# The Paschal Greeting - How do you view it?



## TheOldCourse (Apr 5, 2015)

"He is risen - He is risen indeed" I would suspect that those of us who hold to the regulative principle of worship would agree it does not belong in the liturgy, but do you think it's appropriate to use it outside of worship, particularly in response to those who greet you with it as a sort of special "Easter" greeting? I admit its origin in Eastern Orthodox Easter traditions bothers me a bit, as does the fact that the use of it seems to bind the respondent's conscience with a certain sort of religious expectation and the acknowledgement of a special holy day. On the other hand the response is clearly based in Scripture and an appropriate sentiment (for every Lord's Day).

Obviously this mainly intended for those who take a rather "precise", for lack of a better word, approach to applying the regulative principle of worship and liberty of conscience, but since I know we have many such folks here, I wondered how they approach this issue.


----------



## Ryan J. Ross (Apr 5, 2015)

In Luke 24, there is obviously an especial type of excitement which might be considered peculiar to the moment. I find nothing necessitating a pattern of imitation as is present in the Lord's Prayer. When others say it to me, I usually respond in the affirmative, under no constraint. I'd hate to make unintentionally a sacrament of it, so I often avoid the "He is risen indeed." Also, it often feels forced when people say it. (I am not saying they aren't sincere.) This is a gospel truth in which believers live. They aren't discovering an empty tomb amidst curiosity and doubts as to whether He'd see any corruption. Most who are using the paschal greeting have known the risen Christ and been united to Him. They are partakers of resurrection life. The expression has become formulaic and formalistic, in my opinion.


----------



## Tirian (Apr 6, 2015)

I must admit I don't get the whole thing. It's feels like a vinyl with a scratch/jump-back.


----------



## Afterthought (Apr 6, 2015)

When people have said, "Happy Easter," my response has been along the lines, "Have a good Lord's Day" (if I have time) or "Thank you," not saying "Happy Easter" in return (if I do not have time).

While I have yet to encounter someone say "He is Risen" to me outside of a liturgical context, I think I might respond in a similar manner. I definitely would not want to affirm them in the response or participate in it, since while the phrase is good in and of itself, it is usually said as part of a celebration of Easter. If I did not have time on my hands, I would probably simply say "Yes" and leave it at that (edit: I might also answer according to the intent of the phrase, which is a greeting or well-wisher. So I might say, "Hi. How are you?" or "Have a good day too."). If I had time on my hands, I might try to draw attention to the Lord's Day in some manner, like I have done with "Happy Easter" comments.


----------



## earl40 (Apr 6, 2015)

I have thought of responding to "He is risen" with "literally".


----------



## NaphtaliPress (Apr 6, 2015)

Call me sheltered or a recluse but I have to confess I don't recall this happening to me in or out of an ecclesiastical context. Until today I would not have known there was an actual specific expected response. Or if I did I've long forgotten it.


----------



## DMcFadden (Apr 6, 2015)

Evidently it has firm roots in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. But, the phrase is pretty widespread in Catholic, Anglican, and other Christian denominations outside the RPW circles. I first heard it from a Baptist pastor in an ABCUSA church. One author says that it was also spoken at Augustine's baptism on Easter Eve (387). Barth refers to it in CD, 4.3.2. Kurtz references it as an early church practice in his church history (I.355). Jeffrey notes "The Church confessed its belief in the resurrection of the body in the earliest baptismal formulas and later in its creeds (“Christ is risen!” Resp. “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”)" (A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992). In Webber's Library of Christian Worship (IV, 15), he includes the account of a Baptist church using the line liturgically and releasing balloons (typical!).


----------



## PuritanCovenanter (Apr 6, 2015)

It is a phrase that I have heard ever since I can remember. Personally, I don't have a problem with it as I wouldn't have had with the secretive things to help identify one as a Christian in the first centuries. It is a fact that Christ is Risen. And I don't see anything innappropriate with the response of affirmation that, "He is risen indeed."


----------



## Steve Curtis (Apr 6, 2015)

PuritanCovenanter said:


> Personally, I don't have a problem with it... It is a fact that Christ is Risen. And I don't see anything innappropriate with the response of affirmation that, "He is risen indeed."


----------



## Phil D. (Apr 6, 2015)

I agree Randy. I don't see a need to get uptight over such a statement/response in any context, frankly.


----------



## NaphtaliPress (Apr 6, 2015)

Well could be it was going on at my PCUS church growing up. It was into seasonal colors, was going very liberal (had women elders very early), but I don't think of it as extremely liturgical. And there was surely no principle against it later in the semi charismatic PCA church I was member of but was away at college. But I don't remember a lot about church practices from then and I was exposed to the regulative principle of worship late 1982. Then but I think by late 1983 I minted my anti xmas card and was planning Naphtali Press circa 1985-6 and part of a church growing stronger in adherence to the RPW and never looked back.


DMcFadden said:


> Evidently it has firm roots in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. But, the phrase is pretty widespread in Catholic, Anglican, and other Christian denominations outside the RPW circles. I first heard it from a Baptist pastor in an ABCUSA church.


----------



## VictorBravo (Apr 6, 2015)

I'm always tempted to follow with next phrase in Mark 16:6.


----------



## TheOldCourse (Apr 6, 2015)

It's been really popular in Anglican circles for quite some time I believe, and that is where I originally ran into it. It originated in the Eastern Orthodox traditions but they only use it to greet others that they know are Orthodox so we aren't likely to hear it from them even if we interact with Orthodox believers regularly. It seems like within the last few years, though. I'm hearing it more and more in NAPARC churches and it has seemed to me to at least be circumstantially related to the increasing adoption of liturgical calendars and willingness to engage uncritically in novel worship practices. At the very least it seems so tied to the observance of Easter that I have a hard time using it, though as I said originally and others have noted there's certainly nothing objectionable in the words themselves.


----------



## Edm (Apr 6, 2015)

I am active as a participant or read a number of outdoor or firearm related sites. It seems like there is a race every year for someone to post that as a thread. While I think it is good to discuss the resurrection on these forums, it seems sometimes like there is a competition to be the first to post it.


----------



## kevin.carroll (Apr 7, 2015)

Are not confessions of faith consistent with the RPW?


----------



## Ryan J. Ross (Apr 7, 2015)

Rev. Carroll,

It depends on one's interpretation of RPW. Reciting confessions (responsals/responsorials) is certainly not my practice. I will publicly express the "Amen," however.


----------

