The Easter Egg Hunts: The Easter Bunny vs Jesus

[SAAN]

You've already been told why red dyed eggs are given out on Pascha in the Orthodox Church. It doesn't matter what kind of crazy you've culled from somewhere in your attempt to try to tell me that my own church doesn't know what it believes on this topic- but I think the Orthodox Church pretty much knows what it believes and promotes better than you. It's what is taught in our Church that counts- and nothing is matching up with the unsubstantiated claims you're spewing.

Also, regarding the Easter bunny thing. Who does this? Name a group. I've never heard tell of such anywhere. I've yet to see Easter bunny anything in an Orthodox Church, so there's one down. We don't even call it Easter anyway. It's Pascha to us- even in English speaking countries.

In Christianity- eggs on Pascha have long represented the resurrection of Christ. You can attempt to spin it any way you like, but after a point it begins to make one wonder why you're trying so hard to promote pagan beliefs and explanations (that every Christian I've ever heard of rejects) over Christian ones.

No, what Christianity does is slaps the name Jesus on top of everything no matter whats it origins and then says, these are the origins of X,Y,Z from now now, just ignore everything before we came along and defined it.

As for Pascha, didnt Jesus say keep the PASSOVER, not pascha. Was there Passover Eggs or Unleavened Eggs. Have you ever stopped to think where did Pascha get red eggs from But im not even against Pascha because I think it is great to honor the resurrection, what I dont get is why cant people let go of the eggs as it doesnt have crap to do with Christ.

 

[Knee V]

Pascha is the Greek word for "Passover".

 

[Rajni]

What does it have to do with Jesus?

Jesus is God, right?
Bunnies and eggs were God's idea.
So that's what they have to do with Jesus.
I know that sounds simplistic, but it's a connection.

At any rate, if activities such as Easter-egg-hunts are *that* much of a
threat and/or a distraction from one's faith, it's probably the *faith*
that needs some work, rather than hiding it away from every
(perceived) threat. As the saying goes, a ship in a harbor is safe, but
that's not what ships are for.

Parents should allow their children hunt the eggs and not miss out on the fun.

let them know it is a fun thing to hunt the eggs that have been hid by the adults.

If parents go along with the deception of the bunny laying the eggs.
Telling the kids yes, the buddy laid the eggs.
Then at Christmas tell the kids that Santa brought those presents.
What happens?
Kids grow up learning that their parents lied to them.
Then they are told about Jesus.
We wonder why they do not believe.
If

Fortunately, such activities don't have to go hand-in-hand with lying to
one's kids about a Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth-Fairy, etc. We followd
those traditions while also making it clear that those characters were
fictional.




-

 

[MoreCoffee]

Bunnies do not lay eggs, they go to the shop and buy them from chickens!

Honestly, don't you folk know anything!

 

[RDKirk]

In one of the churches I attended years ago, there was an egg hunt...as one previous poster suggested, it represents new life. So the egg hunt was a demonstration of how we should diligently seek new life in the death and resurrection of the risen Lord Jesus.

However, an egg is a symbol of natural reproduction. Jesus was resurrected--a totally unnatural occurrence, which is it's whole point-- a very different thing that isn't analogous to an egg at all.

 

[RDKirk]

Well obviously we CAN do it without these things. But some use them as a starting point for explaining the Gospel.

As a Jew, Paul HATED idolatry. But what did he do when he was in Athens? Condemn all their shrines? No, he told them that he could see how religious they were, so much so that they had a shrine dedicated to an unknown God. He then told them who this God was, and preached the Gospel to them.

Actually, there was a specific doctrine of the "unknown God." Several of the ancient Greeks proposed that the perfect predictability of the motions of the heavens was the result of a single God who was powerful enough to prevent any other spiritual beings from interfering with His purposes. Because they viewed such perfect predictability as a virtue, such a God must also be perfectly virtuous. However, because He was perfectly virtuous, He could not have communion with man because that would diminish His virtue. Thus, He must be always unknown to man.

Paul was clearly familiar with that doctrine--or else he was a mighty quick reader--because he was able to quote one of those ancient Greeks who followed that doctrine.

