Easter is a Scam

originally posted by: Infinitis
a reply to: iSomeone

a reply to: Infinitis

The bible is not at it's best when people attempt to cut and paste scripture out of it's context.

Well said!

A woefully ignored verse is (bolded is my doing): “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7 (NIV)

If you think something is wrong, simply don't do it.

Why in the world can we not just agree to disagree? A lot of stimulating conversations have been born that way.

J

edit on 4/20/2014 by LadyJae because: formatting

a reply to: BABYBULL24

Eris loves me this I know for Malaclypse tells me so...

Oh, hi kids!

Still arguing about trivial holidays and their meanings I see. Well let me tell you a little story...

On second thought [snip] it. You wouldn't believe me anyway. Suffice it to say, you're all right! Each and every one! So whatever it is you celebrate, well, celebrate it and do your neighbor a favor and ignore what he celebrates... unless you celebrate the same. In which case have fun!

Remember kids: paganism and Christianity can both be fun and interesting belief systems. Believe responsibly!

Hail Eris! (Or don't)

Kallisti

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Okay, you get a big star for actually making me look up names. Whoda thunk it. Discordianism, eh? Where were you last week when I was writing a term paper on a chosen Ism? lol... That would have been a wild one to take and write about, and for some reason, I can't recall seeing it pop up on the common Ism lists I chose from.

Ahh well.. for something really different for a change.

Happy Easter and may Eris be sleepy this day.

a reply to: Infinitis

Though I would never allow my two daughters to stop celebrating Easter or Christmas, facts are facts and Christmas is of Pagan Origins regardless. So I wouldn't call it celebrating the Birth and Resurrection of Jesus, I call it indirect Pagan worship. With that though, what ever floats your boat.

every time i go to the store there is always an aisle dedicated to holiday candy. doesnt matter what time of the year it is, theres always some holiday approaching that is now synonymous with candy. different colored wrappers.

makes me sick.

I want to point out to the OP that in my observations all spirits, gods, etc. including the Hebrew God are a form of daemon. Gods, angels, demons, spirits, etc. are no different and are all this type of creature. Even our spirits classify as a type of "lesser daemon," probably one of the lowest classes really, IMO. This means on some level we are all the same, consisting of only data and energy. We only classify angels as "good" daemons, and demons as the "bad" daemons, and the gods are the "Greater Daemons" who are heads of their respective collectives. All the greater daemons are in opposition to each other in my observations and there really are no actual "good" daemons, including the Hebrew God. (Especially the Hebrew God whom I believe is the most malign.) Truly no "god" is on anyone's side really. They are only on one side: theirs. They all use all manner of psychological and spiritual manipulation to get you to add your energy to theirs. This is one reason I do not pray. I say: "I will not prey on god, nor am I god's prey," because there is mental and spiritual energy exchanged in prayers and focus on these daemons. Sure, in my encounters I have met at least one greater daemon who seems more benevolent than others, but sadly it really becomes like choosing the lesser of two evils in the end. However, out of the main two I have met, the one of highest benevolence I have encountered is Gaia or Asherah, the fallen wife of Adonai/Yahweh, or the soul/spirit of the earth...

All religions are a scam, in my opinion. A scam to feed and support the daemons of old...

originally posted by: snarfbot
every time i go to the store there is always an aisle dedicated to holiday candy. doesnt matter what time of the year it is, theres always some holiday approaching that is now synonymous with candy. different colored wrappers.


makes me sick.

That's what chocolate is supposed to do! But it's fun eating it...

did someone mention jelly beans?

originally posted by: DarknStormy
a reply to: Infinitis

Though I would never allow my two daughters to stop celebrating Easter or Christmas, facts are facts and Christmas is of Pagan Origins regardless. So I wouldn't call it celebrating the Birth and Resurrection of Jesus, I call it indirect Pagan worship. With that though, what ever floats your boat.

Pagan, shmagan. It's human nature to need to have celebrations and festivals to look forward to. A mid-winter festival (in the northern hemisphere at least) to lift the spirits in the darkest days of the year, and a celebration of spring and the return of warm sunshine and fresh food to grow.

Who cares which particular fairy tales are used to justify them? Just enjoy the holidays, smile and be happy, whether you are religious or not (and I am certainly in the "not" category).

originally posted by: Rob48
[Pagan, shmagan. It's human nature to need to have celebrations and festivals to look forward to. A mid-winter festival (in the northern hemisphere at least) to lift the spirits in the darkest days of the year, and a celebration of spring and the return of warm sunshine and fresh food to grow.

Oh please don't say 'mid-winter'!! I got rid of the last of my snow yesterday, and I'm giving serious thought to putting away the snow-blower. But I agree that the occasion celebrates something larger and older than Christianity.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Sorry, I was referring to Christmas when I said mid-winter! And Easter being the start of spring.

I gather North America had a bad winter... you stole all our snow: here in the UK it was the wettest winter on record and very mild. I didn't see a single flake of snow all winter, just lots and lots of rain, which is pretty rare — although I live in southern England, that is still slightly further north than, say, Calgary. I love snow, but I imagine if you have to live with it all the time it gets old pretty fast

But yeah... Easter. Spring. A reason to celebrate in itself.

a reply to: iSomeone

That is exactly what I was trying to say. It's not some made up holiday by the Pagans, it has actual meaning.

Easter today has been corrupted by corporations wanting to cash in on the all might dollar, so in a way it is a scam.


