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What Does the Bible say about: Easter


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It appears' date=' to me at least, that we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.[/quote']
That's fine...but I really do think we agree more than we disagree. We would both say that we should celebrate Christ's resurrection on the holiday called Easter, right (since that is the first day of the week following Passover)? Also, we would both say that observation of that great event should take precedence over anything else we do that day (whatever it is), right?


Why is that? I'm almost 100% sure that no one knows about "Ishtar." (I hadn't heard of it in all my 35 years until I saw your post on here, and even now, I'm not convinced, since you didn't include any documentation connecting "Ishtar" with "Easter.") I'm also 100% sure that the average Joe Family in America, in dyeing eggs and skipping church (like they do every Sunday) are not worshiping a pagan deity called Ishtar, any more than people like you and me (who set up Christmas trees, hang stockings, and sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") are observing ancient British occultic celebrations or venerating Catholic saints. (Your refusal to answer my questions about Christmas makes your position on Easter quite suspect, BTW.)


Absolutely correct here...but this has nothing to do with what goes on at Easter, since people are not worshiping a pagan deity. Their motivations for dyeing eggs and having a resurrection sunrise service are as far removed from idol worship as a ham sandwich is from a synagogue. There are many, many practices (like eating meat) that USED TO be done as part of pagan or idol-worshiping ceremonies (like putting lights on a Christmas tree). The fact that something used to be done as part of such a ceremony does not make that activity off-limits for us today. The difference is in our hearts: we don't even know about, much less care about, some ancient pagan deity called Ishtar. When we have candy hunts, or give gift baskets, it is in celebration of Christ's resurrection, not in worship to a deity we've never heard of.


Adultery is adultery, no matter which way you slice it. The motivation is the same--lust--no matter which way you slice it. When a man takes another man's wife for himself, he is sinning.
Idolatry is idolatry, no matter which way you slice it. The motivation is the same--inordinate love for something other than God--no matter who/what the idol is. When a man worships a pagan deity, a material thing (like a car or boat or video game), a person, or himself, he is sinning. But dyeing eggs on Easter does not equal idolatry, if nothing/no one is being worshiped above God. Idolatry, by definition, is "having other gods before God." As I said before, we do many things (like eat meat) that have at one time been used in pagan/idol worship. The fact that something was done as worship doesn't mean we are worshiping when we do it. I just don't know how to put it any more simply. To me, this seems like a given--something everyone would think is obvious.

Let me again clarify that our family doesn't dye eggs, or have egg hunts, or give Easter baskets. But I do take issue with those who accuse fellow believers who do these things of being idolaters.
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Idolatry has a somewhat broader reach than you give it credit for I think.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Idolatry shouldn't conjur images of Charlton Heston and the golden calf from the movie "The Ten Commandments", but rather the best N.T. Representation of Idolatry today would be a good old fashioned bathroom mirror - idolatry is within the heart and no statue is needed. Idolatry as Paul pointed at here in Col 3 is anything that has your heart to the point that you won't surrender it for Christ.

If the knowledge that sunrise services on Easter, a festival celebrated by Herod with the murder of an Apostle, using eggs, bunnies and dye and revolving around worship of a false god.... IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH to cause a Christian to turn from such things immediately without argument in favor of keeping them, nothing I could say is going to get their attention either. As Abraham said some will not be persuaded "though one rose from the dead" - nothing is going to turn them from their opinion....not scripture, not preaching, not teaching, not compelling, not truth....not even a dead relative coming to see them in person...

In the end Christ is longsuffering and such Christians go to heaven nontheless. All I am seeking to do is to help minimize the amount of shame such an one will suffer at the judgment seat for all the things they did that brought reproach upon the name above all names.

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Idolatry has a somewhat broader reach than you give it credit for I think.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Idolatry shouldn't conjur images of Charlton Heston and the golden calf from the movie "The Ten Commandments", but rather the best N.T. Representation of Idolatry today would be a good old fashioned bathroom mirror - idolatry is within the heart and no statue is needed. Idolatry as Paul pointed at here in Col 3 is anything that has your heart to the point that you won't surrender it for Christ.

If the knowledge that sunrise services on Easter, a festival celebrated by Herod with the murder of an Apostle, using eggs, bunnies and dye and revolving around worship of a false god.... IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH to cause a Christian to turn from such things immediately without argument in favor of keeping them, nothing I could say is going to get their attention either. As Abraham said some will not be persuaded "though one rose from the dead" - nothing is going to turn them from their opinion....not scripture, not preaching, not teaching, not compelling, not truth....not even a dead relative coming to see them in person...

In the end Christ is longsuffering and such Christians go to heaven nontheless. All I am seeking to do is to help minimize the amount of shame such an one will suffer at the judgment seat for all the things they did that brought reproach upon the name above all names.


If you sincerely believe that one can sin without that sin being in their heart, then I sincerely hope your wife didn't wear a wedding gown, or that you don't wear a wedding ring, for both are pagan tradition which have been "christianized" and accepted for centuries. You also just need to worry about your self on judgment day, I think your plate will probably be as full as the guy behind you.
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Idolatry has a somewhat broader reach than you give it credit for I think.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Covetousness is idolatry, certainly, just as the verse says it is. The reason it is idolatry is that the thing being coveted is being valued above God...which, yes, is idolatry. That's exactly what I mean when I say that people can certainly be committing idolatry on Easter if in their hearts they substitute love for eggs, candy, etc., for the true meaning of the day. Substitution is what is idolatry: putting something else in the place of God. So, a person could participate in some or all of the "extracurricular" activities like egg hunts and not be committing idolatry, if the true reason for celebrating is kept centrally focused.

This kind of idolatry is not what you're arguing for, anyway. You're talking about Ishtar, a pagan deity, as demonstrated by the rest of your post (and previous ones).

If the knowledge that sunrise services on Easter, a festival celebrated by Herod with the murder of an Apostle, using eggs, bunnies and dye and revolving around worship of a false god.... IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH to cause a Christian to turn from such things immediately without argument in favor of keeping them, nothing I could say is going to get their attention either. As Abraham said some will not be persuaded "though one rose from the dead" - nothing is going to turn them from their opinion....not scripture, not preaching, not teaching, not compelling, not truth....not even a dead relative coming to see them in person...

PastorHarrison, you still haven't told me what you do during the Christmas season...Are you really being consistent with your arguments here?

In the end Christ is longsuffering and such Christians go to heaven nontheless
.
ALL Christians go to heaven "nonetheless." You make it sound like God is more longsuffering with some Christians than others, letting them into heaven "even though" they're "worse" than others...when the truth is that ALL of us have offended Him, and Christ's blood is sufficient for all of us...It's not about works at all.
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