CHICAGO, April 9, 2012 — With the exception of Christmas, there may no other religious holiday that vexes atheists more than Easter. Around the world this Holy Week, the enduring strength of Christian faith was on full display with expressions that were, at times, inspiring, and at other times brutal.

At Vatican City, thousands of Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear the Easter blessings of Pope Benedict XVI.

In Jerusalem, Christians lit candles at the fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the ancient site venerated as the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.

In Seville in Andalucía, the region’s 52 religious brotherhoods paraded through the streets for Holy Week manifesting the crucifixion, which was then followed by a jubilant resurrection of floats, elaborate statuary, flowers, and thousands of faithful devotees.

In a Croatian fishing village called Sumartin on the Adriatic island of Brac, believers dressed as Roman soldiers reenacted the critical moments of Jesus’ crucifixion.

And in the Philippines, penitents participated in the gory physical acts of the crucifixion itself.

Some carried heavy wooden crosses toward a makeshift Golgotha. Others engaged in self-flagellation, whipping themselves with bamboo thatches as they marched in procession in the hot sun, leaving bloody gashes on their backs to remind themselves – perhaps permanently – of the Christ’s suffering.

Still other Filipinos allowed themselves to be crucified with real three inch steel nails driven into their hands and feet while a crowd of the curious looked on. 

Despite the condemnation of the Catholic hierarchy, the gruesome Filipino crucifixion reenactments have continued to take place. The Church says that they are “misrepresentations of faith,” and that, they may be.  

As such, some have called for the traditions to be outlawed. Atheists have mocked them as an example of fanaticism rooted in pagan superstition, not Christian faith.

American journalists are quick to brand these practices as “fanatical,” yet they continue to proselytize against the idea of a superior western civilization; the new intellectualism argues that all cultures and their traditions are equal. They do not seem troubled by the contradiction.

Still others see the brutal Filipino reenactments as a reflection of the passionate character of the region’s large religious population – more than 80% practicing Catholic.

All of this raises another interesting question:  How would a Filipino view the most visible expressions of Easter in America? Would they scoff at the egg hunts and the floppy-eared rabbits, failing to see religious faith reflected in them?  

Would they comment on the erosion of faith in American life and the government’s role in that erosion?

Would they find America a hospitable place for their religious beliefs or a hostile one?

Although western intellectuals may naysay the severity of the expression, the power of the Christian story in this part of the world is undeniable.  Even after two thousand years, the story of a lowly Jewish carpenter, his life, brutal death and resurrection continues to inspire this poverty-stricken corner of Southeast Asia.

“This is a vow I had made to God so that He will spare my family from sickness,” said one Filipino penitent. “It was a bit painful, but bearable.”

“I had made a vow to do this every year until I die,” said another.

“People here follow their own beliefs. We should not take that against them,” said Reynaldo Sulit, a government official in Paombong, Philippines.

Wise words on Easter.  And every day. 

Conservative commentator and satirist William J. Kelly is also a contributor to Breitbart.com and edits the Tea Party Reports for the Washington Times Communities. He is a native from Chicago’s Southside.

Email questions to him at williamjkellyrebuild@gmail.com.

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Read more of Bill Kelly’s Truth Squad in The Communities at the Washington Times

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