Nerd Church - The World Keeps Turning

I argued with myself a lot about what I should write about for this week's Nerd Church - Easter? Or Brussels?

I decided to go with both. (Bare with me, I think this will work!)

Life

Christians use this time of year to celebrate rebirth - as did their pagan ancestors, via bunny/hare goddesses such as Eostre. And similar metaphors/personifications for the things that bunnies (ahem) do.

It's the time of year where there are cute fluffy lambs, cute fluffy chicks, and flowers beginning to bloom.

Death

But life doesn't come without death. And death is unhappy, unpleasant, heart-wrenching.

This week we were reminded, through the blood and tears of Brussels, that death is often cruel, unexpected, seemingly nonsensical.

Yet Christians see death at this time of year, and say that it is not the end.

Maybe you agree with this, maybe you don't.

But the fact remains that life goes on - the flowers that were dead in the winter rise again in spring. Children are born in the same hospitals where the elderly leave this world.

In Celtic tradition, the beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning. Both are the same - existing and not existing at once.

That's why Celtic crosses have a circle around the middle and intricate knot designs to prevent endings. Stuff that ended wasn't good in Celtic religion, and if these new Christian folks wanted them to take up the cross, then the symbol needed a PR job.

We actually still use Celtic crosses in a lot of our cemeteries in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, etc., (although they tend to be less intricate than the one in the picture here.)

OK... I've gone off on one about Welsh culture again, haven't I? Focus Cee, focus.

My Point

My point is that even after the most devastating events, life goes on. There is hope. There is love.

The way to spoil that though? By turning instead to hate.

The internet was full of hate after the attacks - the hurt hate of those who wish to hurt others in return, the blind hate of those following others' example and repeating words which scar and hurt and cause yet more hate to fester.

Hate just teaches others to hate (- as was shown when Microsoft's AI, Tay, became a racist Nazi sexbot after less than 24 hours exposure to Twitter.)

Isn't that what terrorists want? For hate to breed more hate? For death to result only in more hurt, more death?

Hate can never be conquered by more hate - it just prolongs the cycle. But if you turn instead to love - well, that's the way forward.

So Happy Easter! Try to be nice to each other.


Nerd Church is a weekly post where I ramble on about various issues of various types. Feel free to continue the discussion, but please link back here.


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