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Re: The True Origin of Easter

Posted by Evelyn on 7/24/2006, 11:29 pm, in reply to "The True Origin of Easter"
69.121.32.214

so why celebrate on the same day as ishtar the first full moon after the equinox...same date.WHY not another day? im learning their is no such thing as coincidences...
--Previous Message--
: Dear Readers:
: This is the time of year when we
: Catholics begin to hear nonsense
: from anti-Catholics about Easter
: being a pagan holiday. A few hours
: ago an anonymous visitor posted some
: of this balderdash on this very
: forum, in an obvious attempt to
: undermine your Catholic Faith,
: gentle visitors. (He or she didn't
: even post an email address, which is
: rather cowardly, IMHO).
:
: Since that is an abuse of this
: forum, My wife removed the posts
: (also to conserve space, since the
: board is quickly reaching its limit
: of 300 messages). But I don't want
: to leave their claims unanswered, so
: I will refute some general charges:
: These anti-Catholics make a big deal
: out of the possible derivation of
: the term "Easter" from
: "Eostra" (or Ostara), a
: Germanic goddess of whom we know
: almost nothing because her worship
: was crushed centuries ago when
: Christians converted all the
: Germanic tribes to Christ! Though
: many philologists accept that
: etymology, others say
: "Easter" comes from the
: word "east", referring to
: the the rising of the sun, which is
: a metaphor for the resurrection of
: Messiah (see Malachi 4:2). Still
: others say it derived from a word
: meaning "white", since
: early Christian converts would wear
: white during Easter Week
:
: (My wife covers all this in her
: article "Are Christmas and
: Easter Pagan?" on her website,
: see
: http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/pagan8.html
: . That will be the final link below
: in this post).
:
: Some anti-Catholics will claim
: "Easter" derives from
: "Ishtar", a Middle Eastern
: goddess. This is plain wrong; the
: term "Easter" did not
: originate in the Middle East; it is
: definitely of northern European
: origin.
:
: In fact, Middle Eastern and
: Byzantine Christians don't call the
: Feast of Jesus' resurrection
: "Easter". They use the
: Greek term "Pascha", a
: transliteration of the Hebrew word
: "Pesach", or Passover!
: Why? Because this holiday was
: originally derived from the Jewish
: feast of Passover - NOT FROM
: PAGANISM!!!
:
: "Pascha" is also the Latin
: name of this feast, and all the
: Romance languages reflect that: the
: Italian "Pasqua", the
: French "Paques" and the
: Spanish "Pascua" each
: derive from the Latin
: "Pascha", and ultimately
: from the Hebrew "Pesach".
:
: So large portions of the Christian
: world have traditionally referred to
: the Feast of Jesus' Resurrection as
: "Passover"! Only
: Christians who speak Germanic
: tongues use a name possibly derived
: from Eostra ("Easter" in
: English, "Ostern" in
: German). Until the Gospel came to
: Northern Europe, this feast was
: called by a name which was Jewish,
: not pagan, in origin!
:
: The "Easter =
: Eostra/Ishtar" theory fails to
: take these facts into account, and
: is therefore unreliable. It is yet
: another example of the arrogance of
: English-speaking people assuming
: that the whole world speaks English!
:
: Pascha/Easter is a Christian
: holiday; not a pagan one. It was
: originally derived from the Jewish
