Know What You Believe

Easter will soon be upon us. This year, as every year, church attendances will be at their highest, as millions of Americans make one of their few (if not their only) visit to church all year. Easter is the biggest religious observance in America. Unlike Christmas, commercialism has not yet turned the public expression of Easter into a secular event.

Most of the increase in church attendance this Sunday, however, will be people attending out of tradition or a sense of obligation, not a true reverence for the things that Easter celebrates, because the truly reverent adherents already attend church more than a few times each year. While it is good that these people do come to church on Easter, their practice of the Christian faith is the quintessence of what the secular world critcizes about the Church.

In the words of a soundbite included on a D.C. Talk album, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." It is easy for atheists to characterize people of faith as blind followers of archaic rules and traditions, when in fact many who would claim to be Christian do little more than follow tradition for cultural reasons more than out of personal belief.

With the exception of processed food, most things are more enjoyable and fulfilling when you know more about them. A basketball game is more fun to watch if you know the rules and strategy that goes into it. You will enjoy your years at a University more if you have a sense of the history and overall purpose of it, rather than simply trudging through classes to earn a degree and get a job.

The same applies to faith. If you simply go through the motions of rituals for their own sake, you have little more than religious tradition. But if you invest some time in finding out the true meaning behind celebrations of faith like Easter, and what it means to you personally, your beliefs will be an enriching aspect of your life, and part of a life-long journey with new discoveries every step of the way.