Today Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ . . . but the name “Easter” really comes from Eostre, the dawn goddess of Anglo-Saxon myth. Before the advent of Christianity, she was honored with an annual festival at the beginning of spring. It was also an ancient pre-Christian tradition to give people decorated eggs—a symbol of birth and resurrection—as gifts in the spring. Today, we call them Easter eggs.
(From Northwestern University professor emeritus and author of What Jesus Meant Gary Wills.)
The Gospels are scary, dark and demanding. It is not surprising that people want to tame them, dilute them, make them into generic encouragements to be loving and peaceful and fair. If that is all they are, then we may as well make Socrates our redeemer.
Eric
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