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Is Thanksgiving Pagan

Riders

Riders

Well-Known Member
it's ridiculous as it seems my sister C who is an evangelical conservative Christian tell me a few years ago that the Pilgrim religion was related to the Native American because the Native Americans shared their food with them on Thanksgiving, And that there is a Pagan connection there.
 
1

1213

Well-Known Member
Riders said:
it's ridiculous as it seems my sister C who is an evangelical conservative Christian tell me a few years ago that the Pilgrim religion was related to the Native American because the Native Americans shared their food with them on Thanksgiving, And that there is a Pagan connection there.
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I don't think the connection makes in necessary pagan. Thanking Bible God is not pagan.
 
exchemist

exchemist

Veteran Member
Riders said:
it's ridiculous as it seems my sister C who is an evangelical conservative Christian tell me a few years ago that the Pilgrim religion was related to the Native American because the Native Americans shared their food with them on Thanksgiving, And that there is a Pagan connection there.
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You do this for every major festival, every year, and after a while it gets really tedious. Next up will be yet another "Is Christmas pagan?" thread. And then the Easter one.

Is Easter

Yes it is that time of year. Easter eggs,Peter rabbit,etc. Is it Pagan?
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Is Christmas......

Pagan?
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Is Halloween evil, or is it Pagan?

All Hallows Eve is Christian right? Samhein is Pagan, is Halloween Pagan or is it evil? Do you have a Halloween tradition in your home? I think I am gonna watch Halloween this year and other horror movies. So yáll dress up? Do you go trick or treating? Let me know.
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Is Easter Pagan?

Hm.. well I think there has to be more to look at with the 'egg' question. People looking more directly to nature for their sense of religion, probably had strong thoughts about the egg as a symbol, obviously. It was surely another symbol that represented a door between life on earth, and the...
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Is Easter Pagan

thee easter bunny, easter eggs etc....
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Is Christmas Pagan?

What pagan rituals? Have you ever been to a Christmas mass? There are no pagan rituals involved. At home, there are the superficial trappings of old pagan ways, the decorations... So what???? Like I said, this sort of thing is merely the cultural way of celebrating for that age. Today, no...
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Is Easter Pagan? Why celebrate it?

So y'all knew I could not get through Easter without putting it up. What are all the similarities about Easter and the Pagan Holiday? Where did we get our Petercotton tale and Easter egg celebrations and why do Christians celebrate it?
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................ad nauseam. :mad:
 
IndigoChild5559

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Riders said:
it's ridiculous as it seems my sister C who is an evangelical conservative Christian tell me a few years ago that the Pilgrim religion was related to the Native American because the Native Americans shared their food with them on Thanksgiving, And that there is a Pagan connection there.
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My initial response to this post was that you were joking, because it is difficult for me to believe that anyone would ever actually what you say your sister said. But I'm going to proceed on the assumption that you are being earnest.

Thanksgiving is a secular holiday. It is kept by all Americans regardless of their personal religious faith. But let's back up.

The holiday is associated with the story of the Pilgrims, who almost all died that first terrible winter in the new land. They were able to survive only because of the way the local Native American tribe taught them i.e. how to plant corn and stuff. In the autumn, after the harvest, they held a feast to celebrate the bounty. According to legend, members of the local tribe joined them at this meal.

So who were the Pilgrims?
They were a group of Puritans, a Christian denomination that felt the Church of England was too Catholic. At that time in England, it was illegal to be any other denomination than Church of England. So the Pilgrims ended up leaving, so that they could worship freely. (Side note--that doesn't mean they were in favor of religious freedom, only that they wanted THIER faith to be free.) So basically, the religion of the Pilgrims was CHRISTAIN, not pagan.

In what universe does having a dinner with someone mean I am part of their religion? Yes, the Native Americans were pagan, a form of animism. Although the chief did allow protestant missionaries to come speak to the tribe, he remained immovable in his rejection of Christianity. But what does that have to do with the price of tea in China, as they say. It's not as if paganism is a contagious disease -- no one becomes pagan by being in proximity with pagans.

It was President Abraham Lincoln who declared Thanksgiving to be a NATIONAL (not religious) holiday. Lincoln was not a Christian. He would say that the ten commandments were his religion. But again, his personal religion is irrelevant. Thanksgiving is part of a group of holidays that are civic, not religious, holidays like Independence day and Labor day.

You should ask your sister if she celebrates holidays like Mother's Day. I'm sure she does. Tell her that Thanksgiving is like that.

The only Christians that I know of who are opposed to holidays are the Jehovah's Witnesses. None of the evangelicals I've ever known have been opposed to any holidays. I have never in my life known an evangelical that would object to Thanksgiving based on the idea that the Pilgrims became infected with paganism.
 
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joelr

joelr

Well-Known Member
Riders said:
it's ridiculous as it seems my sister C who is an evangelical conservative Christian tell me a few years ago that the Pilgrim religion was related to the Native American because the Native Americans shared their food with them on Thanksgiving, And that there is a Pagan connection there.
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So Christianity is pagan regarding its afterlife beliefs. I have some good timestamped lectures and quotes from journals by scholars like James Tabor and JZ Smith, all PhDs specializing in NT Christianity, late Judaism and Greek Hellenism. The OT version of the afterlife was completely different than what Paul and the NT use, that was imported from Greek Hellenism and Platonic philosophy.

So if your sister finds everything outside Christianity to be pagan does she know fallen souls who belong in heaven, salvation means getting your soul into heaven, the world is lowly and evil and heaven is good, is an import from "pagan" beliefs.

I suppose she would just reject this scholarship outright and say the field is all influenced by the devil or just plain wrong?
 
exchemist

exchemist

Veteran Member
McBell said:
Um...
So What?


Why is it you feel compelled to participate in every single one?
If you just can't stop yourself, how is that on anyone but you?
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This discussion has been had over and over again. There is nothing new to be said. But OK, my forum experience is mostly from science forums, where it is not allowed for the same poster to ask the same question over and over again, as it is regarded as a form of trolling.
 
McBell

McBell

Unbound
exchemist said:
Then I have done them a service by providing links to the numerous and exhaustive previous threads on this subject.
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Yes you have.
Now all you need do is go back through and see that there was in fact something new in each one...

Dont get me wrong.
I can understand getting tired of seeing the same old same old on message boards.
My question is why let it bother you when you can just ignore them?
 
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