Archdiocese of San Francisco, California, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Rabbi Aryeh Spero told Newsmax Friday that the Judeo-Christian tradition, celebrated during both Passover and Easter this weekend, is the cornerstone of the U.S.' "sterling character" as a nation.
"It has to do with our habits. We work. We're industrial," Spero said during "The Chris Salcedo Show" Friday. "The idea that we sacrifice for great things in life, these are what make a person of great character, and this is what makes a nation of sterling type of character. The idea that we do work, we're responsible. We are people that believe in accountability, and that you have to act with a person who feels a sense of responsibility."
Cordileone said the tradition consists of "biblically based principles" that teach people how to live in a civilized society.
"[They] instruct the morality for individuals and for all of society based primarily on the biblical view of the human person being created in the image and likeness of God, which instills an intrinsic dignity that is respected in the culture and all of the institutions of the society," he said.
The Jewish Passover holiday began today, and the Christian holiday of Easter is going to be celebrated Sunday.
Both of those holidays also fall within the Islamic celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, which started April 2, a convergence that takes place every 33 years, according to an article from Lees McRae College.
That school's Professor and Program Coordinator of Religious Studies Michael Vines said that Passover is the oldest of the three holidays, and represents "a renewal of Jewish identity.
"All of that history stands behind the Passover, which celebrates the moment during the Egyptian battle when God claimed the firstborn of all Egyptians and the Hebrew people avoided that fate by putting the blood of a lamb on their doors so that the angel of death would pass over them," Vines said.
"When Jews celebrate Passover today, they remember in the first-person plural 'We were slaves in Egypt, and God liberated us.' The annual celebration of Passover is this tangible reminder that they belong to God in this special way because of the deliverance he provided for them."
Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead after sacrificing himself for the sins of man, usually takes place around the same time each year.
"The Christian story of Easter is related to Passover, but in ways that are really kind of hard to untangle. The Christian celebration of Easter is about the sacrificial death, and eventual resurrection of Jesus, making him the Messiah that provides salvation to all people," Vines said.
"In that context, Jesus' death allows the angel of death to pass over Christians in the same way the blood on the doorpost does with Passover. The substitutionary death of Jesus is death on behalf of many that is celebrated on Easter and is of course preceded by the time that we're in right now, Lent."
Cordileone said the traditions being celebrated this weekend highlight the Christian promise of eternal life by following Christ.
"We know that if we follow God's plan, stay true to the commandments the way he teaches us, orders society properly, also leads us to the eternal life of heaven," he said. "When we try to come up with our alternative plan, that always messes everything up. We need to follow God's plan. Follow [the] commandments, follow the biblical values, and we follow God's son all the way into heaven."
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