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I finished reading Walden Two today and just now saw Mike’s copy of The Passion of the Christ for the first time … uncut.

The usual errands tomorrow.

Oh, and I explained the meaning of Easter on the Hobowars forums …

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Easter is when Jesus came out of the tomb, saw his shadow, meaning there would be 6 more weeks of Lent.

J/K

Forget all the stolen from Pagaism stuff … anyone can rattle that off. In Christiantiy, Easter centers around the figure Jesus of Nazareth – the Christ – raising from the dead after being in the tomb 3 days. Sort of.

According to the story found in the Gospels, the cruxifiction took place on a Friday morning, the day after He celebrated the Jewish feast of Passover with his closest friends / followers (the Apostles). This was called “The Last Supper” in Christian tradition.

They shoved him in the closest tomb they could find because it was getting dark, and no work is allowed on Shabbat (the Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday). They couldn’t even prepare the body with perfumes, etc, which was the tradition of the time until Sunday because of this, and they found the empty tomb.

What it means to Christians (including myself) is that in dying, he became the blood sacrifice once and for all for mankind’s sinfulness. In rising, even death was conquered, and is seen as a promise for our own new lives.

The point is that God became a Man not only to Love us as one of us in a special way – we became family instead of servants – but to die and suffer at our own hands, and spiritually bearing the weight of the world’s hate and selfishness. That’s the “mystery” of Easter.

The true force of this spiritual perspective will hit you in the face when you realize he didn’t try to get out of it … He did it willingly, to fulfill scripture, and God’s promises in times of old to save his people. It is a Love so boundless that God accepted the ultimate sacrifice and humility even though in a way it was our fault. It’s a way a Father tells a child, “Yes, you have done wrong, and I will pay the price because I Love you … and you will know nothing will change that.”

There are a lot of questions that will come out of this understanding of Easter that man has struggled with for many centuries, but I hope this gives you an idea. And maybe a little insight into how some sincere Christians feel when they talk about Jesus – not as an idol, but as the ultimate example of Love for mankind, and even themselves personally.