Can you do Pagan Rituals and not be Pagan ?

Originally Posted by Endless_Love_2_you

Hi I know this my sound funny but I like some of the rituals Pagans do but Im a die- hard christian. But reading this book made me think of all the rituals pagans do and it seem pretty intresting ,nice and down right fun. I would kinda want that in my life but not hurt my faith. I hope I dont offend anybody hear I respect this religion. I was also wondering what kinds of seramonies and rituals are out there I kinda know about the halloween one / Samhain. That intrests me alot thanks !!

Do you put a Tree in your house for the Holidays? You just did a pagan ritual.
Do you or have you ever dyed an egg in spring? You just did a Pagan ritual.
Have you ever danced around a Maypole? You did a pagan ritual.
Have you dressed up on Oct 31st? You just did a Pagan ritual.
Have you ever asked a Diety can be God or Jesus even for something?
You have done a pagan ritual. Prayer means praise and worship not asking for things.
Do you have any wreaths in your house or flowers on your wall? Thats pagan.
Some Christians would never admit to it but they do more Pagan rituals then Christian, Without even being aware of it.

Originally Posted by Occultist

Do you put a Tree in your house for the Holidays? You just did a pagan ritual.
Do you or have you ever dyed an egg in spring? You just did a Pagan ritual.
Have you ever danced around a Maypole? You did a pagan ritual.
Have you dressed up on Oct 31st? You just did a Pagan ritual.
Have you ever asked a Diety can be God or Jesus even for something?
You have done a pagan ritual. Prayer means praise and worship not asking for things.
Do you have any wreaths in your house or flowers on your wall? Thats pagan.
Some Christians would never admit to it but they do more Pagan rituals then Christian, Without even being aware of it.

pagans misrepresenting pagans and christians.
When will it end?

Originally Posted by Animus27

Actually, Easter is a purely Christian holiday. The actual name in English we use, Easter, is related to an Anglo-Saxon month name mentioned by Bede that corresponds to the modern month of April. Bede also mentioned that the Anglo-Saxons worshiped a goddess by the name of Eostre around that time, and Jacob Grimm was one of the first people to theorize that the custom of dyeing Easter eggs, and the Easter Bunny are possible remnants of a Eostre cultus that were kept by the converted A-S.

But aside from the English & German customs that aren't in anyway Biblical, Easter, or Pascha, is definitely a Christian holiday.

Origins of the name "Easter":
The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
Astarte from ancient Greece
Demeter from Mycenae
Hathor from ancient Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

An alternative explanation has been suggested. The name given by the Frankish church to Jesus' resurrection festival included the Latin word "alba" which means "white." (This was a reference to the white robes that were worn during the festival.) "Alba" also has a second meaning: "sunrise." When the name of the festival was translated into German, the "sunrise" meaning was selected in error. This became "ostern" in German. Ostern has been proposed as the origin of the word "Easter".
Sunday." It is derived from the name of the Scandinavian sun Goddess Sunna (a.k.a. Sunne, Frau Sonne).
Yeah thats about as Christian as decorating a Tree..

I am not misrepresenting what I am or the laws of the Bible.

Jeremiah 10:2-4

King James Version (KJV)


2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

You lost me when you called Eostre a "Great Mother Goddess".

We know nothing about her. She is only mentioned by Bede, and even then we don't know whether he invented her. Jacob Grimm used linguistics to reconstruct a proto-Germanic form of her name (*Ostara), and linked her with Aurora of Roman religion and the Norse Aurvandil name/word being a cognate, and theorized that she was a goddess of the dawn and springtime. But those are speculations. We've never discovered a cult center of Eostre or have any surviving placenames dedicated to her, so the range of evidence is relegated to linguistics, comparative mythology, and the sole reference made by Bede.

Originally Posted by Occultist

I am not misrepresenting what I am or the laws of the Bible.

Jeremiah 10:2-4

King James Version (KJV)


2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Well, I'd beg to differ. You're making it out like dancing about and throwing some flowers around somehow makes a person pagan, or that they've done some kind of pagan rite (whatever that is). It doesn't.

[onetruebeliever]

Originally Posted by Animus27

But can you actually link Tammuz with the resurrection of Jesus? All of that hinges on the idea that the early Christians somehow adopted the mourning of Tammuz and changed it to Jesus.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that themes of resurrection did influence many Mediterranean customs (like the sleeping or death of Dionysos in Orphic mystery cults). But even then, it doesn't invalidate the idea that Easter or Paschal is a Christian holiday remarkably free from non-christian influences outside of folk traditions.

I, for one don't even think Jesus was one person - I think he was a conglomeration of many young people of the time who rebelled against their religious teachings and leaders. So, we probably will never come to any compromise as to the basis of Easter or any religious traditions.

There is no actual, real, absolute link. For pete's sake! The "linking" occurred over thousands of years as populations spread throughout the world -morphed, if you will. The idea may have started out as the Babylonian story or even earlier, and then another culture took it over and another and another. It eventually reaches the west where those cultures change it to fit their ideologies. There is nothing new or original under the sun.

[norseman]

I will have to dig for that. It is in Gardner's biography - get back to you

Originally Posted by Animus27

Well, I'd beg to differ. You're making it out like dancing about and throwing some flowers around somehow makes a person pagan, or that they've done some kind of pagan rite (whatever that is). It doesn't.

You can beg all you want dear. Fact is you need to study more and have references to back up some claims and know that just cause you practice something of Pagan background doesn't make you Pagan. Many Christian holidays were created and based off of paganism. Also I am not making nothing out like that if you are confused re read my posts Norse will tell you honestly I am speaking from experience and also Paganism paints a very wide brush. But if a Christian wants to practice some of our rituals I am trying to point out that they already do. Doesn't make them Pagan and I don't see a problem with it. Also you really need to study more about Easter and Christmas and the pagan roots of those Holidays.
When you peel away everything it has nothing to do with Christ.If you like and I hate to reference anything from the Internet or origins but this article may help you a little http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html
If you have any other questions on Easter or holidays if I am not on I am sure Norse can answer. Thanks.

That link is something marvelously special. I don't think I have ever read so many inaccuracies in a single piece of writing. If you're using that for your information about pagan customs & Easter, I'd advise you to simply stop talking about it completely.

Seriously? I mean, really?