Posted on 04/08/2006 7:12:48 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Easter is one of the most popular religious celebrations in the world. But is it biblical? The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible (and not at all in most others). In the one place it does appear, the King James translators mistranslated the Greek word for Passover as "Easter."
Notice it in Acts 12:4: "And when he [King Herod Agrippa I] had apprehended him [the apostle Peter], he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."
The Greek word translated Easter here is pascha, properly translated everywhere else in the Bible as "Passover." Referring to this mistranslation, Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible says that "perhaps there never was a more unhappy, not to say absurd, translation than that in our text."
Think about theses facts for a minute. Easter is such a major religious holiday. Yet nowhere in the Bible—not in the book of Acts, which covers several decades of the history of the early Church, nor in any of the epistles of the New Testament, written over a span of 30 to 40 years after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection—do we find the apostles or early Christians celebrating anything like Easter.
The Gospels themselves appear to have been written from about a decade after Christ's death and resurrection to perhaps as much as 60 years later (in the case of John's Gospel). Yet nowhere do we find a hint of anything remotely resembling an Easter celebration.
If Easter doesn't come from the Bible, and wasn't practiced by the apostles and early Church, where did it come from?
Easter's surprising origins
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, in its entry "Easter," states:
"The term ‘Easter' is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast . . . From this Pasch the pagan festival of ‘Easter' was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity" (W.E. Vine, 1985, emphasis added throughout).
That's a lot of information packed into one paragraph. Notice what the author, W.E. Vine—a trained classical scholar, theologian, expert in ancient languages and author of several classic Bible helps—tells us:
Easter isn't a Christian or directly biblical term, but comes from a form of the name Astarte, a Chaldean (Babylonian) goddess known as "the queen of heaven." (She is mentioned by that title in the Bible in Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17-19, 25 and referred to in 1 Kings 11:5, 33 and 2 Kings 23:13 by the Hebrew form of her name, Ashtoreth. So "Easter" is found in the Bible—as part of the pagan religion God condemns!)
Further, early Christians, even after the times of the apostles, continued to observe a variation of the biblical Passover feast (it differed because Jesus introduced new symbolism, as the Bible notes in Matthew 26:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Moreover, Easter was very different from the Old Testament Passover or the Passover of the New Testament as understood and practiced by the early Church based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles.
And again, Easter was a pagan festival, originating in the worship of other gods, and was introduced much later into an apostate Christianity in a deliberate attempt to make such festivals acceptable.
Easter symbols predate Christ
How does The Catholic Encyclopedia define Easter? "Easter: The English term, according to the [eighth-century monk] Bede, relates to Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown . . ." (1909, Vol. 5, p. 224). Eostre is the ancient European name for the same goddess worshipped by the Babylonians as Astarte or Ishtar, goddess of fertility, whose major
celebration was in the spring of the year.
The subtopic "Easter Eggs" tells us that "the custom [of Easter eggs] may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter" (ibid., p. 227).
The subtopic "Easter Rabbit" states that "the rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility" (ibid.).
Author Greg Dues, in his book Catholic Customs and Traditions, elaborates on the symbolism of eggs in ancient pre-Christian cultures: "The egg has become a popular Easter symbol. Creation myths of many ancient peoples center in a cosmogenic egg from which the universe is born.
"In ancient Egypt and Persia friends exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, the beginning of their New Year. These eggs were a symbol of fertility for them because the coming forth of a live creature from an egg was so surprising to people of ancient times. Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life" (1992, p. 101).
The same author also explains that, like eggs, rabbits became associated with Easter because they were powerful symbols of fertility: "Little children are usually told that the Easter eggs are brought by the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly" (p. 102).
What these sources tell us is that human beings replaced the symbolism of the biblical Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with Easter eggs and Easter rabbits, pagan symbols of fertility. These symbols demean the truth of Christ's death and resurrection.
Easter substituted for Passover season
But that's not the entire story. In fact, many credible sources substantiate the fact that Easter became a substitute festival for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. (To learn more about what this Feast represents, see "What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?".)
Notice what The Encyclopaedia Britannica says about this transition: "There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers . . . The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals foreshadowed . . .
"The Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions, identified the first day of the week [Sunday] with the Resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month" (11th edition, p. 828, "Easter").
Easter, a pagan festival with its pagan fertility symbols, replaced the God-ordained festivals that Jesus Christ, the apostles and the early Church observed. But this didn't happen immediately. Not until A.D. 325—almost three centuries after Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected—was the matter settled. Regrettably, it wasn't settled on the basis of biblical truth, but on the basis of anti-Semitism and raw ecclesiastical and imperial power.