: Passover, a feast ordained by God
: Himself. Though pagans had their
: own celebrations at the beginning of
: Spring, the commemoration of Our
: Lord's Resurrection replaced them as
: surely as Christianity replaced
: heathenism. We don't even know all
: that much about the pagan Ostern, so
: thoroughly was it replaced by
: Pascha/Easter!
:
: Yes, some elements from
: non-Christian cultures were
: eventually incorporated into
: Pascha/Easter (such as eggs and
: rabbits), but they took on a new
: Christian meaning. As long as the
: idolatrous worship of pagan deities
: is crushed, there is nothing wrong
: with "baptizing" harmless
: human customs and using them for the
: glory of the true God!
:
: After all, we translate the Holy
: Scriptures into other languages. If
: we are so paranoid over pagan
: influences why translate the Bible
: into Pagan English? The English
: word "God" originally
: referred to pagan deities, so how
: dare we use it to refer to YHWH?!
: If we want to be "pure" of
: pagan influences why doesn't
: everybody just start speaking
: "Biblical" Hebrew? (which,
: BTW also has "pagan"
: Chaldean linguistic influcences!
: I'm sorry you Fundamentalist purists
: out there, but you just can't escape
: it.)
:
: Ancient Judaism had elements in
: common with the pagan religions
: which surrounded them. For
: instance, in numerous places the Old
: Testament depicts YHWH riding on the
: clouds (Psalm 68:5, 34; 104:3;
: Isaiah 19:1). Did you know that
: this was actually a common portrayal
: of the pagan god *Baal*? In fact,
: one of Baal's titles was "Rider
: on the Clouds"! The true God
: YHWH and the false idol Baal are
: rivals in Scripture (see I Kings
: 18), so this was perhaps an attempt
: to "supplant" Baal; the
: sacred writers were saying
: "YHWH is the real Rider on the
: Clouds"!
:
: So what are we gonna do now; purge
: those passages from the Word of God
: because of "pagan
: influence"? Come on, how far
: are you going to take this absurd
: attempt to create a "pure"
: Christianity, 100% free of all
: elements derived from formerly pagan
: cultures?
:
: One last point: A lot of this
: "pagan origins of Easter"
: nonsense comes from a book called
: _The Two Babylons_, by the
: "Rev. Alexander Hislop".
: People foolish enough to read that
: work should know a few interesting
: facts:
: 1. Ralph Woodrow, author of
: _Babylon Mystery Religion_ has
: turned against Hislop and written a
: book called _The Babylon
: Connection?_, refuting his former
: book, which was derived from
: Hislop's crazy ideas.
:
: 2. Anyone who has actually read
: _The Two Babylons_ very closely can
: tell that the author does not
: believe in the Trinity. For
: instance, at one point Hislop
: denounces "the idolatrous
: worship of the Holy Spirit under the
: form of a dove". How can any
: worship of the Holy Spirit be
: "idolatrous"? The Spirit
: Himself took the form of a Dove at
: the Baptism of Jesus; if we were
: present there would it have been
: idolatrous to worship that Heavenly
: Dove? Of course not! When we
: depict the Holy Ghost as a dove in
: art we are not worshipping a bird,
: but the Third Person of the Trinity.
:
: Thus I ask you, why should any
: Bible-believing Christian take the
: words of an obvious Unitarian
: infidel (Hislop) over the words of
: the Church which defended the
: Trinity to the death in 325 AD at
: the Council of Nicea?
:
: YOurs in Yeshua and Miriam,
: James
:
:
:

