It’s Saturday, April 19, 2025.

Today’s edition covers new alleged scientific evidence of extraterrestrial life, four “absolutely wicked” Colorado state bills, two possible origins of Easter eggs, and more.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10)

Of Christian Concern

SCIENTISTS SAY THEY UNEARTHED THE BEST EVIDENCE YET OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE — SO, IS CHRISTIANITY THREATENED?

Scientists say they found the “strongest evidence” yet of extraterrestrial life, reports the Independent. The evidence is the presence of two gases on a faraway planet that are, as far as we’ve observed, “only produced by biological processes,” mainly in algae.

The two gases, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), were discovered on planet K2-18 b, “about 124 light years away” in “the ‘habitable zone’ around its star,” where liquid water can exist.

So, astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge says the planet could be “a hycean world teeming with life,” though more data is needed to know for sure.

Many unbelievers may assume, and believers may fear, that finding life on other planets would threaten a biblical worldview and confirm evolutionary theory vis-à-vis independent origins (the idea that life evolved independently in various places around the universe) or panspermia (the notion that life evolved somewhere else and was seeded on our planet and others).

In response to the intimidation many Christians would likely feel by our discovering extraterrestrial life, the late biblical scholar Dr. Michael Heiser described how life on other worlds, far from being a problem for Christians, has sometimes been thought of very positively throughout church history for theological reasons. See his explanation:

• “Christianity and Aliens: Can They Coexist?” (Video)

• “Other Worlds | Does E.T. Exist | God and Aliens” (Video)

Your thoughts?

Also Noteworthy

→ Colorado pastor Matt Patrick, while preaching on the fear of the Lord last Sunday, called out four “absolutely wicked and abhorrent” state bills, urging his congregants to take action to oppose them:

• HB25-1312: Redefines “misgendering” as child abuse and discrimination

• SB183: Funds abortion with tax dollars

• HB1309: Mandates “gender-affirming care” in all health plans

• SB129: Expands access to abortions for people out of state via telehealth

In particular, some Christians in Colorado have been making a concerted effort to fight HB25-1312.

→ The United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the “legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex,” BBC reports.

→ President Donald Trump hosted an Easter prayer dinner at the White House on Wednesday. “I hope this is going to be one of the great Easters ever.”

→ Kidnapped pastor Josh Sullivan was rescued on Monday by South African police, whose confrontation with the kidnappers led “to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded.” The South African Police Service reports, “The victim was found inside the same vehicle from which the suspects had launched their attack. Miraculously unharmed, he was immediately assessed by medical personnel and is currently in an excellent condition.”

→ 27% of American adults do not believe in the God of the Bible, according to new Barna research. Of those, 34% are “completely open” to being convinced otherwise by a “‘credible and persuasive’ explanation from someone they personally know and trust.” Another 38% “might be open,” and only 17% said they would not be open.

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content of Christian interest.*

→ The New Age Movement Is Infiltrating Your Church: From yoga to the Enneagram and beyond, ex-New Ager Will Spencer exposes how New Age beliefs have seeped into the church, and how “Christians should know better” in this op-ed for the Christian Post. (Article)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

Church History Tidbit

Easter Eggs: Two Possible Origins

Eggs have been part of Easter celebrations for hundreds of years, at least. Today, decorated eggs, egg hunts, and egg rolling are common. Since there is no egg in the biblical story of Christ’s Resurrection, where does the egg theme come from? There are a few different theories about Easter eggs’ origins. Here are two.

1. Paganism (Mesopotamian Funerary Traditions)

In ancient Mesopotamia, decorated ostrich eggs or ornate vessels in the shape of ostrich eggs were placed in the tombs of royal persons. These emptied eggs, sometimes with the top cut off to form a cup, probably contained food for the dead or for a deity, or were used in the burial ritual.

“At some point,” writes Donald P. Hansen in Treasures From the Royal Tombs of Ur, “the ostrich egg, or the concept of the egg, became associated with regeneration and resurrection. The ostrich egg iconography passed into Christian and even Islamic art; the idea of the egg associated with new life remains with us today in the symbolism of Easter.”

Congruent with that conclusion, some suggest the Easter egg custom began with early Christians in Mesopotamia. However, classicist Peter Gainsford observes that a relied-upon source for this suggestion is a 1694 book by Thomas Hyde in which he refers to a practice among his contemporaries, not early Christians, where children stained eggs red to symbolize Christ’s blood. Notably, that book was written 84 years after Easter eggs were recognized in Catholic liturgy (1610), a fact that Gainsford believes weakens the alleged connection to ancient Mesopotamian pagan practice.

That leads us to the second theory.

2. Catholicism (The Lenten Fast)

Gainsford writes, “Mediaevalist scholars normally conclude that the custom of Easter eggs has its roots in the prohibition of eggs during Lent. Once Lent was finished, nutritious eggs suddenly came back on the menu. They were blessed for the occasion, and so Easter eggs became a thing.”

The 19th-century historian Louis Gougaud likewise traces “the custom of offering eggs on the Feast of Easter” back to the Middle Ages, and quotes Abbot Prosper Guéranger’s explanation: “In their simple joy at recovering the use of a food the withholding of which had been very trying, the faithful requested the Church to give a blessing to the first eggs appearing at table on Easter Sunday.”

Speculation and Reflection

The truth may be a blend of the two. It is plausible that eggs became associated with Easter because of Lent, and that that association combined with the egg’s other ancient associations in Mesopotamia to produce the tradition of decorating eggs on Easter.

Now, whatever their origin, a practical question arises for those who are neither pagan nor Catholic: why do you use Easter eggs?

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