All in a days work.
(Oh, that’s right...it’s just another “workin’” day for ya, given that the Sunday isn’t the Sabbath to you & Resurrection Sunday/Easter must be almost totally meaningless 2U, eh?)
The Bible plainly says that the seventh day is the sabbath, Sunday is the first day
And where does the Bible say anything about celebrating with colored eggs and rabits.
I honestly believe any one who really believes that Jesus was the son of God and is the Messiah could not possibly believe all of the things that were put on by the church of Constantine in order to get the pagans to join the Christian Church, Christmass, Easter, Halloween. Pagan, pagan, pagan.
(Please let me know of a specific FREEPER poster who's religiously defending colored eggs & rabbits...especially in the religious section of the FR site)
What? Are there no real "issues" for you to be drawn to that you have to create straw men & go after mythical FREEPER defenders of "colored eggs" & "rabbits?" Really, Ravenwolf???
...all of the things that were put on by the church of Constantine in order to get the pagans to join the Christian Church, Christmass, Easter, Halloween. Pagan, pagan, pagan
Let's separate these three out...Halloween -- or All Saints' Day/eve...Easter -- referenced by early church as "Pascha" -- or Passover...and Christmas.
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Let's start with Halloween:
Per this source, http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterpentecost12aa.html there was some recognition of martyrs during the 4th century...but whatever it was, it occurred on May 13...not Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Its conversion into a feast for not just the martyrs, but "ALL the saints" didn't occur til 741...and "All Saints" as its OWN DAY wasn't set aside until 1048!!! [Hmm...your rather convenient whipping boy, Constantine, in your "scholarly" opinion, must have lived across 4-7 centuries, eh?]
Per this same source: "1 November in 844 when Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to All Saints (so much for the theory that the day was fixed on 1 November because of a bunch of Irish pagans had harvest festivals at that time). All Souls' has its origins in A.D. 1048 when the Bishop of Cluny decreed that the Benedictines of Cluny pray for the souls in Purgatory on this day. The practice spread until Pope Sylvester II recommended it for the entire Latin Church. The Vigil of, or evening before, All Hallows' ("Hallows' Eve," or "Hallowe'en") came, in Irish popular piety, to be a day of remembering the dead who are neither in Purgatory or Heaven, but are damned, and these customs spread to many parts of the world. Thus we have the popular focus of Hallowe'en as the reality of Hell, hence its scary character and focus on evil and how to avoid it, the sad fate of the souls of the damned, etc."
So if you want to blame the bishop of Cluny for whatever he elected to do in setting aside an "All Saints Day" in 1048, go for it...but at least get your historical facts straight before you start blaming Constantine for something done in the 11th century!!!
Also worth mentioning per this source (http://www.halloween-history.org/), "Around 2,000 years ago, the Celts, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland, and northern France, had a festival commemorating the end of the year. Their New Year was November 1, and this festival was called Samhain, pronounced sow-en."
Now why is that relavent? Per this source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druidism), obviously the Celtic Druids weren't around when the 11th century church was designating Nov. 1 "all saints day": "Very little is known about the ancient druids. They left no written accounts about themselves and the only evidence is a few descriptions left by Greek, Roman and various scattered authors and artists, also stories created by later medieval Irish writers."
IOW, the Bishop of Cluny apparently designated Nov. 1 "All Saints Day" in 1048 because Pope Gregory III had designated a chapel as "All Saints" chapel on Nov. 1, 844.
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Easter:
In Exodus we find that Passover -- "Pascha" -- is to be celebrated forever: 14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance." (Ex. 12:14)
So, what was the church celebrating well before Constantine came along in the 4th century?
Passover -- or Pascha. Theophilus tells us that the Caesareans were celebrating Passover "the same day" as the Alexandrians (180 A.D.). Commodianus mentioned in 240 A.D. that Pascha was "that blessed day of ours."
From NorthernCrunchyCon, post #20: Pascha and Easter are the same holy day. That’s why Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday are known collectively among liturgical Christian churches as the Paschal Tridiuum. Here’s a brief history on the topic from OrthoWiki: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Pascha
Certainly, by the time of the Apostolic Constitutions (written well before 390, but compiled then), they were saying that "the resurrection of our Lord" shouldn't be celebrated "on any other day than a Sunday."
Whatever you want to call it -- Pascha, "resurrection day" or Easter, the celebration of the blood of the Paschal Lamb & His resurrection were there before pagan linkages can be attached.
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Christmas (and my comments here extend to "Easter" as a title as well)
You claim, Ravenwolf, that "the things that were put on the church were...pagan, pagan, pagan."
Why stop there?
Most of the days of the week are named after various pagan gods. Many of the month names are named after various pagan gods.
That's all been "put on" society and on our daily calendars, have they not been?
Thursday evolved from the Germanic pagan god, Thor? So, tell us, Ravenwolf unless you studiously avoid using the term Thursday -- or Thor's day -- why do you devote such a day to such a pagan, pagan, pagan god?
I mean, don't we worship a jealous God? Is He not provoked by the way you honor and acknowledge and recognize the false god, Thor? (Or does He look the other way and doesn't care?)
I mean, it can't possibly be that you would hypocritically apply your argument to Christmas & Easter yet recognize Thor's day, eh?
Yes? No? You recognize Thor's day, then? If so, my, my, my: How inconsistent, how two-faced, how Pharisaical, how 'teacher-of-the-law' of you, how hypocritical of you, then, Ravenwolf!
As for the rest of the days & months:
* Monday came from Germanic mythology where the "moon god" = Mani.
* Tuesday comes from Norse mythology re: its one-handed god, Tiw. ,br>* Wednesday comes from the Germanic god Wodan.
* Friday comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Frige.
* Saturday comes from the Roman god Saturn (Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg)
* January - Janus, Roman god of the beginning/doorway
* March - Mars, Roman god of war
* April - unknown, potentially Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love
* May - Maia, Greek goddess of fertility
* June - juno, Roman goddess of protection
So...tell us, Ravenwolf...how you've managed to avoid offending or provoking our Jealous God by avoiding days and months and their names that honor and acknowledge these various pagan gods.
We're all interested in knowing what system you came up with steadfastly (and legalistically, if I might add) avoid such a thing.
And if you can't, may I suggest in the future that you put away such accusations of hypocrisy...because you're as inconsistent, then, as all get-out!
Oh...and don't stop with these calendar days & months, either.
If you have EVER acknowledged April Fool's Day in any way (April 1), do you realize that this day may be a relic of the Roman “Cerealia” – held in honor of Ceres (goddess of agriculture).
And do we not get our very word "cereal" from this goddess? I suppose you legalistically refrain from using the word "cereal" -- or even eating of cereal, eh Ravenwolf?
And tell us, Ravenwolf, how you steadfastly refuse to EVER reference a med prescription as "Rx"...given that the "R" in the symbol "Rx" used by Pharmacists for centuries includes the slant across the "R's leg" = the sign of the Roman god, Jupiter, patron of medicine.
My, my, my. Pagan, pagan, pagan. Have you thus inadvertently honored these gods of Cerealia & Jupiter? (Did you eat a bowl of cereal in the past week, month, or year, Ravenwolf?) If so, naughty, naughty, naughty "pagan" of you! [I'm wagging my finger as I type]
...where does the Bible say anything about NOT celebrating with colored eggs and rab(b)its?
And those who dwell on the earth {will} rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
This just might be a little bit out of context.
Go and do thou likewise.