Excellent! This is very well written and gives a clear understanding of how the church has lost. It’s historical and biblical roots to Judaism. I am a Jewish believer in Jesus, messianic Jew. Over the years I’ve seen many churches incorporate the biblical feasts and festivals into their church calendar. This helps to combined the old and New Testament with greater personal relevancy.
Incorporating these beautiful biblical Jewish holy days have a rich and deep understanding of God’s personal and greater plan.
Thank you Brian Campbell for your contemplation on the true meaning of Easter, Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, for us human beings who are sacred image bearers but fallen and vulnerable to temptation and sin. We who have taken up our own cross and chosen to put Christ at the center of our lives and follow His teaching know that Easter is the fulfillment of the promise that the nativity at Christmas promises.
As I learn more about history and my Catholic faith, I have come to see that the education and mainstream media in our society is incredibly ignorant about Catholicism and in many cases outright hostile to it. But since all of us who follow Christ have Catholicism as part of the history of our faith, it is wise to seek to learn about its history and theology from sources that are not biased against it.
The European influence on the lands that became the US included Catholicism and various sects of Protestantism, but in the end, the English settlement became dominant and has thus imprinted many of our institutions and much of our culture with a Protestant anti-Catholic bias such as is in the so-called Black Legend, fed by propaganda from England against their Catholic enemy Spain.
If you would consider reading one book about the distortion of Catholic history in the English speaking West, I would recommend one by Protestant historian Rodney Stark, "Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History." If you are willing to spend more time and resources, there is a great text book series for middle and high schoolers that provides a wealth of information that even adults will find engaging. It is from the Catholic Textbook Project.
Meanwhile, you are stuck with my perspective that is likely better informed than Brian Campbell's on The Catholic Church, but still highly amateur. One of things that is not well appreciated about the Catholic Church is that its continuity and faithfulness to Christ and truth has made it a relatively reliable store of knowledge about history, philosophy and theology over the past two millennia. Reading about the Protestant movements, you see not only all of the division and conflict that was unleashed, but also the abandoning of this store of wisdom save for the retention of most of the Sacred Scripture that was itself compiled and preserved by The Catholic Church. In my opinion, it is easy to see that removing the Bible from the protection of the Church Christ created further allowed Christ's teaching to be abandoned or worse, twisted into something so far from Christ's teaching it is demonic, such as justifying gay marriage in Christ's name or the brutal genocide of Christians and others in The Holy Land happening before our eyes with our government's support being seen as somehow faithful to Christ's teaching!
I can't make the full case for it here, but I feel that social media coupled with the influence of left identity politics has turned us all into ready critics. We are quick to assume motives and pass judgement. A skeptic of The Catholic Church might say that the reason it incorporates wisdom from non-Christian traditions is to deceive the locals into becoming Catholic. But an another possible reason for this is that Christ said the moral law was written on every human heart and The Church understands that there is good, truth and beauty reaching to God to some degree in every human culture which should be celebrated, respected and preserved. Are you aware of the miracle of Juan Diego and the vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe? Was it a miracle? Was it a con to trick naive indigenous Central Americans into accepting the faith of cynical conquistadors? It is at least claimed that the image on Juan Diego's cloak is made by a method that we still cannot explain. If God can create the entire universe, create all of us, Himself become man, die and become resurrected, then can God not make such a miracle to provide a sign? Can He not turn regular bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at every mass if he chooses to do so?
Christ did call for there to be unity in His Church. He called us to be humble. He did found a Church to preserve His teaching and allow His followers to have a community from which to spread the Good News. If you believe you can be closer to Christ in a Church that has split away from the one He founded, only He can judge whether that will provide salvation, not me. And you have every right to criticize The Catholic Church that He founded, but I would just implore you to do it with humility working to avoid the sin of the IXth commandment against bearing false witness.
I would also hope that every American would take some time to get a deeper historical and philosophical understanding of the Catholic Church since it is such an important part of the founding of The Western Civilization that this country is a part of. If your ancestors hail from The West, what was it that they believed and preserved over the ages? If your linage is only newly grafted in to The West, what is the moral foundation of your new home? How can understanding that history help you better appreciate and preserve what is good about our society?
I honestly believe that a lot of the problems for The West that seem to have the potential to end our civilization (and possibly even human life on earth through nuclear war) stem from us abandoning the Church that allowed it to thrive and flourish in the first place. Some think we are just heading in for the end times foretold in Revelations, however Christ also cautions us that none of us is to know the hour of His return. To me, that means the best we can do is to work to love Christ as sincerely as possible and work to live as He called us to do by working to love and serve each other better. Much more can be said about this, but I think it is high time we start having some respectful and frank discussions about working together to reverse the sidelining of Christian morality from our culture. Let's redouble our efforts to make The West great again by returning to our Christian roots.
