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Easter - Christian or Pagan |
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Easter
is one of the major festivals of the Christian church ranking alongside
with Christmas, as the time when everyone feels they have to attend
church. The festival really consists of several elements such as Lent,
Holy Week, Good Friday and the Easter Sunday. Because most people see the
tremendous emphasis most of the churches place on the period, many feel
that the festival is really a Christian one, reflects biblical authority
and has apostolic backing. The
truth is, the present type of Easter celebrations did not originate with
Christianity but instead originated in paganism. It was brought over into
Christianity and blended with a very different Christian practice, to
produce this 'other than Biblical' festival. Ben
Adams in "The Origin of Heathenism" says "The religions
that formerly constituted what today we call paganism, were for the most
part forms of sun worship and sun worship and astrology go hand in hand.
The Chaldeans like the Persians and most of the old time nations were sun
worshippers. Sun worship was their religion and astrology was, if one
might so put it, their
"theology". An examination of their "theology" and
teachings brings facts to our notice, which from the Christian standpoint
are as startling as they are disconcerting. Many
Christians are vaguely aware that there is a certain amount of similarity,
between the facts recorded in parts of the Bible and the records of past
religions. However, they are not aware that nearly all the leading facts
of their own faith, were foreshadowed in the mystic rites of old world
religions, that flourished from about say 2700 B.C. and onwards; and they
perceive in only the haziest fashion what is involved in this; to most of
us surprising information. ..." (pp. 54-55) What
is the explanation of this? The Bible explains why there is often this
resemblance. Adams
continues "Genesis ll:l-9 and Romans l:18-28 are regarded as parallel
passages. Readers might want to know what authority there is for so
regarding them. The question is reasonable, and the answer fairly obvious.
When we compare the context of the two sets of verses, we see that Genesis
ll:l-9 brings humanity before us in such circumstances, that tallies
exactly with the humanity of Romans 1: l8-28. No other passage in the
Bible does that. A
careful reading of Romans 1: 18-28 shows us that the men under
consideration, constitute the entire human race as it then existed. This
is shown by verse 21, where it says, "..they knew God " The
'they’ evidently means mankind apart from any racial, national, or
tribal distinctions; and the question naturally suggests itself, when did
humanity as a whole know God? There is no period in secular history when
the words "they knew God" could be applied to humanity as a
whole. But there is a period in Bible history, (my readers will remember
that Bible history goes back much farther than secular history) when not
only those words could be applied to humanity as a whole, but the
characteristics of the period, if intelligently appreciated, cry aloud for
such an application. I am referring to the period that intervened between
the cessation of the Deluge and the scattering of humanity over the face
of all the earth. The time when "the people were one " and
"the who1e earth was of one language and of one speech ". At
that time man did know God. Noah had definite communications from Him
before and after the Deluge; and that awful happening, with all that it
involved, so long as his descendants remained together, must have been
common knowledge among them. Now
the Deluge, involving as it did the destruction of the whole race, with
the exception of the eight persons saved in the Ark, must for very many
years have been the Noachians’ chief topic for awed conversation and for
apprehensive, wondering speculation. Further, it was an experience of such
a staggering, nerve-racking kind, that, in the nature of things, it would
have permanently affected the characters of those who went through it.
They must to a certain extent have become changed characters; must have had born in them a new outlook on life and experience; a new
and enlarged apprehension of God, and of God’s wrath and power. They now
knew that God was indeed a God to be feared; and that knowledge must have
remained with them, so long as they continued to form one company. It
is beyond question, that in the circumstances, they would have instilled
these ideas into their children; and their children would have instilled
them into their children; and so on. However
many generations may have been born before the break with the Deity
described in Romans 1 came about, they all knew God - knew Him in a way
that no other men had or have known Him." How Does this Apply to Our Day and Our Easter
Celebration? There
is no doubt that many people feel they are celebrating the death and
resurrection of Jesus at Easter, but present practice is not the way Jesus
told us to celebrate or remember his death or resurrection. In addition,
the present practices are not synchronised with the time of Jesus
suffering, his death or his resurrection but are in fact synchronised with
ancient pagan practices, which have nothing to do with Christ, but have a
lot to do with idolatry. The
practices perpetuate myths about Jesus and teach certain falsehoods,
emphasise the wrong things about Jesus' suffering and death and generally
divert attention from the real truth, about what these events mean for us.
Let us look at the meaning of the word Easter to see what it teaches us
about its origins and real emphasis. EASTER
: The name Easter is the slightly changed English spelling of the
ancient Assyrian and Babylonian goddess Ishtar. In
old Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon mythology this goddess was known as the
goddess of spring -Eostre or Ostera The Phoenician names of this same
goddess was Astarte, the wife of Baal the sun god. She had
the title of Beltis, or Queen of Heaven. Ishtar
was a goddess in the Akkadian pantheon (line-up) and was widely worshipped
in Mesopotamia until the lst century B.C. (she is also called Inanna). For
those who have never read ancient history, let me explain that the
Akkadians were very ancient people. Their
religions and those in Mesopotamia were the same as those followed by the
other pagans, who lived in the days of Abram and the patriarchs. They
lived prior to and about the same time as the patriarchs. The
cult of Ishtar was prominent especially at Uruk (biblical Erech) (so you
can see how far back this thing went) Arbela, and Nineveh. She was
associated with the planet Venus. Ishtar was considered the child
of the Moon god Sin. Her brother was the Sun god Shamash (Sumerian Utu).
Her husband was the Sky god Anu. She was also the lover of Tammuz the
Hebrew form of the word (called Dumuzi in Sumerian). This
lover of Ishtar, Tammuz, with her, had a very interesting history.
Remember they were highly honoured from 3~OOO B.C. In
this cult of Ishtar and Tammuz we see the underpinnings of 'Easter’
practice. Tammuz
was held in the underworld and Ishtar descended to this Netherworld.
Tammuz was mourned because of his absence. This was vitally significant to
the pagan worshippers, because prominent in this Ishtar cult, was
eroticism and belligerence. She was the goddess of war. She was extremely
involved in matters of sexuality and procreation (fertility and
childbirth). When she descended to the Netherworld, mating and procreating
ceased on the earth. Tammuz,
her lover, whom she followed in the Netherworld was the embodiment of
spring vegetation and then of vegetation in general. Many laments are
preserved that bewail the “far one" who has disappeared, detained
in the underworld. The lament reflects the aspect of Tammuz as the god of
vegetation. For example, his disappearance is connected to the drying up
of the steppe grassland in summer. His
cult was brought to Israel by Assyrians in the 8th and 9th, centuries B.C.
The
Harpers Bible Dictionary tells us that the western semitic gods had
similar characteristics. A similar god Baal Haddu, for example, went down
into the Netherworld, died, rose, and was mourned during his absence. Some
of Tammuz (Sumerian numuzi) traits appear in Adonis, a god in Greece in
the 5th century B.C. Note
that in Ezekiel’s vision of four sins committed in the Jerusalem temple,
the third sin is a group of women mourning for Tammuz in the north gate
(Ezekiel 8:4)2 The
women in Ezekiel are mourning this dying and rising God. This
action is an abomination to Ezekiel who believes God does not die and
cannot be mourned (Jeremiah 7:18~ and 44:17-19 also refer to Ishtar who
was called Queen of Heaven). SIMILARITY
TO OUR PRACTICES Ezekiel
saw the men in the temple with their faces toward the east worshipping the
sun (the old sun god Tammuz). This is of course identical to the Easter
Sunday sunrise service, where people stand and face the east, the rising
sun. This was then (and I would say is also now) a service of idolatry
honouring the sun god and his idolatrous lovers, goddess Easter or Astate,
or Ishtar or Ostern or whatever name was used. The
painted Easter eggs, sacred to many ancient civilisation, a related sign
of birth and fertility, are also prominent in our practice. These are part
of the old Babylonian and Egyptian mystery rites. The
mystic egg of Babylon, hatched the Venus Ishtar who fell from heaven to
the Euphrates. The ancient Druids in England, as well as pagans in other
countries inherited and followed these practices. The
new festivals then, are the same as
the old one, involving the death of the (sun) god, his lover -the Queen of
Heaven (a position now occupied by the Virgin Mary who weeps) the mourning
for the dead God as he is locked up in the Underworld (Lent) and
celebrating at his resurrection, on the day of the sun (Sunday) as he
rises at sunrise and is worshipped with faces turned toward the East. THE
APOSTLES
How Did the Apostles and Early Church Behave?