As The Encyclopaedia Britannica further explains: "A final settlement of the dispute [over whether and when to keep Easter or Passover] was one among the other reasons which led [the Roman emperor] Constantine to summon the council of Nicaea in 325 . . . The decision of the council was unanimous that Easter was to be kept on Sunday, and on the same Sunday throughout the world, and ‘that none should hereafter follow the blindness of the Jews'" (ibid., pp. 828-829).
Those who did choose to "follow the blindness of the Jews"—that is, who continued to keep the biblical festivals kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles rather than the newly "Christianized" pagan Easter festival—were systematically persecuted by the powerful church-state alliance of Constantine 's Roman Empire .
With the power of the empire behind it, Easter soon became entrenched as one of traditional Christianity's most popular sacred celebrations. (You can read more of the details in our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? )
Christianity compromised by paganism
British historian Sir James Frazer notes how Easter symbolism and rites, along with other pagan customs and celebrations, entered into the established Roman church:
"Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the Church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with its vanquished yet still dangerous rivals [the empire's competing pagan religions].
"The inflexible Protestantism of the primitive missionaries, with their fiery denunciation of heathendom, had been exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive charity of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity was to conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation" ( The Golden Bough, 1993, p. 361).
In short, to broaden the appeal of the new religion of Christianity in those early centuries, the powerful Roman religious authorities, with the backing of the Roman Empire, simply co-opted the rites and practices of pagan religions, relabeled them as "Christian" and created a new brand of Christianity with customs and teachings far removed from the Church Jesus founded.
The authentic Christianity of the Bible largely disappeared, forced underground by persecution because its followers refused to compromise.
Easter does not accurately represent Jesus Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, though it appears to do so to those who blindly accept religious tradition. In fact, it distorts the truth of the matter. Easter correctly belongs to the Babylonian goddess it is named after—Astarte, also known as Ashtoreth or Ishtar, whose worship is directly and explicitly condemned in the Bible.
The ancient religious practices and fertility symbols associated with her cult existed long before Christ, and regrettably they have largely replaced and obscured the truth of His death and resurrection.
When confronted with these facts about Easter, many professing Christians might raise this question to justify its continuance: With hundreds of millions of well-meaning Christians observing Easter, doesn't this please Jesus Christ? Yet He has already answered this question in Matthew 15:9: "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." How will you choose to worship Him—in spirit and in truth, or in fraud and in fable? GN
If you can find that statement in the bible then I'll accept it. If you can't, then it isn't God's word and it isn't scriptural. I don't have much use for anything that isn't God's word.
Is it your position that this list is ALL that was expected of gentiles who became Christians? They could kill? They could rob? They could worship other Gods?
Clearly you're not understanding this either. This list is for starters. They were expected to learn the rest every sabbath:
Act 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
If they (christians) are abiding in ... and spreading forth ... the love of God, ... they are doing what God wants. John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Define love.
The entire New Testament (perhaps excepting the Revelation) ... is a treatise on love as God would have the christian live it.
As I have stated before, ... it is noteworthy that there is no emphasis on the keeping of special days ... anywhere in the New Testament.
Jesus ceretainly didn't speak of it ... and neither did His Apostles.
New Testament examples of the love which God expects from christians can certainly be found in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the parable of the Prodigal Son (as performed by the father in that story), ... and the following passage ...Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
So why weren't the NT Gentile christians commanded ... or even encouraged ... to keep these days ?
First of all there were no "gentile Christians".
Of course there were ... and are.
Paul, specificaly, was the Apostles to the Gentiles.
And the Jerusalem certainly believed so ... even as they sent letters to these christians, ... instructing them in those things from Judaism which were necessary.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Your 'feast' reference is not to any Jewish feast, ... but is rather uses 'the feast' as a metaphorical representation of one's true life in Christ (i.e. sincerity and truth).
And if you want to make that argument, there's NO instruction or mention of Easter ever.
Yes ... but we have the 'liberty' to celebrate Christ's resurrection, if we so choose.
... as you have the 'liberty' to celebrate whatever days you so choose.
Paul says that the christian's focus is to be love.
Again, define love.
You are beginning to sound like Pilate in his questioning of Jesus (i.e. ... What is truth ?)Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col. 2:15-17)Contunue to live in the shadows if you wish ... I will live in the substance.
That's true. But the bible is very specific on what exactly constitutes love. If God wasn't specific when he inspired it's writers, then deceivers and anti-Christ's could change and shift the definition at will.
