Happy Easter! (Updated)

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

As always, some links for interested readers:

David French, "Easter is Everything"

R. R. Reno, "He is Risen!"

George Weigel, "Easter Changes Everything"

For those who might want to dig into some heavy-duty material, here's a PDF from philosophers Tim and Lydia McGrew, "A Cumulative Case for the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth". (See also this video by Tim McGrew who is, among other things, a USCF master.)

Update: Here's one more McGrew link, this time from Bethel McGrew (one of Tim's and Lydia's daughters).

Happy Orthodox Easter!

Christos anesti!

To my Orthodox readers, friends, and family, I wish you a happy Easter! While John Chrysostom is seen as a saint by the Catholic West as well as the Orthodox East, he is much more closely associated with the latter, not least because he significantly influenced their liturgy. Chrysostom's legacy is not an unalloyed good, but in his finer moments, of which there were many, he was a wonderful preacher. ("Chrysostom" is an honorific and not his proper name; it means "golden-mouthed".) Here is one of his classic Easter sermons:

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

If any man is a devout lover of God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man is a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of the Lord. If any has labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any has [worked] from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any has come at the third hour, let him have no misgivings; because he will in no [way] be deprived thereof. If any has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any has tarried even until the eleventh hour let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as to him who has [worked] from the first hour. And he shows mercy on the last, and cares for the first [and to to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts]. And He both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering.

Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward[, both the first and likewise the second]. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast you all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go away hungry. All of you, enjoy the feast of faith: Receive all the riches of loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shone forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free. He who was held prisoner of it, has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, he has made Hell captive. He angered it when it tasted his flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was angered, when it encountered You in the lower regions. It was angered for it was abolished. It was angered, for it was mocked. [It was angered, for it was slain.] It was angered for it was overthrown. It was angered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice.l Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.*

* From Scot A. Kinnaman, ed., The Treasury of Daily Prayer, pp. 184-185.

Easter Links

For your spiritual benefit and/or intellectual curiosity:

Is the Resurrection unbelievable? (You won't be surprised to learn that the answer is going to be "no", but of course what makes the claim interesting is the article given in its defense, by philosopher and chess master Tim McGrew. While we're at it, here's a piece he co-authored with his wife, fellow philosopher [but not fellow chess player] Lydia McGrew, offering a long and careful argument supporting Christian belief based on Bayesian reasoning applied to the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus.)

Reflections on theodicy and the plague.

Reflections on sacraments, church attendance and service, and the pandemic. (There are a number of pastors - thankfully, a very small number and a minuscule percentage of the whole - who are foolishly, recklessly, and selfishly advocating that parishioners ignore the experts and the love of their neighbor and attend large services anyway. This article addresses this, but goes much further.)

More links may come, but I've blogged enough today to keep everyone busy for a while.

Happy Easter!

Or, better, as they say in the old country, Christos anesti!

As usual, some selections from around the web:

From Anglican theologian N.T. Wright, on the real message of the cross.

From Catholic philosopher Ed Feser, several articles on the days from Good Friday through Easter.

Here's something from a wee bit before the internet era: an Easter sermon by St. Augustine on the sacraments.

From an apologetics angle: sketches of arguments from reason and from consciousness. (I emphasize "sketches". Here's a more developed version of an argument from reason. It isn't an argument against naturalism per se, but in the irrationality of accepting naturalism. Plantinga elsewhere argues that some versions of theism, including Christian theism, are immune from this problem, as human cognitive faculties are deliberately designed rather than the product of truth-blind forces.)

See also last year's Easter post.

Happy Easter! Selections From Around the Web

Happy Easter everyone, albeit a touch belatedly for my readers across the pond and farther to the East.

Some material of possible interest:

He is Risen! A bit of light, conversational apologetics from Catholic theologian R. R. Reno. I'm more optimistic than he seems to be about the strength of an overall apologetics case for Christianity - for the Resurrection in particular - but I think what he has to say is right as far as it goes.

The Joy of Orthodox Pascha No apologetics here; it's just a meditation upon the Orthodox celebration of Pascha - Easter - for my non-Orthodox friends. I myself am not Orthodox (capital "O" Orthodox, that is, referring to Eastern Orthodoxy), but over the years I've grown more curious about that expression of the Christian faith, and believe that those of us on the Catholic/Protestant side of the "Great Schism" can learn much from our brothers and sisters in the East.

A Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week This is a short booklet by the late great Orthodox liturgist Alexander Schmemann, whose work I've seen praised across huge swaths of the Christian theological spectrum. Though I knew of Schmemann beforehand, I only came across this work a day or two ago when it was loaned to me by a retired Lutheran pastor. Holy Week has passed, but Christians may still find this work well worth the time required to read and reflect on it.

Good Friday It's a common question among non-Christians, and even among many Christians as well, especially those who don't attend non-liturgical churches: What is Good Friday, and why is it called "Good"? The short answer to the latter question is that we don't know for sure, but it's probably for one of two reasons. First, "good" is a corruption of "God", so the day of the Jesus's crucifixion is "God (God's?) Friday", for what God the Son did in dying on the cross. Alternatively, "good" might be intended as a synonym for "holy" or "pious". It was a dark day for Jesus, but a great and glorious day for mankind.

The Case for Christ This is the first of two posts by "Maverick Philosopher Bill Vallicella, who rightly complains about a surprisingly inapt comment by a reviewer of the movie "The Case for Christ" (currently showing in the theaters in the U.S. of A.). Bill correctly notes that while the movie is not a great film as a film (though it's pretty good for the genre), to protest the ideas portion of the movie because it doesn't advance the plot is a spectacular instance of missing the point - remarkably so coming from a review in Christianity Today. (Of course the ideas part could have gone deeper, and those who are interested in such things ought to check out Lee Strobel's book of the same name, The Case for Christ, to take a first step in a deeper direction.)

Wittgenstein vs. St. Paul Another Maverick Philosopher post. Ludwig Wittgenstein famously referred to religious belief as a "form of life" or "language game", and to oversimplify somewhat (but not maliciously), he held that one does not argue for or against forms of life, but enters into them instead. Reason, on this view, plays little to no role in choosing a form of life; it is essentially irrelevant. But - following St. Paul - Bill finds this a bit crazy, and I'm inclined to agree. While views like Wittgenstein may make for less tension in the public square or, in some cases, around the family table, they do not serve the best interests of either religious believers or (perhaps especially) of unbelievers. It is wrong - and foolish - to conduct discussions about the faith in a nasty or condescending way, but that doesn't mean that one ought not to maintain his convictions and to maintain that they matter.

The Passion and Resurrection Narratives Concluding with a look at the primary texts, here is Matthew's account of the Passion (the suffering of Christ leading up to and continuing through his crucifixion) and of the Resurrection. (They're combined in the initial link.)

Happy Easter, and as my kinsmen in Greece would say, Χριστός ἀνέστη!

Happy (Western [Latin]) Easter!

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

For those readers with a devotional mindset on this day, have a look here or here. For those who wonder what it's all about and why anyone would believe this, perhaps this video might spark your curiosity.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all my fellow Christians, and for that matter to everyone else reading this as well. For those who might be interested, this traditional Easter reflection on The Crucified God blog may be of interest, and the prior posts on the Lenten season leading up through Holy Week and the Crucifixion are worth reading as well.

Easter Reflections on Pontius Pilate

In many churches, Pontius Pilate is mentioned in every service during the recitation of the creed, but it's not often that he's the subject of Easter reflections. I came across a couple of interesting pieces this year, however, and I pass along the links to those who are interested, here and here.

Happy Easter!