Today is the high point of the Christian Calendar. Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is a mystery. It inspires believers and renews our faith; while atheists scoff and say it is an impossible fairy tale. But C.S. Lewis reminds us...
“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” -- Albert Einstein
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell. -- C.S. Lewis, The Problem of PainAnthony De Stefano wrote a nice article in USA Today yesterday about Christianity in America amid a rising number of non-believers (1.6 million atheists). He takes a page from C.S. Lewis in answering the charge that Christianity is a made-up religion, a wishful thinking "fantasy" sprung from a weak and fearful psychology.
But is it wishful thinking to believe in hell, the devil and demons? Is it wishful thinking to believe we’re going to be judged and held accountable for every sin we’ve ever committed? Is it wishful thinking to believe the best way to live our life is to sacrifice our own desires for the sake of others? Is it wishful thinking to believe that we should discipline our natural bodily urges for the sake of some unseen “kingdom”? (USA Today)
Like Lewis, De Stefano concludes that if it's all made up, we sure did a crummy job. We could have made ourselves feel better by codifying lust, greed, gluttony and hating our enemies.
But that would go against what we know instinctively to be true: That there is more to life than this material world.
Happy Easter!