The
true Christian festival was entirely different and developed from the
Jewish Passover, the Pascha (Exod. 12:24). The Gospels tell us that
Jesus’ last days took place at the time of the Passover. Remember the
Passover (the eating of the roasted unblemished Passover lamb with bitter
herbs, a whole lamb with no broken bones) pictures Christ’s death for
the remission of sins, with the miraculous release from Egypt (land of
sin), The Passover is a type looking forward to Christ’s
sacrificial death. Jesus
changed the emblems and purpose of the Passover. The
Lord’s Supper was substituted to remind us of the Lord’s death till he
comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26). He was the Passover lamb so that celebration was
changed to the remembrance of his death. The celebration was therefore
observed on the 14 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week on which it
fell. Smith
and Cheetam in The Dictionary of Christian Antiquities pp.
500 says of Easter "There is no evidence in the New Testament that it
existed at first as an institution". The ecclesiastian historian
Socrates is no doubt right when he says (v. 22) "The Saviour and his
apostles have enjoined us by no law to keep this feast. The apostles had
no thought of appointing festival days, but of promoting a life of
blamelessness and piety. And it seems to me that the feast of Easter has
been introduced into the Church from some old usage, just as many other
customs have been established". It appears from Acts18:21; 20:6,16,
that the Jewish Christians and even St.Paul still observed the Jewish
feasts... By
the mid-second century, some Gentile Christians began celebrating it on
Sunday after 14 Nisan, also celebrating the preceding Friday as the day of
Christ crucifixion. According
to Smith and Cheetam, among the Gentile Christians certain practices
including fasting developed gradually. We know however that these
practices which developed as Gentile Christians came into the Church,
mirrored the pagan practices. Conflict arose between those who followed
the old practices of the Jewish apostles and the newer entrants.
The
present Easter festival is connected to the Passover, through that
particular Passover when Jesus died. Experts tell us it is impossible to
be absolutely sure of the year the day or the month that Jesus suffered
and died. This
position is suspect anyway, but the facts are these: 1)
Jesus died under the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate. This position was
held between A.D.28 and A.D.33 2)
Jesus suffered and died at Passover time. 3)
The day after he died was a Sabbath Day The
decision now has to be made as to whether this day was a weekly Sabbath
day or one of the other special Sabbath days. Some hold that the Gospels
show clearly that in that week there were two Sabbath days and that
Jesus’ death did not occur on a Friday. Not
many details exist about how the Apostles and early church celebrated the
Lord’s Supper. Acts
18:21 and 20:6.16 shows that the Jewish Christians and Paul still observed
Jewish feasts, even though observance of these feasts was not specifically
required of the Gentiles. It
is in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church (1Cor.11) that we learn a
lot of the practice of celebrating the Lord's Supper. We cannot really say
that all Gentile Churches did things the same way but we are told that the
Corinthian church observed the Lord's Supper as part of a larger meal, the
"love feast" or "agape feast". Remember
that this parallels Jesus' last Passover, where he instituted the Lord's
Supper as part of the larger Passover meal. We know however of the
Atonement -Redemption connections between the Passover and the Lord's
Supper. Perhaps the 'agape’ feast had been held at Corinth, to show the
new sharing love relationship between Christians but it had degenerated
into a display of pagan feasting, drunkenness and selfishness. Cliques
had developed in the Church and they had carried over their selfishness
into the agape feast (vs. 10). The better-off brethren obviously
embarrassed the poorer ones, who probably didn't have anything to
contribute to the feast (vs. 22). Paul in no uncertain terms reminded the
Corinthians that the Lord's Supper was not feasting. From
verse 23-26 in 1 Corinthians he again explained forcefully what the Lord's
Supper meant. Let me quote; "For
I have received of the Lord that which I delivered to you. That the Lord
Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he
had given thanks, he brake it and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body, which
is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me’. For as often as ye eat
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he
come'. The
bread represents the incarnation of Christ. He came as a Man, in a body of
flesh and blood, served his people and as a man died for them, 1 Timothy
3:16; John l:1-5, I4; Philippians 2:5-8, 1 John 4:2-3. When we eat the
bread, we remember Him. We remember always that he was offered as the
spotless and unblemished lamb to heal us. (Isaiah 53) HIS BODY WAS
BROKEN FOR US. The cup represents the new covenant and is written and
sealed in His blood. The shedding of His blood on the cross brought life
everlasting to all. Blood of bulls and goats and the imperfect sacrifices
of the old sacrificial system could not save. But only the shed Blood of
Jesus would save, so the Lord's Supper thunders, shows Christ death, and
ushers in the new covenant. There
was therefore for the Apostles and the early Church no question of setting
up festival days as Socrates said. The feast of Easter had been introduced
into the Church from some other usage, just as many other customs
had been established. As
