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).
I so appreciate the spirit with which you write this. It’s an issue I’ve wrestled with in every Christian holiday season. Still, I’ve decided to embrace “pagan” ritual as “holy” based on the sanctifying power of Holy Spirit. If you look far enough, you’ll realize nothing is uniquely Christian. Most of our traditions, including ten commandments, baptisms, Christmas, musical instruments (except shofar), offerings….(much more) find their root in pagan practice. When prophet said “even the bells around horses necks, even pots and pans, will be called holy to the Lord…perhaps he anticipated the power of Christian redemption at a level most ignore. Paul was willing to eat meat offered to idols. On the other hand, I appreciate your commitment to pure truth.
Thanks for your comment, Pastor! It was such a blessing to be in your church on Sunday. I loved what you said about simply preaching the Gospel on Easter Sunday, and I am praying that many will begin their journey with Jesus that day because of the beautiful Truth they will receive at Trinity. Blessings to you all!
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 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 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.”
Kelly,
thank you so much for this post I really enjoyed it…people look at me like I have a second head on my shoulder or something when I tell them I don’t believe in celebrating the way they do thing anymore although I grew up dying eggs,sitting on the Easter bunny’s lap,going shopping for the new dress” and looking for hidden eggs I have come to realize in the past few years that much of what we do has little to do with our Beloved Jesus who we live for.
I am trying to follow the feast/ Jewish Holy days/ & even some Holidays as closely as possible.. although I must admit being a picky eater its a challenge for most of them…ha so maybe not as close…but whats more important to me is that everything be kept Christ centered and to learn what the Lord has required of His people and why they were/are to keep these days.
Have you ever heard of Chuck Missler He has wonderful teaching I heard some time back concerning all of this I’m in the process of trying to track it all down now.
thank you again for this blog post
In Him,
Hope
Kelly,
Very interesting post which made me think about the reaons why I celebrate Easter with my family. Let me preface my response by stating I am a practicing Catholic who strives to understand my faith (unlike many other people who “claim” to be Catholic). Since Ash Wednesday (I am assuming you are familiar with this), Catholics have been participating in a special period of reconciliation, repentance, and seeking God’s grace to be holier than we are (Lent). Thursday evening, we gather for a recreation of the Last Supper. Friday, we engage in a re-enactment of the Way of the Cross. This period culminates in the celebration of Christ’s resurection this coming Sunday! It is a glorious and fantastic celebration with faithful friends and family. As a family, this coming weekend is more exciting than Christmas to my chi
This subject is close to my conscience!!!!!!
all it takes is a little research and a little individuality not just running with the pack and you start questioning the validity of the practice but to understand it you have to go back to its roots and find out where it came from….. not many people care to take it that far… but I care ,and look how far back it goes
Ezekiel 8:14-16 KJV
Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
So if you care to know were easter eggs the easter bunny and easter ham come from start with “TAMMUZ” no wait start with NIMROD nimrod Is the great grandson of noah Nimrod was slain by Shem, Noah’s son, because of his great wickedness and desire to make himself a god. His wife Beltis, also known as Semiramis, eager to claim Nimrod’s kingdom proclaimed that Nimrod had ascended to heaven and is now the sun god. Nimrod, now the Babylonian sun god, then impregnated her with the rays of the sun and she gave an “immaculate” birth to Tammuz.
Tammuz, the reborn sun god Nimrod, when he was 40 years old, was gored to death by a wild boar during a hunting accident. In honor of the slain Tammuz, 40 days of weeping were given each year, a day for each year of his life. This ritual is now called, “LENT”.
According to pagan sun god religions, Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod, the sun god, and mother of Tammuz, the reborn sun god, upon her death was sent back by the sun god Nimrod as the large-breasted fertility goddess Easter. She was sent back the first SUNday after the Vernal Equinox (Easter Sunday) in a large egg that landed in the Euphrates River. The egg then opened and to show her divinity she changed a bird into an egg-laying rabbit (Easter bunny). Easter’s priests, in honor of her fertility, would impregnate young virgins upon her altar and then sacrifice these three-month-old infants upon the same altar the following year as the sun rises on SUNday morning (Easter Sunrise Service). They would then take eggs (fertility) and dip them in the red blood of these sacrificed infants (Easter eggs). These pagans would then roast the boar that killed Tammuz and eat Ham on Easter Sunday.
So my conclusion is this “WHO CONVERTED WHO HERE BECAUSE WHAT I SEE IS WE PRACTICE A LOT MORE PAGAN SUN GOD RITUALS THEN WE PRACTICE WORSHIPPING YAHUWAH AND HIS SON YAhHUSHUA
Wow, Doug, my tummy is in knots after your post – thx! No, really, thx! Do you have this posted anywhere else, on a website for instance? I’d like to be able to share it. Thx, Pam Caylor, Las Vegas, NV
Doug, I appreciate your researching this. However, if you look through history, there will not be ANYTHING we can do because somebody once did it as part of a pagan ritual. God has taken all of this and made it anew through the sacrifice of his own Son! Was He participating in a pagan ritual then?
