of Spring. While there is some connection, the actual origins of the name "Easter" lie much further back in history. All the way back to shortly after the Biblical Flood and the Tower of Babel to a King named Nimrod. (No, I'm not making this up!) Nimrod was the powerful, talented (and evil) great-grandson of Noah. I won't go into detail (you can Google or Bing for more information if you want), but basically, almost every vile, profane and idolatrous practice you can think of originated at Babel with Queen Semiramis, the Mother Goddess and Nimrod. As the people scattered from Babel with their different languages, they, of course, used different names for Nimrod (Tammuz) and Semiramis. Some called the Mother Goddess “ISHTAR” (originally pronounced “Easter”). In other lands, she was called Eostre, Astarte, Ostera, and Eastre. The Mother goddess was frequently worshipped as the goddess of fertility - and as a sort of Mother Nature and goddess of Spring and sexual love and birth. 

Also, just so you know where the Easter Bunny comes into the picture, the rabbit is well known as a sexual symbol of fertility. In various parts of the world, religions which developed from Babel also associate the rabbit with periodicity, both human and lunar (Egypt, China, etc.), so the bunny basically symbolizes the Mother Goddess. The egg figures into the picture as well and is also associated with the Babel origins of Easter, but as this is already getting to be longer than I intended, I'll let you look that one up on your own as well.

If you're still reading at this point, you may be wondering just exactly where I'm going with all this. Is my intent to bash the Christian celebration of Easter? Absolutely not! While one might wonder (in hind sight) if there might have been a better way for the Church to witness to the World and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than to "Christianize" a pagan celebration (like we have also done with Christmas), I still believe that the celebration of these events is essential to our faith and to the spread of the Gospel as long as we are emphasizing the Biblical reasons for doing so. Easter has been celebrated by the Church without interruption since New Testament times. However, given the World's commercialization of both Easter and Christmas, it is even more crucial that we as Christians assert the basis for our celebrations. Most of us know that Easter isn't simply a ­commercial festival about dyeing and hiding eggs or wearing new spring attire. Easter is the Christian observance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection days later. His death and resurrection are the central basis for our faith.

Think about this; every time you write a date, you are making reference to the death of Jesus as a focal point. And His resurrection proves Him to be what He claimed to be, the Son of God. Why exactly was Jesus sent to the cross? From a legal perspective, even after going through six trials, He was ultimately crucified for claiming to be the Son of God. Most people who have heard of Jesus have already formed some kind of opinion about Him. They believe: 1) that He was a liar; 2) that He was a lunatic; or 3) that He is Lord. You can't say you think He was just a good man, or a good teacher, or even a prophet. None of those are compatible with being a liar or a lunatic. Jesus Himself said a couple of things, "I am God" and "I am the only way to heaven", that force you to make a decision about Him. A good man or a good teacher wouldn't say those things unless they were true. Jesus also said that He would be killed and that God would raise Him from the dead. That's exactly what happened on Resurrection Sunday and that's why Easter is so important. “... by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself.” (Romans 1:4, LB)

In some sense, Jesus is still on trial today. When we as Christians celebrate Easter and emphasize His death and resurrection, with all the significance it demands, we remind others that there is still a decision to be made about Jesus and His claims. Easter is more than a celebration of nature, Springtime, and fertility. It's also more than just the memory of a good man or religious teacher who lived more than two centuries ago. Because of His sinless life, His death, and His resurrection; we no longer have to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves and it's His resurrection that gives us hope that we too will one day be physically resurrected with Him in addition to the spiritual resurrection we've already received. In spite of the burden of competing with the pagan roots and commercialization of Easter, the significance of what we as Christians celebrate during this holiday cannot be denied.