Paul indicated clearly in the verses 27-32, the Apostles were interested
in promoting a life of blamelessness and piety. "Wherefore whosoever
shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be
guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But
let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of
the Cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body. For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep. For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are
chastened of the Lord, That we should not be condemned with the world. "
(emphasis mine} Jesus
instructions are therefore simple and clear. We hold the Lord’s Supper
to remember Christ’s body being broken and His Blood being shed for our
sins. We must focus on this and follow our Lord’s instructions
carefully, or else we will be Judged with the world. The
corruption of this practice is seen all around us in the Church
rules of fasting, avoiding the eating of meat during the period of
Lent, weeping and mourning, long mournful services contrary to John 13:23,
eating decorated eggs and much more. These
came into practice gradually as the apostasy of the Church developed and
increased. This
corruption is seen in the argument over the date of the Passover and hence
the Lord’s Supper, and the time for properly celebrating it. We see in
this the growing attitude of rejecting the Jewish heritage of Christ; lock
stock and barrel and substituting foreign Gentile -Pagan practices, which
have always been offensive to God. It
is no surprise therefore the Church rejects the Sabbath of God, brings in
Sunday (the Sun god day} worship, as well as other false practices and
festivals as Christmas on December 25, which is definitely not the
birthday of Jesus, but a pagan worship day. THE QUARTODECIMANS CONTROVERSY
Let
us see what some early historians had to say about the controversy about
the correct date of the Passover and Lord’s Supper. The following
passages from the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities show the rapid
departures of some from the faith given to the Apostles, as in fact they
had predicted. Many obviously rejected the warning of Paul in Romans 11,
not to boast against the Jews; 2 Timothy 4:1-5, 1 Timothy 1:5-10 Acts
20:29-31 The
chief information we have is derived from Eusebius, from several passages
of Epiphanius, treating in his work on all heresies of certain
Quartodeciman sects, and from several fragments preserved in the Chronicon
Paschale, a work from about 630 A.D. The
following conclusions of Bucherius from a passage in Epiphanius (Haer. Ixx.),
will express the probable course of events. "From this I gather three
things: First, that so long at least as the first fifteen bishops of
Jerusalem (those of Jewish descent) continued, the Pascha was celebrated
everywhere by all Christians, or by a great majority of them, according to
the lunar computation and method of the Jews. But they continued until the
year 136 A.D., or to the end of the reign of the emperor Hadrian, when
Mark was first taken from the Gentiles to be
bishop. (Euseb.v.xii.) Secondly,
that then began a time of dissension, as Epiphanius a little before more
plainly testifies (see below). Thirdly,
that a more general method then came in, whether the eighty-four years
cycle, or the octaeteris (amended), otherwise that reproach was unmeaning
which the Audiani launched against the orthodox-that they had departed
from the ancient custom," &c. We subjoin the earlier part of the
chapter which is here alluded to. "For
even from the earliest times various controversies and dissensions were in
the church concerning this solemnity, which used yearly to bring laughter
and mockery. For some, in a certain ardour of contention, began it before
the week, some after
the week, some at the beginning, some in the middle, some at the end. To
say in a word, there was s wonderful and laborious confusion. Nor is it
unknown to learned men, how often at the various times of this feast,
there have arisen from the observance of a different ecclesiastical
discipline, tumults and contentions, especially in the time of Polycarp
and Victor,when the Easterns and Westerns would receive no mutual letters
of peace. Which also happened in other times, as in that of Alexander,
bishop of Alexandria, and Crescentius, how they wrote against each other
and bitterly fought. Which
disputes began to be agitated from the very times of the bishops who had
been converted to Christ from the circumcision and from the sect of the
Jews, even to our own times, on which account those who had gathered from
all sides to the Nicene council, the matter having been accurately known,
with common agreement from all, and with fitting computation and
calculation of times, order it to be kept. " Eusebius
(D. E. v. 24) gives in a letter of Irenaeus the following account,
relating to the events about A.D. 160. "When the blessed Polycarp was
at Rome in the time of Anicetus, and they had also some little difference
of opinion with regard to other points, they immediately came to a
peaceable understanding respecting this one, for they had no love for
mutual disputes. For
neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe, inasmuch as he
had always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord, and the other
apostles with whom he had associated; nor could Polycarp persuade Anicetus
to observe for he said that he ought to follow the custom of the
presbyters before him". (
Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor, and there can be no , doubt
that he expressed in these words the custom of the Asiatic churches.) "There
was a considerable discussion raised about this time, in consequence of a
difference of opinion, respecting the observance of the paschal season.
