Easter is weird

PJ_Soul

I don't get Easter. Why do people who aren't even practicing Christians celebrate Easter, and why oh why are there bunnies and chickens, and a Spring version of Santa that only brings candy and plush dolls??? Easter seems to me like the most holy and important religious holiday for Christians, and a gruesome one too if you include the whole Good Friday thing. Why did they allow what is supposed to be the observance of their Messiah's torture and death and celebration of his resurrection from the dead to become their saviour get hijacked by chocolate? It's like taking Ramadan and making it the month of county fair fun complete with pie eating contests and petty gambling.

So what the fuck? I mean, Christmas is bad enough, but at least there are still nativity scenes and religious songs and stuff to remind people that Jesus has something to do with it on some level. I'm an Atheist, and I'M offended by what Easter is (at least in North America). Anyway, I just think it's weird, and every time someone says happy Easter to me I think about it (and then tell them I'm an Atheist and don't celebrate it justbso I can see the confusion when they try to connect my religious status to Easter... it usually doesn't connect!).

CROJAM95

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

It's what it's allllllll about

Ever wonder why there are so many religions? They are still creating them to this day to make money

I'm all about spirituality, but religion is the biggest sham

PJ_Soul

CROJAM95 wrote:

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

It's what it's allllllll about

Ever wonder why there are so many religions? They are still creating them to this day to make money

I'm all about spirituality, but religion is the biggest sham

I always thought religions grew out of efforts to control populations and manipulate politics more than they stentorian earn money... Plus, all the money at Easter goes to Wal-Mart and places that serve brunch, not the Church. Hey, don't get me wrong - Bill Maher is my hero. But solemn religious observances being hijacked by the desire for formed milk chocolate is another issue, no? ... That's it. I have officially boycotted Easter and all thing related to it ymy neice and nephew will be sad not to get their candy, but I think this might teach them something!).... good thing boycotting is so easy.

dimitrispearljam

easter is just fine..people believe,others dont..
the celebration atleast the way is our year has to do with market..same as christmas,birthdays,valentine etc..
money needs to be spent..is how things are..
from the moment you dont believe in God,there is no point someone to explain to u what easter means when he believes..how he/she connects...
i have i gay friend..he explain me that he likes boys..i dont get it..im into women..
i found boobs amazing ..i try to explain him....he dont get it....
so for me its cool..what ever people believe ..or into...

youngster

Instead of Easter, I like to call it Zombie Jesus Day.

dimitrispearljam

youngster wrote:

Instead of Easter, I like to call it Zombie Jesus Day.

PJ_Soul

Well, the Easter Bunny hates you, so...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhzGSQwV ... ata_player

PJ_Soul

dimitrispearljam wrote:

easter is just fine..people believe,others dont..
the celebration atleast the way is our year has to do with market..same as christmas,birthdays,valentine etc..
money needs to be spent..is how things are..
from the moment you dont believe in God,there is no point someone to explain to u what easter means when he believes..how he/she connects...
i have i gay friend..he explain me that he likes boys..i dont get it..im into women..
i found boobs amazing ..i try to explain him....he dont get it....
so for me its cool..what ever people believe ..or into...

I like to know things even if I'm not a part of it. I'm an Atheist, but I love sociology and theology, soooo... also, j haven't always been Atheist. Also, the dude who doesn't get tits? All he has to do is think about how he feels about pecs or penises, and he totally gets it.

81

youngster wrote:

Instead of Easter, I like to call it Zombie Jesus Day.

I was thinking that today, but didn't want to say it to the woman.

12345AGNST1

Religion is the dumbest thing anyone could possibly associate themselves with. I dont even know if I believe in god but I certainly believe its a waste.

rick1zoo2

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i found boobs amazing

we need a holiday for that

dimitrispearljam

rick1zoo2 wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i found boobs amazing

we need a holiday for that

its an every day celebration!!!

RD198608

I always find it amusing that people who don't believe in God are always the one talking about him. It takes more faith to believe in nothing than something.....

