I live in Boise, Idaho. The winter here has been far too long for me this year. Normally, we start to see an increase in temperatures and a decrease in winter weather by the middle February. Once March rolls around, spring is in the air. As of today, though, we still have plenty of snow on the mountains around us and people are still skiing and boarding every day.
It used to be that spring not only meant great weather to me, but it also was about big Easter celebrations. The extra time we've had waiting for spring gave me time to think about what Easter means to me at this point in my life, as an atheist.
There are parts of Easter that I still enjoy; like the robins eggs malt balls that can be found in every candy aisle in the nation for a few short weeks every year, and of course chocolate bunnies. Is there more than that though? What’s should the non believer make of Easter? Are there lessons, good or bad we can take from it?
Yes, there are lessons that we can take from the biblical story of Christ’s death on the cross, even if those lessons aren’t about conquering death and living forever.
To me, the Easter story to me is about the humility, duty, and forgiveness. Christ showed the first two when he rode into town on a donkey and then died on a cross. When he rose from the dead, he conquered death and granted his followers forgiveness and eternal life.
If you believe Christ was god incarnate, then nothing could show more humility than riding into town on a borrowed donkey. In our age self promotion and vanity, it’s worth wondering what that behavior actually gets us. It may get us noticed, but it rarely garners respect or admiration. Maybe a little more humility in our lives would be a good thing.
Humility is often found in the same people that have an intense sense of duty. The character of Christ certainly had both traits. Christ, at least as a man, certainly did not want to go to the cross, but surrendered to what he knew was his duty. Often the people who make the biggest impact on the world are those who set aside their personal desires to serve a greater cause. That is what Christ and his followers believed he was doing.
Unfortunately, we often wander through life benefiting from other peoples sense of duty and willingness to sacrifice without ever acknowledging their sacrifice. We take their contributions for granted or don’t realize the price they paid for us. It seems human nature has changed little since the time of Christ.
The biggest lesson of Easter has to be that Christ died on the cross and conquered death so that we may be forgiven of our worldly trespasses; our sins. In the resurrection, we are issued a new hope and a clean slate. Could anything be more appealing? Is there anything a flawed and broken person (and by flawed and broken, I mean all of us) could want more than forgiveness and a clean slate?
The power and importance of forgiveness is undeniable. Thankfully, we can see forgiveness in action every day, free of any attachment to a mythical god. The granting and accepting of forgiveness between human beings can be simple and touching, complex and life changing, or something in between. The key though is that it is completely human.
For me, what goes into determining whether I can forgive someone who has wronged me is simple; is the person who wants forgiveness is seeking it out not because they got caught or confronted, or are they coming to be unprompted by outside influences, and is the is the request sincere. Not much else matters to me, but everyone has their own criteria.
The objectionable part of the Easter story to me is the resurrection. To me, the resurrection is the ultimate spiritual mulligan. It gives people the idea that they don’t have to be responsible for this life; their only life. A death bed conversion from even the worst human being is just as valid a lifetime spent devoutly serving god. In other words, Charles Manson could reap the same reward as Mother Theresa if he confessed his sins and repented moments before dying. Does that seem just? Not to me.
Christians will often pose the question to atheists "what if you are wrong, and what if there is a god?" They argue that they lose nothing by believing, and you risk everything by not believing. They are wrong on both accounts.
First, outside of the lack of church activities in my life, I live no differently than when I was the president of a small Lutheran church here in Boise, Idaho. I teach my son the same basic values I did when I was in church, and I treat people the same as when I was a christian. I have the same vices and the same positive habits I did back then too.
What I feel as a person though is different. I do feel more engaged in life; this is my life, and I know at the end of it I will own my regrets and my satisfactions. There won’t be any do-over’s or mulligan’s. That, to me, is tremendously motivating to do everything I can to be a better person and live my life right now, and not hope for heaven in the future.
I don’t buy it that without god you have no moral compass. I certainly feel the holy books I have read fall incredibly short of providing a good moral compass. In fact, I think they set horrible examples in many cases. And no, it’s not that I am interpreting the books wrong. The Bible condones slavery, stoning, the selling of female offspring, and slaughter when done under the order of god. Thanks, but I will pass on biblical morality.
People who believe that they are saved, washed clean of their life’s sins, have little motivation to make amends with people they have harmed, make the earth a better place, or improve the human condition. In fact, many of the Christians I have known long for the return of Christ, even though that return means death and destruction for all but the true believers. You can say that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are religions or love, but in the end they all exclude everyone but their own followers.
So I’ll take my chances. This is my one life, the only one I have proof for and I will not waste it. Those who are hoping for that spiritual mulligan I mentioned are the ones who are really taking a chance. It’s sad to think of the folks who hold back in this life and will never see the mythical place called heaven once they die.
Certainly, if there is a god, he or she would want you to live this life to its fullest.
To end, I want to offer one of my favorite quotes:
"I maintain that thoughtful Atheism affords greater possibility for human happiness than any system yet based on, or possible to be founded on, Theism, and that the lives of true Atheists must be more virtuous--because more human--than those of the believers in Deity, . . .
Atheism, properly understood, is no mere disbelief; is in no wise a cold, barren negative; it is, on the contrary, a hearty, fruitful affirmation of all truth, and involves the positive assertion of action of highest humanity."
-- Charles Bradlaugh, "A Plea for Atheism," Humanity's Gain from Unbelief (1929)
Happy Easter!I'm going to eat some malted robin eggs.