Easter: "central act of history" ??

[CanadianJohn2]

I was reading about Easter, and read this "the great central act of history, the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ".

I hadn't thought of Easter - or history - in that way. Certainly, for Europe, "everything" changed. But for the world? I'm thinking of the European discovery of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, or maybe the end of the Islamic Golden age in (about) the 12th century. I don't know enough about the far east to have an opinion.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

I guess it was a central act of history, in that it eventually affected the whole world, but not because of the redemption business. It only became a central act of history because of Paul and Hadrian. Paul turned a minor Jewish sect into a whole new religion, which Hadrian disseminated across Europe by exiling most of the Jews from Israel and taking them into captivity as slaves of the Roman Empire. He did not differentiate between the Jews who followed Judaism and those, together with their non-Jewish converts, who followed Paul Jesus.

@CanadianJohn2 can you post the link directly to the article?

I'll have to find it again... my internet access is coming and going, mostly going, for some reason. Check back later.

Well, I suppose that if you believe that jesus's death really was the means for redemption of all our wrongdoing then it was a big change fir everybody in the world, because they all potentially qualify for the redemption.

If you lack that belief, then naturally jesus's death won't seem remotely relevant to people around the world who aren't Christian -- but it sounds like your source was one that accepted Christian beliefs as true?

@Justmerach
the source of that original quote

Ash Wednesday - February 18, 2026 - Liturgical Calendar | Catholic Culture

Christ saving grace is for everyone, all of humanity. Some countries adopted their own faith and don't though believe in Christanity so don't believe this yet. It extends to all though.

It is clear with Islam although both of the religion share some similiarties and with Judaism, we have Messanic Jews...but many still do not believe that Jesus will redeem them or yet, it seems many think it will be David who will redeem them. Scripture doesn't indicate this. I think that things will start moving on this before closer to the ultimate end times. We have eastern religions as well.

We saw the adoption of Christanity in African countries. Athough the native religion was full of holes and harm to the vulnerable.. I am not sure on the manner it was done. Some people got opportunities to move to a Commonwealth country and start their lives up there.

I wish all those peace during this Lent period who are taking part. Not everybody who is a Christian takes part in Ash Wednesday though.. Catholics and Anglicans tend to take part. I am not sure any other demoninations who take part.

Christianity and what was done in its name has certainly done more harm to people living on the continent of Africa than any of the religions it replaced.

Crusaders, Conquistadores, Kinder Kuchen Kirche. No, Christianity has not brought grace to whatever it touches.

Christ gives people grace through the forgiveness of sins and the promise of salvation. It is a different thing if people attempt to bring the news of the Bible in a corrupted manner which the Bible doesn't actually endorse.

“Christ saving grace is for everyone, all of humanity. Some countries adopted their own faith and don't though believe in Christanity so don't believe this yet. It extends to all though.”

it only extends to those who believe in it - it can’t extend to all. In our house, Easter means time off work/school, too much chocolate and hot cross buns. We don’t acknowledge lent, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday or Easter Sunday.

Christ did not write the Bible.

I did not write that Christ wrote the Bible anywhere and was replying to somebody else. I do not see what you are referring to from what somebody else wrote.below-

"Christianity and what was done in its name has certainly done more harm to people living on the continent of Africa than any of the religions it replaced.".

how and why ?

The Easter festival predates christianity by a long way.

No, it doesn't. Passover predates it, but Passover is not Easter.

Humanity’s central problem is sin. Jesus’s death and resurrection solves this problem. Nothing is more important.

There are much more important things in our lives as atheists. Sin is just a concept to try and force people to behave a certain way.

I think it is certainly reasonable to say that the Biblical description of resurrection is one of the most consequential stories ever written down, and I’m an atheist. However, I do think its impact is hard to tease apart from the impact of technology, particularly writing, printing and warships.

"Your central problem is that you're a thief. To solve that problem, I'm going to engineer a situation where a kitten will be tortured to death and then a few days later I'll bring it back to life. Bingo-bango, your history of thievery is no longer relevant and can be forgotten about. You're welcome."

How, in any way, does the torture/death/resurrection of one individual "solve" the moral failings of another?

Jesus wasn’t any individual, but God come down to earth.

Exactly That is one of the many immoral things about christianity. Third party atonement was not uncommon in the dark ages If someone was caught stealing it was acceptable practice to have another person to be punished on your behalf. thief could order one of his slaves to have their hand cut off, or pay someone to go to priso to serve that sentence.
So the idea that jesus was killed to pay for our sins would have been recognised as common practice.
But obviously immoral, and deeply questionable in a society that has moved on from mechanisms like this. But it persists, and christians have no explanation of the mechansism that forms the core of christianity.

Jesus was a regular guy, got in with the wrong crowd. Got caught and was punished by hanging. He died - end of the story. A resurrection didn’t happen - it’s not possible. Check with any doctor.

That’s very similar to the argument on another thread that the Taliban aren’t practising proper Islam.

There’s a bloke who likes to stand outside the evangelical church in my local high street at weekends, gloating through his megaphone that everyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus is going to hell. He comes across as a vindictive bastard.

Only if you’re a Christian. For the rest of us, it’s totally inconsequential.

Humanity’s central problem is breaking the Golden Rule. AFAIK pretty much every religion has a version of Do As You Would Be Done By, or Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself, or That Which Is Hateful To You Do Not Do Unto Others. Yet pretty much every religion somehow uses it to justify doing exactly the opposite. And this is why the Easter story has been such a central point in human history. Not because people believe in resurrection or sin or saving, but because fundamentalists have imposed that upon others, in direct conflict with the Golden Rule.