by badboy 2 Replies latest jw friends
In Reasoning From The Scriptures, its says that Easter is connected with Astarte,not if you search on the Internet, Easter comes from an Anglo-Saxon source.
I humbly suggest that the Watchtower should check their facts.
Any suggested Websites/reading to help the Watchtower,anyone?
How about their own literature
*** g76 12/22 14 Are They Idolatrous Decorations? ***
”So the Christian needs to be primarily concerned about what? Not what a certain symbol or design possibly meant thousands of years ago or how it might be thought of on the other side of the world, but what it means now to most people
where he lives. … With so many different designs having been used in false worship, if a person went to the trouble and took the time he might find an undesirable connection with almost every design he sees around him. But why do that? Would it not be needlessly upsetting? And is that the best use of one’s time and attention? …Paul, however, also showed the value of concentrating on the things that are of real importance instead of getting involved in controversy over petty meanings and possible connections that are not of obvious significance. (1 Cor. 10:25,26; 2 Tim. 2:14, 23)”
As long as the meaning of the holiday is pure and to God's glory any association 'pagans' have added or celebrate instead are of no significance. One of their arguments against Christmas is 'we don't even know the exact date"--- well with easter we do-- Jesus died the Friday after passover (which is on thursday) before sundown. He's recorded as rising on the 3rd day = Fri. Sat. Sun=3rd day. So we know when he was resurrected because by mandate of the Bible the passover is the same date every year. Outlawing holidays is just another isolation tactic-- they didn't even outlaw holidays until after Rutherford- Pres.#2-- took over.
My suggestion? read the Bible and see what God thinks of celebrating him.
EASTER, WHAT'S THE REAL TRUTH: Previously, and as found in most encyclopedias, most scholars took the view of "the Venerable Bede" who in 8th Century England speculated that the name Easter may have come from the name for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre. But more research research shows several other possibilities. One is that the name more likely came from the Latin for "White Week," that spring week when people wore white to be baptized as Christians. The Latin expression "Hebdonada Alba" (White Week) was misunderstood as the plural for the word dawn and mistranslated into Old High German as Eostarum. Another possibility is that Easter came from the Anglo-Saxon word "eastre" akin to the words easterly or eastern, that is something that came from the East. This is possible because Christianity entered Germany and England in Western Europe from the east, the Middle East. A lesser possibility is that it derived from the Bible's speaking of Christ as someday returning to resurrect people from out of the east. Of course there might also be a combination of possible reasons for the name.
In any event, when Christianity reached Germany in the 1500s the Christians there symbolized the resurrection hope, that is new life, via rabbits and eggs. This was because from eggs clearly come new life, and also because rabbits were well-known for appearing first here and then there which is exactly how Christ did, appearing in first one place then another, after he was resurrected. Some modern persons have attacked the celebration of Easter by promoting in writing their theory that the continuing usage today of Easter rabbits and eggs is a vestige of ancient fertility or sex rituals that pre-dated Christianity, and so this day that is so highly esteemed by those of different beliefs is, they contend, tarred with an immorality that God could not possibly find acceptable. Such criticism from some persons is well-intended because it comes from a lack of full knowledge and such critics having been mistaught, and it is true that some ancient cultures used colored eggs to symbolize different ideas or as part of worship as when, for example, the Chinese, have used eggs dyed red to symbolize good luck.
Therefore let can conclude that those not celebrating Easter from lack of correct knowledge, or who out of honest doubts and sensitivity do so, deserve our respect too but yet we can also feel free to educate them to the real truth about Easter, the rabbits and eggs, even as those who honorably observe the day and its traditions also deserve full respect, which is exactly what Paul counsels at Colossians 2:16. This carries over to other things, for usually those with misinformation the call "the truth" about Easter are also persons taught that Christmas trees and Santa are pagan instead of the real truth which is that the tree began as the tree of paradise used in Medieval church plays and Santa came from Saint Nicholas who was a Medieval gift-giver also in Medieval times. Visit our nonprofit Jah Christians egroup at the following to request more free Bible information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jahchristian, or contact: jahchristian at yahoo.com