The Bible warns of a power that would rise and attempt to change God’s appointed times and laws:
“He shall speak great words against the Most High… and think to change times and law…” — Daniel 7:25
This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea.
The Roman Church changed the biblical Sabbath from the seventh day (Saturday) to Sunday, claiming the authority to do so. It also replaced God’s feast days—like Passover—with man-made traditions such as Easter, which follow a different calendar and timing.
These changes align perfectly with Daniel’s warning: this religious power would “think to change” God’s appointed times (His feasts and Sabbaths) and His laws (the Ten Commandments).
Yet Scripture is clear—God’s law is unchanging (Psalm 111:7–8; Matthew 5:17–18). We are called to recognize and reject any system that substitutes biblical truth with human tradition.
Original New Testament bibles stated “Passover”. In 1611 King James Version changed it to “Easter”. 1982 New KJV reverted to Passover.
Easter is pagan.
Easter is not celebrated on the same day as Passover—and that’s no accident.
Passover is fixed to the 14th day of the biblical month of Nisan.
Easter, however, is based on a Roman calculation: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox they set as a fixed date of March 21.
This method was intentionally chosen by the Roman Church to separate the resurrection celebration from its Jewish roots.
The result? A floating holiday that often falls days—or even weeks—after the actual biblical anniversary of Jesus’ death.
Scripture is clear—God’s law is unchanging (Psalm 111:7–8; Matthew 5:17–18). We are called to recognize and reject any system that substitutes biblical truth with human tradition.
Man cannot change God’s laws, that includes the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
No one changed God's laws, the Christians simply celebrated the resurrection of the Lord on the proper day, Sunday. Christ is the Fulfillment of the Old Covenant, we do not rest on sabbath because we are not tied to the Jewish customs - we are Christians not Judaizers.
Please explain Genesis 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it…”
Sabbath was ordained at the time of Creation; before Abraham, before Jacob, before there were Jews.
Secondly, are you saying Jesus was a Jew and that’s why he observed the Sabbath in life. And when he died and rested on the Sabbath he was still a Jew. But was resurrected and no longer a Jew?
And are you saying the Ten Commandments only apply to Jews? Sabbath was written in stone by Gods finger.
Changing Laws
How do you explain when the Council of Nicea forbade the biblical celebration of Passover, indirectly, by condemning Quartodecimanism.
And they changed the celebration date, by declaring Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
Not on Nisan 14.
Furthermore how do you explain the Council of Laodicea Canon 29 which forbade Sabbath observance by declaring that Christians will not rest on Sabbath but will on Sunday and elevated Sunday worship.
Thanks for an interesting story. It's fascinating how humans create so many myths to support their choice of faith. With over 900 known gods and thousands of religious paths, the multitude of stories and myths is fascinating. Thanks for adding to my knowledge base.
Your observations point to the fact that modern Christianity has (in many circumstances) lost its way. Some of your statements are misleading, but the theme is correct. For example, you suggest the word Easter derives from the word Ostara. Because a seventeenth century monk said it doesn't make it true. All languages with Greek or Latin origins refer to this time as Pascha (or celebration of the Passover). Easter bunnies and eggs are traditions adopted hundreds of years following the resurrection of Christ, and have no biblical roots, but perhaps bring some closer to being introduced to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Easter Sunday traditions of dressing up with springtime hats and attending services (sunrise or otherwise) have led to many seeing the Bread of Life for the first time. Please don't translate my comment to imply I disagree with you that Easter has become blurred with commercialism, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, colored eggs, bunnies, and all. Blessings
Rome & Catholic Church were separating Christians from Jews.
In his own words, Constantine said: “Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd… We desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.”
(Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Book III)
Church picked a date not tied to the Bible in order to appease the pagan converts, to increase their congregation.
Church picked a name with pagan roots.
Colossians 2:8, Paul warns us: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Jesus came as a lamb, sign of humility. He fulfilled prophecy removing ceremonial sabbaths, feasts.
Why would Jesus want a holiday when he came to remove holidays?
