PAGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH....Easter vs Resurrection Sunday

[prove-all]

And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.​

 

[MarcR]

Why do you feel this is an important issue?

I am concerned with Jesus' teaching that we should be in the World but NOT of the world.

I am concerned that by allowing pagan elements into Christian practice, we give the Church an image of worldliness that tends to compromise our witness.

We have been told to live in the world while keeping ourselves distinct from the world and I am trying to exhort maintaining those distinctions.

 

[Joidevivre]

I think there is some validity in "redeeming" things that were once pagan, by turning them to the purpose of Christ.
Perhaps we could view Easter in this way... so long as we actually turn the purpose to Christ, rather than just leave it as another holiday for marketing and giving candy to children.

I love her thought of redemption. We were once pagan too.

 

[JaumeJ]

The post earlier is by no means intended to correct what you have posted. Having studied some German, I know Oestre may be derived from the word, east, as Oeterreich (sp) or Suastria. The oestre here is east or eastern.

I have heard several etymologies on the word, Easter, I do know one thing upon which they agree, and that is any etymology points to paganism

One of my first reactions to having been saved by the Lamb of God was indignation on what mankind has done in perverting the message and understanding of our Lord and Savior, His divine origin, and His personal relationship with Abraham, from the forefather to His then present walk her on His earth. I suppose that indignation is felt by all after they have received God' Holy Spiri, but it did not take me long to realize God does not need my defending Him. He is my Father and He defends me, but we may all stand on His Word, and this is satisfying and reassuring on the walk He has given us with Jesus. Jesus is good, amen.

When I lookedfor the etymology of the word, Easter, decades ago I learned from my search the word is taken from the name of a northern European goddess named Oestr, goddess of fertility, ergo Easter eggs.
I have heard since it comes fro Istar, however if my understanding of Istar is accurate, this would be taken from the word for star, and also our Biblical heroine, Esther, is named for the same, of course this is nto her Hebrew name.

The name, Easter, is pagan. Since I acquired knowledge on this subject, in reveence to our Lord, I do call that Sunday Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday, and though I have nothing to do with Catholicism, I have taken on the term Holy week for that week.

Paganization began at the time of the Apostles with a sharp turn of the assemblies toward the empire of the time, and the first changing was Hellenization of much of the knowledge then of the faith of Abraham, later, but not much later, the Roman influence began corrupting the orriginal teachings. The apostasy foretold by our Lord, Jesus Christ that is to abound, I believe abounds today, athough it began as far back as the assemblies of the Epistles.

 

[ember]

I have attended many Easter Sundays in church...started very young....and never ever did I have the impression that Easter was other then when Christ came out of the tomb after being dead.

Did I have the easter egg search at home as a kid? You betcha....jelly beans too...and oh my! ham...although a few times goose

When I was a child...but I'm all grown up now and don't look for Easter eggs or try to somehow make it seem that low all these years, I have been celebrating like a pagan, the resurrection of Christ

I don't think we should be trying so hard to scrub Easter out of our calendars as Christians, but rather ask why it is so important to do so?

Interestingly, Paul worked just as tirelessly trying to scrub the Jewish observances out of Christianity

I don't get it

 

[tourist]

Interestingly, Paul worked just as tirelessly trying to scrub the Jewish observances out of Christianity

I don't get it

I don't get it either.

 

[keepitsimple]

