CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS – RESPOND TO DEFEND
EASTER SUNDAY IS NOT OF PAGAN ORIGIN
[“many publications claims Easter has its roots in a pagan holiday and rituals and as such ought not to be observed by Christians.]
● RESPONSE:
NO AND FALSE, WHATEVER ACCUSATION CHARGE BY THESE VARIOUS ANTI-CATHOLIC PROTESTANTS , IT HAS NOTHING TO DO OF LINKING OUR EASTER CELEBRATION FOR JESUS’ RESURRECTION WITH PAGANISM, IT IS FAR FROM THEIR IMAGINATIVE ACCUSATION.
ANYONE MAKING THIS CHARGE SHOWS A TOTAL LACK OF COMPREHENSION OF GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY. IN FACT, ONLY A PERSON SPEAKING ENGLISH OR GERMAN COULD EVEN POSSIBLY MAKE THIS CHARGE.
FOR CATHOLICS, AS CHRISTIANS, EASTER IS THE CELEBRATION OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION. THE FACT THAT WHEN IT WAS FIRST CELEBRATED THE FEAST OF THE RESURRECTION COINCIDED WITH PAGAN CELEBRATIONS AND DOESN’T MEAN IT WAS DERIVED FROM THEM. ONCE AGAIN, IT WAS JUST “COINCIDED”.
WHILE THE JEWISH PASSOVER (on which Christ was crucified) ALSO COINCIDED WITH THIS “EASTER” CELEBRATIONS, YET, THIS JEWISH PASSOVER DIDN’T MEAN IT WAS PAGAN.
SO LOGICALLY, IF WE ACCEPT THE ARGUMENTS OF ANTI-CATHOLICS FALSE INFORMATION REGARDING THE EASTER SUNDAY IS OF PAGAN ORIGIN, THEN THE JEWISH PASSOVER WHICH COINCIDED WITH THIS CELEBRATIONS WOULD BECAME A PAGAN TOO? JUST BECAUSE THE FACT THAT THE “EASTER SUNDAY” DATE COINCIDED (ALIGNED) TO THE JEWISH DATE OF “PASSOVER”
► OBJECTION # 1 :
[ Easter is a pagan rather than a Christian holiday, as shown by its very name, it came from name of germanic pagan false god “Eostra” or “ostara” ]
● RESPONSE:
MANY ANTI-CATHOLIC PROTESTANTS BELIEVES THAT THE WORD “EASTER” COMES FROM “Eostra” or “Ostara”, WHICH AN ANGLO-SAXON GODDESS OF SPRING.
THUS, THESE ANTI-CATHOLICS CONCLUDED THAT EASTER SUNDAY IS A REMNANT OF SOME PAGANIC SPRING FESTIVAL IN HONOR OF FALSE GOD, “EOSTRA”.
THEY JUST BASE TO “SOUND LIKE” PRESUMPTION WHICH IS VERY ILLOGICAL TO USE.
NOW LET US DEAL WITH THE NAME OF “EASTER”.
THE TRUTH IS, THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH DOES NOT FORMALLY CALL THIS FEAST AS “EASTER” BUT RATHER “PASCHA”. WHICH DERIVED FROM THE ARAMAIC & LATIN WORD FOR “PASSOVER”.
WE CAN READ “PASHCHA” / “PASH” ON THE OLD CATHOLIC BIBLE TRANSLATION (LATIN VULGATA) & (DOUAY-RHEIMS BIBLE)
Acts 12:4 (Douay-Rheims Bible) “And when he had apprehended him, he cast him into prison, delivering him to four files of soldiers, to be kept, intending, after the PASCH, to bring him forth to the people.”
Acts 12:4 (Latin Vulgata) “quem cum adprehendisset misit in carcerem tradens quattuor quaternionibus militum custodire eum volens post PASCHA producere eum populo “
HERE IS THE NEW BIBLE TRANSLATION , WHICH GIVES THE MEANING OF “PASHCHA” & “PASH” AS “PASSOVER”.
Acts 12:4 (New International Version) “After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the PASSOVER.”
ANYWAYS, “PASSOVER” IS FEAST TRADITION OF JEWISH PEOPLE IN BIBLICAL OLD TESTAMENT & NEW TESTAMENT, WE ALL KNOW THAT JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE IS NOT PAGAN, THUS, WHAT JEWISH CELEBRATES (WHICH IS PASSOVER) IS NOT OF PAGANISM, SO AS THE EASTER (PASCHA / PASSOVER) OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS ALSO UNDERSTANDABLY NOT OF PAGANISM. (PERIOD)
ONLY ENGLISH & GERMANIC COUNTRIES USE THE TERM “EASTER” HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS WORD, IN WHICH SOUNDED LIKE “EOSTRA”, THUS, AGAIN ANTI-CATHOLIC PROTESTANTS CONCLUDED THAT EASTER SUNDAY IS OF PAGANISM DUE TO THEIR “SOUND-LIKE” PRESUMPTIONS.
