How religious is the bunny?
I know about Good Friday being the day of Jesus being crucified. I also know Easter being the day He has risen. However, is Easter truly a holiday? I ask because of recently reading a shared status of what paganism and Easter have in common. It made me think (which as people know, can be dangerous) In the interest of full disclosure, most know I am a Sunday School teacher with the United Methodist Church. I am also a cub scout leader with the Methodist church being our charter organization. On to our thought provoking blog (hopefully)
It seems to be universally recognized that Jesus of Nazareth was born on December 25. Born from a virgin, a teacher, and ordered to death by Pontius Pilate. However, upon reading more, that may be a little off also. Apparently the western civilized christian celebrated on 12/15 and the eastern christian felt Jan 6 was the birthday. Irregardless of the date, it eventually was immortalized as 12/25. Our culture today, secular and non secular recognizes that day as the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph and Mary, messiah and prophet of God, now known as Jesus Christ, so named by Paul the Apostle.
Easter though, changes date. No set time. Historians such as Isaac Newton (hey, that gravity guy) placed Friday, April 3, 34 AD/CE as the date. In 1990, astronomer Bradley E Schaefer computed the date as Friday, April 3, 33 AD/CE and astronomer John Pratt verified the 33 AD/CE year as correct. That would put April 6 as the resurrection date, no? You would think we follow a standard set with Christmas. No, we use a moveable date as the first Sunday after the full moon, as established by the First Council of Nicaea.
Easter celebrates the rebirth of Jesus, much as spring celebrates the re-birth of life. The eggs surrounding the holiday celebrate rebirth, though the rebirth is more a paganistic ritual that christians borrowed from. Even the name isn't christian. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre. http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm
Gerald L. Berry, author of "Religions of the World," wrote:
Does the following sound familiar?—Spring is in the air! Flowers and bunnies decorate the home. Father helps the children paint beautiful designs on eggs dyed in various colors. These eggs, which will later be hidden and searched for, are placed into lovely, seasonal baskets. The wonderful aroma of the hot cross buns mother is baking in the oven waft through the house. Forty days of abstaining from special foods will finally end the next day. The whole family picks out their Sunday best to wear to the next morning’s sunrise worship service to celebrate the savior’s resurrection and the renewal of life. Everyone looks forward to a succulent ham with all the trimmings. It will be a thrilling day. After all, it is one of the most important religious holidays of the year.
Easter, right? No! This is a description of an ancient Babylonian family—2,000 years before Christ—honoring the resurrection of their god, Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother/wife, Ishtar (after whom the festival was named). As Ishtar was actually pronounced “Easter” in most Semitic dialects, it could be said that the event portrayed here is, in a sense, Easter
If Easter is not found in the Bible, then where did it come from? The vast majority of ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that the name of Easter and the traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted in pagan religion.
So, we have eggs and bunny, a pagan fertility idea. We have the name coming 2000 before Jesus with ancient Babylon. Instead of a stationary day, we use a moveable day setup by a full moon and Spring Equinox.
Even christian scholars agree http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html
The name “Easter” has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions (paganism). On this, all scholars agree. This name is never used in the original Scriptures, nor is it ever associated biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Even the traditional feast has no true christian roots. http://www.remnantofgod.org/easter.htm
Easter ham at Easter is also popular among Americans and Europeans because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian European culture" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, "Easter".)
The pig was sacred to the Greek goddess Demeter, the corn goddess, who represented fertility and abundance, and is another counterpart of Astarte. In various depictions of her, she is either shown carrying, or being accompanied by a pig. So, pigs were regularly sacrificed to her, and it was believed, that by eating what they felt, represented and embodied their goddess, they were in fact, eating of her body. The prophet Isaiah warned of this in Isaiah 65:3-5. Another source says that the pig represents the wild boar that killed Tammuz, and eating ham was done in remembrance of him.
The tradition of the Easter Ham evolved from an English tradition of eating a gammon of bacon to show their resentment and contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork.