There has never been a time in my life where I have celebrated Easter without being aware of and recognizing (and honoring) the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Growing up as a child, I always loved watching the hollywood portrayals of this event and have always been deeply moved by Christ's tremendous measure of love for all of us, as biblically "inaccurate" as most or all them undoubtedly are. And I may well watch one or two of my favorites yet again ... gleaning that which is true spiritual nourishment in Christ ... and paying little heed to that which neither adds nor takes away to or from the gospel message of salvation and the forgiveness of sin freely given us in Christ. The apostle Paul understood what it meant to become all things to all men for the sake of the gospel, ... and nowhere can it be said that he was in error for doing so. Is it ours to think otherwise ? Most people that I have broached this subject with (in my world) have never heard of nor sanctioned the origins of any pagan influence that may or may not be relevant to the truth of this matter. On the contrary, the few that did mention it expressed surprise ... which only proved their innocence. And for this reason, I have never found it necessary (or fruitful) to discuss it further. If Christ and the gospel message is preached, let us allow that to suffice. Only if and when our churches fail to proclaim the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord during Easter weekend will I object ... and loudly. The painted eggs and chocolate bunnies are fodder for the kids. And never once have I associated them with any fertility god of pagan origin. If my loving wife finds it a loving gesture to place a chocolate bunny on my dresser, I will enjoy it in the spirit it was given ... being free in conscience and giving thanks to God in Christ ... fully appreciating His immeasurable love for me ... and for all of us. Having said all of this Marc, you may well be correct in your historical analysis and understanding of the said topic. I have come across similar writings stating much the same as your OP. I would only add that whatever each of us finds worthy to redeem, let it be without judgement of another's intent and heartfelt surety on the matter. (Philippians 1:18) ... What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice


1 Corinthians 9:19-23


[SUP]19 [/SUP]For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

[SUP]20 [/SUP]And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

[SUP]21 [/SUP]To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

[SUP]22 [/SUP]To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

[SUP]23 [/SUP]And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
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Colossians 2:16-17

[SUP]16 [/SUP]Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. [SUP]17 [/SUP]These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
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[JaumeJ]

I do not believe anyone here is sayingyou are pagan or not worshiping the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. However in worhip of our Lord and Salvation, Jesus Christ, it is incumbent upon us all to learn His Word as best we are given in study. Again, the only true lessong for Salvation is the Messiah crucifed for eacho's sins.

To chang following His example, Who was the Passover Lamb, to a different time than celebrated by the firsst believers in Him strictly to suit the agenda of apostetic docriines is not right.

We, who hear Jesus Christ, are well aware He is the Lamb of God for the nations to be joined with the original flock of the Good Shepherd'. We are joined to the faith of Abraham as taught by Jesus Christ.

The eggs do represent the goddess of fertility's avocation, thus once aware of this it became repugnant to me. It is this for me, not for any who believe it is fine with a clear consciencein the sight of God, but this latter is a bit difficult to digest as possible.

God bless all who are in Jesus Chrst, amen.

I have attended many Easter Sundays in church...started very young....and never ever did I have the impression that Easter was other then when Christ came out of the tomb after being dead.

Did I have the easter egg search at home as a kid? You betcha....jelly beans too...and oh my! ham...although a few times goose

When I was a child...but I'm all grown up now and don't look for Easter eggs or try to somehow make it seem that low all these years, I have been celebrating like a pagan, the resurrection of Christ

I don't think we should be trying so hard to scrub Easter out of our calendars as Christians, but rather ask why it is so important to do so?

Interestingly, Paul worked just as tirelessly trying to scrub the Jewish observances out of Christianity

I don't get it

 

[MarcR]

False, it's Ostern, get your facts right, especially with contoversial topics like these.

didymos,

Ostern is the true German form of the name. In Saxon England, The 'O' had dieresis and was fillowed by an 'e' and the plural form 'n' was dropped. My reference to Saxon was not to Saxony; but to Saxon England. But thank your for your helpfulness.

 

[keepitsimple]

The eggs do represent the goddess of fertility's avocation, thus once aware of this it became repugnant to me. It is this for me, not for any who believe it is fine with a clear conscience in the sight of God, but this latter is a bit difficult to digest as possible.

God bless all who are in Jesus Chrst, amen.

If I went to your home on Easter Sunday (or any day) Jaume and you expressed to me that you prepared these eggs in honor of the goddess of fertility, I would refuse to eat them. If I went to another's home and was offered a boiled egg in clear conscience of the giver, neither honoring nor suggesting them to be anything more than egg, I would eat it freely.

 

[kaylagrl]

Easter came into the English Language from the German Oester meaning Goddess of the East.

