Easter's Hope in an Era of Savagery
Disillusionment and Despair
So, over the ages, many thoughtful people have rejected religion and flirted with atheism or agnosticism. They have been disillusioned by the abuse of religion to advance the most aggressive and evil ambitions of a powerful few. Our world, today, is no different.
The other day, a new - atheist - friend smirked when I spoke of the upcoming Christian Easter. His unspoken thoughts were evidently quite sorrowful of my perceived foolishness. He found it difficult to combine my ruthlessly rational approach to matters-temporal and my apparent suspension of thought in matters-spiritual.
Now, I mostly do not engage on such matters, preferring to “live and let live”. But, our emerging relationship was strong enough to support an exploration. Atheism, I pointed out, was an absolute belief that God does not exist. Religion is an absolute belief that God does exist. What, I enquired, was the difference?
He reflected, deploying the well-proven tools of “first principles thinking”. “Two sides of the same coin?”, he asked. “Indeed”, I said, for so they are.
So, he has freely chosen to place a belief in unbelief. I have chosen to believe in belief. But, I noted, that my choice of belief gives me access to thousands of years of cumulative human experiences and wisdom in the navigation of the simultaneously treacherous and exhilarating waters of a brief life of each human individual. It has provided solace and strength in preparing my soul for my Maker which is the inevitable cliff-edge of all life. It has provided direction and purpose to my actions on this side of eternity.
Violence and Abuse
“Hmmmm”, my atheist friend pondered. “But Christianity is a violent religion and is the standard bearer of many who seek to - arrogantly - direct God’s hand in accelerating the end of the world so that their Saviour can return”.
“Ah…”, I engaged further. “I understand your concern, for such voices are powerful and are sowing havoc in today’s world”. I then reminded him of the beauty of “first principles thinking”. In pursuing maths to an advanced level, it was one of the lasting impressions on my life of that discipline. It allows us to separate noise from substance.
Rebellion
Christ, I pointed out, was a revolutionary (read my related article HERE). He met a vengeful spirituality in which God had favourites and declared that the new Christian path to God had none. All are equal before the Christian God.
He inherited a zero-sum game in human relations – an eye for an eye – and declared that neighbourly love was one of the Christian God’s greatest commandments. Thousands of years later, as the social sciences delivered their modern insights, Christ’s “win/win” spirituality came to be known as “enlightened self-interest” (ESI). Curiously, it is also one of Covey’s famed “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”.
When Africa’s first secondary school for girls was founded in the “Province of Freedom” by my ancestors, they were admonished to aspire to “non sibi sed omnibus” – “not (just) for self, but for everyone”. ESI in yet another guise!
Sacrifice, Renewal, Sustainability & Hope
Indeed, the execution of Christ on Good Friday was the ultimate symbol of “non sibi sed omnibus”. A Divine Sacrifice that offers the possibility of spiritual and temporal renewal to all of us who have lost our way. A “zeroising” of everyone’s account with the Christian God.
On Easter day, there is the symbolic hope of a brighter horizon as a reward for principled stoicism and neighbourliness. In today’s parlance, we label this as “sustainability” – extending the neighbour concept beyond our human relationships to our partnership with nature and the health of our planetary environment.
“Pray”, I asked my atheist friend. “Why should I choose to give up such thoughtful spiritual wealth in favour of a belief in unbelief? Why should I give up thousands of years of cumulative spiritual wisdom when my lifetime is far too short to re-invent the wheel on my own?”
Yes, charlatans have always abused all religions for their selfish and destructive interests. But that does not mean that I should throw out the baby with the bathwater!
We agreed to disagree. To live and let live. To remain neighbourly. To keep learning from each other.
Wishing you all the blessings and hope of Easter in our era of savagery.
© 2026. All Rights Reserved. Dr Omodele Jones
