I am the celebrity spokeswoman for Silent No More Awareness, a group of post-abortive men and women who have chosen to tell our stories of the devastating affects of abortion. I feel that God has given me a voice for the millions of women who live in regret, guilt, self-hatred and a voice for the unprotected children in the womb. In November, I wrote a painfully honest blog about my abortions and the trauma and hopelessness that ensued. It received over 10,000 views in the first 72 hours.
Do Peeps & Pagans Go Together?
We decided several years ago that our family wasn’t going to celebrate Easter. This is, of course, the time of year that we have to explain that a lot, so I wanted to pass this information along.
Let me preface this by saying that we truly love Jesus with all of our hearts and these are OUR convictions. This blog is not intended to condemn anyone. I simply ask that you prayerfully consider these truths and ask the Lord if He would have you make any changes in your own life.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says: “At Easter, popular customs reflect many ancient pagan survivals—in this instance, connected with spring fertility rites, such as the symbols of the Easter egg and the Easter hare or rabbit."
In the ancient Middle East, people depended on the land’s fertility and crops to survive. Spring, when fertility returned to the land after the long desolation of winter, was a much-anticipated and celebrated time of the year.
Many celebrated the return of spring with worship of their gods and goddesses, particularly those associated with fertility. Among such deities were Baal and Astarte or Ashtoreth whose worship typically included ritual sex to promote fertility in the land. The name Easter has roots that go far back to the ancient pre-Christian Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, known in the Bible as Astarte or Ashtoreth.
Symbols of fertility—such as eggs and rabbits, which reproduce in great numbers—were included in these pagan celebrations for their gods. Easter eggs and the Easter rabbit are simply a continuation of these ancient spring fertility rites.
The coloring of eggs came from the ancient pagans dipping eggs in blood as part of a fertility rite. When children hunt for Easter eggs, it is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a pagan fertility rite.
Even the tradition of buying a new dress has pagan roots as old clothing was offered up to the gods & goddesses during these spring rituals and new clothes were made to replace them.
So how did all of this come to be known as the Easter we celebrate in the church? Early Catholic Church leaders merged customs and practices associated with this earlier “resurrected” god (Ishtar) and spring fertility celebrations and applied them to the resurrected Son of God, Jesus.
The early church did not set apart a day either to commemorate the Lord’s incarnation or His resurrection, and there is NO celebration of any Christian holidays in the New Testament. Early Jewish Christians linked the resurrection with the Passover, observed on the fourteenth day of Nisan in accord with Christ’s command to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The Council of Nicea (A. D. 325) ruled that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox, and this is the system followed today.
I know I am stepping on traditions and things that many of our families have done for decades, my family included. We had the yearly ritual of dyeing eggs, shopping for dresses and new white shoes, and awaiting a basket full of candy from the Easter bunny on Sunday morning.
But there are many “traditions” that we’ve adopted that are not Biblical. Easter is one of them. As I’ve said SO many times in my blogs, it is ESSENTIAL that we carefully examine whether our beliefs agree with the Bible. We cannot assume that God is ok with these non-biblical celebrations, regardless of our motives.
R. C. Sproul says: “The claim of resurrection is vital to Christianity. If Christ has been raised from the dead by God, then He has the credentials and certification that no other religious leader possesses. Buddha is dead. Mohammad is dead. Moses is dead. Confucius is dead. But, according to…Christianity, Christ is alive.”
Jesus’ triumph over sin and the grave SHOULD be celebrated. We should live lives that display our gratitude for the price He paid for us. Because of His death and resurrection, I will never get what I deserve. But we should be careful not to accept the traditions of the world OR the church simply because everyone does it. We should always look at God’s word for answers and direction.
Paul says, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:11). Again he writes: “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. . . Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean’” (2 Cor. 6:16, 17). Jesus said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15)
From http://www.kellyclinger.com/
4 comments:
Well said! So true! Hopefully more believers will soon put the truth of God's word before man's tradition. Glory be to God!
During this time of the year, the Christian community is so caught up in the "spirit" of the season. However, what "spirit" is most represented in the celebrations that Christians get so consumed with? Whenever a serious examination of the origins of Easter is published, and the pagan symbols are exposed most Christians continue to embrace or more accurately synchronize their Christian beliefs with these pagan practices. A Christian Pastor best sums up the justification for this, "I’ve decided to embrace “pagan” ritual as “holy” based on the sanctifying power of Holy Spirit."
Proverbs states, "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Prov. 14:12 and again in 16:25) In fact the principle of the blue cord was given by God to his people for this very reason. Numbers 15:37-40 "The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God."
The Israelites used a similar justification like this Pastor and decided to sanctify the Egyptian god symbolized by the "calf" which for the Egyptian, represented power. God had just displayed his power and liberated the Israelites from the Egyptians. The Israelites must have thought "These pagan Egyptians use the calf to symbolize power, our God just showed the Egyptians that he is the one with true power. Lets sanctify this calf symbol by incorporating it into the worship of God to represent his power." Here is the biblical account from Exodus 32:2-5 "Aaron said to them, 'Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, 'Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD'." What did God think about this? Did he think that this was fine? Here is Gods response to this: Exodus 32:9-10 "The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people."Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."
Whenever Gods people have "decided to embrace 'pagan' ritual as 'holy' based on the sanctifying power the Holy Spirit", God has always rebuked them. In fact God uses words like, "anger burns against them, destroy them, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, it will burn and not be quenched, abominations." Whenever Gods people synchronized pagan ritual into the worship of God, it is always viewed from Gods perspective as "serving other gods and worshiping them and as if: they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me." it "provokes God to anger." He tells his people "Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds." [(Ex. 32:9-10; Jer.7:18-20; Jer. 25:5-8]
As Christians, we are told by Jesus in John 4:23 "True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers." We can learn from Gods word [not from our culture] how to worship him and seek truth. 1 Corinthians 2:12 speaks about a "spirit of this world." 2 Corinthians 4:4 states that it is the god of this world who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe the truth. Do not buy these lies and get caught up in the "spirit" of this season. Do not follow your own hearts and do that which seems right according to your own understanding.
I will end with this final scripture, Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Whenever Gods people have “decided to embrace ‘pagan’ ritual as ‘holy’ based on the sanctifying power the Holy Spirit”, God has always rebuked them. In fact God uses words like, “anger burns against them, destroy them, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, it will burn and not be quenched, abominations.” Whenever Gods people synchronized pagan ritual into the worship of God, it is always viewed from Gods perspective as “serving other gods and worshiping them and as if: they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.” it “provokes God to anger.” He tells his people “Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds.” [(Ex. 32:9-10; Jer.7:18-20; Jer. 25:5-8]
As Christians, we are told by Jesus in John 4:23 “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” We can learn from Gods word [not from our culture] how to worship him and seek truth. 1 Corinthians 2:12 speaks about a “spirit of this world.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 states that it is the god of this world who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe the truth. Do not buy these lies and get caught up in the “spirit” of this season. Do not follow your own hearts and do that which seems right according to your own understanding.
I will leave you with this final scripture:
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
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