On Easter
Ok, here goes my big anti-Christian rant. I will not cite sources, so don't ask me to. Feel free to tell me my arguments have no merit and I'm going straight to hell.
Of course Easter has pagan roots. Of course Christmas has pagan roots. How could it be otherwise? In the New Testament you have five versions of the same basic story. Starts with a kid being born under auspicious/magical circumstances, ends with him being tortured and murdered by wicked authority figures.* In between, you got some motivational speeches, some magic tricks, and a few dinner parties. The greatest story ever told? Hitch, please. Go read the Mahabharata or even the Ramayana** and then come back and say that.
So lacking any solid basis for feasts or festivals or ceremonies, what did the early Christians do? They borrowed from the existing religions of their time and place, whether that be Judaic or pagan. Worse, once the Church began expanding to new areas, they co-opted the traditional festivals of the pagan religions they were engaged in suppressing. This didn't happen once, in other words. It happened thousands of times in thousands of different places. Which is why even today, the actual practice of Christianity varies so much between locations like Idaho and Germany and France and Brazil and the Philippines.
So by all means continue to worship your undead god king, there are plenty of dumber faiths out there. But please don't pretend that your rituals and festivals enjoyed the same virgin birth as the half naked hippie submissive you follow. May you be well, and have a blessed Easter weekend.
*It has been brought to my attention that the story doesn’t end with the hero being murdered. Indeed, it ends with him returning from Death to vanquish Evil. Something similar happens in “Afro Samurai”.
**Or Journey to the West.
Of course Easter has pagan roots. Of course Christmas has pagan roots. How could it be otherwise? In the New Testament you have five versions of the same basic story. Starts with a kid being born under auspicious/magical circumstances, ends with him being tortured and murdered by wicked authority figures.* In between, you got some motivational speeches, some magic tricks, and a few dinner parties. The greatest story ever told? Hitch, please. Go read the Mahabharata or even the Ramayana** and then come back and say that.
So lacking any solid basis for feasts or festivals or ceremonies, what did the early Christians do? They borrowed from the existing religions of their time and place, whether that be Judaic or pagan. Worse, once the Church began expanding to new areas, they co-opted the traditional festivals of the pagan religions they were engaged in suppressing. This didn't happen once, in other words. It happened thousands of times in thousands of different places. Which is why even today, the actual practice of Christianity varies so much between locations like Idaho and Germany and France and Brazil and the Philippines.
So by all means continue to worship your undead god king, there are plenty of dumber faiths out there. But please don't pretend that your rituals and festivals enjoyed the same virgin birth as the half naked hippie submissive you follow. May you be well, and have a blessed Easter weekend.
*It has been brought to my attention that the story doesn’t end with the hero being murdered. Indeed, it ends with him returning from Death to vanquish Evil. Something similar happens in “Afro Samurai”.
**Or Journey to the West.