Message Thread:

The True Origin of Easter - James 4/9/2001, 11:59 pm
- Re: The True Origin of Easter - Evelyn 7/24/2006, 11:29 pm
- My turn now... :-) - Moderator 4/18/2001, 1:15 pm
- My turn now... (Part 2) - Moderator 4/18/2001, 1:13 pm
- My turn now... (Part 3) - Moderator 4/18/2001, 1:12 pm
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--Previous Message-- : so why celebrate on the same day as : ishtar the first full moon after the : equinox...same date.WHY not another : day? im learning their is no such : thing as coincidences... : --Previous Message-- : Dear Readers: : This is the time of year when we : Catholics begin to hear nonsense : from anti-Catholics about Easter : being a pagan holiday. A few hours : ago an anonymous visitor posted some : of this balderdash on this very : forum, in an obvious attempt to : undermine your Catholic Faith, : gentle visitors. (He or she didn't : even post an email address, which is : rather cowardly, IMHO). : : Since that is an abuse of this : forum, My wife removed the posts : (also to conserve space, since the : board is quickly reaching its limit : of 300 messages). But I don't want : to leave their claims unanswered, so : I will refute some general charges: : These anti-Catholics make a big deal : out of the possible derivation of : the term "Easter" from : "Eostra" (or Ostara), a : Germanic goddess of whom we know : almost nothing because her worship : was crushed centuries ago when : Christians converted all the : Germanic tribes to Christ! Though : many philologists accept that : etymology, others say : "Easter" comes from the : word "east", referring to : the the rising of the sun, which is : a metaphor for the resurrection of : Messiah (see Malachi 4:2). Still : others say it derived from a word : meaning "white", since : early Christian converts would wear : white during Easter Week : : (My wife covers all this in her : article "Are Christmas and : Easter Pagan?" on her website, : see : : http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/pagan8.html : . That will be the final link below : in this post). : : Some anti-Catholics will claim : "Easter" derives from : "Ishtar", a Middle Eastern : goddess. This is plain wrong; the : term "Easter" did not : originate in the Middle East; it is : definitely of northern European : origin. : : In fact, Middle Eastern and : Byzantine Christians don't call the : Feast of Jesus' resurrection : "Easter". They use the : Greek term "Pascha", a : transliteration of the Hebrew word : "Pesach", or Passover! : Why? Because this holiday was : originally derived from the Jewish : feast of Passover - NOT FROM : PAGANISM!!! : : "Pascha" is also the Latin : name of this feast, and all the : Romance languages reflect that: the : Italian "Pasqua", the : French "Paques" and the : Spanish "Pascua" each : derive from the Latin : "Pascha", and ultimately : from the Hebrew "Pesach". : : So large portions of the Christian : world have traditionally referred to : the Feast of Jesus' Resurrection as : "Passover"! Only : Christians who speak Germanic : tongues use a name possibly derived : from Eostra ("Easter" in : English, "Ostern" in : German). Until the Gospel came to : Northern Europe, this feast was : called by a name which was Jewish, : not pagan, in origin! : : The "Easter = : Eostra/Ishtar" theory fails to : take these facts into account, and : is therefore unreliable. It is yet : another example of the arrogance of : English-speaking people assuming : that the whole world speaks English! : : Pascha/Easter is a Christian : holiday; not a pagan one. It was : originally derived from the Jewish : Passover, a feast ordained by God : Himself. Though pagans had their : own celebrations at the beginning of : Spring, the commemoration of Our : Lord's Resurrection replaced them as : surely as Christianity replaced : heathenism. We don't even know all : that much about the pagan Ostern, so : thoroughly was it replaced by : Pascha/Easter! : : Yes, some elements from : non-Christian cultures were : eventually incorporated into : Pascha/Easter (such as eggs and : rabbits), but they took on a new : Christian meaning. As long as the : idolatrous worship of pagan deities : is crushed, there is nothing wrong : with "baptizing" harmless : human customs and using them for the : glory of the true God! : : After all, we translate the Holy : Scriptures into other languages. If : we are so paranoid over pagan : influences why translate the Bible : into Pagan English? The English : word "God" originally : referred to pagan deities, so how : dare we use it to refer to YHWH?! : If we want to be "pure" of : pagan influences why doesn't : everybody just start speaking : "Biblical" Hebrew? (which, : BTW also has "pagan" : Chaldean linguistic influcences! : I'm sorry you Fundamentalist purists : out there, but you just can't escape : it.) : : Ancient Judaism had elements in : common with the pagan religions : which surrounded them. For : instance, in numerous places the Old : Testament depicts YHWH riding on the : clouds (Psalm 68:5, 34; 104:3; : Isaiah 19:1). Did you know that : this was actually a common portrayal : of the pagan god *Baal*? In fact, : one of Baal's titles was "Rider : on the Clouds"! The true God : YHWH and the false idol Baal are : rivals in Scripture (see I Kings : 18), so this was perhaps an attempt : to "supplant" Baal; the : sacred writers were saying : "YHWH is the real Rider on the : Clouds"! : : So what are we gonna do now; purge : those passages from the Word of God : because of "pagan : influence"? Come on, how far : are you going to take this absurd : attempt to create a "pure" : Christianity, 100% free of all : elements derived from formerly pagan : cultures? : : One last point: A lot of this : "pagan origins of Easter" : nonsense comes from a book called : _The Two Babylons_, by the : "Rev. Alexander Hislop". : People foolish enough to read that : work should know a few interesting : facts: : 1. Ralph Woodrow, author of : _Babylon Mystery Religion_ has : turned against Hislop and written a : book called _The Babylon : Connection?_, refuting his former : book, which was derived from : Hislop's crazy ideas. : : 2. Anyone who has actually read : _The Two Babylons_ very closely can : tell that the author does not : believe in the Trinity. For : instance, at one point Hislop : denounces "the idolatrous : worship of the Holy Spirit under the : form of a dove". How can any : worship of the Holy Spirit be : "idolatrous"? The Spirit : Himself took the form of a Dove at : the Baptism of Jesus; if we were : present there would it have been : idolatrous to worship that Heavenly : Dove? Of course not! When we : depict the Holy Ghost as a dove in : art we are not worshipping a bird, : but the Third Person of the Trinity. : : Thus I ask you, why should any : Bible-believing Christian take the : words of an obvious Unitarian : infidel (Hislop) over the words of : the Church which defended the : Trinity to the death in 325 AD at : the Council of Nicea? : : YOurs in Yeshua and Miriam, : James : : : : :

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