By the way, imo: I don't think God cares if you celebrate Easter by eating chocolates & eggs. I don't think you will be banned from heaven, after all, God forgives all sins if you repent.

a reply to: knoledgeispower

Just because the pagans "made it up" doesn't mean it didn't have meaning. There's a reason the Christians kept those holidays. If you're implying that pagans didn't understand the value of what they were celebrating, you should look deeper into it and learn how important these celebrations were to them and why.

a reply to: yuppa

I see you just dismissed the rest of his post to look cute. Way to cherry pick.

What?!
No.

I read his entire post.
He is insisting that the resurrection is real. He is insisting that the older myths from which Easter was taken and adapted don't exist. He is incorrect.

I didn't dismiss it, I had nothing to say about the part I failed to 'quote' ...but since you pushed me, well ^^^ there ya go.

To "look cute"? LOL

Are you serious??? Naw...
What's 'cute' about stating facts and pointing out errors in people's interpretations/understanding? No, my response to his post will no doubt be held as evidence that I am a "rabid, condemned, demon-possessed, disgusting filthy pagan liar" to say those things!

'Cute'???
Please.

a reply to: MarsIsRed

did someone mention jelly beans?

That was me. Would you like one?? I have a couple dozen left.

They're Starburst Jelly Beans - extra juicy due to the dragon laughing so hard he cried juice-tears.


----------------------

To the people who are upset that the kids might have to hear this stuff rather than enjoying their holiday.....:

Religion Is For Adults.
Hope you got to spend some time with your kids and go outside.

a reply to: windword

Sounds like your biases are deciding your reality yet again . . . in spite of the facts of the case.

You appear to have DECIDED long ago that such things cannot happen . . . therefore, for you, they didn't.

imho, Your assumptions will crash and burn in due course.

The Creator of all that is

IS CERTAINLY well able to back up His Word . . . and has done so persistently for millenia.

Of course . . . He chooses to give sufficient provision for faith FOR THOSE SERIOUSLY SEEKING HIM OUT OF A GOOD FAITH HEART

while insuring plenty of . . . 'justification' for doubt

FOR THOSE seeking their own way, their own arrogance, their own rebellion, etc. against His ways, priorities, laws . . .

No surprise there.

Reaping accordingly from such sowing will always accrue in due course.

For sincere Christians, the issue of Christ's reality, life, death and RESURRECTION is as solid as the probability that the sun will shine tomorrow--even more so. Not only do we realize there's more than ample solid evidence in the historic documents . . . HE IS OUR LORD, SAVIOR, FRIEND that we endeavor to walk in intimate dialogue with.

That's quite different from a construct, an idea, an ideal, a fantasy.

Those outside of such an intimate dialogue will NEVER understand or believe until and unless they change their hearts and earnestly persistently seek God's face and will for their lives.

Choices have consequences.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Putting your words in my fingers is not admirable nor accurate.

I did not insist other narratives did not exist.

I do insist that your assumptions about the origins of the Christian narrative and documents are worse than flawed.

The great Deceiver has been active for millenia. He has many followers to his Pied Piper tunes.

I do not expect you to alter your understanding of reality unless and until you alter your heart attitude toward God and the evidence.

MORE THAN A CARPENTER by Josh McDowell along with his

NEW EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT can offer convincing facts for those earnestly seeking God and the realities of the Gospel.

Others will not be convinced by any amount of top quality proofs and evidence.

Rebellion is its own god . . . in most respects.

a reply to: BO XIAN

It is my understanding that you are labeling all pagan traditions and accounts from which Christianity has borrowed as false and demonic, while at the same time declaring them sacred and holy exclusively in the context of Christianity. If I am misunderstanding, please correct me.

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
Also, as for Easter being a "scam" - it has become nearly as "big" as Christmas with the amount of consumerism that is encouraged. Talk about forced down the throat! How much money did you all spend on Easter decorations, candy, gifts for the kiddies, etc??

Every Christmas people go into debt and spend 6 months paying it off. The Bankers and corporations laugh. Then when the consumers are only halfway done paying off their "Christmas gifts" they are prompted to do it all over again for "Easter." The Bankers and corporations laugh again.

Every holiday we have has been co-opted by consumerism. When one holiday season ends, the stores are already getting ready for the next one. Sometimes they are even putting up stuff for the next one BEFORE the current one has ended.

I mean look at how things go, you start the year off with presidents' day in February (where for some reason presidents seem to like giving deals on car sales). Oh and we also have Valentine's day, a holiday pretty much invented by Hallmark to sell cards and chocolate. Then we shift to St Patrick's day and all the stores have green merchandise. After that we have the first REAL merchandising holiday in Easter which just happened. In May, we have Memorial Day (more car sales deals, gotta remember the fallen by buying a new car!). Next comes the second big merchandising holiday in the year, 4th of July. Let's all be patriotic, oh and buy all this patriotic stuff to go with it. Then comes Labor Day and Veteran's Day, followed by the third big merchandising holiday of the year, Halloween. Then to round out the year comes the coup de grace of holiday merchandising. Thanksgiving, which is supposed to be ENTIRELY about family and being thankful has been grabbed by consumerists who put black friday on the calendar the day afterwards, which is slowly creeping into the previous day (thanksgiving). So the day you are supposed to be thankful, we instead are bludgeoning each other so we can get that years top it item. This all leads up to Christmas and New Years, which have become more about buying stuff (the forced gift giving has gotten so bad that I resent the process, gift giving is supposed to be a voluntary and sincere thing not something forced) than the actual holidays.

I know there are a few holidays I didn't mention, like Mother's Day and Father's Day, which goes to show that our holiday calender has been crammed with so many holidays that have lost their true meanings because of consumerism that I can't even remember them all.