 |
| The Easter Bunny must DIE! In times of a global obesity crisis, should we really be unquestioningly aligning ourselves with this cheery, chocolate maniac? |
My, but hasn't this last week been a busy one? For most people, Easter is a family time, a time to convene with loved ones, or to regroup one's energies and kick back into a long weekend. It's also a time of violently fizzing cavities and ruined family meals as more chocolate and candy is consumed than during almost any other festival or holiday in the world, apart from Halloween. This Easter just gone, it is estimated that each American household will have spent on average $356, amounting to a total US expenditure of over $14.7 billion in total.* That's not "egg-straordinary", thats absurd! That means that every year, over 120 million POUNDS of chocolate is consumed by Americans which translates as approximately 90 million chocolate bunnies and 91.4 billion eggs. It's beyond a yoke...
In the UK, we are not that much better** - children under 16 receive on average nine eggs, and in a recent study, 58% of children questioned chose chocolate as the most important part of the holiday, and to be fair, when I was ten years old, that was my stance too. I remember getting really upset the year before, bursting into tears because my big brother told me that if you didn't believe in Jesus, you couldn't have an egg... In his own way, I think he was trying to save me. Or eat my eggs. The bastard!
It is unsurprising then to find that even the average person here in Britain eats approximately 20lbs of chocolate every Easter. In India, by comparison, the average person only eats 165 grams a year. A sad irony is that in order to feed our insatiable choco-lust, millions of tonnes of cocoa beans are produced by farmers and workers, most of whom are amongst the 2 billion people living on less than $2 a day... Shocking, when you consider that in the UK alone, we are expected to have spent over £500 million on Easter in 2014. So where did this obsession with edible eggs and biteable bunnies come from?
The custom of exchanging decorative eggs predates Easter, which takes it's name from the figure of "Eostre", an Anglo-Saxon goddess of birth, life and the dawn of a new day - which is why the sun rises in the 'East' or 'Ost' in modern German. The symbols of the egg (new life) and the rabbit/bunny (inexhaustible virility) were linked to her and their associations go as far back as ancient Egypt. This ties in with the transition from Winter to Spring; rebirth and new life are pivotal to Christianity, as Easter is the time whereby they celebrate the alleged Resurrection of ol' 'JC' himself.
So therefore we are left with a Christian holiday replacing an existing 'pagan' or non-Christian one (again!) and then subsequently being hi-jacked by both the confectionary industry and the manufacturers of religiously-themed breaded snacks - what did you think the cross on the bun (hot or otherwise) stood for? No doubt the card manufacture industry takes a slice of that 14.7 billion-doller pie. These are truly eye-watering statistics, especially when you consider that in the 2011 UK census, only 33% of adults classed themselves as Christian, with 25% claiming that they had no religion.
I suppose what frustrates me about Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Valentines day, Mother's Day, Father's Day etc is the way that people just seem to bumble through with the current traditions without questioning whether they are appropriate to or in keeping with their own beliefs. I sometimes wonder if people have any beliefs these days. Some people I'm sure go through their whole lives and never question what they believe in, what they stand for or what they think is of ultimate worth in the world.
I am a scientist, a philosopher, a lover-not-a-writer, but before I am any of those things, before I am even a gender, I am a human being. As we all know, a human being is different from all other animals due to it's unique capacity to be self-aware, to posses what is called a self-reflexive consciousness - we can be aware of how we are feeling, how those feelings 'feel' etc. We can shine the light of awareness onto our actions, thoughts and behaviours, and we can employ our "God-given' intelligence and reason to question the external world too. A platypus can't manage this nifty little trick of evolution. Therefore we could argue without too much opposition that the very quality that distinguishes us from all other life in the known universe it the ability to think about ourselves, for ourselves. I have long worried that people in the 21st century are being actively dissuaded to think at all, led by the media to simply 'shut up and buy'. A materialistic consumer-driven society is founded on just that - the consumption of material things - so we are hardly going to be encouraged to challenge the status quo, are we?
