Posted on 04/21/2011 3:45:20 PM PDT by AnalogReigns
The historical evidence contradicts this popular notion.
Anyone encountering anti-Christian polemics will quickly come up against the accusation that a major festival practiced by Christians across the globe, namely, Easter, was actually borrowed or rather usurped from a pagan celebration. I often encounter this idea among Muslims who claim that later Christians compromised with paganism to dilute the original faith of Jesus.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
I really wish you, and others, would actually read the article before commenting on it. Would help quite a bit in the quality of discussion.
The writer pretty well proves Bede’s speculations were simply wrong—and conform with no one else.
The Angles and Saxons, and other Germans, never worshiped Middle Eastern gods (way too far away).....
Osten (or Oster, as in Österreich, the word for Austria, the “east Kingdom”) by the way, is still the German word for East...that’s all.
Actually ALL of those things have had quite a bit to do with Christianity...for the last few hundred years or so and more.
They certainly have not—since Europe became (culturally) Christian, over 1,000 years ago—had anything at all to do with paganism.
Ancient pagan religions, as with current day animistic religions, as found in Africa, New Guinea, and other places, spiritualized (demonized) virtually everything, meaning no created thing can be used that didn’t, at one time or place or another, have some pagan/occultic association with it. The important thing is, does it have a pagan association in how it is recognized and used now—or has God’s power in our culture overcome pagan associations and redeemed things in creation, once used by powers of darkness?
Last I checked, eggs, rabbits, trees, reindeer, snowmen, mistletoe, Christmas wreaths, holly, eggnog, Christmas stockings, and Christmas presents....and even pumpkins....are God’s creation and dominion, and not demonically controlled things.
Laws? Who is the law-maker? Scientific laws are just a more precise measuring and description of the regularities we see. More to the point is the regularity and predictability of events. And the surprises as well. Since the Greeks we see less caprice in nature, and even when we are surpised, we manage to explain to our own satisfaction what happened. Somehow, though, we can never, totally put the pieces of the puzzle together again. Always the gaps. So who/what frustrates us with puzzles?
This is a discussion about Easter, not miracles....
You need to review history. Specifically Indo-Aryan culture.
wow, you are delusional.
all those things are pure paganism.
You wrote:
“You need to review history. Specifically Indo-Aryan culture.”
No, I don’t. What you’re suggesting is just a nutty theory that no reputable scholar can produce any evidence for. What happens is that idiots, not knowing how to think or not knowing how to handle evidence, make the mistake of concluding that two things with slightly similar sounding names or traits or both must be related. This is why George Armstrong could actually delude people into believing there was some relationship between “Isaac” and “Saxon”: “Isaac”, “Isaac’s son”, “’saac’s son” = “Saxon”. Clear as mud.
Easter is a miracle, a specific event in time, but also a mystery. Not, as the neo-pagans would have it, a myth.
The Babylonians weren't Indo-Aryans; they were Semites.
As you correctly point out, only English, Dutch, Norwegian, and some dialects of German refer to Easter by a cognate of "Eostre". Everyone else in the West calls it by a name derived from pesach. In Slavic languages, it's called "Bright Night". The official name of the day in the Roman Missal translates to "Sunday of the Passover Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ"
The western Germanic tribes didn't get their pagan religion or their language from Babylon.
Not only is the existence of a proto-Indo-European culture generally accepted in academia, it also is consistent with Biblical accounts.
Using the term ‘Easter’ for Resurection Day is limited to English I think, with most languages using a cognate of the Hebrew ‘Pesach’ (Passover) for the day.
Did pagan gods create them?
If not, then they belong to YVWH, and are -- like everything else that isn't sinful in itself -- to be used in his service.
Pagans are squatters on territory that belongs 100% to the King and his kids. (We call that territory, "earth".) Don't give them a free pass to continue with their theft.
You wrote:
“Not only is the existence of a proto-Indo-European culture generally accepted in academia, it also is consistent with Biblical accounts.”
It is not accepted in academic circles - nor is it Biblically supported - that there was even a cursory connection or influence between ANCIENT inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Germanic peoples.
“Using the term ‘Easter’ for Resurection Day is limited to English I think, with most languages using a cognate of the Hebrew ‘Pesach’ (Passover) for the day.”
The word “Easter” is used in various forms by all Germanic language speaking peoples: English, Germans, Swedes, etc. The word was adopted because it was used to name a season, not because of the goddess originally connected to that season. Also, there is no known connection or evidence of a connection between that goddess and any Mesopotamian goddess. The nutty theory you posted was put forward by the sciolist Hislop and numerous people have come to believe in it since.
spoken like a true quack.
tell me, are “burning man”, and wicker man concepts that belong to YVWH too?
Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.
And in spring, people would celebrate the return of Ishtar and Tammuz around the time of the Spring equinox. That is why the celebration of Easter is based on the timing of the equinox and not based on when Passover happens. Also, many things associated with Easter have very pagan roots. The eggs and bunnies were fertility symbols associated with Ishtar, and ham is traditionally eaten at Easter to remember the boar that had killed Tammuz. God does not like religious syncretism, the mixing of pagan stuff with His worship.
In Deuteronomy 12 He says:
The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, 30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” 31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates.
Also, I forgot to mention, that is also where the observance of sunrise services on Easter came from. It was to memorialize the return of the sun god Tammuz from the underworld.
Not Anglican but there is no Caucus designation at the top of the page ...
So I would like to put in my 2 cents.. .The timing of the Resurrection celebration is clearly based on the passover which historically is the correct time frame for the crucification and the resurrection,BUT.......
In order to draw in the pagan population many terms and practices were incorporated into the Holy days
We see pagan images and practices today that overshadow the risen Christ.. even from the mouths of “confessing” Christians we hear of the importance of the easter bunnies, colored eggs , etc.. previous symbols of spring holiday of the pagans...even the name Easter is drawn from pagan sources..
But I draw on the words of Paul here
1Cr 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
The only problem with this take is the natural man and his works are not God pleasing
I tried to come up with a better word than “natural”, because of its unfortunate connotations. But in this situation, it is accurate. No need for a “natural” man living in “the state of nature”.
The temperate and higher latitudes have seasonal weather that has affected agriculture since before there were written records, to this very day.
When the harvests came in, everyone feasted both because they could, and because they knew that winter was on the way. Then, at the very bottom of winter, there was intense interest for “when the sun is coming back”, which was also a feast. And finally, when the new crops came out in spring, their was a third celebration, because stores were getting slim from the previous harvest.
This is why, around the world, the equivalent of harvest, then just after winter solstice when the sun could be seen returning, and just after spring solstice are almost universal holidays. Other holidays are less important because they are often commemorative.
Since, in the early Christian church, they didn’t have a real fix on the genuine commemorative days, it was very easy to ascribe these days to existing “natural” days of that character.
“It’s a silly argument -— so clearly linked to Passsover in so many ways I can’t even begin to get it. Now Christmas, with Yule logs, etc . . . OK, pretty good arguments can be made that this was pretty much co-opted from pagans.”
Good point about the Passover link - next we’ll hear that was from pagans, too. As far as Christmas, the timing was related to the new year (since Joseph & Mary were traveling to Bethlehem as instructed to comply with the Roman census).
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