Re: Easter Celebration

SUNDAY - the Sacrament of Easter

Dear brother Bob

Thank you for getting back in touch. I have read your message, includingthe material from the other folks (Bill Parks). I know that there are earnestAdventist people like you and Mr. Parks who take positions like this.
Though in some respects I share their concerns, I do not share their solution.

Mrs. White was opposed to our adopting all the trappings of the Catholic Church and her daughters, and most Adventists will agree with her about this. But there is never a time when it is inappropriate to acknowledge and glory in the death and resurrection of our Lord, and (it seems to me) especially not in the Easter weekend. My brother in law who was a pastor since the 1970's and now my nephew have always preached a sermon on these things on the Sabbath before Easter Sunday. If that should be the time when a Christian of another faith entered the SDA church for the first time, we wouldn't want him to conclude that we ignored the pivotal event of the Christian faith, the death and resurrection of Jesus. At the same time, I do not think it is necessary or helpful to try to make our churches as much like the other churches as possible, with the same decorations, banners, ceremonies, etc., as they use. We can focus on the real significance of those long-ago events.

The Catholic Church allowed for (and perhaps encouraged) the adoption of some of paganism's spring fertility symbols, and they have become a part of the Easter observances. This is the origin of Easter eggs and Easter
bunnies, for instance; both the egg and the rabbit were fertility symbols. The very name Easter is probably adapted from the name of the goddess Ishtar. Things like this go a long way toward explaining why some
Adventists react strongly against Easter.

Just as Ellen White counseled people not to ignore Christmas but to discard the elements of it that do not honor Christ, I believe this shouldbe our aim with Easter.

This is how I see the matter! May God bless you!

Clara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob D." <bat@charter.net>

Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2003 12:10 AM
Subject: Fw: EASTER CELEBRATION

> Dear Sister Clara

> I pondered whether I should respond to your Easter message that you sent out> a few of days ago. Like other things I thought it best to lie low. What can I say to an SDA that sees things differently than I do?
>
> Well, my conscious kept bothering me if I said nothing. The vast majority of> SDAs that especially belong to large congregations will in fact be> celebrating Easter this Sabbath and perhaps even on Sunday. What an
> abomination it must be before the just and holy God! No wonder He spews us out of His mouth.
>
> I hope that you do take the time to reflect and think on what Easter really represents and why we are to not have any part in it. Below is an email that brings this into focus a little bit better than I can do.
>
> More than anything else I hopw to be able to meet people like yourself in heaven, who like myself, were helped by the merciful messages and prayers of strangers that caused a change of heart and acceptance before God.

> May this Sabbath be a joy in Him
> Bob
>
> Bob De La Torre
> VISIT <www.adventist4truth.com>