7 Things You should not Say to Your Christian Friends this Easter Season!

1. Jesus never existed; therefore, it is impossible for a non-existent person to die and raise from the dead.

2. The resurrection of Jesus is not a historical event/reality because it’s not based on historical evidence and fact; in addition, non-biblical writers of the period of the resurrection never mentioned Jesus or the empty tomb in their writings.

3. Ancient myths in the Mediterranean world or Ancient Near-Eastern civilizations report several mythical figures who died and rose from the dead on the third day; thus, the writers of the New Testament who wrote about the death and resurrection of Jesus plagiarized these ancient mythical narratives. By consequence, Jesus is a mythical figure just like those recorded in ancient mythical literature.

4. Christians worldwide celebrate a pagan holiday they call Easter and incorporate pagan rituals (such as the Easter eggs and Bunny) into their practice and the commemoration of their risen Lord.

5. Even if Jesus had risen from the dead, it was not on the day modern Christians celebrate Easter today.

6. There is no proof that Roman soldiers crucified the Christian Jesus on a cross. No Roman writers of the period of Jesus’ death and resurrection testified about these two related accounts or events. New Testament Christian writers invented and constructed both accounts– the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus–and present them to the world as if they are/were true, reliable, and historical events.

7. The four New Testament Gospels that report what Christians affectionately call the “Easter Sunday” (or the physical and historical resurrection of Jesus) are works of fiction and are not reliable historical accounts.

To be candid, while the resurrection of Jesus can be explained from a historical and literary point of view, the phenomenon of raising a dead person from the tomb is not a common practice in both ancient and modern times. In fact, the idea of raising one from the dead is a rare occurrence in human history. How much more for an individual who spent three days in the belly of death and claim to be resurrected on the third day?

On the other hand, the practice of zombification through magical power in some Afro-religious traditions is the belief that a dead person can be raised from the dead. In fact, practitioners of such magical art, a form of religious sorcery, often claim that they can bring people to life on the same day they die through supernatural power, which many consider demonic or devilish. For many, the phenomenon of zombification is a contradiction and an impossibility for what we know about the complexity of human nature, the law of science, and the fragility of human existence in the world. It is also a form of theodicy. This is another topic that requires further exposition and explanation.

Observably, the seven counter-claims against the Christian Easter or the resurrection of Jesus has been vigorously challenged and rebuked by Biblical scholars, Christian apologists, and Christian theologians through careful exegesis of historical documents (both ancient Christian and non-Christian texts) and analytical reasoning of source materials.The literature on the subject matter is rich and substantial. Any educated Christian is aware of these counter claims in contemporary literature; yet they continue to celebrate their risen Lord and Savior of the world on Easter Sunday.

As a final word, in a world that is becoming more pluralistic religiously every day as well as more open or tolerant to religious inclusivism, do your Christian friend a favor this Easter season: celebrate with them, if you can even go to church with them if they invite you, and be empathetic toward their faith, especially the sustaining hope they place in the resurrected Christ!