hehe -the pagans can have easter back, I certainly dont want it anymore!!

Its funny because a survey done in the Uk recently said 10% of people have absolutely no idea what easter is about anyway, and 90% think the most important bit is the chocloate. Its about time the pagans reclaimed easter then maybe Christians could celebrate the resurrection properly.

One good think about easter though - lambs on sale so I got a bargain ready for passover :)

Oh, shalom82, you are too funny. And I'm with you, Juski: the most important thing about "Easter" is the chocolate. In the immortal words of Vince Lombardagiradelli, "Chocolate isn't everything. It's the only thing."

And Icy, your quote made a really strange picture pop involuntarily into my head: "Go ahead and sacrifice your children to Moloch, but only if you have a valid bonfire permit." Now that's political correctitude!

kp

Shabbat Shalom,

Yes, it's time for the ritual bloodletting after the washing of feet... Then comes the bunny hop, lots of chocs, ham lunches, and a feel-good thingy that someone died 2,000 years ago so that we can move on to play harps on clouds when we've done time here on earth. Sheeeesh! How did we get to this!?

In retrospect, when I look back at how we are told to queue up to kiss the feet of a crucified statue, and how the altar boys used to wipe the feet after each kiss, and when the horrors of AIDS and the bird flu raised the spectre of mass infection among Catholics resulting in a bow of respect in lieu of the kiss, I know I really felt most uncomfortable that we did such things supposedly in His name and against His commandments while in His house. How did Mithraism creep in so subtly that the early believers started to compromise and accept such practices? I suppose those who relented did so after much persecution by the Romans, and persuasion by their leaders so that they could live to worship another day, albeit vastly in error. I was glad that I did not have to subjugate myself to this for long, and I had hoped that members of my family could see it for what it really is.

Unfortunately, they have not had such insight till today, and I think that it is partly my fault for not telling them directly. While we sit at our PCs and ridicule some pagan practices, I think most of us struggle with the notion of approaching our family members to move them out of idolatry, lest we be ostracised and excommunicated instead. As far as excommunication is concerned, I really don't have any problem with that, but I'd like for my brother and sister and their families to come to know Yahweh. I always say, "Patience, here a little and there a little until they are ready to listen," but then again should I just talk to them straight and get it over with -- "Either you are with Him or not with Him" and risk losing them? Then I remember Yahushua talking in parables and I remember why He spoke in parables. So, I think that sometimes having patience is more than necessary with those whom are not enlightened, but a firmer, more direct approach is needed for those who lead others astray. Hence my decision to be more "outspoken" with my pastor friend by way of giving him more articles to read despite his silent protests, and a gentler approach with my family members. Perhaps one day in the near future I shall be able to bring them yada Yahweh and realise that they have been hoodwinked by other men who seek nothing but power and wealth for themselves in the service of their gods.

I crossed this sentence in the Noah chapter of YY and I'm now reminded of it when I think of my blood family:



With my family I just set an example, I don't Bible-bash in anyway. I let them do they asking, or I just comment on situations like the pagan feasts and hopefully the seeds drop in good soil. The not eating pork serves as a great way to set an example, I have been ridiculed already for it, being told to "grow up!"

Hear, hear! Brother shalom82 speaks the Truth. The funny thing is that I have been on this diet for some time now... 20 years... and my brother and sister are still in denial that I have moved beyond Catholicism. I know that they are practicising what they think is in honour of the faith of our parents, but I honour my parents by moving on to Truth and not hanging on to falseness. I believe that my parents have brought me thus far in their faith, and it is up to me to press on further to the Truth. For that I thank them, as it would have been of little help if I was brought up in the midst of Hinduism or Islam. So praise be to Yahweh for His mercy and I pray that one day we shall be united in Truth. Family first, community and country... we'll see.