Is Easter Pagan?

[redsleigh]

(04-02-2010 06:07 AM)peteraugusts Wrote:  The word "Easter" resembles the name of a couple of ancient "gods" but until about 1980 almost nobody in the modern world knew or cared. Whether the spelling or pronunciation of the word came from one of these is irrelevant to me. If it was discovered that there was an ancient deity who was called something like "Church" or "Bible" I would not suddenly cease to use the word... that is silly. And so is refusing to accept "Easter" because it might have derived from a pagan source

If you think not accepting Easter because it is derived from a pagan source is silly then what do you make of Deuteronomy 12:29-32?

"When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take heed that you not be ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? - that I also may do likewise' You shall not do so to the Lord your God; for every abominable thing which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Everything that I command you you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it or take away from it."

The Catholic church readily admits that they allowed the customs of the pagans in order to get them into the church. Back then, the church found it very hard to get them to stop doing the things they did to their gods so the church just took the things they did and exchanged Christ for the pagan gods. In other words, they took the way they served their pagan gods and did it to the Lord God! To me this is in direct disobedience to what God said in Deuteronomy. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) I the Lord do not change (Malachi 3:6) God doesn't care that we believe we are doing it to him and not to pagan gods, God told us not to do what they did to their gods and say we are doing it to him, period! So, in my opinion, if you go by scripture, Easter is really an abomination to God and does not honor him! How can you say you are honoring him when you are disobeying him?