Note: Please consider these points, and let me know what you think. What I just posted may be based on faulty reasoning and/or lies, and if that is the case, please correct me. I apologize if any of my points, or those of KJV Today, are based on lies.
Hello Chris,
I was reading your article "Why I Use the King James Bible", and while I wholeheartedly agree with your article, and believe that the KJV is God's complete and inerrant word, I believe that you may have given a faulty justification on why the word "Easter" is used in Acts 12:4.
It's true that "Easter" is the correct translation in Acts 12:4, but I believe that the justification you gave is incorrect. It's also true that the Easter holiday is connected to pagan practices, but it is the etymology of the word that matters, not what is associated with the word.
You said "however, there was a celebration going on at the same time that was a big pagan party in the Roman Empire, and that was the Easter celebration, celebrating the moon goddess giving rebirth to the sun god" and that "Easter" is a "celebration of the pagans in the Roman Empire".
I found a refutation to this claim online. I'll present the refutations of the general claim of the Easter of Acts 12:4 relating to a pagan holiday in numbered form (along with my takes on them) in numbered form. Keep in mind that this is a general refutation, and you have not claimed most of what I refuted. Also keep in mind that I'm defending the use of Easter as pertaining to the resurrection through etymology, and not the current holiday/practices.
1) I don't know if you were hinting at this, but just in case, the word Easter (pointing to East; i.e. the direction of sunrise) has nothing to do with “Ishtar” or “Astarte” as both have to do with flocks or animal fertility.
2) Easter connects to dawn/morning, and the Bible connects the morning/dawn to Christ's resurrection (Mark 16:2, Matthew 28:1) and the light of his nature (Revelation 22:16, 2 Peter 1:19, Isaiah 60:1-3). The Bible does "visualize" God to the light of the Sun (and similar concepts). "So there is a connection between the eastern direction and the verb “to rise” even in the language of the New Testament. The writers of the New Testament did not avoid using the verb “ανατελλω” (to rise) despite its derivation from the Greek word for “east”."
3) No need for guilt by association; pagan celebrations are connected to Easter (bunnies, eggs, etc...), but the name Easter itself is not pagan. On the contrary, as Isaiah 60:1-3 hints of "the brightness of thy rising" (Jesus), so rightfully Easter (dawn/sunrise) connects to Jesus's resurrection, along with his description of "the dayspring from on high", "the bright and morning star", "the day star arise", etc... Just as the word "Septuagint" means "seventy" as in the supposed seventy translators that worked on it, similarly the word Easter, with the east pointing to the direction of the sunrise, it's the definition, which in turn is a Biblical description of Jesus, and should be viewed in light of its etymology and not pagan celebrations connected to it. It's the etymology that matters.
4) John had to qualify "pascha" in John 11:55: “And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand….” (ην δε εγγυς το πασχα των ιουδαιων). This means that pascha, without the qualifier and with the context in mind, is rightfully translated as Easter in Acts 12:4, but does not relate to anything pagan. Eusebius, a church historian, stated that "For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour’s passover. Typical Engish translations of Eusebius’ Church History, such as that above, translate “σωτηρίου πάσχα” as “Saviour’s passover”, but the literal translation is “Saviour’s Pascha”. Eusebius gives a balanced report of the situation, even reporting that the Saviour’s Pascha originally fell on the date of the Passover instead of on a Sunday, contrary to later Roman Catholic practices." That's why John had to qualify "pascha" in that instance.
5) The final proof, taken directly from the online source (KJV Today): "Contrary to what many believe, it is neither the Jews nor Herod who is using the word “Πάσχα” at Acts 12:4. It is actually Luke, the Christian narrator of Acts, who is using the word “Πάσχα” to describe the timeline of events for his Christian readers in the latter first century, many of whom were Gentile Christians. At the time of Luke’s writing, “Πάσχα” at Acts 12:4 was no longer the Passover but Easter. When Luke speaks in Acts 12:4 as narrator, he is using words according to the mutual Christian perspective of himself and his readers. This is evident because he uses the word “church” (εκκλησία) at Acts 12:1 to refer to Christians. This is a dignifying Christian word to refer to the congregation of those who are called out by God. Neither Herod nor the Jews would have referred to these rebels as “the called-out ones”. However, when coming from a Christian narrator for a Christian audience, the word “εκκλησία” carries a Christian meaning. The same goes for the word “πασχα”. It may well be that Herod and the Jews had no concern or knowledge about Easter. Although Herod and the Jews were waiting for the Jewish Passover, Luke uses “πασχα” according to its Christian meaning of “Easter” to explain the timeline of events to his Christian readers. That is why “πασχα” is Easter in Acts 12:4."
Easter in Acts 12:4 is not the current pagan holiday, but the word relating to the resurrection through etymology.
Please consider these points, and let me know what you think. What I just posted may be based on faulty reasoning and/or lies, and if that is the case, please correct me. I apologize if any of my points, or those of KJV Today, are based on lies.
Thanks