OP282299

To PJ_Soul:
Totally agree with you. "Holiday Christians" are everywhere. They come out once a year all pretty to church, shout 'Hallelujah', and don't come back til next year. But the truth of the matter is Jesus is real. How do I know? Faith. Restored my marriage. Now I get to raise and watch my two daughters grow up. Some stranger isn't going to raise them. Your "head knowledge" is cool but highly ignorant and ungrateful. More power to you. Your Atheist beliefs are your right. But that doesn't take away the undeniable fact that He exists. He has always existed and will continue existing no matter what you say or believe in. Jesus was in fact against religion. He tore down every decree and false doctrine established by the Pharisees. In James 1:27 says 'Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.' So what makes you a good person? The other reason I know he exists is because if he didn't, you wouldn't of wrote your comments here. See, no other god causes so much anger as Jesus. No one gets pissed when people talk about Buddha, Allah,Hare Krishna, L. Ron Hubbard, or any other god. But when it's about Jesus... well, you know the story. Happy Just Living

PJ_Soul

OP282299 wrote:

To PJ_Soul:
Totally agree with you. "Holiday Christians" are everywhere. They come out once a year all pretty to church, shout 'Hallelujah', and don't come back til next year. But the truth of the matter is Jesus is real. How do I know? Faith. Restored my marriage. Now I get to raise and watch my two daughters grow up. Some stranger isn't going to raise them. Your "head knowledge" is cool but highly ignorant and ungrateful. More power to you. Your Atheist beliefs are your right. But that doesn't take away the undeniable fact that He exists. He has always existed and will continue existing no matter what you say or believe in. Jesus was in fact against religion. He tore down every decree and false doctrine established by the Pharisees. In James 1:27 says 'Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.' So what makes you a good person? The other reason I know he exists is because if he didn't, you wouldn't of wrote your comments here. See, no other god causes so much anger as Jesus. No one gets pissed when people talk about Buddha, Allah,Hare Krishna, L. Ron Hubbard, or any other god. But when it's about Jesus... well, you know the story. Happy Just Living

I don't understand why you just called my Atheism ignorant and ungrateful. Also, nothing else you said makes any sense either. Anger? I didn't think my post was angry at all. That i posted that proves God's existence? What?? So I don't get your comments. Sorry.

PJ_Soul

RD198608 wrote:

I always find it amusing that people who don't believe in God are always the one talking about him. It takes more faith to believe in nothing than something.....

I don't remember mentioning God at all.... Also, it doesn't take faith to not believe in something. This thread has become more strange than Easter now! Lol!

DinghyDog

-

Carey

Easter can mean whatever you want it to mean. I am a Christian, and I know what it means to me. For me, the week before Easter (starting during the second half of Palm Sunday service) is quite dark. And Easter Sunday feels more like a celebration. In spite of my desire for my kids to understand the "true meaning" of Easter, we also celebrate the commercialized version of Easter. In my mind, they are two different things. I am not giving my kids peeps because Jesus was crucified.

The beauty of this is, you are free to believe what you want. Its not my business what you think of Jesus or Easter, I am merely sharing my perspective.

Loulou

CHOCOLATE PEOPLES!!?......WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHOCOLATES!!

brianlux

Loulou wrote:

CHOCOLATE PEOPLES!!?......WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHOCOLATES!!

Well you Aussies just take the cake. Here the rest of the world has chocolate bunnies and you have... chocolate people?

Hmm, wait a minute... come to think of it... not a bad idea. All that chocolate, extra calories to store up for winter Down Under. I take it back- that's brilliant! Good show, Loulou!

curlygirly9

brianlux wrote:

Loulou wrote:

CHOCOLATE PEOPLES!!?......WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHOCOLATES!!

Well you Aussies just take the cake. Here the rest of the world has chocolate bunnies and you have... chocolate people?

Hmm, wait a minute... come to think of it... not a bad idea. All that chocolate, extra calories to store up for winter Down Under. I take it back- that's brilliant! Good show, Loulou!

curlygirly9

:thumbup: Well put. I've never entirely understood Easter either, but i'm also not really religious. I agree that it's kind of a weird holiday; not bad, but weird. I think it is a good excuse to be with family though, like Christmas, and it is fun for kids. I never really celebrate the ham dinner though, because i'm a vegerarian. No good for me, but Happy Easter everyone who celebrates!

dimitrispearljam wrote:

easter is just fine..people believe,others dont..
the celebration atleast the way is our year has to do with market..same as christmas,birthdays,valentine etc..
money needs to be spent..is how things are..
from the moment you dont believe in God,there is no point someone to explain to u what easter means when he believes..how he/she connects...
i have i gay friend..he explain me that he likes boys..i dont get it..im into women..
i found boobs amazing ..i try to explain him....he dont get it....
so for me its cool..what ever people believe ..or into...

SatansFuton

PJ_Soul wrote:

I'm an Atheist, and I'M offended by what Easter is (at least in North America).

I'm not a religious person, I guess I would be labeled Agnostic if push came to shove, but what's the point of being offended by other people's beliefs? If it's not your thing, that's fine, but why does it offend you?

