Easter defines the Christian faith | GARY COSBY JR.

I have not liked the idea of the Easter Bunny, at least not since I was a child when I enjoyed the bunny in various forms of chocolate. But the bunny seems even more odd than Santa as the representative of one of the two holiest days on Christianity’s calendar.

Santa, at the minimum, comes bringing gifts and since most Christians consider the birth of Christ just about the best gift ever, at least one can make a tenuous connection between the jolly man in the red suit and Jesus. I have more trouble connecting our cotton-tailed friend to the savior.

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I know, it is just a fun thing and not a big deal. I’ve just never understood how we got an Easter Bunny connected to the resurrection of Christ, though I admit, that is hardly the point. Easter eggs and plenty of chocolate at Easter are as traditional as Santa Claus at Christmas. They are both rather benign symbols that allow just about anyone to celebrate the high holy days of the Christian faith without having to be Christian, so enjoy the egg hunts and the copious quantities of chocolate no matter your view of Christianity.

For those of us who see Easter more in terms of a resurrected savior than a bunny, this has to be the most special day of the year. Everyone is born, though I admit no one else claims to be born of a virgin. Everyone must also die, though few must suffer the indignities of hanging naked on a cross. But it is the resurrection, even more than the cross, that gives Christians our true hope.

Without resurrection, Christianity fails and is no different than any other religious system. It is in the resurrection that we find our strength of faith and our hope. The New Testament says of Jesus that he was the first-born among many brethren, pointing those of us destined to die, and that is all of us, to a hope beyond the grave, a hope that allows us to face death with faith, if not boldness.

As I consider the purity of Christian faith as it is espoused in the Holy Bible, I am mystified at all the evil that has been done in the name of that glorious savior. It is heartbreaking to think of the base actions of many knights in the Crusades who rode off to save the Holy Land from the Muslims but committed such acts of rape, robbery and murder that the whole idea behind armies raping, pillaging and burning their way through wars was born.

If one stops to think about it, one must sincerely doubt that the God of all creation needed any help from mankind to “liberate” any land, people or city. That we are permitted to speak of his glories and attempt to reach out in the name of the risen savior to help others is a remarkable privilege and one that should be honored above all other things. That men use the name of Christ for personal gain or to demean, press down, or defraud others is so despicable that one wonders what punishment is waiting for such persons beyond death’s door.

That any group of people would use the name of Christ to do anything other than bless their fellow man is and should be mortifying. True Christianity, that which causes a man to exhibit the character and nature of Christ, is something to be cherished, worked for, and held in the highest ideals of holiness.

Attempting to co-opt the name of Christ for some cause, be it personal, political, or to create  monetary wealth, is something that should be shunned. In no way should the name of Christ ever be associated with politics or a political party. Jesus absolutely shunned politics during his time in this life. Any attempt to lift him onto some human-made pedestal, especially a political one, was rejected. Jesus always pointed people to the eternal kingdom of God.

There is tremendous strength in Christianity when it is practiced in purity, but nothing is more abominable than attempting to fit Christianity to the purposes of man. We conform to God through the agency of the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. In no way can we conform the Godhead to our purposes and attempts to do so are grossly apparent and repellent, especially to those who do not believe in Christ.

I have spoken with many unbelievers and people who were searching for answers. Several of them have asked how I know that Christianity is the correct faith. The best answer I can give is the resurrection. In no other faith does anyone claim that their god came to earth, assumed the form of a man, died as a substitute for man, and was resurrected, giving man hope beyond the grave.

I can’t know with 100% certainty that I am right. No one can until he or she dies and passes from the this mortal realm, but since I am a person of faith, I will stake my beliefs on this day and on the idea of resurrection.

Gary Cosby Jr. can be reached at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Easter is the defining Christian holiday | GARY COSBY JR.