"Easter's not a Christian holiday"?

[moshpa]

This is what I heard at my non-denominational church this past Sunday. "Easter's not a Christian Holiday anyway, Passover is Jewish." "Easter is every day for us Christians."

And then they proceeded to not talk AT ALL about the Resurrection. On Easter Sunday.

I was taken aback, and saddened... I live in a very Catholic community, and if this is the way we talk about Easter (and Christmas is the same), the only days that visitors *might* come to church to see what's going on, it's no wonder the church is not growing.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Theophorus]

Just curious, was this a Church of Christ, or independant Baptist congregation?

 

[x Genuine For Christ x]

Personally, I think that Easter is everyday for us... Christ, the one who resurrected lives within us. Therefore the resurrection occured and is with us everyday.

As for the church, I would be concerned myself.

 

[moshpa]

Just curious, was this a Church of Christ, or independant Baptist congregation?

church of Christ.

 

[holo]

It's true that easter is a jewish holiday. Believing in Jesus has nothing to do with keeping traditions, but traditions aren't "wrong" in and of themselves. Just consider christmas. A pagan celebration turned "christian".

 

[moshpa]

It's true that easter is a jewish holiday. Believing in Jesus has nothing to do with keeping traditions, but traditions aren't "wrong" in and of themselves. Just consider christmas. A pagan celebration turned "christian".

I think you've summed up the issue well. I agree with you, but this doesn't seem to bother anyone else in my congregation. (Or it does, and they don't mention it.) I think that to reach out to a non-believing country with Catholic roots (France in this case), it would help to keep some of these Christian traditions. And while we aren't commanded to celebrate Easter, I have a hard time figuring out what could be wrong about speaking of Christ's Resurrection on the anniversary of it. (Or at any time, given that that's the reason for our faith... but to consciously make an effort to NOT speak of it because the rest of the world is celebrating Easter just seems wrong to me.)

 

[holo]

I think that to reach out to a non-believing country with Catholic roots (France in this case), it would help to keep some of these Christian traditions.

That's one side of the issue. On the other side we have all the people who would like to know Jesus, but can't force themselves into the straight clothes that many christians wear. Or they would like to go to bible school, but are denied because they have long or blue hair. Some of them simply can't suffer going through an hour of accordion playing and info on what the church is up to, before the pastor get's down to today's message.

But it's a human thing to only be in the middle of the road when we're going from one ditch to another.

 

[Talie]

It's true that easter is a jewish holiday. Believing in Jesus has nothing to do with keeping traditions, but traditions aren't "wrong" in and of themselves. Just consider christmas. A pagan celebration turned "christian".

I could be wrong, but i thought Easter was also "adapted" from a pagan festival?? Easter certainly isn't Jewish - Passover is, but that's not quite the same thing

 

[holo]

I could be wrong, but i thought Easter was also "adapted" from a pagan festival?? Easter certainly isn't Jewish - Passover is, but that's not quite the same thing[/size][/color][/font]

Ah, you're probably right. I don't care too much for neither pagan or Jewish things, only Jesus.

 

[cbk]

This is what I heard at my non-denominational church this past Sunday. "Easter's not a Christian Holiday anyway, Passover is Jewish." "Easter is every day for us Christians."

And then they proceeded to not talk AT ALL about the Resurrection. On Easter Sunday.

I was taken aback, and saddened... I live in a very Catholic community, and if this is the way we talk about Easter (and Christmas is the same), the only days that visitors *might* come to church to see what's going on, it's no wonder the church is not growing.

Any thoughts on this?

Well, I go to a Church of Christ and we celebrated Easter and even talked about the resurrection -- but, we always talk of the resurrection.....

Strange, I am presiding over communion this week and I am actually showing the ties between the Passover meal of Jesus's day and the passover meal of the slaves in Egypt -- and how they are linked; how the old was a foreshadowing of the new.

But, when looking at the churches of Christ, I have noticed that they are almost all different and independant of one another; some are divided with one another over issues that many believe are trivial; and therefore, it is impossible to judge them all due to the teachings and preachings of another.

in essence, they are seperate but share the same name.

 

[Kripost]

I could be wrong, but i thought Easter was also "adapted" from a pagan festival?? Easter certainly isn't Jewish - Passover is, but that's not quite the same thing[/size][/color][/font]

No, it was not adopted from a pagan festival, but has its roots in the Jewish Passover. This is more evident in the other languages. In greek it is called Pascha, and in Latin it is Pascalia. Similarly, the descendent languages of Latin have similar names (Spanish: Pascua, French: Pâques). They were all derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, 'Pesach'.

