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Is the meaning of Easter being lost?
Some scholars fear the story of resurrection
has gone far astray
By KATE SHELLNUTT
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 2, 2010
Just as Christmas for many has become less about the miracle
of the virgin birth, Easter may be losing its connection to
the resurrection.
Fewer than half of Americans mentioned Jesus' death and
resurrection when asked about the significance of Easter,
according to a survey released last month by Christian
researchers the Barna Group.
At the same time, the National Retail Federation reports
we'll spend more than $13 billion on the holiday for food,
clothes, candy and greeting cards.
Although the holiday is meant to be the central celebration
of the church, disassociating Easter from the biblical
narrative of the resurrection or seeing it in symbolic terms
makes Christianity “safer” for con-temporary churchgoers,
some local Christian leaders say.
“Jesus is very challenging. To encounter him is
existentially challenging. It can be scary and
uncomfortable,” said Jeremy Wilkins, assistant professor of
systematic theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston.
“There is a strong pressure in our culture to reinterpret
(the resurrection) or explain it or not to deal with it as
the mighty and miraculous thing that it was.”
“Jesus is very challenging. To encounter him is
existentially challenging. It can be scary and
uncomfortable,” said Jeremy Wilkins, assistant professor of
systematic theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston.
“There is a strong pressure in our culture to reinterpret
(the resurrection) or explain it or not to deal with it as
the mighty and miraculous thing that it was.”
Rethinking Jesus
The resurrection's Easter competition comes not only from
colorful bunnies and candies, but also the historical
accounts of the story that appear in books, newspapers and
cable TV programs each spring.
This month, the History Channel aired The Real Face of
Jesus, a documentary about the Shroud of Turin, thought to
be Christ's burial shroud.
“The skeptical mind is always going to try to find a
physical, a psychological, an other-than-spiritual reason
for the truth of the resurrection,” said Gary Moore,
spokesman for Second Baptist Church.
Even within Christianity, there's a spectrum of belief on
who Jesus was and what the resurrection means.
Among young American evangelicals, a growing contrarian
viewpoint holds that Jesus isn't the only path to salvation
and non-Christians can go to heaven. Brian D. McLaren
presents a reconsideration of the Gospel in his recently
released book A New Kind of Christianity.
A metaphor?
Unitarian Universalists and more liberal congregations
emphasize the inspirational side of the Easter story, as a
story of new life and the power to rise above hate and
injustice.
“Let's don't try to water this down. Let's not try to make
it just an idea,” said Moore in response. “Jesus'
resurrection doesn't stand for something else, like a
metaphor. Jesus' resurrection only represents his body, not
his philosophy.”
The most common concept comes from Apostles Creed, shared
with little variation among Catholics, Episcopalians,
Methodists, Lutherans and others.
According to the statement of faith, Jesus “was crucified,
dead, and buried; He descended into hell. On the third day
he rose again; He ascended into heaven and is seated on the
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall
come to judge the living and the dead.”
‘Constant renewal'
Jesus' resurrection was the first testimony of Christian
faith; early Christians circulated stories about seeing him
after his death, which were recorded in the New Testament,
said April DeConick, a Rice University religion professor
and historian.
“As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, the
resurrection of Jesus served as a concrete example that God
is good on his promises, and so the faithful followers of
Jesus could be assured of their own resurrection after their
deaths ,” she said.
The Episcopal bishop for Texas also acknowledges some
confusion over resurrection in today's world, but says that
doesn't keep parishioners from experiencing the power of God
and his promise of salvation in their lives.
“While many may not be able to articulate fully the theology
of resurrection, I think most Christians would say that they
experience a sense of it in Christian community,” said the
Right Rev. C. Andrew Doyle. “They experience resurrection
through relationships with others, through the community a
congregation offers and from service and outreach to other
people. Christians testify that they experience, receive,
and act out of the mystery of resurrection — this feeling of
constant renewal.”
kate.shellnutt@chron.com
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Is the meaning of Easter being
lost?
Houston, April 2, Chronicle - Just as Christmas
for many has become less about the miracle of the virgin
birth, Easter may be losing its connection to the
resurrection.
...More
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