I read this linguistical article titled "The Truth Behind Easter"
by Brian Campbell and I quote from the Key Statements as follows>
"This isn’t just poetic language; it’s prophecy fulfilled. The Feast of First Fruits involved offering the first sheaf of the harvest to God, symbolizing new life and the beginning of a spiritual harvest. Jesus, rising on this exact day, became the “firstfruits” of the resurrection, the guarantee of eternal life for all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:23)?" AND "Even the Bible reflects this confusion. In the King James Version, Acts 12:4 mistranslates the Greek word Pascha (Passover) as “Easter,”
Mr. Brian Campbell appears to be informed of the fact the New Testament was authored in Greek
sometimes referred to as "Koine" (common) Greek but really Alexandrian Greek
The New Testaments is commonly mistranslated since it was in Greek not English as anyone would know IF the studied the Iliad and Odyssey IN GREEK weblink below>
As Mr. Campbell clearly points out "Even the Bible reflects this confusion. In the King James Version, Acts 12:4 mistranslates the Greek word Pascha (Passover) as “Easter,”
Another major mistranslated Testament word is Repent actually μετάνοια, metanoia found in
So what does this have to do with Santa Barbara, Easter Sin and Repentence?
I will let you all ponder on the Greek word μετάνοια, metanoia or the "Change in Mental Attitude" that is so badly needed in our Lil Ole Sin-Filled Beach Town of Santa Barbara.
Howard Walther, Member of a Military Family
PS1 - Most of ancient history Military Battles involved the Greeks like the Battle for Troy
PS2 - A Good Read is the "Windy Walls of Troy" where it comes back to CALI & RUSSIA weblink>
"There Schliemann discovered his talent for languages and his ability to succeed in business. He could master the use of a language in as little as six weeks, and this made him indispensable to an international trading company based in the city. In 1846, he went to Russia, where he became an independent merchant. In 1851, he established his own bank in Sacramento, California, and built his personal fortune."
Look at a map of what "Easter" is called in Europe, only England, Germany, and one or two other nations use any word like "Easter", the rest of Europe (minus Poland, Czechia, Slovak Republic, Hungary, and much of the Balkans...) uses a word that's like "Pascha" for "Easter" instead. Blame the Anglo-Germans for being weird.
"Yet, many churches, including mine, don’t prioritize communion on Easter Sunday. If Easter is meant to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection"; Then this is because you don't go to an Apostolic Church (that is to say your local Church is not one in communion with a succesor of the apostles, the Patriarchs/Bishops), knowing this your Church probably doesn't even believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
"This syncretism revived the spirit of Babylon, the mother of false religion (Revelation 17:5). Yet, the Church ignored this, blending pagan customs with the gospel, creating a hybrid that obscures the purity of Christ’s sacrifice"; The Church didn't "ignore" anything - it conquered the pagans and baptized their traditions, that's not surrender but the Triumph of Christ. The Church is protected by the Holy Spirit, not sure why you're so concerned about thr Church falling to paganism...
Tomorrow Catholics will be out there praying the stations of the cross, meditiating on the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, kneeling before the Cross, and even *attending Mass, the summit of thw Christian life - and the representation of Christ's suffering, and death on Golgotha...*, perhaps instead of fear mongering over the Church losing sight of Christ, you should embrace one of the many practices Catholics all over the world shall do on Good Friday.
Good Friday is the one day of the year there is not a Catholic Mass since it is a day of mourning. There are services, liturgical readings, and communion with consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday.
I found chocolate crosses at Grocery Outlet this past week.
Oh, dear. I didn't realize that my vocabulary was lacking and I was appearing tacky. The Poor Clares use that exact term at their chapel. I suppose they and I are rather simple.
Chief "service" is a term thag echoes the protestant spirit of "simplyfying" things and concepts. I won't use it. "Celebration of the Lord's Passion" is solemn yet grandiose. A fitting title for the passing of the True King as he went into hell for the harrowing of souls.
I beg your pudding, but all chocolate bunnies are not hollow. The original Chocolate Gallery in the 1980's around Easter time displayed a 32" high SOLID chocolate bunny in their front window. Why do I know? I purchased one for my single's club I founded, namely "Single Professionals' Social Club of Santa Barbara" which was located at my home on 7162 Marymount Way, Goleta. It cost $175 and the bunny's head was used as first prize to the winner of a game. The monthly gatherings were eventually split into two groups, Bill Russell Private Parties and the Single Professionals'. Reason for the split is the younger women were being hit up by too many older guys (like me now) ... and I placed an aged limit of 40 years old (I was 39). This was back in the 1984 through 1986 time period when I worked at Raytheon. My wife, Ann, is a product of my social club work ... several marriages were a result of these get togethers, the first one attracted about 225 people, then about 135 per month. It all started with a two-line add in the News Press Personals advertisement section. Those were the days.
Brian, I don't agree entirely with you, but I live for discussions like this. And they are too few. Thank you. I'm curious what you think of Bart Ehrman? Because he points out that one of the reasons Christians were persecuted early on is because they were monotheistic and Pagan-based cultures did not like that. Frankly, I'm sympathetic to the Pagans on that score. And while there's a lot that moves me deeply about Christ, I don't think he died for our sins. Nor does it make me feel like becoming a Christian when people on SB Current go on about that. I didn't ask Christ to die for my sins, so stop trying to guilt trip me. But this Sunday I will be listening to one of the greatest Christians, JS Bach and his cantata Christ Lag in Todesbanden.
