A Different Sort of Easter Message

Last updated on: March 31, 2024 at 1:55 am by Ben Witherington

A Different Sort of Easter Message 2024-03-30T15:29:53-04:00 Ben Witherington

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Me with my friend the Jesuit scholar Jim Martin, in the office of America Media where he works for his church in New York.

‘A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND’

As a crucial national election season is just around the bend, it might be good to listen to the wisdom of some of our found fathers…. And before them, Jesus himself.

While some have thought Abraham Lincoln came up with this phrase about ‘a house divided’ before or during the Civil War, in fact it’s a phrase coined by Jesus as a quick reading of Mark. 3.25 and parallels will show. In any case, it is the truth, and one that has a current application to the current fragile state of American democracy. What is not helping is social media’s willingness to allow all sorts of conspiracy theories and straight up lies to be posted on the internet and read by millions.

And no Jim Jordan I do not agree that ‘free speech’ amounts to allowing slanderous speech and outright lies be given an airing on the principle of ‘let the people decide for themselves’. This is utter nonsense if we think about it even for an instance. For example, do we want the general public deciding whether or not it’s important for doctors to perform emergency surgery on someone who has just been in a terrible car wreck? Of course not. They are not knowledgeable enough to know the necessary and right course of action to take. There is a need for experts in numerous fields to prevent us from making disastrous, and life-threatening mistakes. Do we want the general public or particular individuals to decide whether or not they should stop at a stop light that is red? Of course not, not only do we need experts in an increasingly technologically complex world, but we need laws which the general public should obey, or work through their representative to change if they are unfair. What this country needs more of is Christian sense, solidly based in Biblical values, not ‘common sense’.

The essence of democracy is free and fair elections, and the willingness to accept the outcome even if it doesn’t go the way you want it to go. The essence of democracy is the willingness to compromise bearing in mind that the best is sometimes the enemy of accomplishing the good. There is no perfect legislation, and there are no perfect solutions to our nation’s problems, but working together to make things better is possible.

For example, no fair reading of the Bill of Rights authorizes private citizens to own military weapons. Private citizens are not the army or the national guard, and what the founding fathers were talking about is ‘a well-ordered militia’ that each state should be allowed to have. And anyway, over 70% of Americans agree that some better gun control and background checks are needed. So those impeding such legislation in Congress should get out of the way, and listen to the people involved in Sandy Hook Promise. Let’s stop sacrificing our children and others on the altar of a perverted and unconstitutional view of gun rights in America. As America becomes more immoral and mentally sick, we don’t need more guns to solve those problems we need less automatic weapons in the hands of all sorts of private citizens, even teenagers.

Were we to interview Abraham Lincoln today and ask his opinion of what is happening in our nation today, I’m pretty sure he would be quoting to us again Mark 3.25. We need to find reasonable common ground on numerous issues. We need to agree that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes, including major corporations. What happens when the shadow of darkness and ignorance closes in on a nation can be seen by examining what happened to Russia with the demise of glasnost and perestroika in the time of Gorbachev and the rise of a dictator like Putin. America cannot take that as a positive example of what sort of leadership we want and need. Ignorance of the truth leads to embracing all sorts of conspiracy theories and lies. And at root, the real basis of democracy is truth, a truth shared and embraced by the vast majority of a citizens. This is why one of our founding documents begins ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident’. Notice the reference to truths—like ‘liberty and justice for all’ not just for the rich. Truth is not the possession of an individual. There is no such thing as ‘my truth’ as opposed to ‘your truth’ if we are talking TRUTH with a capital T. Truth is a shared value, and it is all important as the basis of a democracy.

We will never solve the immigration problem by spending billions building more walls. They do not work. Consider all the tunnels under the existing walls. We need to work with Mexico to deal with the root causes of the problem of people fleeing from the drug cartels and poverty in their native countries. And frankly, Congress needs to pass the legislation already crafted to deal with this problem. It is simply not true that the President can solve this problem by some sort of executive decree. It requires legislation in Congress.

And in regard to drugs— if Americans were NOT buying, selling, and consuming illegal drugs right left and center, then drugs wouldn’t be coming across the border or being manufactured clandestinely in every state. The ultimate source of the drug problem in America is Americans using drugs like fentanyl! Period. Stop blaming other nations for problems we have created for ourselves.

Beneath all these problems is a deep and profound spiritual problem. America has largely stopped embracing Biblical values—values shared by Jews, Christians, and to some extent Muslims as well. We have stopped believing in ‘One Nation Under God, with Liberty and Justice for All’. We have stopped believing in ‘In God We Trust’ and in both cases those phrases when coined referred to the God of the Bible. What our nation needs above all is a profound spiritual revival, touching young and old, and people of every race, creed, and gender. And frankly, what we need most of all is a re-acquaintance with Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Maybe this Easter we can start looking in his direction for guidance once more, and take seriously, the values he preached in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere. They are not sectarian values, they are human values for those who would be set free from what binds, bewitches, bothers, and bewilders them. Amen to That.

History and Religion

Education and Religion

Uncategorized

Satan cannot cast out Satan

Previous Post

March 30, 2024

Times Square and Surroundings

Next Post

April 1, 2024 MOMA-- The Museum of Modern Art-- Part One

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz