The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-04-21
Another Side to the Easter Discussion.
Editor The Manning Times:

Editor The Manning Times:
Dear Sir:-!As YOU invite correspon-
dence from those readers of the Man
ming Times who do not agree with the
sentiments expressed in Mr.. Blanch-
ards recent article on Easter" may
offer my humble protest to the greatest
OF all christian festivals being designat-
cd "a mandate of Rome, and a giddy
sentiment Of unsanccilied human So
cietv.;' In u very different light, ap-
parently, do the newspapers OF Colum-
bia and Charleston regard this freak
Of religious supers.itution,'' for the
beautiful editorials of last Sundays
State" and ''Newsand Courier" cheer
ed many who could not help feeling de-
pressed in spirit, on being informed
that Easter is of non-crristian origin,
and was adopted by the church, unable
to justify it's scriptural authority, on
the ground OF eXpedlency only, and 10
comply with the rage Of popular senti-
ment,
The fact that the word Easter (apart
from the Festival itself is an Anglo
Saxon word. connected with an heather
festival, does not, in any degree, de-
tract from the beauty and sublimitv OF
the value of the Christian Easter. For
the word Sunday" to, is an heather
word: and like the word Easter, links
the day of days with the old pagan
worship of the sun. But none of Us, on
that account desire to give up Sunday:
nor is our conscience wounded when at
tending church in thinking that the
hallowed day takes its name from pag-
anisn Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,
SATURDAY., ETC., lose none of their value
aud convenience as days Of the week,
even though each and all of them are
days named from pagan or heather ri
ties and worship. The month of January
takes its name from Janus, the god Of
doors and gates in heather worship;
March, from Mars, the god OF war: May,
from Maia. the mother OF Mercury.
June, from Juno of classical mythology,
and July and August from Roman en-
perors. We are indebted for the n&mes
OF our days and months from pagan and
Roman sources: but they answer our
purposes well and we feel no compunc-
tion in so using words directly taken
from non-christian sources.
So too, with the word Easter, The
word itself is very suggestive OF
spring" rising again, and the res
direction OF nature" No word OF hu-
man origin or adaptation could be more
appropriate, and combining Nature aud
Revelation in analogy is 10 exact ac-
cordance with scciptural usage, for St.
Paul himself uses the same illustrations
in his noble discourse on the Resurrec-
tion in l Corinthians, 18th chapter. This
word OF pagan origin. Easter, has been
h0nored and endeared TO all Christians
in finding place in the Authorized
Version of the Bible Of 16ll. The
scholarly translators hesitated not IN
using heather word, Easter. as fair
rendering OF the original Greek word
for Passover" in Acts MI. / The in
corporation Of the pagan name into the
sacred narrative is alone sufficient TO
disprove the assertion that "there is no
trace of the celebration of Easter as a
christian festival in the New Testa-
ment." y higher honor is paid Easter
than even Sunday in the bible, for the
latter word does not. [ think, occur
once.
True: we are not expressly ordered in
the New Testament TO observe Easter.
Nor are we told TO observe Sunday. The
change Of the day Of worship from Sa:-
urday, the original Sabbath, to Sunday,
is strictly speaking, violation of the
letter of the fourth commandment: but
we draw our reasonable and logical IN
ferences from the custom and usages OF
the Apostles: precisely as we DO IN ad-
mitting women to the Lords Supper
lonly men being present at the original
institutioa:) aid baotiZing infants, tor
which no direct command is given
though it became general custom
throughout Christendom within 700
years The sanction of Easter from
scripture is rs assured as that OF any OF
the three other usual christian usages,
to which I have alluded. Not one Of the
four IS the ''ipse diXit" of the bible it.
self. All four, Easter included, are oar
warrantable and reasonable deductions
from scripture. and supported by early
church history.
Mr.. Blanchard, however. in addition
to denying Easter as Of Apostolic teach
ing and practice, sees in the fact that
Easter has a semblance TO, and IS an
outgrowth Of the Jewish Passover. fur
ther evidence Of the unworthiness OF
Easter to rank as a christian festival,
and would seek to persuade US that the
Judas Pagan rite ,as he describes East
er) was forced on the church partly De-
cause of the proximity, or identity OF the
two dates-the Passover and the Cruel
fiction. So far from lowering the dig
nifty of Easter, these two considerations
will, [ imagine, be to most bible read
ers Two OF the surest proofs that Easter
is Bible Festival.
So far from losing authenticity from
this connection, we glory IN the trans
formation of the Jewish Passover into
the christian Easter. So far from it be.
ing an accidental coincidence that the
Passover and Easter are of like date.
and that the undersigned agreement II
time was unfairly pressed by the church
to substartiate the claims Of Easter,
careful students of the four gospels will
readily see that this is a subject OF dis
cussion forbidden to US, mortal men. we
dare not debate it, for the time. made
day, perhaps even the hour OF the Sa'
vior's death were calmly, deliberately
and voluntarily arranged mot by the
church, but by Jesus himself.
No Roman mandate. 10 pagan super
sti,;on. voluntarily, and designedly
Christ so arranged the last days of his
earthly life as that His death should re
semble, and should agree chronological
" with the Passover. so proving by tia
very fact that the Lamb of God fulfill
ed all the Old Testament types and
prophecies in every detail. This is the
kernel of the whole teaching OF tht
Epistle TO the Hebrews. That the ap
proximatior in semblance and date wa!
no accidental likeness, but was meant