Reverend-Senator Raphael Warnock woke up on Sunday ready to convey a curious Easter message to his followers:
One could imagine hearing this from a legislator of a different faith on the holiest of Christian holidays, but from a man who uses his religious authority as a political tool, it was a stunning display of theological ignorance. Nothing, nothing, is more transcendent than God’s only begotten son becoming man, dying to absolve humanity of its sin, rising again, and consigning Satan, sin, and death to a final, eternal defeat. Easter is about man’s rescue by God Almighty, not “sav[ing] ourselves” through some kind of secular self-improvement scheme. For all intents and purposes, Easter is Christianity.
I write about this not just to dunk on a preacher who could use a Sunday School refresher, but to point out a pernicious trend Warnock’s since-deleted tweet represents. Easter means something specific to a specific group of people who believe its story not to be a parable, but rather the most important event in human history. Why is it that progressives are so determined to make every holiday, tradition, and custom more abstract and “inclusive” at the expense of those who celebrate and practice them? It’s a tendency that not only does a disservice to the world’s many holidays, religions, and cultures, but also robs newcomers of the opportunity to fully understand and appreciate their true meaning and beauty.
Easter doesn’t need a “more transcendent” (read: generalized and boring) meaning. It already has the most important and delightful one of all.