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 Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 4:17 pm
I had been asking myself some questions about this quite a bit lately. What does the Easter Bunny and coloring eggs have anything to do with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus?
The answer? Nothing!
It took over 300 years before Christians established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the March Equinox at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. The pagan Easter, however, was celebrated long before Christianity, although the festival went by many names.
In fact the holiday itself is named after a pagan goddess! The ancient Saxons in Northern Europe worshiped the goddess Oestre (Easter in English) at the time of the Spring Equinox. The goddess Easter represents the sunrise, spring-time, the renewal of life and fertility, with the symbol of the latter being a rabbit.
This is where the colored eggs come into play. Pagan Anglo-Saxons made offerings of colored eggs to Easter at the Vernal Equinox. The Vernal Equinox is known as the first day of spring. They also placed these eggs at graves, probably as a charm of rebirth. Egyptians and Greeks were also known to place eggs at gravesites.
What does God have to say about this? Let's turn to His word in the Bible for the answer.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." -Exodus 20:3-6 ESV
"Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips." -Exodus 23:13 ESV
"You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you- for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God- lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth." -Deuteronomy 6:14-15 ESV
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the
world." -1 John 4:1
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:58 pm
Well done maam.
I see that you did you're home work Scripturally, prior to committing to this post.
I also see where you used Scripture from the Book of 1 John 4:1 (K.J.V.),
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
v2 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
v3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
v4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
v5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
v6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
That is the rest of the vital part of that one particular verse.
I thought that it would help convey what you were saying is all.
May God bless you and your's!
You're brother in the family of God!;
Philip
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:03 am
Actually, there's something interesting about Easter that does have Biblical significance -- in a good way. You're drawing its connection to old English Eostre, but there's also Sumerian/Babylonian Ishtar (source of the Biblical name "Esther", herself instrumental in saving the Jews), or Mesopotamian Astarte (possibly Jeremiah's "queen of Heaven"), or Semitic Asherah (whose "poles" were frequently torn down by Israel's more righteous kings).
Hmm ... a pole ... either a phallic symbol or an over-modified tree. Actually, the "tree" idea lends itself more towards a certain winter holiday than towards spring. And any female deity with a phallic symbol is something I'd sooner expect in certain anime.
Anyway, without trying to justify the widdle-kiddy-pop-culture ideas regarding Easter (that is, the crapola that most people quit caring about around the time they hit puberty) ... there can be little doubt that, at least in the Western world, Christ's resurrection has replaced all the nature-worshipping (save in the eyes of these "neo-pagans" and "neo-wiccans" who don't realize their "faith" is manufactured -- and they prefer a solstice anyway).
Esther tried to save her people. Jeremiah lamented a "Queen of Heaven". The more righteous kings of Israel tore down the Asherah poles, the holy sites for this "goddess" ... but they kept coming back. Now, every year, we are reminded that Jesus, the ultimate righteous King of the Jews, was hung on such a pole (with a crossbeam), and that couldn't stop Him. There is no "Queen of Heaven", but only His Kingdom, and He is the ultimate savior of the Jews -- and of us all.