I'm saddened by how few people come to their own conclusions about whether commemorating the execution of a radical Jewish preacher from the Iron-Age with candy is appropriate. I've read huge swathes of the bible, but chocolate rabbits are hardly mentioned. I think Easter could become a great opportunity to question Christians, and to open the debate of the Resurrection, for their sake and not just ours. I asked a few people in work today if they went to church over Easter, and everyone just laughed. It seems today that to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is ridiculous and non-sensical, but to celebrate an event you don't believe in by eating chocolate and buying cards for people - well that makes perfect sense. How stupid of me to question this!
 |
| Joking aside... Although the language is hardly traditional, this is what Christians believe, right? No offence, but I'm not sure this would stand up in court... |
We appear to be living in a world whereby people either believe one of two things: that a man died and three days later was brought back to life by a God who has been strangely absent from our lives ever since - this group of people are so delighted by this 'fact' that they celebrate with edible pagan iconography. Alternatively, people nowadays seem to believe that the idea of a personal God is absurd, and that the Bible probably isn't the literal word of God or Jesus (after all, it was compiled from writings of dubious validity several generations after the death of Jesus)... and STILL then recall this fictional event with chocolate... The latter, the atheist hypocrisy and thoughtless contradiction gets me the most angry. It's ridiculous, it's absurd and needs to stop. We can't just procure faith from Thorntons or Lindt.
By the way, whilst we're on the subject, anyone who wants to tell me that the Bible or the Qu'ran is the literal and perfect word of God simply because the aforementioned book says so within its own pages can take their leave and alight from the conversation right now. This not the train of thought for you. It's the intellectual equivalent of saying that you believe something "because you believe it". If I tell people that I believe in the Divinity of Space-Ham, it wouldn't make it real, or any less delicious... Space-Ham: so succulent that non-believers aren't spared any in the afterlife... True story! Why? BECAUSE I SAY SO! Mmmm... Space-Ham... *drools* ...oh, and if you've never tasted Space-Ham before, I guess you never believed in it badly enough.... You see my points, right? I'm a vegetarian, by the way, and I would still sooner put my faith in cosmic pork than the Ministry of Jesus. Nothing against him personally but if you judge a man by the company he keeps...
I'm genuinely not that bothered how much chocolate and crap you eat, so long as the only damage done is to your heart, and your wallet etc. I'd personally rather you think for yourself and act on the basis of grounded, rational thought and not just because "it's a tradition". Just remember that slavery was a tradition once, as was lynching black people or persecuting Jews. Just because you have done something unopposed for a while doesn't make it automatically a good thing.
I am a firm believer that there is no "halfway house", no "middle ground" when it comes to religions that proclaim a creator God. Either you believe literally that (in spite of the scientific evidence) God chose to raise his son from the dead after three days on 'Eostre' Sunday, or you do not. No matter how neat "Zombie Christ" sounds, we have to be realistic here folks. You cannot "believe in Jesus but not in God" (yep, herd that today too) and you can't believe that Jesus was the son of God, but not believe in the Resurrection, or visa versa. Easter IS Christianity - there must be no bones about it and we leave no stone unturned, as it were!
If you believe in some kind of "Higher Power", but not the Bible or the Qu'ran, then I'm delighted that you have come to your own conclusions, and can only assume you have good reason to do so. But for the love of all that's good and pure, whatever you choose to believe - lets stop this mindless consumption! What is the alternative though? What would my 'Pagan' Easter sans chocolate look like? I have no idea, but I would rather people paint eggs on each other and chase after mating rabbits, naked, at dawn - it would burn off a few calories, be in keeping with the spirit of new life and provide light entertainment for the children, at least....
What I'm frustrated at is people not questioning their actions, or customs, and in particular, something sacred to so many being used to sell chocolate. Christianity, to drag it into the 21st Century, needs more genuine Christians, and a load more openness about their faith. If I were a Christian, I'd be outraged! Above all else, people need to question their own beliefs and motives. If people want to do good in the world, then wonderful, me too, but we should do so based on a recognition of our shared humanity, out of duty to each other as fellow denizens of Earth, and not because a books tells us to or because we want to get into heaven and save our own hides.
By exploring our own beliefs and motivations critically, they really come alive to us, and feel a lot richer. Equally, there is nothing compassionate about tolerating the ignorance of others. If someone tells us that they hate gay people "because they just do" then should we accept that? Why should theists have that right, but not the rest of us?