I believe Paul was also reflecting on the Unknown God doctrine when he wrote Romans 1, because if that group of Greeks could determine and acknowledge the existence of God from observation of creation, then it proved Psalms 14 true.

 

[RDKirk]

thank you for dispelling the belief that eggs had something to do with Babylon or other such nonsense

If, however, that particular story does not accompany eggs at Easter, then regardless of that connection, it has been reduced to a pagan ritual. Not having a direct connection to ancient pagans does not mean it's not pagan in itself.

If it's not following a belief in the God of Abraham, it's pagan.

 

[Rhamiel]

If, however, that particular story does not accompany eggs at Easter, then regardless of that connection, it has been reduced to a pagan ritual. Not having a direct connection to ancient pagans does not mean it's not pagan in itself.

If it's not following a belief in the God of Abraham, it's pagan.

so, egghunt without Christian story = pagan

why not
egghunt without pagan story = Christian?

oh here, this makes even more sense

an egghunt, is neither Christian nor Pagan
it is a morally neutral action that can be good or bad depending on the situation

 

[RDKirk]

so, egghunt without Christian story = pagan

why not
egghunt without pagan story = Christian?

oh here, this makes even more sense

an egghunt, is neither Christian nor Pagan
it is a morally neutral action that can be good or bad depending on the situation

It's not morally neutral if it's actively sponsored by the Church. The Church is not morally neutral.

 

[ebia]

As for Pascha, didnt Jesus say keep the PASSOVER, not pascha.

:slams head against wall several times:

 

[ebia]

However, an egg is a symbol of natural reproduction. Jesus was resurrected--a totally unnatural occurrence, which is it's whole point-- a very different thing that isn't analogous to an egg at all.

I guess you don't approve of, say, Paul looking for resurrection analogies in seeds.

The whole point of analogies is that they aren't perfect. They don't set out to be.

 

[Rhamiel]

It's not morally neutral if it's actively sponsored by the Church. The Church is not morally neutral.

showing generosity to children in the form of giving them candy and tiny gifts inside the eggs = good

building community and/or family interaction by setting up an egg hunt with other people = good

kids running and playing in the fresh air = good


you are right, it is not a morally neutral thing
it is a good thing

thank you for clearing that up

eggs and bunnies are morally neutral, if they are being used to convey a pagan message, they are bad, if they are being used to convey a Christian message, they are good, if they are not being used to convey ANY message then they are neutral

 

[RDKirk]

showing generosity to children in the form of giving them candy and tiny gifts inside the eggs = good

building community and/or family interaction by setting up an egg hunt with other people = good

kids running and playing in the fresh air = good


you are right, it is not a morally neutral thing
it is a good thing

thank you for clearing that up

eggs and bunnies are morally neutral, if they are being used to convey a pagan message, they are bad, if they are being used to convey a Christian message, they are good, if they are not being used to convey ANY message then they are neutral

That is a line of logic that can be used by anyone against the Church, merely by their own definition of "good."

For a woman to control her own body in all ways is "good." Sex in any way that does not cause physical harm is "good." For any two persons to marry is "good." How much of that do you want the Church to participate in and call it neutral?

 

[Rhamiel]

That is a line of logic that can be used by anyone against the Church, merely by their own definition of "good."

For a woman to control her own body in all ways is "good." Sex in any way that does not cause physical harm is "good." For any two persons to marry is "good." How much of that do you want the Church to participate in and call it neutral?

sex is not good in anyway that does not harm the other person, that is a secular way of looking at things

sex outside the holy union of marriage is a moral evil

kids playing outside is not a moral evil

only if that outside play has elements that are evil would it then become evil

there is nothing intrinsic in the nature of eggs or rabbits that makes them evil, both are created by God
it would have to be used as pagan propaganda for it to be evil, that means the people who set up the Easter Egg hunt would have to purposefully try to indoctrinate pagan ideas into the children using the eggs and rabbits, you simply do not see this happening at church easter egg hunts

I mean it is possible, I am sure Wiccans might use this time of year and use similar symbols to support their religion, that is evil, because it supports a non-Christian religion

but the easter egg hunt, in and of itself, is a good thing

 

[SAAN]

:slams head against wall several times:

The 2 ARE NOT the same thing.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

I know many churches innocently do Easter egg hunts for the kiddies, but have they ever once thought how that has ZERO to do with Jesus.

