For the Love of Ritualistic Traditions

By -

As a child I absolutely loved "Sesame Street"! Every morning I would settle down  with my pillow and immerse myself in an hour of colorful, monster puppets and dancing letters. My most favorite part of the program was when the game "Guess Which Thing Doesn't belong Here" came on.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this game, it was a game in which four things, people etc, would be portrayed and three of those things were similar leaving one thing that didn't "belong".

It's around major Christian holidays such as Easter I feel as if I'm once again, piecing together the things that don't belong. Take a look at the pictures I have selected below.

Can you tell me which thing/person doesn't belong here?

j0436379 

j0435912 goddessostaraweb

 

If you choose the cross of Christ as the "object" that doesn't belong in this group, then you are correct! If feel they are all related...(sigh) what can I say?

Traditions Verses Faith

For those of you who don't know who the woman in the last picture is, she is the fertility goddess Ostara, also called Eostre.

"Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name." --

The History of Easter and It's Traditions

Now we know that Ostara is a pagan fertility goddess, what do rabbits and eggs have to do with her??

"Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life.  Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal.

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance." -- The History of Easter and It's Traditions

You can do your own research on the origins of Easter. If you would like to read the article in full click on the link at the end of the post. The article ends with the most true, yet scary sentiment that plagues our Christian culture:

"Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven." (emphasis mine)

Don't get me wrong, my Faith stands in power of Christ. Easter bunnies, eggs and fertility goddesses are of no threat to me, what is so sad to me is that many uphold these traditions, when they obviously have nothing to do with the saving power of Grace and Christ's sacrifice of His life...simply for the love of ritualistic traditions. Isn't time for ALL of us to reevaluate EVERYTHING we know to be "Christian", in comparison to the principle teaching of the Word and Spirit???

Links:

History of Easter and It's Traditions (www.goddessgift.com)

Comments

  1. CarolMarch 17, 2008 at 3:04 PM

    Most of this world's holidays are based on fables, myths, and lies, while the Christian is commanded to worship God "in spirit and in truth." A true Christian does not lie and does not associate with lies, but seeks after truth in all aspects of life. If we follow the world and it's lies, then we have become party to those lies and stand just as guilty.

    Excellent post Hannah! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. HannahMarch 17, 2008 at 4:48 PM

    As a former WCG member, we avoided all major Christian holidays and labeled them pagan. Although we were no better than the rest of mainstream Christianity in "works", the Easter holiday is something I STILL consider pagan (as it obviously is.

    Thanks for sharing Carol. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 18, 2008 at 10:06 AM

    I was just thinking about this topic as well in the past couple of days and planned on writing something up about whether we should actually celebrate Easter.

    Some might say it's an occasion to celebrate the Resurrection anyhow, but I see more significance in observing the Passover.

    In some of my readings, that goddess is Astarte, and was actually referred to as the 'queen of heaven' that the Israelites were worshiping and warned of by the prophet Jeremiah.

    Thus it is that I quite disagree with Christians observing days that have a pagan origin. Much as calling yoga poses by Christian names doesn't make them Christian in any way, neither does re-labeling pagan observations with Christian significance not take away the pagan origin.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HannahMarch 18, 2008 at 10:13 AM

    Sicarii,

    I'm in total agreement with you. We kept the Passover under WCG. Although I stopped doing that, I would keep the Passover BEFORE I participate in Easter celebrations.

    You are right, Astarte is referred to the "queen of heaven". I found a LOT of eye-opening information upon researching for this post, I decided to focus on this website I found instead.

    Shalom!

    ReplyDelete
  5. HannahMarch 18, 2008 at 10:17 AM

    A correction:

    I said "Although I stopped doing that, I would keep the Passover BEFORE I participate in Easter celebrations."

    I mean INSTEAD OF participating in Easter celebration... so there is no misunderstanding...I completely reject the pagan origins of Easter.

    Christ's name OR Resurrection has no business being associated with an idol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 18, 2008 at 11:10 AM

    Aye, Hannah, I totally understood what you meant, so no worries. :)

    I've actually written up a post linking to your article.

    Shalom!

    ReplyDelete
  7. King's KidMarch 18, 2008 at 11:28 AM

    Amen Hannah,

    LET TRUTH RING!

    ReplyDelete
  8. HannahMarch 19, 2008 at 1:59 PM

    Grow and Know by BrotherMark is an absolutely wonderful Blog. I discovered a post he put up a few days ago called

    Easter or Ishtar? http://growandknow.blogspot.com/2008/03/easter-or-ishtar.html

    He made a comment on the bottom of the post referring to the term "Easter" in the King James Version...if you have a moment, pop over there and take a look...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated.

Please note the changes to this blog. ONLY respectful comments and questions are accepted. Special note to other Christians: This blog no longer caters to debate and or arguments about the Bible. If you have a comment in SUPPORT of clear and concise understanding of the saving power of Christ Jesus, you are welcome to leave comments on this blog.

Popular posts from this blog

Confessions of a Former World Wide Church of God Member

By -
Now some of you may have heard of The World Wide Church of God. For those of you who haven't here's a brief, basic, summation of WWCG, as described by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : "The Worldwide Church of God (WCG), formerly the Radio Church of God, is a Christian church currently based in Glendora, California , USA. Founded in 1933 by Herbert Armstrong as a radio ministry , the WCG under Armstrong had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century religious broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time (eschatalogical) prophecies. However, within a few years after Armstrong's death in 1986, the succeeding church administration, led first by Joseph W. Tkach, Sr. and then his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. , examined and changed the doctrines and teachings of which the WCG held fundamental differences with more mainstream Christianity. Many members and ministers left the WCG to ...
Read more

The Law of Sin and Death

By -
A relative and I were having a fascinating discussion about sin. He made a statement that rang very true to me. "So many Christians are obsessed with sin". For a long while, since reading other posts and forums about sin, I've been dwelling upon and studying about that matter. Although I've been compelled to analyze the subject by post, I haven't felt prepared to do so. As you all know, I'm experiencing a trial that proves to be a continuous battle for my faith. It has been a trial which continues to manifest the truth of Scripture, the Word of God, to my soul. It is during hard times such as these when the Glory of God is a sight to behold. And His goodness, a pleasant taste! "O taste and see that the LORD is good..." Psalm 34:8 Why do we obsess with sin? Either of our own or those of fellow Christians? Has Christ not set us free from the law of sin and death? "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of ...
Read more

Translation vs. Paraphrase

By -
Up until about four years ago, I studied primarily out of the New Living Translation. It was simple to read and I was comfortable with it. However, I did notice through out my studying in that specific translation, that passages just weren't making any sense. My husband preferred the King James Version and studied out of that, our studying together almost always ended out of the KJV version for the simple fact that the NLT was not adequate in conveying some of the principles of the Word. My husband, at that time worked for Tyndale House Publishing (which publishes the NLT version) gave me a Bible published by them called "The People's Parallel Edition". This edition had the KJV and NLT side by side. It was only then I began to see a true difference between translations. Romans 8:1 in both of these versions comes out different. Romans 8:1 KJV says "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the...
Read more