Basic HTML Version
March-April 1972
their spring festival. The ancient Per–
sians, when they kept the festival of
the solar new year in Mard1, mutually
presented each other with colored eggs.
The spring festival of these Eastern
iromigrants was identical to the festival
the Germanic people celebrated. Tbere
was only one difference. The name of
their goddess was ISHTAR. The Ger–
mans pronounced it slightly different,
resulting in
Eostre,
which was pro–
nounced as we today pronounce
Easter.
Thus the settlers from the East in–
fluenced the local population to alter
the name of their goddess
Smma
to
that of
Easter.
But it was still the same goddess.
lt
was still the same festival on which
they worshipped the goddess
S11m1a
severa! centuries before. They still
gathered wood on Saturday eve. They
still had their huge bonfire that night.
They still arose early the next morning
for the sunrise service. And they still
played games and looked for colored
eggs on that day. It was still a highly
popular festival. With the influx of
these Eastern tribes, it became more
generally celebrated than ever before.
Nothing had changed except the
name
of their goddess, now
Eoslt'e oc,
m more modern terminology,
Easter.
Introduced into Christianity
But
how
and
tuhy
did the Christian
world accept this festival, knowing its
heathen origin? The first three_centuries
~ter
Christ reveal what transpired.
Notice the words of a historian of
the third century, Socrates Scholasticus,
"Neither the apostles, therefore, nor
the Gospels have anywhere imposed ...
Easter"
(Ecclesiastical History,
volume
22). And again, "The first Christians
continued to observe the Jewish festi –
vals (that is, the festivals God had
given to His people Israel], though
in a new spirit, as commemorations of
events which those festivals had fore–
shadowed"
(Encyclopaedia Britannica,
volume 8, p. 828).
There was no holiday commemorat–
ing a resurrection, only a festival (the
New Testament Passover) commem–
orating Christ's death.
lnstead of celebrating a resurrection
or Easter festival - the early Christians
kept the anoual festival, the Passover.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
"The Jewish Christians (those who
were Jews before conversion and others
who commemorated Christ's death] in
the early church continued to celebrate
the Passover"
(1
ntemati011al
Star~dard
Bible Encyclopaedia,
James Orr, p.
889).
But
why
was this new Sunday festival
introduced on a day that doesn't even
commemorate the resurrection?
Philosophers - Magi - from the
East had traveled westward, bringing
their philosophy with them. Their
powerful influence actually changed
the religion of the Roman populace.
This is how it happened. "Sorne of
the most powerful divine invaders who
carne from the East to conquer the
West were SOLAR DIVINITIES .... These
immigrants from the East ... brought
the religion of the suN with them"
(Encyctopaedia of Religion and Ethics,
Hastings, vol.
8,
p. 59).
And one form of sun worship they
werc very familiar with was a resur–
rection festival in the spring.
Now these Eastern immigrants set–
tling in the West - with their appeal–
ing sun worship - made a profound
impression on the mind of the average
Roman. Because of this, and the fact
that a large percentage of the popula–
tion was already Eastern in orig_in, the
professing Christian world thought of
a way to add immense numbers to its
membership rolls.
Realizing that a vast portion of
the population in the Roman Empire
was familiar with sun worship, it was
decided to make use of the day on
which tbese Easterners worshipped -
Sunday. A resurrection feast was insti–
tuted - not to the literal sun, which
th~
pagans had worshipped, but sup–
posedly in honor of the true Sun -
Christ!
This Sunday festival was introduced
m the mid second century A. D.
Heathen Become "Christians"
Overnight
Introducing this new festival on the
pagan day of Sunday paid immediate
dividends. The heathen populace of
Rome quickly noticed the similarity of
the newly introduced festival with
their own spring festival in honor of
their goddess.
45
As a result, they became Christians
in droves. The church grew in number
- speedily outgrowing all other rivals.
Since the goal during the time of
her ascendancy and growth was to
quickly attract new members, church
leaders wou1d often meet the heathen
halfway. This lenient policy made it
easier for the unconverted to become
members. Deliberately soliciting new
members, the church allowed the un–
converted populace to retain many of
its heathen practices and beliefs - in
a watered-down version.
For example, the church knew that
many of the immigrants from the East
were used to celebrating a heathen
spring festival. So these heathen prac–
tices and festivals were given a Christian
dressing. The newly converted were
asked, not to worship tbeir pagan gods
or goddesses on certain days, but rather
to worship the Christian God and
Saviour on these days. And the days
chosen by the church for these Chris–
tianized celebrations were the identical
days on which the pagans worshipped
their gods.
This compromise is admitted by the
scholar, Aringhus. He mentions that
the church "found it necessary, in the
conversion of the Gentiles, to dissemble
and
WJNK
AT many
things,
and yield
to the times"
(DiegeJis: The Discovery
of the Origin of Chrisrianity,
Robert
Taylor, Boston, Mass.,
1829,
p. 237).
Such compromise with the pagans
gained Christianity vast numbers of
converts. By the time of Constantine
in A. D. 325, church leaders were able
to influence the emperor to pass a decree
forcing all within the empire to keep
this Sunday resurrection.
Simultaneously, it was strictly for–
bidden for any Christian to continue
keeping the New Testament Passover.
It
was considered Jewish. Pagans, now
professiog to be Christians, developed
a "Christian" philosophy of their own.
Forced Conversion
In the following centuries, as the
culture of the Roman Empire expanded
into Central Europe, the celigion of
tbe Roman Empire also spread into
these areas. The policy of converting
pagans continued. Whole tribes were
forced into accepting Christ and into