The churches of all Asia, guided by ancient tradition, thought that they
were bound to keep the 14th day of the moon, on the occasion of the feast
of the Saviour's Passover, that day on which the Jews had been commanded
to kill the paschal lamb, it being necessary for them by a11 means to
regulate the close of the fast by that day, on whatever day of the week it
might happen to fall, while it was the custom of all the Churches of all
the rest of the world, which observed in this respect and apostolic
tradition, that has prevailed down to our own time, not to celebrate it in
this manner, it being proper to close the fast on no other day than that
of the resurrection of the Lord. " "The Bishops however of
Asia" (he continues in the 24th chapter) "persevering in
observing the custom handed down to them from their fathers, were headed
by Polycrates. He, indeed, had also set forth the tradition handed down to
them, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome.
'We”, said he, 'therefore observe the genuine day: neither adding
thereto, nor taking therefrom. For in Asia great lights have fallen
asleep, which shall rise again in the day of the Lord’s appearing. ... All
these observed the 14th day of the Passover according to the gospel
deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith; so also do I,
Polycrates who am the least of all of you, according to the tradition of
my relatives, some of whom I have followed. For there were seven of my
relatives bishop and I am the eighth; and my relatives always observed the
day when the people {i.e. the Jews) threw away the leaven"'. "Upon
this, Victor, the bishop of the church of Rome, forthwith endeavoured to
cut off the churches of all Asia, together with the neighbouring churches,
as heterodox, from the common unity. And he publishes abroad by letters,
and proclaims that all the brethren there are wholly excommunicated".
Many bishops, however, remonstrated, amongst others Irenaeus, who wrote an
epistle, in which he maintains the duty of celebrating the mystery of the
resurrection of our Lord, only on the day of the Lord; but admonishes
Victor not to cut off whole churches of God, who observed the tradition of
an ancient custom. In
chap. xxv. Eusebius explains that the bishops of Palestine agreed with the
decree, and stated that, they observed the same day with the church of
Alexandria, an important point, for Alexandria is to be looked on, along
with the churches of Rome and
Asia Minor, as the third, and ultimately the most important, influence in
regulating Easter. Considering
how much has been written respecting the Asia Minor controversies in
modern times, it is material to observe that the statements of Eusebius
and the whole course of the controversy, leave no doubt of the observance
of the l4th day of the moon. No other day comes into consideration. Thus
the facts are settled; to judge of the motives from which the day was kept
is, however, more difficult. Various reasons might easily be alleged for
the observance of this day: those who thought that our Lord died on the
l4th Nisan, might keep it (as we believe) as the anniversary of our Lord's
death, or even if they desired to keep the anniversary of the last supper,
knowing that supper, which was by intention a Passover, was only
anticipated in point of time by necessity, might revert to its legal time
of celebration, whilst those who thought that our Lord died on the l4th
Nisan, might yet keep the l4th (as Baur and Hilgenfeld allege) in memory
of the supper. That
St. John found at Ephesus a festival on the l4th and joined in it, and
gave it the weight of his authority, in no way militates, then, against
this authorship of the gospel, that fixes the l4th Nisan for the
crucifixion, even though it were true that the other chronology had
originally prevailed there." The
experience of the early church, and the increasing corruption as the
dreaded predictions of the apostles were fulfilled, must give us pause for
thought. Most
of the Christian church has ignored the lessons of history and the
warnings of the apostles and so we see really an apostate church, where
the traditions of men supersede the teachings of God. Let
us remove these traditions of men, desire the sincere milk of the world,
keep away from pagan influences and practices, and keep ourselves
unspotted from the world. It
is easy to be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ. Spectacles
and festivals are not called for, but instead we are called to a life of
holiness, because we have the mind of Christ. Our bodies are the temples
of God, our minds must be led by the Spirit of God, so that we will not
fulfil the lust of the flesh. The
further we move from the simple strict teaching of the Bible, the easier
and more quickly will we become part of the world. The Judgement of a holy
God who cannot tolerate iniquity will then be sure.