The point of that verse in Ezekiel is that if we love God with our whole heart, we should hold nothing else in higher importance than Him. Just as Ezekiel states: 18:31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit.”
Tom,
The deceiver knew of all the events of our life on earth from the beginning to the end (just as evildoers were granted power to tell the future by him). Are you saying that he did not set in place certain practices in this world that would reflect Messiah but confuse the world to stray from The Makers commands?
Using the Hebrew in scripture has clarified a clear cut and dry tone of what HaShem’s desire is for us and how we have strayed through history and through ignorance. Rico Cortez has an excellent study on the “Bitter Waters” (and more)…and I would find it useful for people teaching The Word to learn Hebrew thoroughly before handing down a self interpretation. For a bottomless source of teachings from someone who knows the Hebrew and the Hebraic thougt in the Gospels and Letters, look at http://www.elshaddaiministries.us/
and go to the “messages” tab to listen to Pastor Mark Biltz- Some in the christian community have tried to call him a false prophet with some of their lies, but take note-he has never set dates. Then look up the hebrew word for prophet “Navi” (http://www.jewfaq.org/prophet.htm)
Another insight just to get you kickstarted into the “I have much to learn” is looking up the word “holy” or “Kadosh” which G-d commanded us to be, which is impossible for G-d to command us to be righteous because we are only made righteous by his goodness/grace from our faith. We are then commanded (because of righteousness) to be “Kadosh” (set apart)….ding ding, not partaking of this world/our flesh/pagan rituals disguised in righteousness or not.
We should all be learning for truth everyday of our lives and never sit on our own laurels because that is exactly what the deceiver menifests on.
Bradley,
I have a lot of issues with what you are presenting; however, I do not want to take away from the message that Kelly is trying to convey through our disagreement. If you are willing to continue this conversation in private, reply that you are. Maybe then we can find a way to continue the discussion. Thank you.
Tom
“However, if you look through history, there will not be ANYTHING we can do because somebody once did it as part of a pagan ritual.”
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That’s why we should celebrate the 7 Festivals/Feasts that God Himself ordained in His Word–Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. They did not come from pagan origins–they came from Him. Anything else is “strange fire”.
We worship Him they way He wants to be worshipped (and He is worth it!) not the way we want. If we celebrate any other way, even though our heart my be in the right place, if it’s not the way He commanded, what makes us think it’s acceptable to Him? We are not to add to or take away from His Word. (BTW…The Old and New Testaments are one book not separated.)
We are to eat only what He has ordained as clean, celebrate the Festival/Feast Days, and follow His commandments. This is what Jesus/Yeshua did and taught others to do, also teaching that there were deeper meanings to these things than just what was on the surface.
Hey, do you have any references or links for this stuff? I just want to know. Thanks!
Easter is BIG BUSINESS! Florists, restaurants, candy makers, retail stores, greeting card makers, even grocery stores see huge spikes in business in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. Every mall in the country even has a huge Easter Bunny photo opportunity!
This Sunday, our church will overflow with families who attend church once or twice a year. So, in an effort to encourage all these people to come back…we fall into the trap of providing an emotional, entertaining package about the most important story ever told rather than allow the simple true emotion of this incredible gift to tell the TRUE story. It is all about entertainment!
It seems that we (Christians) have difficulty keeping our focus on “the word” and, instead put our focus on “the world”. So many of us see Easter as a time to pay homage to our Savior by spending money on silly things like pink stuffed bunnies and Easter baskets. Just imagine what could be done if we focused on the TRUE story and used the money we spend on this “holiday” for God’s work!
I love your passion. I am sure you will receive some negative comments…ignore them and continue to enlighten us!
Great info, Kelly – thank you!
Pam Caylor
Have you considered the pagan history of worshipping on sunday, if you research it you will find that this is linked to the sun god and was later incorporated into the roman church to bring both pagans and Christians together on a common day of worship.
Yes, I’ve read Pagan Christianity which gives many of the roots of paganism that have been adopted into our Christian churches. But Easter SO blatantly has nothing to do with Christ. I am a voice in the pro-life community and the same spirit that causes women to murder their unborn children was present every year during the time we call Easter as women sacrificed their children to the gods & goddesses of fertility. So, for us, we choose not to celebrate Easter.
Thank you for your boldness in bringing the truth to light without judgment and condemnation. Blessings to you and yours. : )
You’ve got to go with your own conviction and what the Lord is leading you to do. Though I have to ask, respectfully, what about Christmas? Most holidays have pagan roots. Days of the week and months of the year? Pagan. In the NT, the people were given freedom to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Can you imagine? Though, it must be noted, that we are to be sensitive to one anothers’ consciences. At our house, God has brought us to Romans 12:21, “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
On Easter, we celebrate Christ’s rising (resurrection cookies, anyone?) And Christmas, Christ’s birth, even though He wasn’t actually born on that day. Our kids know the reasons we celebrate holidays, as well as the reasons others do or do not. Many people have fun family holidays, and their hearts are joining in pagan worship because of this. We try to take every opportunity to point everything to the Lord, and we don’t want to give even one day over to the enemy. No day is off limits – He has redeemed it all. Blessings to you and yours.