► OBJECTION # 2 :
[ your easter sunday is unbiblical, nowhere can be found “Easter” in the bible. ]
● RESPONSE :
THE TERM “EASTER” ALSO APPEARS IN THE BIBLE ONLY IN THE KING JAMES VERSION IN (ACTS 12:4) AS A TRANSLATION FOR THE JEWISH HOLIDAY OF PASSOVER. BIBLE SAYS:
Acts 12:4 (King James Version) “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after EASTER to bring him forth to the people.”
IN THIS PASSAGE, THE WORD “EASTER” WAS USED BY THE PROTESTANT TRANSLATORS OF THE KING JAMES VERSION AND NOT CATHOLIC TERM FOR EASTER “PASCHA”.
WHEN MARTIN LUTHER, A PROTESTANT REFORMER & FORMER CATHOLIC FRIAR, TRANSLATED THE BIBLE INTO GERMAN (New Testament in 1522), HE CHOSE THE WORD “OSTER” TO REFER TO THE PASSOVER REFERENCES BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESURRECTION. IN ONE OF HIS WORKS, HE WROTE:
“Da er ihn nun griff, legte er ihn ins Gefängnis und überantwortete ihn vier Rotten, je von vier Kriegsknechten, ihn zu bewahren, und gedachte, ihn nach OSTER dem Volk vorzustellen” (Acts 12:4).
ONCE AGAIN, EASTER (PASCHA) HAD NO ASSOCIATION TO ANY PAGAN GODDESS. RATHER ITS TERM IS CLEARLY BIBLICAL.
► OBJECTION # 3 :
[ the Easter is pagan because it falls near the vernal equinox ]
● RESPONSE:
LET US MAKE LITTLE BIT DEEPER IN DEAL WITH THE DATE.
OUR REASON, HOWEVER, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PAGANISM. INSTEAD, IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH JUDAISM AND WITH CHRIST’S RESURRECTION, AND NOT PAGANISM.
WE SHOULD BE NOTED, THAT CHRIST WAS RESURRECTED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, WHICH IS “SUNDAY” IN (MATTHEW 28:1)
THUS, THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA IN A.D. 325 ALL CHRISTIANS HAVE CELEBRATED HIS RESURRECTION ON SUNDAY. BECAUSE THAT WAS THE DAY CHRIST WAS RESURRECTED (THE SUNDAY AFTER JEWISH PASSOVER.)
AT THE COUNCIL, CHRISTIANS AGREED TO CELEBRATE THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST ON FIRST SUNDAY AFTER JEWISH CALENDAR DATE “14 NISAN”
AND “NISAN”, BEING A JEWISH MONTH, WHICH ALWAYS HAD JEWISH PASSOVER ACCORDING TO THEIR TRADITIONS .
AT THE SAME TIME, “NISSAN” BEING THE MONTH, WHICH THE SPRING EQUINOX IS ALSO OCCURRED. SEE?
THEREFORE, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PAGAN LUNAR CELEBRATION AND PAGANISM, INSTEAD, IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST ON ITS JEWISH PASSOVER CONTEXT. AND NOT A PAGAN CONTEXT.
► OBJECTION # 4 :
[ having your so called “Easter eggs” is of pagan origin, because this custom of coloring eggs were used in rituals associated with a pagan gods. ]
● RESPONSE:
AS FOR EASTER EGG CUSTOM, THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH PAINTING & HUNTING THEM DURING “EASTER SUNDAY” PROVIDED THE REAL MEANING OF THE DAY ISN’T LOST. AS WITH THE DAYS OF THE WEEK (the names of which are of pagan origin), ANY PECULIARLY PAGAN SIGNIFICANCE ATTACHED TO EASTER EGGS WAS FORGOTTEN CENTURIES AGO.
THE CUSTOM OF THE EASTER EGG MAY HAVE EXISTED IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY OF MESOPOTAMIA, WHO STAINED EGGS RED IN MEMORY OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, SHED AT HIS CRUCIFIXION. IN LATER TRADITIONS THE EGG IS ALSO A SYMBOL OF THE EMPTY TOMB.
► OBJECTION # 5:
[ Why is the date of a Easter Sunday is movable in each year?, there is no exact date to celebrate?
so funny, you claimed your church existed for 2,000 years BUT its priests, bishops and Pope cannot decided which date is permanent to celebrate your easter? hahaha ]
● RESPONSE:
WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF EASTER OF WHY ITS DATE OF CELEBRATION IS MOVABLE EACH YEAR
THE EARLIEST BELIEVERS, EARLY CHRISTIANS OF THE CHURCH WISHED TO KEEP THE OBSERVANCE OF EASTER IN CORRELATION TO THE JEWISH PASSOVER. AND WHY?
BECAUSE THE JESUS DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION HAPPENED AFTER THE JEWISH PASSOVER,
THUS, THEY WANTED EASTER TO ALWAYS BE CELEBRATED NEXT TO THE PASSOVER.
AND, SINCE THE JEWISH HOLIDAY CALENDAR IS BASED ON SOLAR AND LUNAR CYCLES, SO EACH FEAST DAY IS OBVIOUSLY MOVABLE (CHANGEABLE), WITH DATES SHIFTING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
THUS, IN ORDER TO LAID / SETTLE THE ACTUAL DAY OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION, THE DATE IS BASING ON THE JEWISH CALENDAR OF “PASSING OVER” WHICH IS MOVABLE.
