Duggies Ramblings
Easter tide, but why is the title of this seminal festival unrelated to the event which is commemorated? Answer: Christianity was very adept at poaching titles from pagan sources. Eastre was a heathen goddess whose festival was in spring, hence the bunnies and eggs, not the stone being rolled away and a time when millions around the world meet on this day – Easterday. Easter time lasts till Whitsun (50 days).
I recall Whitmonday many years ago when we lived in the Fenlands. Our village train station had one passenger train a year, which stopped on Whitmonday. It took the local farm workers, families and friends on a day outing to Hunstanton. There is no train station at Hunstanton now).
Many years ago, we attended a talk given by Rev Dr J Polkinghorne. A Doctor of Physics and a theologian, esteemed in both fields by fellow academics. He spoke of the moment of ‘Big Bang’ as a ‘singularity’. In the same breath he spoke of the event of Easter Day as a ‘singularity comparable to the Big Bang’!
From both events, the ripples and waves are spreading out not only on the earth but in the entire universe. Matter and energy, time and space itself, and all the hidden laws of nature sprang from the Big Bang. Although it is only 2,000 years since the Easter events and billions of years since the Big Bang, the ripples and waves are widening out from the Resurrection – another ‘singularity’.
Does the name Daniel Kahneman, who died last week, ring any bells? He broadcast the end of the selfish gene and self-centredness of individuals, and a return to fellowship – hurrah!
Kibworth Band