I look to the Bible for Truth. For example it states multiple times Jesus died for our sins. But not everyone believes in the Bible.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
No one is trying to “guilt” you. You either believe in Christ and that the Bible is the absolute Truth or you don’t.
I wanted to set the record straight that Easter was not created to celebrate Jesus.
Easter was created to win over pagans to Christianity, and the Church created laws in 325ad forbidding rest on the Sabbath and created Easter abandoning Passover which is the true word of the Bible.
As you probably know, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ took place at the time of Passover. I'm thinking that GOD may have planned it that way 😉. When the Almighty tells us that His Son Jesus is the Passover Lamb, and His death occurs during Passover, well, it leads me to think it was His plan all along. However, it seems we both love and follow that Lamb...so thanks for sharing Brother. Blessings
Well, you guys did it. You’re not supposed to discuss politics or religion because no one ever agrees. Anyway, the ship has sailed on discussing politics here. It looks like people have a lot to say about religion. Got lots of comments here. I’m staying out of this one because I don’t really know that much about religions, but a lot of them do seem to be cult like too, like the magas. All I’m going to say is I believe in God and Jesus, but I stopped being religious quite a few years ago. The majority of wars have been over religion, and that’s not a good thing.
Rubbish this is about observence, which is ultimately empty.
Do not forget Christmas, that has alternative roots too. Glomming onto local spiritual events is how Christianity spread through the world. Not a bad idea to enhance your religion. Not sure if this is the same as practicing the message within the teachings.
And there in lies the difficulty. Religion is a creation of man and is always open to man's interference for his benefit. Every time the teachings were translated then some thing was added. Tom Harpur's take is interesting:
Harpur claims that the New Testament shares a large number of similarities with ancient Egyptian and other pagan religions, that early Church leaders fabricated a literal and human Jesus based on ancient myths and that we should return to an inclusive and universal religion where the spirit of Christ or Christos lives within each of us.
Rather than honouring "special" days I would much prefer the teachings of love to be actually practiced in our daily lives. I see far too much observence on Sunday, discarded for the rest of the week. First nations peoples have said it best. I paraphrase.
We do not understand you white men. You build a special hoiuse for your god and then only enter once a week. For us our spirits are around us all the time. We do not need a special house.
Life has moved on from a First Nations, a Jewish, a Buddist, a Hindu, a Muslim and Christian spirituality. We are crying out for spirituality in todays language. It will draw upon the past teachings.
"We do not understand you white men. You build a special hoiuse for your god and then only enter once a week. For us our spirits are around us all the time. We do not need a special house."
*someone remind bro that the Christian Faith was in Ethiopia long before it reached the America's. The Tewahedo Orthodox Church was building Churches when most of Europe was still pagan, but go on Mr. About this "white man's faith"
Jesus said we do not need a building, he established that you and I are God’s temple.
I agree most people are “Sunday Christian’s”
Perhaps they seeking help or just going to church as an obligation.
If the Ten Commandments were taught and if Jesus teachings of love, tolerance were observed that we would see less self absorbed, self centered people in the world?
The author tells us that "Jesus was crucified on April 3, 33 AD, and resurrected on April 6, 33 AD, aligning with Passover and First Fruits. Yet, instead of honoring these fixed dates, we follow a floating calendar tied to lunar cycles..." Sunday, April 6, 33 AD...are you using the Gregorian or Julian calendar to arrive at that date? Also, Jesus would have been crucified on Friday, April 4. Looking at my calendar for 2025, I see that Passover began on April 12 and ends on Sunday, April 20 - which coincides this year, yet again, with "Easter." Why? Because the date for Passover is determined by the Hebrew calendar, which is lunisolar (months determined by the moon, year determined by a full rotation around the sun). April 20, 2025 is Nisan 22, 5785. Despite all the paganism associated with "Easter", even the Jewish calendar is based on "a floating calendar tied to lunar cycles." I can't wait to see your expose on all the paganism surrounding "Christmas"!
Excellent! This is very well written and gives a clear understanding of how the church has lost. It’s historical and biblical roots to Judaism. I am a Jewish believer in Jesus, messianic Jew. Over the years I’ve seen many churches incorporate the biblical feasts and festivals into their church calendar. This helps to combined the old and New Testament with greater personal relevancy.
Incorporating these beautiful biblical Jewish holy days have a rich and deep understanding of God’s personal and greater plan.