If some people reading this honestly believe that Jesus was literally the Son of God, was resurrected three days after dying and ascended to heaven, then fair play... That's a leap of faith I don't think I could muster. I have compassion for all beings, but there is nothing wrong with just checking that people understand that which they claim to believe in... Ignorance is not a crime, and I judge no-one. Lots of Christians do lots of good in the world, I am merely pointing out the obvious irony of the wealthiest nations on earth celebrating the cornerstone of their faith by engaging in mass-consumption of chocolate, rather than feeding the poor. That would be the most Christian thing to do.
What I'm frustrated at is people not questioning their actions, or customs, and in particular, something sacred to so many being used to sell chocolate. Christianity, to drag it into the 21st Century, needs more genuine Christians, and a load more openness about their faith. If I were a Christian, I'd be outraged! Above all else, people need to question their own beliefs and motives. If people want to do good in the world, then wonderful, me too, but we should do so based on a recognition of our shared humanity, out of duty to each other as fellow denizens of Earth, and not because a books tells us to or because we want to get into heaven and save our own hides.
By exploring our own beliefs and motivations critically, they really come alive to us, and feel a lot richer. Equally, there is nothing compassionate about tolerating the ignorance of others. If someone tells us that they hate gay people "because they just do" then should we accept that? Why should theists have that right, but not the rest of us?
If some people reading this honestly believe that Jesus was literally the Son of God, was resurrected three days after dying and ascended to heaven, then fair play... That's a leap of faith I don't think I could muster. I have compassion for all beings, but there is nothing wrong with just checking that people understand that which they claim to believe in... Ignorance is not a crime, and I judge no-one. Lots of Christians do lots of good in the world, I am merely pointing out the obvious irony of the wealthiest nations on earth celebrating the cornerstone of their faith by engaging in mass-consumption of chocolate, rather than feeding the poor. That would be the most Christian thing to do.
So what is my reflection after this rather daring outburst?
I despair when I see so much needed and by so many in the world, whilst people in the 'developed countries' obey customs unquestioningly and do greedy, stupid shit which makes no sense. Instead of blindly keeping up appearances with neighbours, instead of buying $350 worth of chocolate for already-pudgy children, what if at Easter time every Christian on earth spent that money not on rotting their teeth or their minds, but instead on feeding, clothing and educating the most vulnerable people on the planet? We could start with the cocoa farmers couldn't we? Isn't that what 'JC' urged people to do? Too radical? Yeah, I thought so too.... No wonder he still hasn't turned up yet... "fuck em Dad, they've totally missed the point... I ain't going back 'til they get their shit together and start looking after each other better!"...
Why are so many Christians so un-Christ-like? It's enough to make me really angry, for I am a vengeful writer, but in the immortal words of the Prince of Peace himself, I shall "forgive them, for they know not what they do"... By the looks of things, all these years later, most of us still haven't got the faintest idea, myself included. And if you are a Christian and this upsets you... Forgive me!
In short, call me crazy, but I honestly think that our choices and ethical conduct should stem from a knowledge of how our action affect others, both positively and negatively, and not because a book says so. We need to see the world clearly for what it is, in light of our own experience and act in according to that vision. We certainly have reached a point in human evolution where the theists need to be able to say "yes, we believe X, Y and Z because..." and then give a clear explanation, otherwise we will go from a post-Christian period to a post-theism age. I'm not going after theism or religion per se, but people accepting things such as traditions and customs on blind faith, and then judging others based on somebody else's rhetoric. I cannot abide circular logic used to justify one's own ends. I really detest it. This type of mindless conformity needs to stop, as it leads to persecution, hatred and if nothing else, a distended stomach and a blood-sugar level that could drop a horse. Plus you look a bit silly and superficial if you admit that you are celebrating a religious holiday for the free chocolate. Thinking for yourself means living for yourself, and nothing could be more liberating and exciting than that!
And that is something we can all agree on.