Interesting symbolism, I think. Yeah, I see plenty to like in Easter.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:51 pm
Dragonbait Actually, there's something interesting about Easter that does have Biblical significance -- in a good way. You're drawing its connection to old English Eostre, but there's also Sumerian/Babylonian Ishtar (source of the Biblical name "Esther", herself instrumental in saving the Jews), or Mesopotamian Astarte (possibly Jeremiah's "queen of Heaven"), or Semitic Asherah (whose "poles" were frequently torn down by Israel's more righteous kings). Hmm ... a pole ... either a phallic symbol or an over-modified tree. Actually, the "tree" idea lends itself more towards a certain winter holiday than towards spring. And any female deity with a phallic symbol is something I'd sooner expect in certain anime. Anyway, without trying to justify the widdle-kiddy-pop-culture ideas regarding Easter (that is, the crapola that most people quit caring about around the time they hit puberty) ... there can be little doubt that, at least in the Western world, Christ's resurrection has replaced all the nature-worshipping (save in the eyes of these "neo-pagans" and "neo-wiccans" who don't realize their "faith" is manufactured -- and they prefer a solstice anyway). Esther tried to save her people. Jeremiah lamented a "Queen of Heaven". The more righteous kings of Israel tore down the Asherah poles, the holy sites for this "goddess" ... but they kept coming back. Now, every year, we are reminded that Jesus, the ultimate righteous King of the Jews, was hung on such a pole (with a crossbeam), and that couldn't stop Him. There is no "Queen of Heaven", but only His Kingdom, and He is the ultimate savior of the Jews -- and of us all. Interesting symbolism, I think. Yeah, I see plenty to like in Easter. A very interesting point of view that you have here, though I see no Biblical Scriptuaral references to you're point. I also see by you're award avatar name as 'Elder' that you maybe Morman? Not knocking the Morman point of view on things, have always found it too be interesting that the Morman bible has more books to it than the Christian King James Version of The Holy Bible which has only 66 Books in it per Constantine who originated the first print of the K.J.V. of The Holy Bible. Like I said, not knocking 'Mormans' they will love the world out of you if you let them in you're doorway or attend a worship service, much like the Southern Baptist do. I was wondering though if you could back you're thoughts with Scripture for a better understanding of said thoughts? God bless you and your's always. You're brother in our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer Christ Jesus!, Philip the Hawk
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:22 am
*Falls over laughing.* Mormon? Me? No, no ... that's "elder" in the original sense of "one who is old or experienced", not "barely-out-of-high-school kid" (though pretty much all males qualify as "elder" in their priesthoods).
(Minor note: the Mormons use the King James Bible. What has "more books" is their "Book of Mormon", which they consider to be better than the Bible (the Bible contains the word of God "as far as it is translated correctly", and the BoM also contains the word of God with no such qualifier -- according to their articles of faith). They also use "Doctrine and Covenants" (collections of Smith's so-called prophecies and preachings) and "Pearl of Great Price", which claims to be ancient work, but neither of those have near the publicity of the first two -- and they can be hard to get.)
(Also, Constantine didn't start the first print of the King James Version. Constantine died a millenium before that form of the English language existed. No, 'twas King James who started that; hence the name. And even so, the Protestant Bible has only 66 books, but the Catholics add the Apocrypha, and the Greek Orthodox have a few add-ons as well ... and I think even the Ethiopian church adds a few.)
As for verses ... well, I didn't give any just because I thought a lot of the stuff would be obvious, frankly. But, as you wish.
First of all, non-Biblically: Eostre, Ishtar, Asherah, and Astarte are all pretty much the same thing. One goddess, worshipped in a variety of forms; the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess. Obviously, the power behind them is the same: Satan, the master of the false idols.
Comments on Esther: the Book of Esther. (There. That was pretty easy). Esther and Mordecai were assimilated Jews. According to some sources, "Mordecai" is a variant of "Marduk", and "Esther" derives from "Ishtar" -- Marduk and Ishtar being a pair of gods from the Persian area. I hasten to point out, though ... if Mordecai has another name, I don't see it, but Esther's real name is Hadassah. (Esther 2:7) That is, her Jewish name was Hadassah, and her Persian name was Esther (much like Saul's Roman name was Paul).
Jeremiah and the Queen of Heaven: Jeremiah 7:18, though there's a few more mentions in chapter 44.
The Asherah poles: Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 7:5, Judges 6, 1 Kings 15:13, 2 Kings 18:14, 2 Kings 23:6-7, etc.
Now, the side of Christ ... do I really need to do this? Jesus as savior (Acts 5:31); will anyone here dispute? Jesus as King of the Jews (also in Acts 5:31); will anyone argue? Jesus as the one who was hanged on a tree (Acts 5:30 and Galatians 3:13), but who rose from the dead afterwards; will anyone question? Jesus as the conqueror (Romans 16:20); can anyone doubt?
I admit, some of my conclusions and ideas aren't found in Holy Writ. Some I gathered from other sources, and some are my own thoughts. I'm certainly not saying, for example, that our Lord's cross was stamped "Property of Asherah. If found, return to ... " or anything like that; I'm just saying that symbolic connections can be seen. And symbolically, aside from the Resurrection (if we could, purely for sake of argument, lay aside that most miraculous of events), there's a lot of interesting ways in Christ's power is made apparent in Easter.