HOT CROSS BUNS: The history of the hot cross bun goes back to the Babylonian queen of heaven (Ishtar), and a reference to it is made in Jeremiah 7:18, which talks about making "cakes to the queen of heaven." The Hebrew word for "cakes" is "kavvan" and is more properly translated as "buns."
At Athens, about 1500 years before Christ, these buns or sacred bread, were used in the worship of the goddess. They were called "boun." Egyptians made buns inscribed with two horns in honor of the moon goddess, and the Greeks changed it to a cross, so it could be easily separated. The Angle-Saxons made buns with a cross on them in honor of their goddess of light
Ahhh, the tradition of the sunrise service. I know our church does one in Greenville. The ceremonious rising of the sun synonamous with Jesus rising from the dead.
SUNRISE SERVICE: – This too, was an aspect of old pagan customs associated with sun worship. Though the custom no longer celebrates the rising of the sun among Christians, God does condemn the type of service from which it was derived (Ezek. 8:16). Many years after Christ’s death, the Catholic church began to associate the tradition with Christ’s supposed early morning resurrection in an apparent effort to compromise with their new converts’ previously held religious traditions. Yet, when the ladies came to Christ’s tomb early Sunday morning, He wasn’t there!
The Jews during the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel had blended sun worship with the worship of God, as we can see in the Scriptural references in regard to the "queen of heaven." Ezekiel 8:15-16 talks about men standing with their backs to the Temple of God, facing the east and worshipping the sun. Albert Pike wrote that all pagan religions worshipped the sun. Whether they knew it, or not, they were actually worshiping Satan, because, as an angel, he was known as Lucifer, or the "bearer of light." The Jewish Temple faced the east, so that when they worshipped God, they would be turned away from the rising sun in the east.
The sunrise service actually stems from the pagan rite of Spring that was held during the vernal equinox to welcome the coming sun. According to pagan tradition, when the sun would rise on Easter morning, it would dance in the heavens, so, those who would congregate, would dance in honor of the sun
Ok ok,you can't take all this away... what about Easter lilies? We refer to http://rightdivision.com/pagan-origins-easter
Easter Lilies: "The so-called 'Easter lily' has long been revered by pagans of various lands as a holy symbol associated with the reproductive organs.
Again, people will believe what they want to believe. Though it is definately an eye opener. Perhaps, more of an eye opener is how the various religions overlap and copy each other
It seems to be universally recognized that Jesus of Nazareth was born on December 25. Born from a virgin, a teacher, and ordered to death by Pontius Pilate. However, upon reading more, that may be a little off also. Apparently the western civilized christian celebrated on 12/15 and the eastern christian felt Jan 6 was the birthday. Irregardless of the date, it eventually was immortalized as 12/25. Our culture today, secular and non secular recognizes that day as the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph and Mary, messiah and prophet of God, now known as Jesus Christ, so named by Paul the Apostle.
Easter though, changes date. No set time. Historians such as Isaac Newton (hey, that gravity guy) placed Friday, April 3, 34 AD/CE as the date. In 1990, astronomer Bradley E Schaefer computed the date as Friday, April 3, 33 AD/CE and astronomer John Pratt verified the 33 AD/CE year as correct. That would put April 6 as the resurrection date, no? You would think we follow a standard set with Christmas. No, we use a moveable date as the first Sunday after the full moon, as established by the First Council of Nicaea.
Easter celebrates the rebirth of Jesus, much as spring celebrates the re-birth of life. The eggs surrounding the holiday celebrate rebirth, though the rebirth is more a paganistic ritual that christians borrowed from. Even the name isn't christian. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre. http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm
Gerald L. Berry, author of "Religions of the World," wrote:
"About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." 3Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians:
"... used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."From http://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html
Does the following sound familiar?—Spring is in the air! Flowers and bunnies decorate the home. Father helps the children paint beautiful designs on eggs dyed in various colors. These eggs, which will later be hidden and searched for, are placed into lovely, seasonal baskets. The wonderful aroma of the hot cross buns mother is baking in the oven waft through the house. Forty days of abstaining from special foods will finally end the next day. The whole family picks out their Sunday best to wear to the next morning’s sunrise worship service to celebrate the savior’s resurrection and the renewal of life. Everyone looks forward to a succulent ham with all the trimmings. It will be a thrilling day. After all, it is one of the most important religious holidays of the year.