Thank you Brian Campbell for your contemplation on the true meaning of Easter, Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, for us human beings who are sacred image bearers but fallen and vulnerable to temptation and sin. We who have taken up our own cross and chosen to put Christ at the center of our lives and follow His teaching know that Easter is the fulfillment of the promise that the nativity at Christmas promises.
As I learn more about history and my Catholic faith, I have come to see that the education and mainstream media in our society is incredibly ignorant about Catholicism and in many cases outright hostile to it. But since all of us who follow Christ have Catholicism as part of the history of our faith, it is wise to seek to learn about its history and theology from sources that are not biased against it.
The European influence on the lands that became the US included Catholicism and various sects of Protestantism, but in the end, the English settlement became dominant and has thus imprinted many of our institutions and much of our culture with a Protestant anti-Catholic bias such as is in the so-called Black Legend, fed by propaganda from England against their Catholic enemy Spain.
If you would consider reading one book about the distortion of Catholic history in the English speaking West, I would recommend one by Protestant historian Rodney Stark, "Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History." If you are willing to spend more time and resources, there is a great text book series for middle and high schoolers that provides a wealth of information that even adults will find engaging. It is from the Catholic Textbook Project.
Meanwhile, you are stuck with my perspective that is likely better informed than Brian Campbell's on The Catholic Church, but still highly amateur. One of things that is not well appreciated about the Catholic Church is that its continuity and faithfulness to Christ and truth has made it a relatively reliable store of knowledge about history, philosophy and theology over the past two millennia. Reading about the Protestant movements, you see not only all of the division and conflict that was unleashed, but also the abandoning of this store of wisdom save for the retention of most of the Sacred Scripture that was itself compiled and preserved by The Catholic Church. In my opinion, it is easy to see that removing the Bible from the protection of the Church Christ created further allowed Christ's teaching to be abandoned or worse, twisted into something so far from Christ's teaching it is demonic, such as justifying gay marriage in Christ's name or the brutal genocide of Christians and others in The Holy Land happening before our eyes with our government's support being seen as somehow faithful to Christ's teaching!
I can't make the full case for it here, but I feel that social media coupled with the influence of left identity politics has turned us all into ready critics. We are quick to assume motives and pass judgement. A skeptic of The Catholic Church might say that the reason it incorporates wisdom from non-Christian traditions is to deceive the locals into becoming Catholic. But an another possible reason for this is that Christ said the moral law was written on every human heart and The Church understands that there is good, truth and beauty reaching to God to some degree in every human culture which should be celebrated, respected and preserved. Are you aware of the miracle of Juan Diego and the vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe? Was it a miracle? Was it a con to trick naive indigenous Central Americans into accepting the faith of cynical conquistadors? It is at least claimed that the image on Juan Diego's cloak is made by a method that we still cannot explain. If God can create the entire universe, create all of us, Himself become man, die and become resurrected, then can God not make such a miracle to provide a sign? Can He not turn regular bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at every mass if he chooses to do so?
Christ did call for there to be unity in His Church. He called us to be humble. He did found a Church to preserve His teaching and allow His followers to have a community from which to spread the Good News. If you believe you can be closer to Christ in a Church that has split away from the one He founded, only He can judge whether that will provide salvation, not me. And you have every right to criticize The Catholic Church that He founded, but I would just implore you to do it with humility working to avoid the sin of the IXth commandment against bearing false witness.
I would also hope that every American would take some time to get a deeper historical and philosophical understanding of the Catholic Church since it is such an important part of the founding of The Western Civilization that this country is a part of. If your ancestors hail from The West, what was it that they believed and preserved over the ages? If your linage is only newly grafted in to The West, what is the moral foundation of your new home? How can understanding that history help you better appreciate and preserve what is good about our society?
I honestly believe that a lot of the problems for The West that seem to have the potential to end our civilization (and possibly even human life on earth through nuclear war) stem from us abandoning the Church that allowed it to thrive and flourish in the first place. Some think we are just heading in for the end times foretold in Revelations, however Christ also cautions us that none of us is to know the hour of His return. To me, that means the best we can do is to work to love Christ as sincerely as possible and work to live as He called us to do by working to love and serve each other better. Much more can be said about this, but I think it is high time we start having some respectful and frank discussions about working together to reverse the sidelining of Christian morality from our culture. Let's redouble our efforts to make The West great again by returning to our Christian roots.
Daniel 7:25
The Bible warns of a power that would rise and attempt to change God’s appointed times and laws:
“He shall speak great words against the Most High… and think to change times and law…” — Daniel 7:25
This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea.