IN THIS SENSE, THIS IS ANOTHER PROOF THAT “EASTER SUNDAY” IS NOT OF PAGANISM, RATHER ITS HEAVILY RELIED ON JUDAISM, A RELIGION OF JEWISH PEOPLE , A CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD IN OLD TESTAMENT.
► QUESTION # 1 :
[ why Easter celebrates in the first day of the week, “SUNDAY” ? ]
● ANSWER:
THE BIBLE MAKES IT CLEAR THAT JESUS WAS RESURRECTED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, SUNDAY:
Matthew 28:1 (Good News Bible) “After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”
Mark 16:2 (Good News Bible) “Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.”
John 20:1 (Good News Bible) “Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance. “
John 20:19 (Good News Bible) “It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.”
ABOVE ALL VERSES, JESUS’ RESURRECTION IS MOST WORTHY OF BEING CELEBRATED IN SUNDAY FOR HE DIED FOR US ALL, AS BIBLE SAYS:
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 (Good News Bible) [3] “I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; [4] that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; [5] that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles.
THAT’S WHY, IT’S APPROPRIATE FOR US TO CELEBRATE JESUS’ RESURRECTION ON A SUNDAY, THE DAY ON WHICH JESUS’ RESURRECTED.
► QUESTION # 2 :
[ why do we always celebrates this custom?]
● ANSWER,
WE CELEBRATE THE EASTER (also known as Pasch) AS OUR GREAT FEAST AND COMMEMORATION OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION, THE FOUNDATION AND CENTERPIECE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH. ACCORDING TO APOSTLE ST. PAUL.
1 Corinthians 15:14 (Good News Bible) “and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe.”
THEREFORE, WITHOUT EASTER, (WHICH IS THE DAY OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION) THERE IS NO CHRISTIANITY. THUS, WE SHOULD COMMEMORATES & CELEBRATE THIS IN HIS RESURRECTION DAY AS A TRADITION. BIBLE SAYS:
2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New Jerusalem Bible) “Stand firm, then, brothers, and KEEP THE TRADITIONS that we taught you, WHETHER BY WORD OF MOUTH or by letter.”
1 Corinthians 11:2 (New Jerusalem Bible) “I congratulate you for remembering me so consistently and FOR MAINTAINING THE TRADITIONS exactly as I passed them on to you.”
THAT’S WHY THERE’S NOTHING WRONG TO CELEBRATE THIS TRADITION ANNUALLY, RATHER ITS WORTH TO CELEBRATE AND CONTINUE THIS TRADITION DOWN THROUGH GENERATION HAVE PASSED.
► QUESTION # 3 : [ does the Easter Sunday is biblical ?? ]
● ANSWER:
THE MEANING & SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FEAST IS BIBLICAL, PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS ANSWER FROM ABOVE QUESTIONS (# 1) AND (# 2).
THE TERM IS ALSO BIBLICAL, PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS RESPONSE FROM (OBJECTION # 2)
► QUESTION # 4: [ How is the date for Easter determined? Last year it was very early. ]
● ANSWER:
ONCE AGAING, AS DISCUSSES IN THE ANSWER FROM (OBJECTION # 5) , EASTER FALLS ON THE FIRST SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE FIRST FULL MOON AFTER THE VERNAL EQUINOX. IF THE FIRST FULL MOON OCCURS ON THE EQUINOX, EASTER IS THE FOLLOWING SUNDAY. THUS, EASTER CAN FALL ANYWHERE BETWEEN MARCH 22 AND APRIL 25.
► QUESTION # 5 :
[ aside the Catholics who celebrate the Easter, then who else the other church celebrate the Easter alongside with Catholic church? ]
● ANSWER:
SOME OLD PROTESTANTS RETAINS THIS PRACTICE, MOSTLY THEY ARE IN EARLY PROTESTANT CHURCHES (16th, 17th, 18th century) WHICH STILL FOLLOWS THIS HOLY TRADITION FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. THEY ARE ARE AS FOLLOWS.
– Lutheran Church
– Methodist Church
– Anglican Church
– Presbyterian Church
HOWEVER, THERE OTHER NEWLY FOUNDED WANNA-BE CHRISTIAN GROUPS, WHICH IS VERY ANTI-CATHOLIC, MOSTLY EVANGELICALS LIKE “BORN AGAIN” AND RESTORATION GROUP LIKE “IGLESIA NI CRISTO”, “SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST” AND “JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES”, REJECTS & DENIED THE MEANING OF ITS TRADITION,
AS THEY BELIEVE THAT IT WAS OF PAGAN ORIGIN AND ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE (WORD-FOR-WORD) AS THEY KEEPING TO INSIST, AS THEY ALWAYS CLAIM IT WAS ANOTHER CATHOLIC INVENTION.
THEY CONTINUE OF CRITICIZING & CONDEMNING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WITHOUT KNOWING THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF “EASTER SUNDAY”.
” I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised to life……..” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
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