Easter, right? No! This is a description of an ancient Babylonian family—2,000 years before Christ—honoring the resurrection of their god, Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother/wife, Ishtar (after whom the festival was named). As Ishtar was actually pronounced “Easter” in most Semitic dialects, it could be said that the event portrayed here is, in a sense, Easter
If Easter is not found in the Bible, then where did it come from? The vast majority of ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that the name of Easter and the traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted in pagan religion.
So, we have eggs and bunny, a pagan fertility idea. We have the name coming 2000 before Jesus with ancient Babylon. Instead of a stationary day, we use a moveable day setup by a full moon and Spring Equinox.
Even christian scholars agree http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html
The name “Easter” has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions (paganism). On this, all scholars agree. This name is never used in the original Scriptures, nor is it ever associated biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Even the traditional feast has no true christian roots. http://www.remnantofgod.org/easter.htm
Easter ham at Easter is also popular among Americans and Europeans because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian European culture" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, "Easter".)
The pig was sacred to the Greek goddess Demeter, the corn goddess, who represented fertility and abundance, and is another counterpart of Astarte. In various depictions of her, she is either shown carrying, or being accompanied by a pig. So, pigs were regularly sacrificed to her, and it was believed, that by eating what they felt, represented and embodied their goddess, they were in fact, eating of her body. The prophet Isaiah warned of this in Isaiah 65:3-5. Another source says that the pig represents the wild boar that killed Tammuz, and eating ham was done in remembrance of him.
The tradition of the Easter Ham evolved from an English tradition of eating a gammon of bacon to show their resentment and contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork.
HOT CROSS BUNS: The history of the hot cross bun goes back to the Babylonian queen of heaven (Ishtar), and a reference to it is made in Jeremiah 7:18, which talks about making "cakes to the queen of heaven." The Hebrew word for "cakes" is "kavvan" and is more properly translated as "buns."
At Athens, about 1500 years before Christ, these buns or sacred bread, were used in the worship of the goddess. They were called "boun." Egyptians made buns inscribed with two horns in honor of the moon goddess, and the Greeks changed it to a cross, so it could be easily separated. The Angle-Saxons made buns with a cross on them in honor of their goddess of light
Ahhh, the tradition of the sunrise service. I know our church does one in Greenville. The ceremonious rising of the sun synonamous with Jesus rising from the dead.
SUNRISE SERVICE: – This too, was an aspect of old pagan customs associated with sun worship. Though the custom no longer celebrates the rising of the sun among Christians, God does condemn the type of service from which it was derived (Ezek. 8:16). Many years after Christ’s death, the Catholic church began to associate the tradition with Christ’s supposed early morning resurrection in an apparent effort to compromise with their new converts’ previously held religious traditions. Yet, when the ladies came to Christ’s tomb early Sunday morning, He wasn’t there!
The Jews during the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel had blended sun worship with the worship of God, as we can see in the Scriptural references in regard to the "queen of heaven." Ezekiel 8:15-16 talks about men standing with their backs to the Temple of God, facing the east and worshipping the sun. Albert Pike wrote that all pagan religions worshipped the sun. Whether they knew it, or not, they were actually worshiping Satan, because, as an angel, he was known as Lucifer, or the "bearer of light." The Jewish Temple faced the east, so that when they worshipped God, they would be turned away from the rising sun in the east.
The sunrise service actually stems from the pagan rite of Spring that was held during the vernal equinox to welcome the coming sun. According to pagan tradition, when the sun would rise on Easter morning, it would dance in the heavens, so, those who would congregate, would dance in honor of the sun
Ok ok,you can't take all this away... what about Easter lilies? We refer to http://rightdivision.com/pagan-origins-easter
Easter Lilies: "The so-called 'Easter lily' has long been revered by pagans of various lands as a holy symbol associated with the reproductive organs.
Again, people will believe what they want to believe. Though it is definately an eye opener. Perhaps, more of an eye opener is how the various religions overlap and copy each other
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