No Christian would actively attend a gay pride parade and say it is fun and harmless.

Did you just seriously compare an easter egg hunt to a gay pride parade? I mean, SERIOUSLY??

At our church, we sometimes have an easter egg hunt for our Easter for Kids VBS event. Inside the eggs are candy, sure, and then we have little slips of paper with Easter bible passages.

Pagan? HARDLY.

 

[Rajni]

However, an egg is a symbol of natural reproduction. Jesus was resurrected--a totally unnatural occurrence, which is it's whole point-- a very different thing that isn't analogous to an egg at all.

Here's where the eggs could help lay the foundation for the perfect
witnessing opportunity:

Jesus said that His yoke is light, right?

Since "yoke" sounds like "yolk", the inevitable discussion of eggs
inherent in such egg-centric Easter events could provide the perfect
segue to discuss Jesus and His words of encouragement in Matthew
11:28-30.

Then there's the phrase "Gloria in excelsis (pronounced
'egg-shell-sis') Deo".

Call me cracked, but if one is scrambling to find an effective
witnessing tool at Easter, eggs don't just make it simpler, they make it
over-easy.



-

 

[SAAN]

Did you just seriously compare an easter egg hunt to a gay pride parade? I mean, SERIOUSLY??

At our church, we sometimes have an easter egg hunt for our Easter for Kids VBS event. Inside the eggs are candy, sure, and then we have little slips of paper with Easter bible passages.

Pagan? HARDLY.

When I said that, it was in responce to all the comments on "its just fun for the kids". If everything is always fun for the kids, you can pretty much take ANY thing and just say its fun for the kids and not care about its origins. The gay parade comparison is to say, you can take you kids to a gay parade with candy, cartoon characters, floats, and great food and say ITS FUN FOR THE KIDS with zero regards as to why they are at the parade, what the true meaning of the parade is and the origins of it as well. But in the end you can say it was just fun for the children.

 

[Root of Jesse]

I know many churches innocently do Easter egg hunts for the kiddies, but have they ever once thought how that has ZERO to do with Jesus.


Seriously, an egg laying rabbit full of colorful candy!!!

An Egg laying rabbit is 100% pagan and has zero to do with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. There is nothing in the Bible or Christian tradition that links the two together, yet many churchs continue to do Easter egg hunts.

Some Churches need to do better.

An egg-laying rabbit? I don't believe I've seen one of those...

Egg-laying chickens, yes. An egg-roll or egg-hunt has nothing to do with Jesus, you're right. If they do it during the service, it would be wrong. But afterwards? Why not?

I mean, having a pot luck at church has nothing to do with Jesus either, but churches have them all the time. The point is to gather the faithful together for fellowship. FWIW, I don't think hats and new shoes and dresses have anything to do with Jesus, but we dress up in these outfits to go to Easter service, don't we?

How about we let Easter Egg Hunts be Easter activities, and acknowledging the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus (the Pascha) be that? Why do we conflate the two? I agree that it can be confusing to the kids, but it's also a time to catechize them.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

When I said that, it was in responce to all the comments on "its just fun for the kids". If everything is always fun for the kids, you can pretty much take ANY thing and just say its fun for the kids and not care about its origins. The gay parade comparison is to say, you can take you kids to a gay parade with candy, cartoon characters, floats, and great food and say ITS FUN FOR THE KIDS with zero regards as to why they are at the parade, what the true meaning of the parade is and the origins of it as well. But in the end you can say it was just fun for the children.

Ahhh...a strawman argument then.

You do realize that most Christians (and most people for that matter) aren't going to take their kids to a gay pride parade in the name of fun, right?

The analogy has nothing to do with the argument at hand.

An easter egg hunt CAN definitely be fun for the children, and it's a good way to engage them in bible lessons. It's all in how the church does it. I've never heard of a church simply having an easter egg hunt without incorporating scriptural teachings into it.