Post by Solaris on Mar 31, 2013 14:32:03 GMT -5
So there's an infographic running around the internet declaring that Easter has secret origins in the cult of Ishtar, an ancient Babylonian goddess of sex, war, love, and fertility.
I found this rather funny, being that I've a passing (no, really, it's just passing) familiarity with the Babylonian/Sumerian/Akkadian pantheons... and bunnies, eggs, and spring match up with Ishtar about as well as they do with Darth Vader. For starters, the part of the world she's from (been there, by the way - calling it the "armpit of the planet" is being kind) doesn't have what you or I would call spring. Doesn't have winter or fall, either. It has two seasons: "Summer" and "Monsoon". It gets worse - her symbols are a lion and an eight-pointed star, not... bunnies and eggs.
I mean, really, how can you have heard the name and not known at least that much? It's not even pronounced 'Easter', it's pronounced 'Ishtar', 'cause that's how it's spelled and that's the way transliterations work.
I get it, "Rawr Christians are stoopid!" is a popular theme, and there's something about the evangelical atheist that simply lives for mocking everyone who believes differently than they do. (Point out how similar they are to theistic evangelicals and watch their heads explode, it's good clean fun.) But seriously, folks, propagating stupidity like this isn't doing much to sell the idea that atheists are any smarter than believers. It amazes me that people expect Christians to be all shocked when they discover traditions of the church have origins in pagan culture. Shitfire, damn near every one of our holy days has had some pagan influence, and a lot of the Catholic saints have origins as a pagan god. It's how the church spread back in the day, by co-opting local religions and holidays.
Watch, now someone will expect someone else to be shocked and appalled that a religion originating in the Mediterranean didn't originally celebrate the winter solstice with decorated evergreens.
I found this rather funny, being that I've a passing (no, really, it's just passing) familiarity with the Babylonian/Sumerian/Akkadian pantheons... and bunnies, eggs, and spring match up with Ishtar about as well as they do with Darth Vader. For starters, the part of the world she's from (been there, by the way - calling it the "armpit of the planet" is being kind) doesn't have what you or I would call spring. Doesn't have winter or fall, either. It has two seasons: "Summer" and "Monsoon". It gets worse - her symbols are a lion and an eight-pointed star, not... bunnies and eggs.
I mean, really, how can you have heard the name and not known at least that much? It's not even pronounced 'Easter', it's pronounced 'Ishtar', 'cause that's how it's spelled and that's the way transliterations work.
I get it, "Rawr Christians are stoopid!" is a popular theme, and there's something about the evangelical atheist that simply lives for mocking everyone who believes differently than they do. (Point out how similar they are to theistic evangelicals and watch their heads explode, it's good clean fun.) But seriously, folks, propagating stupidity like this isn't doing much to sell the idea that atheists are any smarter than believers. It amazes me that people expect Christians to be all shocked when they discover traditions of the church have origins in pagan culture. Shitfire, damn near every one of our holy days has had some pagan influence, and a lot of the Catholic saints have origins as a pagan god. It's how the church spread back in the day, by co-opting local religions and holidays.
Watch, now someone will expect someone else to be shocked and appalled that a religion originating in the Mediterranean didn't originally celebrate the winter solstice with decorated evergreens.
