{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Sgwrs Tei Bow","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy","author_name":"Clarke Roberts","author_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/author\/clarke-roberts\/","title":"What Does Easter Mean? | Bow Tie Talks","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Tq81ABm1gq\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2016\/03\/27\/what-does-easter-mean\/\">What Does Easter Mean?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2016\/03\/27\/what-does-easter-mean\/embed\/#?secret=Tq81ABm1gq\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;What Does Easter Mean?&#8221; &#8212; Bow Tie Talks\" data-secret=\"Tq81ABm1gq\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","description":"It&#8217;s that time of year again, already! The darkness of winter is behind us and we&#8217;re all settling down to tuck into our favourite brands of chocolate, in front of whatever trash ITV has deemed worthy of being the &#8220;bank holiday blockbuster&#8221;. I am of course, talking about Easter. Most people know Easter has something to do with Christianity, maybe fewer know about the Easter story of Jesus&#8217; execution and eventual resurrection. Christians see the Easter narrative as one of the most important stories: it tells the story of Jesus&#8217; coming back from the dead, which for fans of Jesus is pretty cool. I know if Michael Jackson suddenly rose from the dead I&#8217;d probably be celebrating; but it&#8217;s a lot more than that. The bodily resurrection of Jesus gives all Christians hope and a view of what is in store for them at the end of all things. Christians traditionally believe that at the end of time, all the dead will be resurrected in a bodily state \u00a0and will ascend to Heaven to be with God. This is exactly what is seen in the Easter story and so it&#8217;s fair to say that Christians use this time of year to reflect on this idea. To me though, Easter means something slightly different. I could of course in my typical fashion, talk about how Easter is actually a hijacking of the Pagan festival Eostre, a celebration of the Spring Equinox and the emergence of new life. When the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion, to appease the tree-huggers of Northern Europe, they incorporated Christian festivals to match up with those of the Pagan religions; we see the same with Christmas, which is actually the Pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice&#8230;Yule. But even I won&#8217;t rid Easter of all its significance by suggesting it&#8217;s nothing more than a political tool from centuries ago. The traditional Christian understanding of Easter is rooted in the idea that Jesus was physically God Incarnate, and on the belief that a man who died one of the most horrible deaths, came back to life two days later. I cannot believe in this. I cannot believe that someone rose from the dead no more than I can believe a man who it is told was 100% human, was also somehow 100% divine. This then changes the meaning of Easter. But to change something\u2019s meaning is not to make it devoid of meaning.\u00a0This is how I see it: Jesus died. His death continues to inspire countless generations of people to act more morally and to live a better life, me included. So if I don&#8217;t believe Jesus could have been resurrected, what significance does it have? Easter is about the overcoming of darkness; it is symbolic. The story shows that even after he endured torture, betrayal and a gruesome death, Jesus could still rise above it all and moreover, forgive those responsible. Easter shows me that no matter how dark things may get throughout life, there [&hellip;]"}