Is Easter based on a pagan tradition?

[A_Nony_Mouse]

The child's opinion of itself amuses me.

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Are you still trying to feed rabbits to rabbis? Or are you trying to run with the hares instead of the rabbits and rabbis?

Mousy replies from a mousy man.

Mice are not kosher, either the crawling or flying kind.

I am safe from the fate of being eaten by a Jew.

I am unaware of any prohibitions for Jewesses as long as not for sustenance.

[Minimalist]

There is no historical mention of anyone by that name.

Certainly not among the Diadochi who battled for control of Alex's Empire after his death which would be the context I would expect to find him. This is all I can come up with on it.

http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=40&sub=526

THE CITY OF CAESAREA, or as it was frequently called Caesarea of Israel, was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean between Joppa and Tyre. The site was occupied originally by an ancient village called the Tower of Strato. Herod the Great built here a magnificent and Strongly fortified city, which he named Caesarea, in honor of Augustus. He formed a secure harbor by constructing a vast breakwater out into the sea. Caesarea was the capital of Judea during the reigns of Herod the Great and Agrippa I., and was the usual residence of the Roman Governor, when Judea became a mere province of the Empire. The inhabitants were principally Greeks. - Ancient Geography

I do however have Caesar being pissed at Ptolemy for killing a Roman even if one Caesar would have killed had he gotten to him first.

But Ptolemy did not kill Antony. Antony committed suicide after Octavian landed in Egypt. Ptolemy XIII did murder Pompey but Julius Caesar dealt with him some years prior. So, that one remains a mystery.

[A_Nony_Mouse]

There is no historical mention of anyone by that name.

Certainly not among the Diadochi who battled for control of Alex's Empire after his death which would be the context I would expect to find him. This is all I can come up with on it.

http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=40&sub=526

THE CITY OF CAESAREA, or as it was frequently called Caesarea of Israel, was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean between Joppa and Tyre. The site was occupied originally by an ancient village called the Tower of Strato. Herod the Great built here a magnificent and Strongly fortified city, which he named Caesarea, in honor of Augustus. He formed a secure harbor by constructing a vast breakwater out into the sea. Caesarea was the capital of Judea during the reigns of Herod the Great and Agrippa I., and was the usual residence of the Roman Governor, when Judea became a mere province of the Empire. The inhabitants were principally Greeks. - Ancient Geography

To whom do we owe this sterling contrivance to avoid the simplest meaning? Of course I may have misread or misremembered but lets see how this plays out. He replaces a village named BYTSTRT with Caesarea and then builds a village in Caesarea name BYTSTRT. I do not see how that passes a reality check.

I have to admit I have never come across a village with that type of name. The name would be BYTSTRT or perhaps Bethstrt with some missing vowels. I know what Bethlehem means. To give this idea credibility there has to be meaning for STRT as in bread for lehem.

Although I don't know enough to make it an issue I have not come across any village with a naming convention including a person's name. We don't have any Bethomri or Bethjeroboam.

I agree I am just "confusing" believers with temple of Astarte but I am not the first to talk about it. Believers will even talk about temples to her and have difficulty fighting May Yahweh and his Ashara protect us, inscriptions. They point out her symbol was a poll or tree.

Believers like to claim that her worship was eliminated by the 3rd c. BC. I simply point out the facts are to the contrary. Believers would have no problem were BYT STRT translated temple of Astarte from a 6th c. BC source. They could say that was before it was eliminated. They are in denial over 1st c. sources because they know it cannot be true because they know the Judeans were strict monotheists.

These are not secrets. Try these two. You can google and learn I did not invent this stuff. I am just trying to get it all in one place and expound a theory of the facts.
Introducing Ashara, the Goddess of Judea
Idols of Ashara and Yahweh

I do however have Caesar being pissed at Ptolemy for killing a Roman even if one Caesar would have killed had he gotten to him first.

But Ptolemy did not kill Antony. Antony committed suicide after Octavian landed in Egypt. Ptolemy XIII did murder Pompey but Julius Caesar dealt with him some years prior. So, that one remains a mystery.

Well taken. It is a non-issue. I've been thinking of Pompey.

Again I don't have an issue with which Antony. I merely came up with a now unnecessary discriminant. Should I find it becomes a significant issue I will research it much more thoroughly. It would be sort of odd if which Antony did nor survive in the records some place in some manner but lots of info didn't.

[paulpablo]

its funny that i started this thread as a joke and i dont really care where easter came from and it gets 8 pages of arguments,

when i start a thread im really passionate serious and interested in it gets about 2 replies.

have we decided how easter started yet?

[Minimalist]

They are in denial over 1st c. sources because they know it cannot be true because they know the Judeans were strict monotheists.

They can work themselves up even more over the actual late 9th/early 8th century inscription at Kuntillet Arjud.

http://www.cojs.org/cojswiki/Kuntillet_%...entury_BCE

The most debated depiction consists of a blessing “To Yahweh and His Asherah” inscribed on a pithos over a drawing of two crudely-drawn, grotesque figures standing side-by-side.

William Dever explores this in depth in "Did God Have A Wife."

[A_Nony_Mouse]

They are in denial over 1st c. sources because they know it cannot be true because they know the Judeans were strict monotheists.

They can work themselves up even more over the actual late 9th/early 8th century inscription at Kuntillet Arjud.

http://www.cojs.org/cojswiki/Kuntillet_%...entury_BCE

Missed that one entirely, thank you!

Fourth, do the drawings depict Yahweh and Asherah? If so, the image violates the commandment forbidding images of Yahweh (Exodus 20:4; Deut 5:8) plus it renders him in a form highly evocative of the Egyptian god Bes. These drawings and inscriptions substantiate prophetic ranting and admonitions against idolatrous and polytheistic practices in Israel.

I have come across one reference that one of the statues of Ashara from the 2nd c. BC shows mold lines indicating they were mass produced.

The most debated depiction consists of a blessing “To Yahweh and His Asherah” inscribed on a pithos over a drawing of two crudely-drawn, grotesque figures standing side-by-side.

William Dever explores this in depth in "Did God Have A Wife."

They all sort of have to admit that. The issue is they claim it was some kind of heresy or religion wiped out the Yahweh cult. Problem is her worship still continues centuries after it was supposedly eliminated. Of course that suggests the religion of the priests was the religion of the people when in every case I can find the religion of the people is NOT the religion of the priests. Priests can only write about their cult. The religion of the people is all that matters.

I read one open minded rabbi make the cryptic comment to the effect we do not know the religion of the women because they left no written record. But he gave no idea what he was talking about.

Another wag suggested the reason her temple was on the temple mount and Yahweh's below it was that if they were reversed people could look down on her temple and see the priests making sacred love.