Easter

HE IS RISEN!!! :)

I am not sure if we already have this thread (it is sort of similar to the Christmas thread), but I was wondering what you thought about Easter. Should we celebrate it? Of course, we should celebrate Christ's Resurrection every day, but is it morally acceptable to pay special attention to it on one day of the year? Are all Easter traditions simply pagan rituals re-booted into Christian forms?

Passover is the God commanded way to commemorate and celebrate the same event.

I don't think there are moral problems with celebrating it on a specific day each year, but it's certainly not something we're commanded to do, so I'm not particularly fond of it.

I know people who take issue with the very name Easter, because of its indisputable pagan origins. I tend to not care that much about things like that… but I can see people's point. It has pagan origins for sure, and today it's so commercialized that some people only think of bunnies and eggs… So I prefer to stay away from it altogether.

As you said, Jimmy, Christ's resurrection is something that should be celebrated and acknowledged every single day, because it's the reason we have hope, the reason we're alive in Him. The idea of having a special day of celebration for it is just foreign to Scripture.

Umm… reference, please? I see no command that New Testament Christians are to celebrate Passover… What I do see is a command to celebrate the Lord's Supper – the eating of bread and drinking of the fruit of the vine – in remembrance of Christ, whenever the church comes together.

I don't think there are moral problems with celebrating it on a specific day each year, but it's certainly not something we're commanded to do, so I'm not particularly fond of it.

Are you saying your only fond of things we are commanded to do?

Umm... reference, please? I see no command that New Testament Christians are to celebrate Passover... What I do see is a command to celebrate the Lord's Supper -- the eating of bread and drinking of the fruit of the vine -- in remembrance of Christ, whenever the church comes together.

The following is not a response to Christian. I quoted Christian because he said exactly what I want to say (and in general, I agree with his other post too). I'm simply adding my thoughts to this subject.

Even if pagans did celebrate other stuff on Easter, that doesn't somehow make it sinful to celebrate good things on the same day (unless you believe that Satan can claim and patent what God created).

Now, if you're violating God's regulations of the official worship service, of course that's wrong. And if you lie to your kids that there's a pink rabbit that gives them colored eggs, that's wrong. But commemorating Christ's resurrection on a certain day as a reminder to us to keep that in mind is not wrong. You can abuse Easter. You can sin with anything. But that does not make that thing inherently sinful. You have the responsibility not to abuse it, and if you dont' have the self-control not to abuse it, maybe you shouldn't have it. But don't condemn others because they do have the self-control.

If the Bible doesn't say something is universally sinful, and you say is, then you are playing God. You're trying to make your own rules based on what you personally prefer. And while your preferences may be respectable, they're not on the same level as God's Law, so to place them there is pride. It's trying to add to the Law of God and condemn others in God's name when God's own written Word doesn't condemn them. There were people like that in Jesus's day–called Pharisees–and yikes; He did not appreciate it!

The Bible doesn't say that you should celebrate your birthday either. Isn't that a pagan celebration? Isn't that taking pride in life?

Also, what about the Fourth of July? Why the heck do we celebrate our nation? Especially on one specific day? Shouldn't we be glad we live here every day? No, catch that, why should we be happy to be here! The culture is so pagan! Good grief, we shouldn't want to be here, or anywhere, should we?

^I'm depressed now…of you'll excuse me, I'll go take a hop off the nearest bridge, since I'm not a citizen of this world…^

I don't think there are moral problems with celebrating it on a specific day each year, but it's certainly not something we're commanded to do, so I'm not particularly fond of it.

Are you saying your only fond of things we are commanded to do?

Umm… when, like, 95% of Christians make a huge deal out of something that God did not command, then I'm going to have trouble being fond of it, yes. xP

I take it you're just making general points, not directing them at me, because I have barely any problems with people celebrating Easter, and I certainly wouldn't say anyone is sinning by doing so.

Ummm… are those supposed to be arguments against my position? Cuz you're only strengthening it, in my mind. XD

I'm not terribly fond of birthdays (the only two mentioned in the Bible were, as you said, pagan celebrations, and both of them end in a death). And I really don't care much about the Fourth of July either. xD Especially given the fact that I have misgivings about the whole idea of the American Revolution.

So yeah, maybe Jehovah's Witnesses and I agree on one point, cuz I'm really not big on holidays in general. =P

So yeah, maybe Jehovah's Witnesses and I agree on one point, cuz I'm really not big on holidays in general. =P

I'm big on holidays! God gave us many holidays in the Bible that are for our rejoicing!
Now, I am going to stay out of this discussion because I don't think I can righteousnessly argue that we (as NT Christians) are commanded to celebrate the God commanded holidays. Everything else I have to say was said in the Christmas thread. :)

@Senpai - Not really. I already know that you're going to be Amish when you leave your family's house. ;) I'm just saying that I find it humorous how a lot of people try so hard to be holy and serve God, but put unnecessary restrictions on themselves, all in an effort to be "holy". I'm not saying you're doing that, but it was a general point.