But, shame on me, I'm forgetting the historical accuracy! The Resurrection was three days after Jesus's death, shortly after his triumphal entry to Jerusalem at the Passover ... and the Passover was in early spring. So celebrating the Resurrection around that time makes perfect sense, even today.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 11:30 am
Dragonbait *Falls over laughing.* Mormon? Me? No, no ... that's "elder" in the original sense of "one who is old or experienced", not "barely-out-of-high-school kid" (though pretty much all males qualify as "elder" in their priesthoods). (Minor note: the Mormons use the King James Bible. What has "more books" is their "Book of Mormon", which they consider to be better than the Bible (the Bible contains the word of God "as far as it is translated correctly", and the BoM also contains the word of God with no such qualifier -- according to their articles of faith). They also use "Doctrine and Covenants" (collections of Smith's so-called prophecies and preachings) and "Pearl of Great Price", which claims to be ancient work, but neither of those have near the publicity of the first two -- and they can be hard to get.) (Also, Constantine didn't start the first print of the King James Version. Constantine died a millenium before that form of the English language existed. No, 'twas King James who started that; hence the name. And even so, the Protestant Bible has only 66 books, but the Catholics add the Apocrypha, and the Greek Orthodox have a few add-ons as well ... and I think even the Ethiopian church adds a few.) As for verses ... well, I didn't give any just because I thought a lot of the stuff would be obvious, frankly. But, as you wish. First of all, non-Biblically: Eostre, Ishtar, Asherah, and Astarte are all pretty much the same thing. One goddess, worshipped in a variety of forms; the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess. Obviously, the power behind them is the same: Satan, the master of the false idols. Comments on Esther: the Book of Esther. (There. That was pretty easy). Esther and Mordecai were assimilated Jews. According to some sources, "Mordecai" is a variant of "Marduk", and "Esther" derives from "Ishtar" -- Marduk and Ishtar being a pair of gods from the Persian area. I hasten to point out, though ... if Mordecai has another name, I don't see it, but Esther's real name is Hadassah. (Esther 2:7) That is, her Jewish name was Hadassah, and her Persian name was Esther (much like Saul's Roman name was Paul). Jeremiah and the Queen of Heaven: Jeremiah 7:18, though there's a few more mentions in chapter 44. The Asherah poles: Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 7:5, Judges 6, 1 Kings 15:13, 2 Kings 18:14, 2 Kings 23:6-7, etc. Now, the side of Christ ... do I really need to do this? Jesus as savior (Acts 5:31); will anyone here dispute? Jesus as King of the Jews (also in Acts 5:31); will anyone argue? Jesus as the one who was hanged on a tree (Acts 5:30 and Galatians 3:13), but who rose from the dead afterwards; will anyone question? Jesus as the conqueror (Romans 16:20); can anyone doubt? I admit, some of my conclusions and ideas aren't found in Holy Writ. Some I gathered from other sources, and some are my own thoughts. I'm certainly not saying, for example, that our Lord's cross was stamped "Property of Asherah. If found, return to ... " or anything like that; I'm just saying that symbolic connections can be seen. And symbolically, aside from the Resurrection (if we could, purely for sake of argument, lay aside that most miraculous of events), there's a lot of interesting ways in Christ's power is made apparent in Easter. But, shame on me, I'm forgetting the historical accuracy! The Resurrection was three days after Jesus's death, shortly after his triumphal entry to Jerusalem at the Passover ... and the Passover was in early spring. So celebrating the Resurrection around that time makes perfect sense, even today. I agree with you on the point that celebrating the Resurrection around the time of Passover is accurate. I was simply questioning why we included the Easter Bunny and coloring eggs, why we have adopted pagan symbols and associated them with a Christian holiday, why we have incorporated Satan into the Holy name of Jesus! It all just seems a bit wrong to me. Corinne
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:12 pm
Oh, that. Just the same incorporating of local pagan celebrations that the Roman Catholic church used when trying to introduce Christianity to various cultures. Same thing as happened with Christmas, to a certain extent -- the difference is, Easter has somehow managed to keep its overall religious theme (except for, as I mentioned, the child's-play elements), while Christmas has been secularized and commercialized.
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