Commemoration of the Resurrection (which was originally called Pascah) was moved by Constantine fron the Sunday after Passover to 2 Sundays after the Equinox, to coincide with the feast of Ishtar, Astarte-Aphrodite-Venus: a fertility goddess.

I believe that Resurrection Sunday should be called Resurrection Sunday, or Firstfruits; because it should not be associated with eggs, bunnies, or public orgies to honor a fertility goddess!

Of less importance, I believe that it should be observed on the Sunday after Passover, as it will be this year.

I'm not sure of the historic connections.We went through this in the Christmas thread.Some are dead against it,some celebrate it.I never really paid attention to it.Easter was a time we went to church and watched passion plays.When I was old enough I sang in one.But it was never a time for bunnies and the like.I remember a lady at the church sewed pink bunnies and gave them to her Sunday School class for Easter.My father was very angry and thought it was wrong to teach to the kids.I dont know if he ever spoke to her about it.Anyway it was always a very serious time of year and we knew it was about Christs death and not the Easter bunny.

 

[JaumeJ]

Me too, but I thought by the content of my post this would have been Sunderstood. Forgive my not being more specific. God bless you...........

If I went to your home on Easter Sunday (or any day) Jaume and you expressed to me that you prepared these eggs in honor of the goddess of fertility, I would refuse to eat them. If I went to another's home and was offered a boiled egg in clear conscience of the giver, neither honoring nor suggesting them to be anything more than egg, I would eat it freely.

 

[tourist]

 

[Yet]

The Two Babylons is very note worth. A great work. Naturally the enemies of the truth would slam it.

 

[WheresEnoch]

In my own study of these things, I would track down the sources of paganism and the beliefs and traditions of other religions and cultures. Weighing the findings against our own modern day practices. Doing this has been the foundation of my current perspective on these matters, which is this:

There are only two real "gods" in this world, one being the devil (which most people serve) and our Father. The devil, the fallen angels and his henchmen (the various priesthoods, enlightened, and secret societies) have been at work on this earth since the beginning and are responsible for the creation of religion (although their influence is in no way limited to religion) from Babylon and onward. From our Biblical perspective, we believe that all people at one time spoke the same language. Then when God confused all of our languages, the same elements and beliefs existed but they took on many different names.

Now when I study these things I do not focus so much on the specifics(because our knowledge of the specifics can be limited), but instead just look for the recurring themes and concepts which run through everything.

In the case of Easter, you have a number of elements.

The feminine goddesses of "love", fertility, spring, agriculture, motherhood and earth:
Astarte, Ishtar, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Dagan, Venus/Aphrodite, Prende, Astghik, Xochiquetzal, Xochipilli, Qetesh, Aine, Ziva, Parvati, Milda, Ala, Asase, Mbaba, Allat, Al-Uzza, Anahit, Tonacacihuatl, Coatlicue, Chimalma, Laima, Saule, Sowathara, Brigid, Cernunnos, Damara, Damona, Epona, Nantosuelta, Onuava, Rosmerta, Theotokos(Mary Mother of God), the catholic "Saints" (Saint Anne, Saint Rita of Cascia etc) a Heget, Isis, Renenutet, Tefnut, Sobek, Thesan, Turan, Rauni, Nerthus, Freyja, Artemis, Demeter, Gaia, Hera, Rhea, Haumea, Kamapua'a, Lajja Gauri, Manasa, Banka-Mundi, Bhumi, Nikkal, Shaushka, Mama Ocllo, Sara Mama, Pachamama, Anjea, Kamilaroi, Dilga, Kunapipi, Julunggul, Akna, Pukkeenegak, Inari Okami, Kichijoten, Nanshe, Ningal, Sharra Itu, Hanhepi Wi, Lakota, Gefjun, Gedi, Anahita, Bona Dea, Diana, Fecunditas, Feronia, Flora, Ops, Libera, Terra, Beiwe, Rana Nietja, Kostroma, Zeme, Ziva, Ajysyt, Umay, Ayida-weddo, Ioa, Nikkal etc...

