Happy Ishtar !!

Originally posted by Suzianne
Did you ever see The Passion of the Christ (2004)?

That is what Easter is about, not chocolate bunnies or dyed eggs.

When you hear that easter predates christ, you reject this information why now?

Originally posted by divegeester
Jesus Christ himself is the cornerstone, not this pagan festival which has been assimilated and turned into a grotesque commercial advertisement by the major denominations. Sometimes your shallow perspective of these things surprises me.

If it gets people into church it can only be a good thing. And by Easter, I meant the crucifixion and the resurrection. Does FMF give you bonus points for being extra pedantic?

Originally posted by Suzianne
If it gets people into church it can only be a good thing. And by Easter, I meant the crucifixion and the resurrection.

So, in an attempt to explain the series of bizarre posts you wrote earlier on this thread, you are now claiming that you thought your fellow Christian was saying "the crucifixion and the resurrection" of Jesus meant nothing to him and not "Easter"?

Originally posted by apathist
When you hear that easter predates christ, you reject this information why now?

Pagan rituals and celebrations mean nothing to me.

Easter now means the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. How it started means nothing. It's now a holiday in my church, and that's the importance I give it, pedantic nonsense aside.

Originally posted by FMF
So, in an attempt to explain the series of bizarre posts you wrote earlier on this thread, you are now claiming that you thought your fellow Christian was saying "the crucifixion and the resurrection" of Jesus meant nothing to him and not "Easter"?

Easter IS "the crucifixion and the resurrection". So yes. I speak English, forgive me if I expect an Englishman to speak English as well.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Easter IS "the crucifixion and the resurrection".

But there are many Christians who do not celebrate Easter, divegeester among them, for whom "the crucifixion and the resurrection" of Jesus is nevertheless the cornerstone of their Christian faith, which makes your angry half-baked comments earlier on this thread seem peculiar.

Originally posted by chaney3
Either way, this subject is interesting.

Celebrating death?
Celebrating crucifixion?

I dont think the OP was thinking of celebrating death when she started this thread

Originally posted by Suzianne
Easter IS "the crucifixion and the resurrection". So yes. I speak English, forgive me if I expect an Englishman to speak English as well.

Easter - just like Christmas - is celebrated by many; not just Christians.

We all like a chocolate egg and my daughter
loved hunting around the house for eggs this year.

Easter is tradition.
Families have different traditions.
Our family's traditions are definitely non-Christian.

Originally posted by Suzianne...
Easter now means the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. ...

That explains the chocolate bunnies!

Originally posted by karoly aczel
I dont think the OP was thinking of celebrating death when she started this thread.

The opposite, right?

Originally posted by FMF
But there are many Christians who do not celebrate Easter, divegeester among them, for whom "the crucifixion and the resurrection" of Jesus is nevertheless the cornerstone of their Christian faith, which makes your angry half-baked comments earlier on this thread seem peculiar.

This, from someone who thinks Rajk is a "reasonable Christian". The question still remains as to why he doesn't think the crucifixion or the resurrection has any "meaning" for him. Could be that's why you agree with him, too.

Your "characterization" of my comments is off-base and wholly without merit, as usual.

Originally posted by wolfgang59
Easter - just like Christmas - is celebrated by many; not just Christians.

We all like a chocolate egg and my daughter
loved hunting around the house for eggs this year.

Easter is tradition.
Families have different traditions.
Our family's traditions are definitely non-Christian.

From Dictionary.com:

Easter
(ee-ster)
noun
1. an annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar.
2. Also called Easter Sunday. the day on which this festival is celebrated.
3. the Easter season; the week following Easter.


So pardon me for speaking English.

Maybe you can come up with your own pagan holiday and call it "Bunny Day" or something. But when you talk about Easter, to any English-speaking person, you mean the above.

Now, with that out of the way, can the pedants here reel it back in?

Originally posted by FMF
[b]Really? Easter, the cornerstone of Christianity, the fact that the Son of God came to earth and was rejected so much that he was put to death, yet overcame death and was resurrected so that we might have life. This means nothing to you? I dunno, maybe it is the sheer emotion involved. I find the entire thing to be a story so moving, so sacrificial, so redemp ...[text shortened]... ght think you've flown off the handle here without giving what you're saying a moment's thought.

No, you might say that. But there's a reason for saying that. I doubt even you actually think that.

Originally posted by Suzianne
...

For a non-partisan view, and I don't have much quibble with it, Religious Tolerance says:

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations.

Easter is not celebrated on the actual anniversary of the resurrection. Among Christians in the West it may fall on any date between MAR-22 and APR-25. Eastern Christianity uses the Julian Calendar which is currently delayed by 13 days from the Gregorian Calendar that Western Christians use. Easter is observed in the East between APR-04 and MAY-08. There have been efforts to have all Christians observe Easter on the same day, and other efforts to hold it on the same day each year. However, these have not been successful.

The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Both Neopagans and Christians continue to celebrate religious rituals linked to the equinox. Wiccans and other Neopagans usually hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Western Christians celebrate Easter on the Sunday on or after the full moon that follows the nominal date of the Equinox -- MAR-21. The "full moon" is not the actual astronomical event; it is set at the 14th day of the month according to a lunar calendar.

Pagans were celebrating equinox long before christianity existed. And christianity is known to steal holidays, and temples, and really your group has been very bloody pushy throughout history.

Fire and ashes! At least learn your own history.

Originally posted by apathist
The opposite, right?

cassiad4 is a very loving intelligent person (and a hellof a chess player), so I'm guessing the opposite.