……Easter, a pagan celebration that Christians took over
Wiki:
The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern German Ostern, developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ä’astrun, -on, or -an; but also as Ä’astru,
-o; and Ä’astre or Ä’ostre.[nb 4] The most widely accepted theory of the origin of the term is that it is derived from the name of a goddess mentioned by the 7th to 8th-century English monk Bede, who wrote that Ä’osturmÅnaྠ(Old English ‘Month of Ä’ostre’, translated in Bede’s time as “Paschal month”) was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says “was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ä’ostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month”.[22]
[JdN: Easter was a goddess of the dawn, spring and fertility, accompanied by rabbits and eggs, from what experts can figure out, and related to a goddesses worshiped by many other Indo-European tribes.]
.
.
.
In Greek and Latin, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Πάσχα, Pascha, a word derived from Aramaic פסח×, cognate to Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt.[23][24] Already in the 50s of the 1st century, Paul, writing from Ephesus to the Christians in Corinth,[25] applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual.[26] In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek and Latin Pascha.[2][27] Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.[28]
Theological significance
The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christianfaith.[29] The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God[30] and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.[31][32] For those who trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection, “death is swallowed up in victory.”[33] Any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”.[34] Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation.[32][35][36]
Jesus, risen, gets Adam and Eve out of hell, and Satan is tied up at the bottom.
…..A great book marred
This is a mostly excellent book about what happens when we die.
There have now been 59 scientific studies of NDEs — near-death experiences — where people on the operating table come back from the dead.
When someone says “No one has ever come back from the dead,” it is simply not true.
MILLIONS of people have come back, and some few, despite fear of ridicule, have reported what they experienced and saw in great detail.
This book, “Imagine Heaven,” reports on their experiences, but throws in a lot of Christian stuff that is not accurate ..stuff that discredits life after death with a lot of sugary ideas that our heathen ancestors found revolting and weird. These unnatural concepts are why Christianity — in every single country except Iceland, which was motivated only by a desire to avoid trouble and invasion — had to be forced on all our ancestors.
The book is very good as such, truly inspiring and heart-warming — but John Burke (a former engineer and agnostic, now a minister) bends things into a Christian framework to please both himself and the majority of his readers.
In reality, the doctrine of reincarnation is what his own book’s evidence points to, and this “heaven” (all this beauty and love) is a real but just temporary thing, an interlude, taking place for you at the processing location after death, where you see the life video.
Heaven, for 99% of us, who are morally iffy people — neither heroes nor villains, but something inbetween :;-) — is simply not a permanent condition. Nor do we DESERVE it!
Nor does God really want to hang out with people like us! It would be like a man talking for 45 minutes to his dog, who just wags his tail in incomprehension, then gets up, goes over, and brings the ball to you to play. 😉
Repeatedly, the loving being (the Jesus being) who receives the dead says
“you did not yet accomplish the things you agreed to do, so you should go back.”
Well, whenever on earth — actually in heaven — did these souls “agree to do” these tasks?
Obviously, before they were born….
And having these various specific issues and negative traits in their character to work on means that over the course of time Someone was observing them….. their thoughts, words and deeds, and in r4viewing the behavior patterns He decided that Person X specifically “needs to change this habit or tendency.”
But just when does a brand-new soul — the Christian notion is, after all, that we are created as new beings at conception — have the opportunity to actually display the disappointing traits that will need some working on, some changing, and an overcoming of them?
When can a baby in the womb ever be, and act, and think like a jerk? It cannot. A foetus does not even have language, or mobility, or any relationships, chores and duties at all!
It just lies there in the placenta and grows.
Thus the book has unfortunately an element of dishonest Christian dogmatism…
But aside from that, it is otherwise truly excellent and I personally felt very, very moved and convinced in reading many of its passages about our life after earth life.
l could level the same criticism of the equally moving book “90 Minutes in Heaven,” btw. The experience, which is very touching — as it is also in the movie made out of the book — where this Texan dies for an hour and a half after a terrible car wreck, is simply NOT a proof or confirmation of Christianity, but instead an indicator that Christianity is MOSTLY correct. We are indeed immortal souls who are judged — but the Christian notion of “you-get-one-life-then-you-are-judged-for-eternity” is simply very wrong, both factually and morally erroneous. In fact, it is absurd, and the truth of reincarnation is in fact what both books really point to.
I also object to the sissy tone that creeps in of us being babies in our father’s arms. Christianity can have this infantilizing effect…. and I have no desire to be anyone’s baby, or sheep or lamb.
I am a man, a former US Marine, a former teacher, a father and grandfather — and a former regular Christian, btw — and life is designed to be TOUGH, not something to escape by flying off to some sugary heaven to be a babe in some divine man’s arms.
….. Jack Sen visits the “evil-whitey” Liverpool slavery museum
Jack Sen is an exciting new British WN leader: https://johndenugent.com/?s=”Jack+Sen”
Fun-loving Jack, his wife Natalie and Alexa
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR1A1HRuJpY
Jack gets threats all the time, and so I found this short video “interesting on several levels.” 😉 That is 240 pounds of iron he is going to move 14 times.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3a2JAWzuO0
.
Leave a Reply