The phallic architecture, worship and symbolism:

Asherah poles, Ashtoreth poles, maypoles, obelisks (Egypt, Washington Monument, Saint Peter's Square [Vatican], Greece, Luxor in Paris, Cleopatra's Needle in New York, Buenos Aires Argentina, Lateran[and 12 others] in Rome, Axum in Ethiopa etc), lingga (hinduism), and on and on and on.. Many many examples of this category from all over the world and throughout history.

Eggs, bunnies, sacred cakes, the hunt etc... I'd get more into it but have family plans today.

How I feel about these things is that if they are not in the Bible, they all come from the same place.
As followers of Christ, it is up to us to celebrate what we choose on an individual, family and community level, preferably the things of God . We can determine the meaning of our own celebrations, but let us be careful to keep them from being polluted by the world.

We should not be naive and go along with the masses who by default serve the devil whether they know it or not.
We can not change the world by imposing ourselves on it, but by loving as God told us to love and spreading the knowledge of the truth.

Their is so much pagan influence in the "church", governments, media and their traditions and practices that it can almost be overwhelming once you first start to become aware of it all.

Just remember there is nothing at all to fear for those in Christ, do not allow worry to take hold in you and negatively effect the love of God becoming perfected within us.

 

[oldhermit]

I am concerned with Jesus' teaching that we should be in the World but NOT of the world.

I am concerned that by allowing pagan elements into Christian practice, we give the Church an image of worldliness that tends to compromise our witness.

We have been told to live in the world while keeping ourselves distinct from the world and I am trying to exhort maintaining those distinctions.

I certainly agree with this. Personally, I do not celebrate Easter as a religious holiday. The christianization of paganism is indeed reason for concern. The remembrance of the passion of Christ was to be celebrated every Lord's day and that celebration as described in the NT bears absolutely no resemblance to Easter.

 

[keepitsimple]

I am concerned with Jesus' teaching that we should be in the World but NOT of the world.

I am concerned that by allowing pagan elements into Christian practice, we give the Church an image of worldliness that tends to compromise our witness.

We have been told to live in the world while keeping ourselves distinct from the world and I am trying to exhort maintaining those distinctions.

Understood Marc and I respect your concerns. I suppose what escapes me is how one's witness is compromised when neither one's belief nor heart pays homage to anything pagan related whatsoever in regards to Easter. I believe it incumbent of us to be separate of this world in the matter of our faith in Christ, not partaking in unrighteousness and where our treasure might be. But if the inside of one's cup is clean, is not the outside clean as well ? Much respect to you my friend

 

[MarcR]

I'm not sure of the historic connections.We went through this in the Christmas thread.Some are dead against it,some celebrate it.I never really paid attention to it.Easter was a time we went to church and watched passion plays.When I was old enough I sang in one.But it was never a time for bunnies and the like.I remember a lady at the church sewed pink bunnies and gave them to her Sunday School class for Easter.My father was very angry and thought it was wrong to teach to the kids.I dont know if he ever spoke to her about it.Anyway it was always a very serious time of year and we knew it was about Christs death and not the Easter bunny.

I certainly do NOT oppose commemorating the Lord's resurrection! I oppose linking the Lord's resurrection to the name of a pagan goddess and to fertility rites and symbols.

It is undoubtedly colorful and fun for kids; but it compromises our witness and condones the loose sexual values of our society.

2 Co 6:16-18
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
KJV

 

[Utah]

I certainly do NOT oppose commemorating the Lord's resurrection! I oppose linking the Lord's resurrection to the name of a pagan goddess and to fertility rites and symbols.

It is undoubtedly colorful and fun for kids; but it compromises our witness and condones the loose sexual values of our society.

2 Co 6:16-18
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
KJV

My brother, is it wrong to say that since Christ is Risen, every day is Easter?

 

[Willie-T]

I don't really care.

I just know that Easter and Christmas are the two best opportunities any of us are ever going to have to invite people in America to church, and expect that they might actually come.