The Roman Church changed the biblical Sabbath from the seventh day (Saturday) to Sunday, claiming the authority to do so. It also replaced God’s feast days—like Passover—with man-made traditions such as Easter, which follow a different calendar and timing.
These changes align perfectly with Daniel’s warning: this religious power would “think to change” God’s appointed times (His feasts and Sabbaths) and His laws (the Ten Commandments).
Yet Scripture is clear—God’s law is unchanging (Psalm 111:7–8; Matthew 5:17–18). We are called to recognize and reject any system that substitutes biblical truth with human tradition.
Original New Testament bibles stated “Passover”. In 1611 King James Version changed it to “Easter”. 1982 New KJV reverted to Passover.
Easter is pagan.
Easter is not celebrated on the same day as Passover—and that’s no accident.
Passover is fixed to the 14th day of the biblical month of Nisan.
Easter, however, is based on a Roman calculation: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox they set as a fixed date of March 21.
This method was intentionally chosen by the Roman Church to separate the resurrection celebration from its Jewish roots.
The result? A floating holiday that often falls days—or even weeks—after the actual biblical anniversary of Jesus’ death.
Scripture is clear—God’s law is unchanging (Psalm 111:7–8; Matthew 5:17–18). We are called to recognize and reject any system that substitutes biblical truth with human tradition.
Man cannot change God’s laws, that includes the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
No one changed God's laws, the Christians simply celebrated the resurrection of the Lord on the proper day, Sunday. Christ is the Fulfillment of the Old Covenant, we do not rest on sabbath because we are not tied to the Jewish customs - we are Christians not Judaizers.
Please explain Genesis 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it…”
Sabbath was ordained at the time of Creation; before Abraham, before Jacob, before there were Jews.
Secondly, are you saying Jesus was a Jew and that’s why he observed the Sabbath in life. And when he died and rested on the Sabbath he was still a Jew. But was resurrected and no longer a Jew?
And are you saying the Ten Commandments only apply to Jews? Sabbath was written in stone by Gods finger.
Changing Laws
How do you explain when the Council of Nicea forbade the biblical celebration of Passover, indirectly, by condemning Quartodecimanism.
And they changed the celebration date, by declaring Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
Not on Nisan 14.
Furthermore how do you explain the Council of Laodicea Canon 29 which forbade Sabbath observance by declaring that Christians will not rest on Sabbath but will on Sunday and elevated Sunday worship.
Again, God did not change his Law. Man did.
Thanks for an interesting story. It's fascinating how humans create so many myths to support their choice of faith. With over 900 known gods and thousands of religious paths, the multitude of stories and myths is fascinating. Thanks for adding to my knowledge base.
Peace on Earth!!!
Your observations point to the fact that modern Christianity has (in many circumstances) lost its way. Some of your statements are misleading, but the theme is correct. For example, you suggest the word Easter derives from the word Ostara. Because a seventeenth century monk said it doesn't make it true. All languages with Greek or Latin origins refer to this time as Pascha (or celebration of the Passover). Easter bunnies and eggs are traditions adopted hundreds of years following the resurrection of Christ, and have no biblical roots, but perhaps bring some closer to being introduced to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Easter Sunday traditions of dressing up with springtime hats and attending services (sunrise or otherwise) have led to many seeing the Bread of Life for the first time. Please don't translate my comment to imply I disagree with you that Easter has become blurred with commercialism, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, colored eggs, bunnies, and all. Blessings
Easter is not tied to Passover.
325AD Council of Nicea decided this.
Rome & Catholic Church were separating Christians from Jews.
In his own words, Constantine said: “Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd… We desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.”
(Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Book III)
Church picked a date not tied to the Bible in order to appease the pagan converts, to increase their congregation.
Church picked a name with pagan roots.
Colossians 2:8, Paul warns us: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Jesus came as a lamb, sign of humility. He fulfilled prophecy removing ceremonial sabbaths, feasts.
Why would Jesus want a holiday when he came to remove holidays?
I read this linguistical article titled "The Truth Behind Easter"
by Brian Campbell and I quote from the Key Statements as follows>
"This isn’t just poetic language; it’s prophecy fulfilled. The Feast of First Fruits involved offering the first sheaf of the harvest to God, symbolizing new life and the beginning of a spiritual harvest. Jesus, rising on this exact day, became the “firstfruits” of the resurrection, the guarantee of eternal life for all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:23)?" AND "Even the Bible reflects this confusion. In the King James Version, Acts 12:4 mistranslates the Greek word Pascha (Passover) as “Easter,”
Mr. Brian Campbell appears to be informed of the fact the New Testament was authored in Greek
sometimes referred to as "Koine" (common) Greek but really Alexandrian Greek
https://ancientlanguage.com/koine-greek/
The New Testaments is commonly mistranslated since it was in Greek not English as anyone would know IF the studied the Iliad and Odyssey IN GREEK weblink below>
https://thisvsthat.io/iliad-vs-odyssey
As Mr. Campbell clearly points out "Even the Bible reflects this confusion. In the King James Version, Acts 12:4 mistranslates the Greek word Pascha (Passover) as “Easter,”
Another major mistranslated Testament word is Repent actually μετάνοια, metanoia found in
to many verses of the New Testament here>
https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/repent-metanoia-metanoeo-metamelomai/
So what does this have to do with Santa Barbara, Easter Sin and Repentence?