As for holidays, nowhere in the Bible does it say that we can only celebrate God on certain days. The Bible is full of placed where it tells us to praise Him, and give Him glory, and to be honest, I think that setting aside a specific day to reflect on Him is a very good idea. It's kind of like saying that it's wrong for you to study hard for a test on one specific day, when you should be studying on every day leading up to it. Of course it's good to study for it as much as you can, given the time that you have, but setting aside a specific day just for study tends to tighten your focus, and help you to concentrate on what's important. :)

I don't think Colossians 2:16-17 could be more clear:

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

Not only are we not "commanded" to celebrate them, because they were merely shadows, but we are commanded not to judge others for their observance or non-observance. So, Sarah, I have no problem with you celebrating them, but this verse says that you should have no problem with me not celebrating them. Because they are not commanded. They were a shadow of what was to come, and I prefer to celebrate what was to come without the use of the shadow. But you and your family are free to celebrate through the use of the shadow.

I prefer to follow the precedent of 1 Corinthians 5:7, which says that Christ is our Passover. So, sure, I celebrate Passover – by celebrating Christ, not by observing the Jewish feast of the Old Covenant.

I believe Romans 14:5-6 is also very applicable:

"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God."

Lol, okay, I see your point.

I really don't think your analogy works, but that's just me. xD I totally see what you're saying, though. I just think that if celebrating the resurrection on one specific day were supposed to be as huge of a deal as it is today, there should have been some precedent set up in Scripture for it. And I just don't see that. Nowadays, most evangelicals would think I'm absolutely crazy for even suggesting that I'm not all for celebrating Easter. And I don't think that's right. (See Romans 14 above.) Yes, I see how having a specific day dedicated to a specific celebration could help refine our focus… but isn't that saying something about how lame our focus is on the other days? I'm speaking to myself here, too, because I know I don't focus on the resurrection like I should. So maybe instead of having one day where we focus specifically (and almost exclusively) on the resurrection, maybe we should be spurring each other on toward incorporating a daily focus on the resurrection into our lives. I think that would really enhance people's Christian walks far more than having one day a year does.

And here, you're making my point. Having a specific day for you to remember that helps to spur you on to keep remembering it, to keep thinking about it. :)

I take it you're just making general points, not directing them at me, because I have barely any problems with people celebrating Easter, and I certainly wouldn't say anyone is sinning by doing so.

Oh! Yes; that is correct. (I thought I said I wasn't responding and that I agreed… =P)

Passover is the God commanded way to commemorate and celebrate the same event.

Woah, wait. I can't believe I didn't catch that. The Passover was to commemorate God's protection of the Israelites during the plague of the firstborn. It had nothing to do with the resurrection.

@Sam and Christian~ I totally agree with both of you. It seems like you're debating, but it doesn't really seem to me like you even disagree. Why should you have to "prove your point" against the other? Neither of you believe that Easter is wrong. All you're doing is making excellent explanations about your personal preference.

Lol, that's not what I said. xD I said we should spur one another on toward a daily focus, not a one-day-a-year focus. ;) But again, it's not a Scriptural mandate, so you're free to celebrate how you wish. I just don't think it's entirely beneficial.

Passover is the God commanded way to commemorate and celebrate the same event.

Woah, wait. I can't believe I didn't catch that. The Passover was to commemorate God's protection of the Israelites during the plague of the firstborn. It had nothing to do with the resurrection.

It does have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ. There are many many parts of the feast that represent and commemorate the resurrection.

I don't think Colossians 2:16-17 could be more clear: _"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."_ Not only are we not "commanded" to celebrate them, because they were merely shadows, but we _are_ commanded not to judge others for their observance or non-observance. So, Sarah, I have no problem with you celebrating them, but this verse says that you should have no problem with me not celebrating them. Because they are not commanded. They were a shadow of what was to come, and I prefer to celebrate what was to come without the use of the shadow. But you and your family are free to celebrate through the use of the shadow. I prefer to follow the precedent of 1 Corinthians 5:7, which says that Christ is our Passover. So, sure, I celebrate Passover -- by celebrating Christ, not by observing the Jewish feast of the Old Covenant.

I'm not sure about this (maybe you could enlighten me if you know better) but when you asked me where in the NT there is a command for Christians to celebrate the Passover the first thing I thought of was:

1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as *often as you drink it,* in remembrance of me.”

Now, I know that this verse is talking about what we call "communion" (which is exactly why I didn't jump to use it for an argument). But do you think that the Lords' supper and "communion" are both referring to the Passover? Where did the idea of having communion apart from the Passover come about?

But nowhere in the New Testament do we see a command to celebrate the entire Passover feast as prescribed under the Old Covenant (unless, of course, you want to interpret 1 Corinthians 5 that way, but I think the context eliminates that possibility). We are commanded to take the bread and the fruit of the vine in remembrance of Him, nothing else. And it was to be done as often as they were together. Do you celebrate Passover every time you're together with your church? If not, then your perspective isn't fully consistent with the teaching of Paul on the subject – even if you interpret it the way you do.

It does have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ. There are many many parts of the feast that represent and commemorate the resurrection.

As a shadow, yes. But now, as Christian said, communion–Lord's Supper–Eucharist, whatever you want to call it–is the commanded way NOW to celebrate the Lord's death, till He come. If it's sinful not to celebrate the Passover today, then it's also sinful to eat pork.