 

[cbk]

Here are some of my thoughts, as a member of a Church of Christ.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Now, many centuries before Jesus sat at this supper, a group of slaves also sat around tables in anticipation of a judgment. The setting was Egypt in the days of Moses. And the theme of Moses’s day was no different than the theme of mankind’s when Jesus sat for this “Last Supper”.

The slaves in Egypt were held in bondage to slavery; mankind was held in bondage to sin. The wrath of God was poised over the land of Egypt – ready to be released; the wrath of God was poised over every soul in Jesus’s day – every one of them. The grace of God was made manifest in the days of Moses when HE (God) offered His people a way to escape the judgment; and the grace of God was made manifest in the days of Jesus when the way to escape the eternal judgment was presented to us in the form of Jesus.

Now, a sacrifice was required in the days of Moses – a lamb (unblemished), that was to be made available and applied to the shelters of those who wanted to be saved. And, in Jesus’s day, a sacrifice was required that was to be made available and applied to the shelters (to the bodies) of those souls who wanted to be saved.

To me, It is no mystery or coincidence that the Last Supper coincides with the calendar date when the nation of Israel was to remember what happened in Egypt hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. Everything written in the past (in regards to the slaves of Egypt) was a foreshadowing of the more significant events of the future – of the day when Jesus would sit at the table; of the day when Jesus would communicate to his disciples the NEW covenant between God and man; and of the day when Jesus would offer himself as the sacrifice that would protect those who are willing to accept it.

One reason we meet is to remember – not only to remember what Jesus has done for us – but to remember what Jesus IS DOING for us and what Jesus WILL DO for us when the true judgment comes. For, unlike the short night that the slaves of Egypt endured before tasting the fullness of their freedom; we still MUST wait in these shelters, in anticipation of that morning when our souls will escape the judgment and fate of those who are not protected by his body and blood….. We wait in obedient faith that his body was offered for our protection and that his blood will save us, and we have been instructed to remember this by taking bread and the fruit of the vine.

Sadly, with such a fate hovering over each of us, we should not have to remember such a marvelous sacrifice and HOW this sacrifice protects our lives – it should be engrained in our beings. But, Jesus, in his infinite wisdom understands that we are weak in the flesh – that we are forgetful – that we sometimes miss the big picture by losing our focus on what is more important – that we sometimes live in doubt that God will keep his promises.

Who knows, in some of the homes in Egypt, during the short night of God’s wrath, there may have been some who slept, there may have been many who lived in doubt; and there may have been some who lived in fearful anticipation; and there may have been those who were fully confident of their deliverance – but the one thing that was in common to each household; the one thing that protected them all; the one thing that saved them was the sacrificed body of an unblemished lamb that provided the blood that covered their shelters.

Let us remember this, as we meet. Let us remember, (that although OUR night is long) we are protected by the body of Jesus that was sacrificed for our sins and his blood that NOW protects us from the eternal judgment.

The resurrection, a few days later, makes everything significant; and, if it is God's Will that it falls within the Jewish holiday period, then so be it. We should not NOT celebrate Easter (Jesus's resurrection) simply because it has Jewish ties -- I mean, Jesus was BORN A JEW, afterall!

 

[Theophorus]

cbk's post was excellent imo. I was a former CoC member, and as was stated earlier, this practice varies from congregation to congregation. In principle, they are right but in application, I think the extreme position has neglected the theology behind it.

The Pascha, salvation, newness of life that is celebrated in Christianity should not be limited to just one day, or even the "Lord's day", but always celebrated. but the nature of things in heaven, where Christ has entered into the holy of holies, and sat down at the right hand of God for eternity, is different than this world which is still in bondage to time.

We as Christians should recognize that God has divided the time for us into years/seasons days and hours. One of the purposes and acts of creation. And though time flows by, God has given us an eternity "in time" through days, and seasons and festivals, that repeat day after day, year after year.

Prayer, worship, and Pascha all exist in time but when participated in, should bring us into enternity, or rather take us to that moment on Calvary. Thus these things bing part of the fabric of time, transcend it, giving us a fortatse of things eternal themselves.

