A bit too much for my comfort level 

by Dustin Woods
Visionary Columnist

As an atheist, Easter is an awkward time of year for me. I understand for many this time of year marks a miraculous event which is the foundation of their spiritual beliefs. I just find it to be another creepy ritualization of the past, and of all the past events to ritualize this is one of the strangest. 

I rather enjoy how Easter starts with Palm Sunday. Jesus rides into town on a donkey, showing he is of the common man. Fast forward a week and Jesus is dead, entombed and the body is missing (which sounds like the set up for a great game of CLUE). 

Those are the parts of Easter I’m comfortable with even though I don’t share the popular belief regarding the reason Jesus’ body is missing is it ascended to heaven. The story sounds great and, like all great stories, tons of people wish it was true. I’m just not among them.

So where does Easter get awkward for me? In the torture and death portion of the story. Let me first start by saying the cross creeps me out, although I understand the power of taking a symbol of death and turning into something opposite of its original meaning. 

The African American community has done something similar in their appropriation of a certain slang word. They’ve taken the word used to denigrate them as a group and made it into something the group identifies with and some have appropriated for their purpose. Christians did this with the cross, and I think it’s great. 

However, the fact Christians take this depiction of death and magnify the symbol to be taller than many buildings is a bit too much for my comfort level. 

What if African American groups like the Black Panthers had taken the noose and turned it into their symbol instead of a clenched fist? I would be equally unsettled by this; however, though discomforted by the imagery Christians use, I’m not asking it be outlawed because it’s against my beliefs. 

I wonder how many symbols Christians have objected to over the years while espousing their symbol of torturous death.

Lastly, let’s talk about the Stations of the Cross, the 14-step guide to crucifying a savior. It’s a morbid and unsettling depiction of the ways Jesus was tortured and eventually executed. Its purpose is to show how even though people are killing you, you must continue to love them for they are all children of god (or less religiously put we are all living creatures). 

It also shows how much Jesus loves us as he went through all this torture to save our very souls. I understand the need to remember the roots of your religion and these are the most formative roots this religion has so I’m not asking Christians to stop celebrating the ways they see fit. I am just saying it creeps me out as an outsider whose core morality is the protection and perpetuation of life. 

Perhaps you might get more followers if you downplay the gorier parts of Jesus’ death.

This year, when you are eating your Peeps or chocolate bunnies dipped in peanut butter remember, we celebrate a very bloody experience for Jesus using only pastel colors. Don’t forget the Easter bunny hid those eggs so kids could go searching for prizes and parents could enjoy watching the hunt. We have smoothed out many of the rougher edges of Christianity and Easter is another chance to continue this effort. 

Maybe consider not having a Stations of the Cross reenactment this year, or any other year for that matter, if you really want to attract those on the fence who are concerned about the more cultish aspects to organized religion. 

But most importantly don’t forget to love one another because best as I can tell, this is what Jesus wanted us to achieve while on this earth.

The Gayly. April 1, 2018. 11:06 a.m. CST.