You just need to relax and not get mad if somebody wishes you a Happy Easter, Merry Christmas, or says God Bless You after you sneeze. They're not trying to convert you, they're just being friendly the way they know how. If somebody says that to you and you feel the need to confront them with the fact that you're an atheist, that's your problem. It's your problem that it offends you. Most of us can let that sort of thing roll down our back and take it as somebody just being friendly and not as an opening to start a religious debate.

mikalina

I googled the Meaning of Easter - and this is what came up ....

What is the meaning of Easter?

Easter is the day when we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God and heroically gave His life to die for our sins. On the third day after He died -- the day we now celebrate as Easter Sunday -- His friends went to His grave, and found that He had risen from the dead. They saw an angel who told them, "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said it would happen."

Loulou

brianlux wrote:

Loulou wrote:

CHOCOLATE PEOPLES!!?......WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHOCOLATES!!

Well you Aussies just take the cake. Here the rest of the world has chocolate bunnies and you have... chocolate people?

Hmm, wait a minute... come to think of it... not a bad idea. All that chocolate, extra calories to store up for winter Down Under. I take it back- that's brilliant! Good show, Loulou!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm chocolate people (*drool*)

Jeanwah

Someone's an angry atheist.

Horos

SatansFuton wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

I'm an Atheist, and I'M offended by what Easter is (at least in North America).

I'm not a religious person, I guess I would be labeled Agnostic if push came to shove, but what's the point of being offended by other people's beliefs? If it's not your thing, that's fine, but why does it offend you?

You just need to relax and not get mad if somebody wishes you a Happy Easter, Merry Christmas, or says God Bless You after you sneeze. They're not trying to convert you, they're just being friendly the way they know how. If somebody says that to you and you feel the need to confront them with the fact that you're an atheist, that's your problem. It's your problem that it offends you. Most of us can let that sort of thing roll down our back and take it as somebody just being friendly and not as an opening to start a religious debate.

The op was saying he was offended by the commercialization of Easter not the celebration of Easter.

We are completely unreligious but all of my kids know why most holidays are celebrated.

SatansFuton

Horos wrote:

The op was saying he was offended by the commercialization of Easter not the celebration of Easter.

We are completely unreligious but all of my kids know why most holidays are celebrated.

Why would he be offended by the commercialization of a holiday he doesn't believe in? I would think that's the concern of Christians.

And I wasn't just talking about that quote, but the part afterward when he said that when people tell him Happy Easter he goes into the whole "I'm An Atheist" thing.

The bottom line remains, if you are being offended by something that doesn't concern you, then you need to relax.

iamica

I think the whole bunny thing came from an ancient pagan celebration to celebrate a deity known as "Eostre", hence the expression, "Happy Easter" (the word "Easter" isn't found in the Bible; some Christians go so far as to call today "Resurrection Sunday" because they realize that the word Easter is a pagan reference). I could be wrong about that, but I remember that the whole bunny and hiding eggs thing was part of some old spring ritual that doesn't actually have anything to do with the Christian celebration of the resurrection.
It doesn't offend me. I figure if people want to buy candy and eggs, let them. I don't think it necessarily diminishes or takes anything away from the holiday, although when I was a kid I was really confused as to what Easter was actually about, since all I knew was egg hunts and chocolate bunnies.

Sugar-Magnolia

Since we are not religious, we see Easter as a chance to have a good meal with family and celebrate springtime and the renewal of life.
I watched a thing about how they make chocolate bunnies on the History channel but they didn't explain the connection between rabbits, junk food, and Jesus's body coming up missing.

bionicamy

iamica wrote:

I think the whole bunny thing came from an ancient pagan celebration to celebrate a deity known as "Eostre", hence the expression, "Happy Easter" (the word "Easter" isn't found in the Bible; some Christians go so far as to call today "Resurrection Sunday" because they realize that the word Easter is a pagan reference). I could be wrong about that, but I remember that the whole bunny and hiding eggs thing was part of some old spring ritual that doesn't actually have anything to do with the Christian celebration of the resurrection.
It doesn't offend me. I figure if people want to buy candy and eggs, let them. I don't think it necessarily diminishes or takes anything away from the holiday, although when I was a kid I was really confused as to what Easter was actually about, since all I knew was egg hunts and chocolate bunnies.

Here is an article that explains the origins of the Easter Bunny.... Eggs.... And decorating.
You were right on

http://news.discovery.com/history/what- ... 20406.html