Easter is a Scam

originally posted by: BO XIAN
The gestalt of most posters on this thread is hostility to the authentic Christian perspective on Resurrection Sunday.
Anyone who dares to assert a different perspective is ridiculed to shouted down wholesale.
Yet the Christian is the one accused of bludgeoning.
LOL. Sigh.

It was made aware to me a while back that the deep ancient roots to a great deal of Christian liturgy does not detract from its celebration in modern forms. Rather, it confirms the timelessness of that experience. So, while it is obvious that themes of resurrection and rebirth pre-date Christ, Christian worship confirms their value.

Easter is not a sham. It is one of man's oldest observances. But the diverse ways in which it is celebrated are all worthy of respect (as long as you don't scare the horses)

originally posted by: iSomeone


It is completely pagan. And is NOT Christian. False Christianity, which has apostatized from the truth, has adapted it, along with a plethora of other pagan, and God-dishoning holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.

What is real Christianity?
Your version?

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I don't mind respecting individuals as humans made in God's image.

I don't mind respecting respectable ideas, evidence, facts etc.

I'm not so inclined to try and put lipstick on a pig or to declare that some pigs are more equal than others, however.

Authentic Christians assert that Christ's Resurrection is utterly unique as He was/is utterly unique in His person/Godness and roles.

Others on this thread contend otherwise.

Time will tell.

We all make choices.

However, we cannot choose--with wonderful functional real life consequences

to sow

cacti

and pretend sanely

that we can then harvest mangoes. Doesn't work that way.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

It was made aware to me a while back that the deep ancient roots to a great deal of Christian liturgy does not detract from its celebration in modern forms. Rather, it confirms the timelessness of that experience.

You know what? That's what I was just thinking, too!!! Maybe the Bible/Christianity is just a remake....but if it's a remake of the preceding myths/legends of truth, well -
yeah.

No need to claim ONLY Christianity is correct. Also, I don't think 'works' are dead if one rejects the Christ myth.
It's what is in one's heart that matters. Any God who can't see the intention without hearing the 'password' is not worth worshipping. Like living under the thumb of an unpredictable, capricious 'overlord.' Who needs that?
Who enjoys being told they're worthless ; or constantly threatened?


Star for you.

a reply to: BO XIAN
BO, as a Christian growing up I never confused the materialistic with the sacred.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I don't recall being told I was worthless, I wasn't raised with that.

1 Samuel 16:7- God looks at your Heart

originally posted by: Toadmund

originally posted by: iSomeone


It is completely pagan. And is NOT Christian. False Christianity, which has apostatized from the truth, has adapted it, along with a plethora of other pagan, and God-dishoning holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.

What is real Christianity?
Your version?

Well if that is their version it's correct because Christmas and Easter do originate from practices which are not Christian. That is an undeniable fact regardless of what anyone says.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Christians were taught to turn away from that type of stuff but only 300 years after the death of Christ all these things were integrated into Christianity. Now it may seem harmless, or it even doesn't matter but when it comes down to it, someone changed the teachings and now we have a bunch of Paganised Christians running around thinking they are going to be raptured soon. The only religion Easter and Christmas are associated with is the religion of MONEY.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

I don't know that I consciously did either.

However, the FOCUS is at best distracted for many age groups and personalities with a tenuous relationship with God.

And many folks are gahgah over the bling, rainbows and glitter . . . failing to notice and experience that

GOD HIMSELF FOR HIMSELF AND AS HIMSELF

IS THE BIGGEST THRILL IN ALL CREATION.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

I don't recall being told I was worthless, I wasn't raised with that.

My parents and family didn't tell me that. It was the Nicene Creed, the Prayer of Humble Access, and some other thing that we learned by heart

Here's the Humble Access:

The Anglican Prayer of Humble Access
March 19, 2009 in Anglican, Holy Communion, Protestant | Tags: Anglican, Holy Communion, Protestant, religion
j0313882It’s Anglican. It’s ancient. It’s controversial. It’s the Prayer of Humble Access:

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

churchmousec.wordpress.com...

Every Sunday. From the time I was not even old enough to understand the words.....
and they are still emblazoned in my brain.

It hurts.

a reply to: BO XIAN

I think the difference between now and then is we were raised Christian, the Easter bunny stuff was not the main focus.

Today the bunny is the main focus as fewer children know what Easter is all about from the Christian perspective.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
I sang, Jesus loves me.

Allow yourself to stop hurting.

For God so loved the world.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

RELIGION . . . and certainly secularism . . . just does NOT "GET" the worthlessness issue, imho.

And the Resurrection Sonday commercialism doesn't help.

1. In our own strength, on our own foundation, cleverness etc. we are . . . essentially . . . in any eternal terms . . . worthless.

2. Even atheist nihilist Jean Paul Satre realized that for the finite to have any worth, it HAD to have a connection with the Infinite.

3. TWO facts raise our worth above that of our rebellious sinfulness and finiteness:

A) we were made by a Perfect Loving Creator IN HIS IMAGE in some sense . . . spiritual? Creative nature?

B) HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON--PART OF HIMSELF--GAVE HIS ALL AS BOTH MAN AND GOD in an excruciating death on a cruel cross FOR EACH OF US WHO WOULD DARE TO RECEIVE that AWESOME STATEMENT of our individual worth.

4. Which is one reason that God takes a dim view of those who tell Him and Christ to go flush it because they are their own sufficiency--as their own gods or whatever.

originally posted by: Toadmund

originally posted by: iSomeone


It is completely pagan. And is NOT Christian. False Christianity, which has apostatized from the truth, has adapted it, along with a plethora of other pagan, and God-dishoning holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.

