The meaning of Easter this year has, not surprisingly given the Election, become entwined with politics. While, normally, Easter for the masses is about eating Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and feeling grateful that another holiday bonanza is here after the long wait post - Christmas, for once the meaning of Easter is being debated outside the churches and Christian circles.
This came about because of what the Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: "...all people can celebrate the values of Easter...compassion, forgiveness, kindness, hard work and responsibility". This statement has been met with some cynicism, notably from The Guardian newspaper. In an editorial The Guardian argues that the list of values 'have nothing distinctively Christian about them'.
I must admit to struggling to reconcile that list with my own Easter experiences as a Christian. Easter is hard work, no doubt, what with Maundy Thursday service which finishes late at night with a vigil to the early start the next day for the Walk of Witness and then dawn breakfast on Sunday but is my brand of hard work more generally a result of my Christian values? Can a lazy person be a Christian? The Guardian points out that the criteria for being a Christian is about believing in God as the saviour.
This came about because of what the Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: "...all people can celebrate the values of Easter...compassion, forgiveness, kindness, hard work and responsibility". This statement has been met with some cynicism, notably from The Guardian newspaper. In an editorial The Guardian argues that the list of values 'have nothing distinctively Christian about them'.
I must admit to struggling to reconcile that list with my own Easter experiences as a Christian. Easter is hard work, no doubt, what with Maundy Thursday service which finishes late at night with a vigil to the early start the next day for the Walk of Witness and then dawn breakfast on Sunday but is my brand of hard work more generally a result of my Christian values? Can a lazy person be a Christian? The Guardian points out that the criteria for being a Christian is about believing in God as the saviour.
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