Thus the early church in recognizing this had broken all aspects of daily life down into revolving around the crucufixtion and ressurection of Christ. Not just a day of the week or year, but prescribed worship to the hour of every day. ie; the 6th hour of the day (every day) is the hour of Christ's crucifixion, the ninth hour is the hour of His death etc. This extends to the days of the week, wednessday being the day He was betrayed, Friday being the day of His crucufixion, Sunday-the resurrection. This takes place through all of the "divisions" created by God throught out the year, whcih is an "eternal" cycle. (thus the passover being institued as "forever" in exodus, is still observed, and will be for all time).

In liturgical worship the phrase "today" is used quite often to emphasize this point; "Today, He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung on a tree."
Breaking down time, and bringing us into eternity, or rather placing us at the foot of the cross. The entire year should revolve around Christ, from the hours, to the days of the week, to the seasons, as God has ordained.
Therefore;

So at midnight or the early morning hour I remeber the resurrection.
On sunday I remeber the resurrection.
On pascha I remeber the resurrection.

By doing this, the believer subjugates everything, including time itself to the Lord, as opposed to giving time to the world.

Sorry for the long ramble....

 

[moshpa]

Cbk & Theophorus, thank you for your insightful posts. Can you come speak to my preacher?

The outreach part is what troubles me the most about the approach my congregation is practicing. This is not a place where I feel free to invite friends who are not familiar with the CoC (or even any church, for most of them) because of some of these extreme ideas.

 

[cbk]

Cbk & Theophorus, thank you for your insightful posts. Can you come speak to my preacher?

The outreach part is what troubles me the most about the approach my congregation is practicing. This is not a place where I feel free to invite friends who are not familiar with the CoC (or even any church, for most of them) because of some of these extreme ideas.

Well, from what you say, their actions border on foolishness.

Remember the words of Paul concerning how he was confident and when with the Gentiles, he would become as Gentile, and when with the Jews, he would become as a Jew? But, in doing so, he would NOT reject Christ, but preach the Word?

Seems your leaders can take this advice, especially concerning the calendar date of Jesus's resurrection!!

I don't understand your church, but having been to several churches of Christ (do to my moving around the state), I have seen many differences.

The first I attended seems like yours. Let me guess.

1) No musical instruments
2) Somewhere you have heard the phrase "Speak where the Bible speaks, and be Silent where the Bible is silent." -- This phrase reeks with so much hypocracy that I would laugh if not for the tears of sorrow.

 

[Simon_Templar]

The name "easter" has pagan derivation (going back to the tutonic tribes of eastern europe) and obviously eggs and bunnies have nothing to do with the resurection. But the pop culture aside, Easter (or Pascha) is a christian holiday. As christians we don't need to be legalistic about holidays, or feasts, and so on. Yet it is also good to mark and celebrate sacred events, remembering in our celebration the sacredness of the event itself.
It is a very real problem within much of the evangelical church (not just church of christ) that they hold very little (and its getting less and less) to be sacred. As a result many are becoming profane, having no respect for the holiness of God, or his institutions and deeds.

 

[Jillymac]

The title "Easter" was taken from a pagan festival. The resurrection has been mixed up with this. Who knows where the bunnies come from but the eggs are supposed to signify the stone that was rolled from Jesus' tomb - that's why you roll the egg down a hill (if some people still do that)
We should really have "Resurrection" Sunday (weekend) instead of "Easter" Sunday (weekend). I do think we should always remember that Christ has risen and is alive, but then taking one specific day to really celebrate the resurrection is like "Christmas", taking the one day to remember the birth of Christ.

To be honest i think we should make more of remembering the death and resurrection. I think, for Christians anyway, that it should be bigger than Christmas! After all it was this event that forgave all our sins so we could live eternally in heaven!

Jilly

 

[Spawn]

I could be wrong, but i thought Easter was also "adapted" from a pagan festival?? Easter certainly isn't Jewish - Passover is, but that's not quite the same thing[/size][/color][/font]

Easter is a name placed upon the Christian feast of Pascha - Greek from the Hebrew Pesach (Passover). Later, in england - TYNDALE applied Easter to the feast. NOWHERE else in the world is it refered to as easter.

spanish - Pascua

french - Paques

Italian - Pasqua

Ducth - Pasan

 

[Spawn]

what you call it, does not change what it is.

Would not a rose by any other name still smell as sweet?

 

[Cary.Melvin]

Easter is a name placed upon the Christian feast of Pascha - Greek from the Hebrew Pesach (Passover). Later, in england - TYNDALE applied Easter to the feast. NOWHERE else in the world is it refered to as easter.

spanish - Pascua

french - Paques

Italian - Pasqua

Ducth - Pasan

I think the Germans call it something similar to Easter as well.