Just read this over at Adrian Warnock’s blog and found it interesting. Christians, we need to do better at sharing the meaning of Easter.
In Raised With Christ I argue that many have never heard the real gospel of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Today I share with you some research that demonstrates the truth of this. Quite simply this is strong evidence that we are not speaking about the resurrection enough. Also, only a tiny percentage of people believe that Easter is the most important holiday of the year. We must change this! Every Christian is meant to be a witness of the resurrection. Why do we all (myself definitely included) do such a bad job of this? This Easter lets all try and find someone to tell that he is risen!
Here are some quotes from the research:
In response to a free-response query, most Americans described Easter as a religious celebration. Two out of every three Americans (67%) mention some type of theistic religious element. Common responses included describing it as a Christian holiday, a celebration of God or Jesus, a celebration of Passover, a holy day, or a special time for church or worship attendance.
However, while a majority of Americans indicated some type of spiritual connection with Easter, the research also showed that a minority of adults directly linked Easter to the Christian faith’s belief in the resurrection of Christ. In all, 42% of Americans said that the meaning of Easter was the resurrection of Jesus or that it signifies Christ death and return to life. One out of every 50 adults (2%) said that they would describe Easter as the most important holiday of their faith.
2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.”Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday . . .
13% of respondents said they were not sure how to describe Easter. Another 8% of Americans said the holiday means nothing to them or that they do not celebrate the occasion. READ MORE
Pastor Manwarren's Musings 