In short, call me crazy, but I honestly think that our choices and ethical conduct should stem from a knowledge of how our action affect others, both positively and negatively, and not because a book says so. We need to see the world clearly for what it is, in light of our own experience and act in according to that vision. We certainly have reached a point in human evolution where the theists need to be able to say "yes, we believe X, Y and Z because..." and then give a clear explanation, otherwise we will go from a post-Christian period to a post-theism age. I'm not going after theism or religion per se, but people accepting things such as traditions and customs on blind faith, and then judging others based on somebody else's rhetoric. I cannot abide circular logic used to justify one's own ends. I really detest it. This type of mindless conformity needs to stop, as it leads to persecution, hatred and if nothing else, a distended stomach and a blood-sugar level that could drop a horse. Plus you look a bit silly and superficial if you admit that you are celebrating a religious holiday for the free chocolate. Thinking for yourself means living for yourself, and nothing could be more liberating and exciting than that!
And that is something we can all agree on.
Citation:
*http://www.statisticbrain.com/easter-statistics/
** OnePoll survey and Fairtrade.org.uk
Hi dharma farmer I'm interested to know more on your feelings on doubt in beliefs in god and jesus People may have not truly decided on how they truly feel. Do we just give our selves compassion and how do we evaluate our true beliefs and have confidence in them?
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca, great question.
DeleteOk, firstly, if any of this applies to you, then I am sorry to hear that. It's something many people struggle with... The "what if I'm wrong" thought lingers for years...
I can only speak from my own experience by the way, as always. These are just my thoughts, but please bear in mind that I am a Buddhist. I was brought up as a lapsed Catholic, if you catch my drift, and although never baptised, I was told about Jesus and just assumed that God etc was just the way things were. When I got to about 10 or so I remember starting to ask questions, when I found out about other religions in the world: I grew up in the mono-culture of rural Wales and actually didn't see other faiths around at all until I moved to a city at 18. Anyway, my point is we all have our own conditioning. If I knew more about you, I would be better placed to answer.
Loosely speaking, yep, showing yourself kindness and compassion is the most important thing when putting yourself under the 'me'croscope... I figure that we are the product of our conditioning, and if someone has tried to condition you to believe a certain thing, and then corked it in with a bunch of fear, then this is the result.
I have two question for you Rebecca, and they are simply these:
1) Do you think that if they hadn't used fear tactics, you would be having these problems?
2) If you hadn't ever heard of the Bible, or Jesus, or God, and you just happened to pick up on it later in life, perhaps around the water cooler in work, do you recon you you would believe it?
Important questions, I recon...
A belief is something we accept as true without any way of verifying it empirically.
Faith on the other hand, in my world, is an emotional response of something ultimate in to something Ultimate in the universe. I think it is sensible to have faith in those things which can be verified directly in our own experience.
Imagine it is raining outside.
- If I think that God will protect me from getting wet in the rain, then that is a matter of belief, as well as being irrational, counter to my past experiences.
- If I rationalise that it will pass, that is a matter of faith. I know that rain doesn't last.
- If decide to pray to my God, whomever that may be to change the weather, and it stops raining, then it doesn't necessarily mean that God has intervened, because I KNOW that rain stops eventually. It doesn't logically follow that God exists on this basis, it is still just an unverifiable belief.
Maybe ask yourself what elements of your life you can verify in your own experience, and go with those, and try not to worry too much about unverifiable belief systems. Those people who pedal certainty are not the ones to be trusted... Those who offer provisional hypothesis rather than an absolute certainty, those who offer an invitation to live without fear, to make your own choices for yourself without coercion or threat of damnation... Those are the ones to listen to. I don't want to be part of a heaven that has to bribe people to behave ethically. Being a good person is a reward unto itself.
I worship in the church of "I Don't Know", as it were. I have a few provisional beliefs, but I am finding that increasingly they are being replaced with experience. I my world, faith is grounded in the tried and tested experience of everyday real life. i'm not saying there isn't more to the world to what meets the eyes, ears, nose, tongue etc, but it's a heck of a place to start. Start with what you know :-)
I know that kindness generally leads to kindness, actions have consequences, and I believe that living with greater awareness is beneficial to myself and everyone around me. Beyond that, to quote "Manuel" in Fawlty Towers... "I know nothing!" :-)
I hope this helps, may you go in peace xx