Here are some biblical definitions of love:
2Jo 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
2Jo 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Jo 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jo 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jo 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jo 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Now John actually knew Jesus Christ while he was in the flesh on earth. His word is authoritative and sure. He says that LOVE is keeping the commandments of God. Of course he's right. When you have God's love dwelling in you and through you then you can't HELP but appear to be keeping his commandments. If you have true, Godly love then you WILL fill to the full, fulfill, God's commandments:
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
There Quester. That IS love according to God. The written definition of love is the ten commandments, which are further summed up by:
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Yes, it will encompass all the stuff you said, but the outward manifestation of Godly love will also be growing to love God enough that you recognize and honor the days he created to be his.
No, there's not. There are gentiles who became Christians and Jews who became Christians:
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Your 'feast' reference is not to any Jewish feast, ... but is rather uses 'the feast' as a metaphorical representation of one's true life in Christ (i.e. sincerity and truth).
You're wrong.
The phrase "keep the feast" is a translation of:
heortazo
heh-or-tad'-zo
From G1859; to observe a festival: - keep the feast.
Thayer Definition:
1) to keep a feast day, celebrate a feast
This is a verb form of:
heorte
heh-or-tay'
Of uncertain affinity; a festival: - feast, holyday.
In the new testament, heorte always, always, refers to nothing but the holy days created by God.
It is used in the following NT passages: Mat_26:5, Mat_27:15, Mar_14:2, Mar_15:6, Luk_2:41-42 (2), Luk_22:1, Luk_23:17, Joh_2:23, Joh_4:45 (2), Joh_5:1, Joh_6:4, Joh_7:2, Joh_7:8 (2), Joh_7:10-11 (2), Joh_7:14, Joh_7:37, Joh_11:56, Joh_12:12, Joh_12:20, Joh_13:1, Joh_13:29, Act_18:21,Col_2:16
So Paul is clearly and unmistakebly telling his followers to observe a feast of God. You're just closing your ears and eyes nad refusing to see the truth.
You are correct in one regard though. Paul is revealing that there IS a spiritual meaning and intent behind the feasts. In the case of the days of unleavened bread, the spiritual lesson is to examine ourselves for sin and to purge it out. Leaven represents sin. Looking for and removing leaven from our dwellings teaches and reminds us of the lesson that we should be searching for and removing sin from our life.
Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
...
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col. 2:15-17)
Per Paul, I will not allow you to "judge me" ... in any of these ... which, per the Word of God, ... are only shadows of the reality of Christ.
Perhaps you should take Jesus' advice to "judge yourself" ... lest you be judged with the same judgement you seek to impose upon others.
As for me, ... I shall continue in God's love ... and in the following of His Spirit.
May God bless you to do the same.
There are a lot of bunny rabbits around here lately, especially in the morning. I look for their eggs, but find only the usual droppings. Do they leave eggs only on Easter Day?
Romans 14 has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we observe holy days that God created. If you think that Paul is saying this, it goes contrary against what he told the church at Corinth:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
"Day" in "esteemth a day" is NOT referring to a feast day. I showed you in the last post that "heorte" is the word for one of God's feast days. This isn't used in Romans 14. Neither is sabbath. Therefore, the "day" being esteemed or not esteemed is referring to something else.
It could be days devoted to fasting since the whole context of chapter 14 is food: Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
There is only one reason that anyone would read this as saying that it means that God's holy days shouldn't be esteemed. That reason is that you wish to continue to observe the tradition that was handed down to you.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col. 2:15-17)
This verse does not mean what you think it means. Again, the issues Paul is addressing in Colossians 2 are issues that were not biblical:
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
The Lord's feast days are NOT philosophy or vain deceit. They are NOT traditions of men. They are not rudiments of the world. They are divinely created, holy, days that the Lord calls his own:
Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
Do you really believe that Paul is so stupid as to not know the difference between what is worldly philosophy and what are scriptural, Godly, holy, days?
Per Paul, I will not allow you to "judge me" ... in any of these ... which, per the Word of God, ... are only shadows of the reality of Christ.
Paul is saying that we shouldn't let anyone judge in HOW we are keeping God's holy days, not whether. Study it.
Perhaps you should take Jesus' advice to "judge yourself" ... lest you be judged with the same judgement you seek to impose upon others.
I am constantly in the process of judging myself, even more so now that we are approaching God's spring holy days and the commemeration of the death of our passover, Christ:
1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
I am not condemning or judging you for NOT observing God's holy days. I am telling you that your biblical understanding of the Lord's holy days are flawed. You are in error and I am attempting to correct you.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Here's what the KJV says:
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Too often people read the letters of Paul as if they were written to us here in the 21st century. It sure looks to me that Paul was making a "what comes first, the chicken or the egg?" argument. He is saying that yes, obedience to the Law is required, but your motivation is the key. Do you obey God because of your faith, or are you going along with the crowd trying to be self-righteous. You cannot be saved by works, but your works will illustrate your faith. Here is a quote from Paul that I seldom see posted here on FR (except by me)
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
The quotes in Acts about what the Gentiles ought to do:
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Act 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, Fare ye well. Act 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. When coupled with:
Rom 2:15 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
and
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
and
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time.