I will let you all ponder on the Greek word μετάνοια, metanoia or the "Change in Mental Attitude" that is so badly needed in our Lil Ole Sin-Filled Beach Town of Santa Barbara.
Howard Walther, Member of a Military Family
PS1 - Most of ancient history Military Battles involved the Greeks like the Battle for Troy
PS2 - A Good Read is the "Windy Walls of Troy" where it comes back to CALI & RUSSIA weblink>
https://www.enotes.com/topics/walls-windy/in-depth
"There Schliemann discovered his talent for languages and his ability to succeed in business. He could master the use of a language in as little as six weeks, and this made him indispensable to an international trading company based in the city. In 1846, he went to Russia, where he became an independent merchant. In 1851, he established his own bank in Sacramento, California, and built his personal fortune."
Look at a map of what "Easter" is called in Europe, only England, Germany, and one or two other nations use any word like "Easter", the rest of Europe (minus Poland, Czechia, Slovak Republic, Hungary, and much of the Balkans...) uses a word that's like "Pascha" for "Easter" instead. Blame the Anglo-Germans for being weird.
"Yet, many churches, including mine, don’t prioritize communion on Easter Sunday. If Easter is meant to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection"; Then this is because you don't go to an Apostolic Church (that is to say your local Church is not one in communion with a succesor of the apostles, the Patriarchs/Bishops), knowing this your Church probably doesn't even believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
"This syncretism revived the spirit of Babylon, the mother of false religion (Revelation 17:5). Yet, the Church ignored this, blending pagan customs with the gospel, creating a hybrid that obscures the purity of Christ’s sacrifice"; The Church didn't "ignore" anything - it conquered the pagans and baptized their traditions, that's not surrender but the Triumph of Christ. The Church is protected by the Holy Spirit, not sure why you're so concerned about thr Church falling to paganism...
Tomorrow Catholics will be out there praying the stations of the cross, meditiating on the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, kneeling before the Cross, and even *attending Mass, the summit of thw Christian life - and the representation of Christ's suffering, and death on Golgotha...*, perhaps instead of fear mongering over the Church losing sight of Christ, you should embrace one of the many practices Catholics all over the world shall do on Good Friday.
Good Friday is the one day of the year there is not a Catholic Mass since it is a day of mourning. There are services, liturgical readings, and communion with consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday.
I found chocolate crosses at Grocery Outlet this past week.
Didn't want to call it "service" because that sounds tacky.
Oh, dear. I didn't realize that my vocabulary was lacking and I was appearing tacky. The Poor Clares use that exact term at their chapel. I suppose they and I are rather simple.
rbsb, my favorite place is Poor Clares.
Chief "service" is a term thag echoes the protestant spirit of "simplyfying" things and concepts. I won't use it. "Celebration of the Lord's Passion" is solemn yet grandiose. A fitting title for the passing of the True King as he went into hell for the harrowing of souls.
I beg your pudding, but all chocolate bunnies are not hollow. The original Chocolate Gallery in the 1980's around Easter time displayed a 32" high SOLID chocolate bunny in their front window. Why do I know? I purchased one for my single's club I founded, namely "Single Professionals' Social Club of Santa Barbara" which was located at my home on 7162 Marymount Way, Goleta. It cost $175 and the bunny's head was used as first prize to the winner of a game. The monthly gatherings were eventually split into two groups, Bill Russell Private Parties and the Single Professionals'. Reason for the split is the younger women were being hit up by too many older guys (like me now) ... and I placed an aged limit of 40 years old (I was 39). This was back in the 1984 through 1986 time period when I worked at Raytheon. My wife, Ann, is a product of my social club work ... several marriages were a result of these get togethers, the first one attracted about 225 people, then about 135 per month. It all started with a two-line add in the News Press Personals advertisement section. Those were the days.
Thank you for sharing this.
Very well written !