1.END
NOTES Tammuz
was originally the sun-god, the son of Ea and the goddess of Sirdu, and
the bridegroom of the goddess Istar. He seems to have been primarily a god
of Eridu the culture city of Babylonia on the Persian Gulf. His home was
under the shade of the tree of life or world-tree, which grew in the midst
of the garden of Eridu, and on either side of which flowed the rivers
Tigris and Euphrates. The legendary poems of Babylonia described him as a
shepherd, cut off in the beauty of youth, or slain by the boar’s tusk of
winter, for whom the goddess Istar mourned long and vainly. She even
descended into Hades (see Babylonia, vol 1. p.221) in the hopes of
restoring him to life, and the hymn which described her descent through
the seven gates of the infernal world was recited at the annual
commemoration of the death of the god by “the wailing women and wailing
men”. Dictionary
of the Bible ed. James Hastings, page 676 2.W.R.
Halliday in "The Pagan Background of Early Christianity" says
"The central action of the ritual of many of the mysteries consisted
in the mourning of the dying god e.g. Adonis, Ahis, or Osiris, followed by
the ecstatic celebration of his resurrection. As
in Roman Catholic and orthodoxy celebrations of the passion and Easter the
Dying god was often represented in effigy. The scene must indeed have been
extraordinarily like that to be witnessed today in any church in Greece at
Easter. The
crowd of worshippers joined with passionate emotion in the lamentations
over the death of their god, and burst into no less ecstatic joy, when the
still small voice of the officiating priest announced the glad tidings of
his resurrection. "Be of good cheer, ye initiates, for the god is
saved. For he shall be to you a salvation from ills. " Like the
Eleusinian mysteries of the loss and rediscovery of Persephone by Demeter,
this ritual was originally founded upon a primitive vegetation magic, the
purpose of which was to celebrate and to ensure the rebirth of nature in
spring after the death of winter. For this type of ceremony, Sir James
Frazer has collected a vast number of analogies from all stages of culture
and from all parts of the world (Frazer, Golden Bough, 3rd edition Attis,
Adonis and Osiris) pp. 240-241 3.
There is some considerable speculation linking Nimrod of Genesis 10:8-101
with Merodach the Sun god, king of the gods. Merodach apparently was king
of Babylon. patron God of the city and is referred to as builder of
Babylon & Niffer (Calneh). He was mentioned in close connection with 3
of the 4 cities mentioned in Gen. 10:8-10 as the beginning of the kingdom
of Nimrod. Nimrod
we are told built Nineveh. Merodach, like Nimrod was regarded as a mighty
hunter. In addition the shorter form of the name Merodech in Akkadian and
Nimrod is very close. Since
we know that there are versions about the Sungod in which he was killed
and resurrected, it might be that Nimrod himself was killed in a hunting
accident and stories about his resurrection were spread by his successors
to maintain control of the populace. Many scholars feel that it is the
accidental death of Nimrod that really gave rise to the Tammuz death and
resurrection story, with his wife later to, and gave it the weight of his
authority, in no way militates, then, against this authorship of the
gospel, that fixes the l4th Nisan for the crucifixion, even though it were
true that the other chronology had originally prevailed there."
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