Easter: Celebration or Pagan? (Gospel, messages, church, believe)

[Marks]

Easter: Celebration or Pagan? great article here

[thefer]

Just a few facts about Easter this year
I thought was neat!


Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

If you didn't know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Very interesting thefer. I knew about the full moon, but not about the rest.

[dojilynn]

Originally Posted by thefer

Just a few facts about Easter this year
I thought was neat!


Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

If you didn't know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year

That's good to know. My dad is in charge of our Easter production at our church, and this year has been very difficult because of the lack of time to get it prepared. He will be happy to learn that he won't have another year as rushed as this one.

[Alpha8207]

Originally Posted by Marks

Easter: Celebration or Pagan? great article here

I consider this to be much the same as Christmas.

It can be either or.

Is the computer and internet sinful or a tool to further the kingdom?

Is television a tool that can be used to further spread the gospel or a vile box of filth?

It all depends on what you choose to do with it.

Easter for me is anything but pagan. I celebrate and dwell on the risen Savior and worship Him by focusing on Him. We use it to spend time with family, talk about the blessings of life and togetherness, and joy in the excitement and wonder of everyone of every age. In short, it's all about Jesus and family. Love God--Love People.

So if you can't celebrate Easter without making it a pagan festival, by all means stay far from it. But if you choose to dedicate and worship and focus on Christ on ANY day, it's anything but pagan. That goes from an average
Monday, to Easter, to Halloween, to Christmas.

Who and what we are in Christ is determined by our motivations and the heart of the matter. If Christ is your focus, that ain't pagan. If He's not, then virtually any celebration could be considered pagan.

Marks, why do you come onto the internet when it's used to spread blasphemy, evil, pornography and filth?

I hope it's to be a light in a dark place, yes?

Why is Easter or Christmas any different?

Make everyday a day dedicated to Him.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by thefer

Just a few facts about Easter this year
I thought was neat!


Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

If you didn't know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year

How interesting. I've discussed this with several people lately and no one could figure out why Easter is always on a different date - and so early this year.

[TravisW]

So, because the English mistranslated Pasche, it's bad to celebrate Easter? Maybe I'm just missing the point of that article.

If Easter is bad due to nomenclature, then so are Sunday through Saturday.

[Alpha8207]

Originally Posted by TravisW

If Easter is bad due to nomenclature, then so are Sunday through Saturday.

Excellent points!

Maybe we should protest every day of the week.....

but....er....what day would we do that on?

[Blueberry]

Alpha pretty much expressed my thoughts on this issue. While I think the church is missing out on many blessings by not studying about and/or observing the Biblically ordained holy days, I'm far from convinced the seven God-ordained observances are the only ones we can celebrate. Most Bible scholars believe Jesus celebrated Hanukkah (John 10:22-24), and the Jewish people have celebrated Purim ever since the defeat of Hamaan. (Esther 9) Both are feasts ordained by man rather than God.

I think the principle of meat sacrificed to idols is appropriate for this discussion:

28 But if anyone says to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;

29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?

30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?

31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (I Corinthians 10:28-31)

The above verses obviously deal with freedom of conscience. If our consciences are clear, and if we are doing things to the glory of God, then we have freedom to do even some things that may appear offensive to others. Reading the entire chapter, it's also clear that there are times we should abstain from exercising our freedom if it means we might cause a brother to stumble. However, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone in this day and age that would be offended by my celebration of either Christmas or Easter. This seems to be a case of extreme legalism.

Romans 14 also addresses this issue:

5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. . . .

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

I believe there's room to extend grace to others. There are obviously some gray areas where freedom is granted to individuals to choose some issues for themselves. The chapters I used for my argument are the same chapters others will use to limit individual freedom. Who is right? It's my contention that both sides are!

God will convict some in a certain area while not demanding the same action of others. For example, consider the case of the rich young man/ruler. Jesus told him to sell all his positions, yet others of Jesus' followers were allowed to keep their wealth. Also, Ananias and Sapphira were told they had the freedom to keep their property and money, but they instead chose to deceive the disciples.

If God convicts us to abstain from holidays like Christmas or Easter, then we should obey. However, we should also recognize that this is an area of individual freedom and not everyone will share our convictions, nor do they need to. The important thing is to be convinced in our own minds what God is calling us (not our neighbor) to do.

Furthermore, if we were to toss out everything that's every had a pagan connection to it, we would have to withdraw from society. Non-Christians rightfully ridicule Christians for going overboard on some issues. They accuse us of not allowing any fun to enter into our lives. Really, can you show me a verse in the Bible that says coloring eggs or carving pumpkins is wrong? Are we forbidden to ever have fun with eggs because they are sometimes used in fertility rites? (I imagine everything has been abused at some point in history.) It's wrong to play hide and seek with eggs, but it's OK for Jewish people to hide a piece of bread during the Passover celebration? Is it wrong to worship Jesus early in the morning just because pagans happen to be worshipping the sun at the same time? The Bible even commands us to sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, but I know of Christians who won't allow any kind of musical instruments or singing in the church because that is considered secular entertainment.

There are so many ways to praise and worship God. There are a gazillion unique and interesting ways to present the gospel and teach Biblical messages. (I'll admit that not all of them are "inspired.") Let's be careful that in our desire to uphold the righteous precepts of God's Word that we're not quenching the Spirit by forbidding something that's not expressly condemned in the Bible. Let's not make the mistake of calling good evil. Let's not accuse sincere Christians of worshipping Satan like the Pharisees accused Jesus of working for Beelzebub. Let's look at the fruit before judging the tree. Most importantly, let's extend the grace to others that we'd like to have extended to ourselves.