Brian, I don't agree entirely with you, but I live for discussions like this. And they are too few. Thank you. I'm curious what you think of Bart Ehrman? Because he points out that one of the reasons Christians were persecuted early on is because they were monotheistic and Pagan-based cultures did not like that. Frankly, I'm sympathetic to the Pagans on that score. And while there's a lot that moves me deeply about Christ, I don't think he died for our sins. Nor does it make me feel like becoming a Christian when people on SB Current go on about that. I didn't ask Christ to die for my sins, so stop trying to guilt trip me. But this Sunday I will be listening to one of the greatest Christians, JS Bach and his cantata Christ Lag in Todesbanden.
Open discussions are what this country needs.
I look to the Bible for Truth. For example it states multiple times Jesus died for our sins. But not everyone believes in the Bible.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
No one is trying to “guilt” you. You either believe in Christ and that the Bible is the absolute Truth or you don’t.
I wanted to set the record straight that Easter was not created to celebrate Jesus.
Easter was created to win over pagans to Christianity, and the Church created laws in 325ad forbidding rest on the Sabbath and created Easter abandoning Passover which is the true word of the Bible.
Please let’s keep open discussions.
As you probably know, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ took place at the time of Passover. I'm thinking that GOD may have planned it that way 😉. When the Almighty tells us that His Son Jesus is the Passover Lamb, and His death occurs during Passover, well, it leads me to think it was His plan all along. However, it seems we both love and follow that Lamb...so thanks for sharing Brother. Blessings
This article should be in the dictionary defining oxymoron.
Arguing that Easter is a manmade concept but proclaiming, through absence, that religion is also a manmade concept is comical to me.
Well, you guys did it. You’re not supposed to discuss politics or religion because no one ever agrees. Anyway, the ship has sailed on discussing politics here. It looks like people have a lot to say about religion. Got lots of comments here. I’m staying out of this one because I don’t really know that much about religions, but a lot of them do seem to be cult like too, like the magas. All I’m going to say is I believe in God and Jesus, but I stopped being religious quite a few years ago. The majority of wars have been over religion, and that’s not a good thing.
Rubbish this is about observence, which is ultimately empty.
Do not forget Christmas, that has alternative roots too. Glomming onto local spiritual events is how Christianity spread through the world. Not a bad idea to enhance your religion. Not sure if this is the same as practicing the message within the teachings.
And there in lies the difficulty. Religion is a creation of man and is always open to man's interference for his benefit. Every time the teachings were translated then some thing was added. Tom Harpur's take is interesting:
Harpur claims that the New Testament shares a large number of similarities with ancient Egyptian and other pagan religions, that early Church leaders fabricated a literal and human Jesus based on ancient myths and that we should return to an inclusive and universal religion where the spirit of Christ or Christos lives within each of us.
Rather than honouring "special" days I would much prefer the teachings of love to be actually practiced in our daily lives. I see far too much observence on Sunday, discarded for the rest of the week. First nations peoples have said it best. I paraphrase.
We do not understand you white men. You build a special hoiuse for your god and then only enter once a week. For us our spirits are around us all the time. We do not need a special house.
Life has moved on from a First Nations, a Jewish, a Buddist, a Hindu, a Muslim and Christian spirituality. We are crying out for spirituality in todays language. It will draw upon the past teachings.
"We do not understand you white men. You build a special hoiuse for your god and then only enter once a week. For us our spirits are around us all the time. We do not need a special house."
*someone remind bro that the Christian Faith was in Ethiopia long before it reached the America's. The Tewahedo Orthodox Church was building Churches when most of Europe was still pagan, but go on Mr. About this "white man's faith"
Interesting perspective.
Jesus said we do not need a building, he established that you and I are God’s temple.
I agree most people are “Sunday Christian’s”
Perhaps they seeking help or just going to church as an obligation.
If the Ten Commandments were taught and if Jesus teachings of love, tolerance were observed that we would see less self absorbed, self centered people in the world?
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
The author tells us that "Jesus was crucified on April 3, 33 AD, and resurrected on April 6, 33 AD, aligning with Passover and First Fruits. Yet, instead of honoring these fixed dates, we follow a floating calendar tied to lunar cycles..." Sunday, April 6, 33 AD...are you using the Gregorian or Julian calendar to arrive at that date? Also, Jesus would have been crucified on Friday, April 4. Looking at my calendar for 2025, I see that Passover began on April 12 and ends on Sunday, April 20 - which coincides this year, yet again, with "Easter." Why? Because the date for Passover is determined by the Hebrew calendar, which is lunisolar (months determined by the moon, year determined by a full rotation around the sun). April 20, 2025 is Nisan 22, 5785. Despite all the paganism associated with "Easter", even the Jewish calendar is based on "a floating calendar tied to lunar cycles." I can't wait to see your expose on all the paganism surrounding "Christmas"!