What is real Christianity?
Your version?

Well, I need not be considered. Christianity uses the Bible as its authority, and true Christians are followers of Christ.

Notice what type of worship God says he accepts in his word:

(James 1:27) . . .The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.

To take care of the defenseless is a key part of true worship, especially orphans, and widows. Also to keep oneself without spot from the world. That is because one's cultivating a friendship with the world would be putting oneself on record as an enemy of Jehovah God:

(James 4:4) Adulteresses, do YOU not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.

Another scripture of note is what Jesus said would be an indicator to all if people were his follwers or not:

(John 13:35) By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.”


So love is the real determining factor. True Christianity is not divided. It does not get involved in political disputes:

(John 17:14) . . .I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.

True Christians are neutral, and do not get invovled with war, knowing that they could kill a brother or sister of theirs in another nation, and also knowing that the governments of this world are in Satan's control.

They look to Jesus' kingdom government in heaven as the solution to mankind's problems:

(Psalm 146:3) 3 Do not put YOUR trust in nobles, Nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.

(Daniel 2:44) “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite;


Instead, they have "learned war NO MORE":

(Isaiah 2:4) . . .. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.

There are a few other indicators of true Christianity. True Christians use Jehovah's name just as Jesus said we should do, and they make it known:

(Matthew 6:9) . . .Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.

And the preach about God's kingdom in all the earth as a united group of people:

(Matthew 28:19) . . .Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit. . .

(Acts 5:42) . . .And every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.


These are a few of the requirements of the true form of worship that is spotless and undefiled before God. And as was mentioned earlier, true worship has separated itself completely from all pagan practices and traditions that defile God and his good name, and pollute true worship:

(Isaiah 52:11) Turn away, turn away, get out of there, touch nothing unclean; get out from the midst of her, keep yourselves clean, YOU who are carrying the utensils of Jehovah.

(Jeremiah 51:45) “Get out of the midst of her, O my people, and provide each one his soul with escape from the burning anger of Jehovah.

(Revelation 18:4) And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if YOU do not want to share with her in her sins, and if YOU do not want to receive part of her plagues.


If you find a group of people who follows all of these scriptures, they have evidenced that God's good spirit is upon them, and they have the true form of worship. They love Jehovah God with all their hearts and souls, as the greatest of commandments, and they love their neighbor as their-self as the second greatest.

They preach and teach about Jehovah's name and his established kingdom government. They are neutral in politics, they do not go to war. They are hated by people all over the world because they do not celebrate their pagan and nationalistic holidays. They uphold the Bible as the ultimate authority, and not the teachings of any man. They are obedient to the secular authorities where they do not conflict with God, paying back "God's things to God, and Caesar's things to Cesar."

They are united in love earth-wide, and are unified in the same line of thought, there is no division among them:

(Ephesians 4:4) One body there is, and one spirit, even as YOU were called in the one hope to which YOU were called;

(Colossians 2:2) . . .that they may be harmoniously joined together in love . . .

originally posted by: DarknStormy
The only religion Easter and Christmas are associated with is the religion of MONEY.

It is what you make of it. We don't have a lot of ritual left in our modern days. I like participating in something larger than ourselves. Pity that some call others down for not doing it their way. I like to fall back on George Carlin when he laid it out..."I used to be f***ed up on drugs...now I'm f***ed up on God". Lotta that goin' on around here.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: DarknStormy
The only religion Easter and Christmas are associated with is the religion of MONEY.

It is what you make of it. We don't have a lot of ritual left in our modern days. I like participating in something larger than ourselves. Pity that some call others down for not doing it their way. I like to fall back on George Carlin when he laid it out..."I used to be f***ed up on drugs...now I'm f***ed up on God". Lotta that goin' on around here.

George Carlin certainly told it how it was but in saying that, a lot of people are f***ed up on money also.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Pity that some call others down for not doing it their way.

Uhhhhh . . . as in your example you're demonstrating so tactfully hereon?

You seem to be calling me down because I don't share your precise perspective.

Are your mirrors all broken?

BTW, I can agree that some fitting ritual can be constructive and that many rituals in our era are on the trash heap or are destructive.

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
When did Jesus getting gored on Friday by a Lance after being Crucified, dying on Saturday & resurrected on Sunday turn into Good Friday and Candy & Easter Bunny's on Sunday?

Would suspect the Devil...not making a joke - it's a made up Pagan Holiday that shifts with a Pagan calendar.

Turning delicious chocolate into bunny and egg foil wrapped shapes, specifically for the pagan aspect of the Easter festival is what makes these delicacies into 'foods sacrificed to idols'; so yes, the devil is at work here!

Or to look at it another way, go and watch that movie 'The Passion' and eat chocolate Easter bunnies while you're 'enjoying the show'. This frivolous aspect demeans the spiritual import of what was actually going on.

originally posted by: BO XIAN
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I don't mind respecting individuals as humans made in God's image.

I don't mind respecting respectable ideas, evidence, facts etc.

I'm not so inclined to try and put lipstick on a pig or to declare that some pigs are more equal than others, however.

Authentic Christians assert that Christ's Resurrection is utterly unique as He was/is utterly unique in His person/Godness and roles.

Others on this thread contend otherwise.

Time will tell.

We all make choices.

However, we cannot choose--with wonderful functional real life consequences

to sow

cacti

and pretend sanely

that we can then harvest mangoes. Doesn't work that way.

Remember Bo, It is not your job to save anyone, you can't, only Christ Himself can. It is only yours as well as mine to share what we believe and why. Everyone must decide for himself. If you have shared the truth as you know it, then you have honored The Great Commission. It is now between God and each individual.

Pax