A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories.
John IrvingRead
Anyone can be sentimental about the nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you don’t believe in the resurrection, you’re not a believer." “If you don’t believe in Easter,” Owen Meany said. “Don’t kid yourself—Don’t call yourself a Christian.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that true belief in Christianity hinges on the resurrection celebrated at Easter, rather than just the sentimental feelings associated with Christmas.
In this quote, John Irving, through the character Owen Meany, asserts that while many people may celebrate Christmas and feel sentimental about the nativity story, the core of Christian belief lies in the resurrection of Jesus during Easter. The statement challenges superficial faith, suggesting that genuine belief requires a deeper understanding and acceptance of key tenets of Christianity, particularly the importance of resurrection. Thus, it distinguishes between those who merely participate in holiday celebrations out of tradition and those who truly embrace the beliefs that lie at the heart of their faith.
Themes
EasterResurrectionChristianityFaithBelief
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a sermon to emphasize the importance of believing in the resurrection.
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I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice. Not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God. I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.
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I will tell you what is my overriding perception of the last twenty years: that we are a civilization careening toward a succession of anticlimaxes – toward an infinity of unsatisfying, and disagreeable endings.
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