Dear Christian, Don’t Be Stupid About Easter Egg Hunts
Don’t want an Easter egg? No problem, but maybe at least take a chill pill
Years ago, my wife and I were part of our local Jaycees and we organized an annual Easter egg hunt for the kids in the community. Later, when we became parents, we took our kids to Easter egg hunts.
According to some Christians, we committed an egregious sin each time we did the above. To these Christians, Easter egg hunts are pagan and of the Devil!
You see, there is substantial evidence that many of our secular Easter season traditions, especially the Easter bunny and Easter eggs, have pagan origins. Therefore, many Christians condemn such practices as encouraging or affirming paganism or polytheism.
If you’re not a Christian, you will likely find this article pointless and the entire topic silly. I can’t blame you. I wish this wasn’t an issue in Christian circles, but it is.
I’m a Christian. And I regularly defend Christians on this platform. But I will be the first to admit that Christians can often be ignorant and obnoxious.
Now, to any Christian reading this, let me make a couple of caveats. First, I’m not saying you have to participate in Easter egg hunts or do the whole Easter egg basket thing with your family. If you don’t want to make Easter eggs or the Easter bunny a part of your Easter celebration, no problem!
Second, I’m not saying that your church needs to do an Easter egg hunt. There’s always a debate online each year about whether churches should do egg hunts as part of their community outreach. That’s up to each church. If your church doesn’t wish to do one, no problem.
You’re not “stupid” if you refrain from Easter eggs and Easter bunnies.
Okay?
What makes you (or anyone) “stupid” is becoming judgmental of others for participating in Easter egg hunts and being so passionate in your condemnation that you refuse to even listen to what other Christians might have to say about it.
In Proverbs 12:1, Solomon defines stupidity as follows…
Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.
“But…but…I don’t need correction. The other person does!”
Okaaaaaaay. Let’s go to Proverbs 18:2, shall we?
A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
And how about Proverbs 18:13?
He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him.
If you refuse to take the time to understand how someone else sees Easter or why someone else might find Easter egg hunts and Easter bunnies to be harmless, then you’re a fool. You’re a stupid fool, in fact.
That’s according to Proverbs. Not me.
It’s one thing for you to steer clear of secular traditions during the Easter season and put all your focus exclusively on the resurrection of Jesus. I respect that. Amen. Wonderful. Nothing but praise for you. Okay?
It’s quite another thing, though, for you to judge other Christian parents for taking their kids to an Easter egg hunt or to condemn a church for putting on an egg hunt as a means of community service or outreach.
“But…but…it’s pagan!”
Hold on now. Remember what I said about listening? Actually, it’s not what I said. It’s what the Bible says about listening. And it isn’t just Proverbs that talks about listening. There’s also James 1:19…
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath
“Swift to hear” — “Slow to speak.” Got it?
It’s true that some of our secular Easter season traditions may have pagan origins. But read this next part carefully.
Does this mean that everyone who participates in an Easter egg hunt today is knowingly and intentionally worshiping a pagan goddess?
Does it?
If you’re going to say yes, where is your evidence for that claim?
I’ve never been to an Easter egg hunt in which there were statues of a pagan deity or calls to worship one. Not once. Have you?
Most people go to Easter egg hunts to….wait for it….hunt for eggs. They go to have fun. Parents take their kids to spend time with them. That’s it. That’s the agenda.
“But…what about the goddess Eastre? Shouldn’t we not have anything to do with her or any other pagan deity?”
We shouldn’t worship Eastre or any other pagan deity, but to say that we shouldn’t have anything — as in anything at all — to do with anything that even alludes (albeit indirectly and cryptically) to something that might be related in some way to a pagan tradition…well… that seems a little extreme.
If you disagree, then let’s walk this out and be consistent, shall we?
I better not see you drive a Saturn or wear Nike shoes. Got it? And don’t you dare eat a Mars candy bar!
“That doesn’t count”
Oh yeah!? The old Saturn car was named after a Roman god. Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory. And Mars is named after the Roman god of war.
Depending on how hardcore you want to be, Christians better rethink their engagement with astronomy since several of our planets are named after the Graeco-Roman polytheistic pantheon.
How far do you want to take this?
Are you ready to turn in your US currency since some of the symbols on said currency are, like the unfinished pyramid and the all-seeing eye on the back of the one-dollar bill, are often associated with Freemasonry? Tell you what. If you do, I’ll be happy to take that currency off your hands.
For that matter, if we really want to get serious about this…we should undo what the Council of Nicaea did and anchor the celebration of Christ’s resurrection back to the Jewish Passover.
Since AD 325, the church’s celebration of Jesus’s birth is tied to the first full moon following the Spring equinox. This approach echoes the seasonal celebrations that the ancient pagans were known for more so than the actual, historical event we’re supposed to be celebrating.
Quite frankly, the Christian church should do this to renounce any hostility to the Jewish people. That is a more serious issue than Easter bunnies and decorative eggs.
So, can we please stop arguing over bunnies and eggs?
It’s not my desire to insult or disparage anyone. I hate to see Christians disparaged on this platform — as they often are. I routinely defend my brothers and sisters in Christ on this platform.
But…
Sometimes, we Christians bring mockery and ridicule on ourselves.
We do this when we take strong and uncompromising positions without all the facts and then become defiant, even in our ignorance, unwilling to take on any additional knowledge. That is foolishness. It’s stupidity.
As one of my favorite Christian authors often says: “Christians don’t get brownie points for being stupid.”
I affirm your right and prerogative to celebrate Easter within your family and your church community as God leads you to do so. If you do that by refraining from eggs, bunnies, and anything remotely secular, all the power to you. Wonderful. No criticism coming your way from me.
But…
Please don’t judge a Christian parent who takes their kid to an egg hunt on a Saturday while also taking that same kid to church on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
That is what draws my criticism.
Be kind. Be considerate. Be loving. Be gracious.
Happy Easter!
Happy Resurrection Sunday!
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