Sure puts things in a different light, huh? If the Gentiles were not to eat meat sacrificed to idols, then certainly they didn't keep the pagan festivals, no? No objective theologian (backyard or otherwise) can deny the pagan origins, or at least the non-scriptural origin, of the holiday Easter. For when Jesus said:
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
They were celebrating Passover
Luk 22:8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
Perhaps Reverend Hislop's research is acceptable to you?
Easter being Pagan is not exactly ground breaking stuff.
>> Perhaps Reverend Hislop's research is acceptable to you? <<
Hah! Not in the slightest. He's another preacher trying desperately to justify his hatred for Catholics and other Christians.
As for Mr. Rives, I don't know who he is, but the first thing I see in the center of the page of the link you gave me was an assertion that Easter wasn't celebrated until the 4th century, a statement which shows such a confounding ignorance of church history, he has zero credibility.
I mean, how much research does one have to do to find much earlier references to Easter? Sheeesh! If even read the document I'm presuming he's alluding to, he'd see it didn't establish the practice of Easter, it only attempted to choose a consistent date among all the various calendars being used at the time.
What a maroon.
Do you really believe this nonesense you are posting?
So I open up my Roman Catholic Latin Prayerbook and look for "Easter" and all I find is "Paschae" - "Passover" - in case you don't understand Latin. I search around for Easter Bunnies and such, but all I find is blessing for a Lmab and Eggs and Bread to be eaten at dinner to break the Lenten fast from flesh meat and eggs - the same food the Jews ate at the Passover Seder except that we eat leavened bread, to remind ourselves that Christ has relieved us of the bitter suffering of the Church of the Old Testament by the joy of the resurrection renewing the whole world.
You sure this Easter nonesense you are haranguing against is anything to do with Roman Catholicism? Why are you blaming it on us, when it is the Protestants who practice it and promote it?
I don't recall the Pope dressing up as an Easter Bunny or wearing bunny ears, do you?
When I finally started to get serious about the Bible and read Matthew 12:40 I really started asking questions.
That is when I realized that "Main Stream Christianity" was against scripture and began questioning other dogma and "traditions". I'll never forget the response I got from people who (I thought) should know better. "What's the big deal, anyway?"; "Who cares"?; "What are you....some kind of nut?"; "Everyone else in the world is wrong....and you know everything, Huh?"; "For 1700 years this is the way the church did it....and now you think we should change it?"; "You're a heretic!"
What is really funny is that these are still the same kind of stupid responses you still get here from "Freepers" who (I would think) should exhibit more common sense and less mythology, superstition and tradition. All you really have to do is "read the book"!
Thank you Douglas, for posting this article from "Good News".
This is hilarious. Let me ping some of my chums who are familiar with Greek over here to dissect this. Surely they have a heart to enlighten the ignorant on this score.
I am most curious to see how they take to the idea that while the Greeks initially meant "Pascha" to mean "Passover", now they mean "Pascha" to mean "Pagan Easter Bunny Festival", and the Greek Church has lost all memory of "Passover", despite still calling the feast you insist on naming "Easter" for "Pagan Easter Bunny Egg Worship Day" as "Pascha" meaning "Passover".
No, what is really sad is that while the Catholic Church calls the days of the week:
Dominica, Feria I, Feria II, Feria III, Feria IV, Feria V, and Sabbato - Lord's Day, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Sabbath
this fellow still worships by a calendar that names them after pagan German gods ... and then he has the gall to go about and accuse us of paganistic back-sliding.
With such an eloquent and informative post, I, I, I just don't know where to go from here. Gosh, I'm starting to choke up. This is embarassing. That was beautiful, man. I love you, man.
Let them dissect this while you're at it. Here is the early church fathers celebrating "The Passover" on the 14th of Nisan/Abib. They are not celebrating "Easter" nor are they celebrating on a "Sunday". The council of Nicea fixed the celebration of Easter into the "tradition" of the church in 325 a.d.
Polycrates....were talking late 2nd century here!
Actually, the feast we call Pascha only occasionally coincides with the Latin Easter.
And we certainly remember that it is Passover. The hymnography of the feast speaks of Christ passing over from death to life, and uses the Passover of the Old Covenant as a type--liberation from material slavery as a type of liberation from slavery to sin and death.
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