Classes announced! History Debunked??

I registered for next semester's classes on Friday - and I can't wait for September.  I am taking a class on the history of Christianity.  This is a straight-up anthropology course so no theology.  That will be a first for me.  I spent the first 13 years of my education in private Catholic schools, so I can't wait to finally have a "religion" class without the spin.  I hope we cover EVERYTHING - rejected books of the bible, the Crusades, the politics of the early popes.  I'm hoping this class WON'T be a breeze for me, though, because it could be an excellent opportunity to toughen up my organized religion debates.

Speaking of things like the Dead Sea Scrolls, Easter was a great day for the History Channel.  I had a hard time tearing myself away for the family dinner.  I was happy to watch some educational stuff about the actual history of the bible or cathedrals instead of just "Was Jesus Real??" features. 

One show I am NOT excited about watching on the History Channel: The Real Face of Jesus.  Um... hasn't the scientific community pretty much dismissed the shroud as a medieval fraud?  I could have sworn I actually saw the story of the debunking on the History Channel.  So why would a fake shroud reveal a real face?  I'm sure the technology is cool, but why not apply it to mummies or something?  This is definetely a step backward for the History Channel in my mind.  Next step - find another ark.  :(

S.A.M.

Getting Ready for "Eostre"!!

(Art courtesy of www.thaliatook.com)

The pope is criticizing the New York Times for their coverage of the sex abuse scandal - which they are calling an Easter Week attack. (Check out some of the news coverage here.) Supposedly, the pope was personally involved in the initial decision to NOT punish the abusive priests. This seems to be the most fallible a pope has appeared to be in my lifetime, and I wonder if he WILL be pulled into a legal investigation. It poses some interesting questions that may not have been asked for hundreds of years - Can the pope go to jail? Can he testify in court? Can he be removed from office once appointed? I'll be anxious to see.

Speaking of Easter, here's a little Easter history from ReligiousTolerance.org:

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

~Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus

~Ashtoreth from ancient Israel

~Astarte from ancient Greece

~Demeter from Mycenae

~Hathor from ancient Egypt

~Ishtar from Assyria

~Kali, from India

~Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

An alternative explanation has been suggested. The name given by the Frankish church to Jesus' resurrection festival included the Latin word "alba" which means "white." (This was a reference to the white robes that were worn during the festival.) "Alba" also has a second meaning: "sunrise." When the name of the festival was translated into German, the "sunrise" meaning was selected in error. This became "ostern" in German. Ostern has been proposed as the origin of the word "Easter".

Knowing that many Christian holidays are pillaged from prior religions, I was still surprised to learn how directly Easter was related to goddess worship - even in name! So, maybe as I celebrate spring in my new white dress and shoes, I can join my family in actually saying that I'm celebrating Easter... or rather "Eostre" (Goddess of Spring).  Just a little spelling difference.  :)

S.A.M.