Principles – “Resurrection’s Philosophies” – Saturday 15th of April, 2017

Tomorrow, Christians around the world are to celebrate the Resurrection. Resurrection, my Brethren, is a fact that some denied and others deliberately forget during their life. However, this fact remained existent and people faced it when passing the bridge of death to the shore of the other life, that is, the eternal life.
Rejecting resurrection is not a modern concept that started in the eighteenth century with the emergence of atheism and rejection of the idea that God, glory to His name, exists. It’s rather a belief that began to appear since old. For example, we can notice traces of rejecting resurrection and life after death in some philosophies like Epicureanism that though its establisher, Epicurus, did not deny the existence of gods who had a role in creating the world, claimed that death is the eventual end of body and spirit thus it should not be feared. In other words, he claimed that there is no eternity or other life and accordingly this philosophy’s main principle is that man should not fear God or death.
The Sadducees was a Jewish sect that believed in the Books of Moses only, but they did not believe in resurrection of the dead, life after death, the existence of angels or spirits. They argued with Jesus Christ trying to prove the genuineness of their belief, “Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him,…” and Jesus answered them demonstrating that there is resurrection of the dead.
The opposite side to rejecting resurrection is one’s attempt to live his earthly life searching for his happiness only as he is deluded that happiness is in being distant from God and escaping any responsibility of his actions and decisions. Consequences of this belief were nothing but prevalence of more despair and pain in our world and increase of inequity that people called it “freedom”. Happiness , my friend, is not in living for achieving your own pleasures only, but is in the smile you draw on people’s face due to your attempt to bring joy to their hearts and alleviate their pain and suffering. Your attempt is God’s gift to any loving, compassionate and merciful heart.
Therefore, resurrection is undeniable fact as this universe was created by God in an absolute accuracy and perfection that science still unable to understand. God also created man in a way that no one is able to understand or elucidate till now.
Resurrection is to remain a bell that rings everyday in the paths of life asking the passers by what they did for their eternal life?
We pray to God to grant peace to martyrs of St. George Church in Tanta and Cathedral of St. Mark, Alexandria and to preserve peace and security of Egypt and Egyptians along with the Middle East and the entire world.