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AIBU?

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Original poster

to be cross with my elderly fil about the meaning of easter

585 replies

nickschick · 04/04/2010 21:18

Bit tongue in cheek really.

FIL was today bemoaning the fact that he couldnt go to tesco for his cigar supply as they were shut for Easter.

Its only Easter he said they could have had usual Sunday hours ,its not like Christmas or anything.....

ONLY EASTER?????? i SHOUTED - JESUS DIED ON A CROSS FOR US!!!! EASTER IS MORE SPECIAL THAN CHRISTMAS - YES EASTER IS IMPORTANT.

and that sais dh is why you should never discuss religion with a catholic especially not one who sat in a cold church for an hour and a half last night at the easter vigil.

OP posts:
MissJacksonIfYourNasty · 05/04/2010 10:34

Easter is about chocolate and an extra day off work for the vast majority of people.

YABU

onagar · 05/04/2010 10:38

Claig, but only YOUR traditions and YOUR faith. You make it clear that anything anyone else believes is bullshit, but expect respect for yours.

I see no proof that any of the improvements in our society were caused by your religion. It seems to me that we are constantly battling to remove the remnants of your religion in order to progress further. We're still trying to get religions to accept gay people and women as people ffs.

hazeyjane · 05/04/2010 10:40

The venerable Bede (Christian scholar), was the first to point out the link between Eostre - the Saxon Goddess of fertility, Spring, rebirth and motherhood. There was also a Norse fertility Goddess - Ostara, who was linked to Easter. The pagan festival of Eostre, was (and is) celebrated on the Spring Equinox (March 20/21st).

I am not a Christian, but we do live in a country with a rich Christian and Pagan history, and on days like Easter and Christmas, it is interesting to see how these have blended.

hazeyjane · 05/04/2010 10:42

Claig, if you can't see the negative parts of Christian history, then you are living in denial-sorry.

shockers · 05/04/2010 10:44

The shops aren't closed on sundays.

I would be happy for the shops to be closed on the days of major religious festivals.

I would also be happy for individuals to have the right not to work on their 'sabbath' or holy day each week. I worked in Next as a holiday job once and know that if you are asked to work on a sunday (or saturday if you're Jewish) then you are expected to work.

What I'm advocating is tolerance... not mass Christianity.

runnybottom · 05/04/2010 10:45

There is more than enough tolerance of christianity. But you want more than that, you want your religious beliefs to affect the lives of the non-religious. Thats not tolerance, thats dominance.

abitpearshaped · 05/04/2010 10:46

Reading the whole thread, it does appear to be that the main reason that people are so vehmently opposed to the shops being shut on Easter Sunday, is that they feel they should be able to go shopping every day. But they also appear to be implying that those who are happy the shops are shut for one day at Easter are imposing their religious views on everyone else, and are intolerant, and feel they are superior. Reading the posts of the people who have no issue with Sunday closing, I found them to be reasonable and not superior. The others, some posts were equally reasonable: a lot were sarcastic and quite offensive. Very interesting thread. The secularists come off looking a bit hostile though. Could do with arguing in a more measured way, with maybe less insulting language. It's not worth falling out over a days less shopping opportunity.

claig · 05/04/2010 10:49

I am not saying that anything anyone else believes is bullshit. I am saying that what we believed formed our societies and gave us the tolerance which form our societies. I am not a fan of human sacrifice as practised by the druids and Mayans, and most people will probably agree with me.

I don't believe the Bible literally. Our societies have been changed over centuries, informed by our faith. Our societies will continue to change and remove more injustices over time. Nothing is perfect, but things are slowly getting better. The teachings of Christ are far different to the teachings of the Old Testament. Over time it will be these teachings that continue to change society for the better.

cheesypopfan · 05/04/2010 10:49

I don't think its dominance to suggest that if you are Christian you should be able to request the most important day in your calendar off work - same for Jewish and Muslim people. How is that dominance? Surely that is tolerance. I was happy that the shops were shut - planning isn't really that hard - but if people want them open then that's fine, as long as you then don't impose your beliefs on those who believe this is a special day. Surely if you did impose it you are as bad as those of us who you think dominate society.

onagar · 05/04/2010 10:49

This thing is abitpearshaped we are not requiring the christians to go shopping on their special day. Just to stop saying that we should be forbidden to. We don't mind if they want to believe what they do, but they shouldn't be insisting we join in with them.

GoldenSnitch · 05/04/2010 10:51

"By claig Mon 05-Apr-10 10:15:16
GoldenSnitch, I think the people who were sacrificed would have seen the difference "

Ah, the human sacrifices - like Jesus. Who was apparently sacrificed for our sins

Still not seeing a difference.

claig · 05/04/2010 10:51

hazeyjane, I know there were corrupt popes and rulers who used Christ's name to serve their purposes. I am not on about the Church. I am talking about Christ's teachings.

runnybottom · 05/04/2010 10:52

Claig you are unreal. Absolutely unreal, insulting, superior and deluded.

cheesy, anyone can take the day off if its that important to them. We have these things called annual leave. Thats what the rest of us have to do when we work a 7 day rota.

onagar · 05/04/2010 10:54

claig Mon 05-Apr-10 10:02:47
there is a world of difference between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the druidic human sacrificing crap-peddlers, and the worship of the Pharoah and representation of gods as jackals which was prevalent in Eqyptian religious thought.>

And then

claig Mon 05-Apr-10 10:49:14
I am not saying that anything anyone else believes is bullshit.

Your own words claig.

So you won't mind if I refer to the crap-peddling, witch burning, gay bashing, women hating christians who killed anyone who disagreed with them or had an original thought for centuries and held back our societies (and still do)

SolidGoldBrass · 05/04/2010 10:54

Claig: you keep persisting in this very odd idea that one brand of superstition, ie your preferred brand, is what drives social progress when the opposite is true. The progressive societies are the ones that are ditching superstition while allowing individuals to carry on indulging in it as long as they don't bother the rest of us.

cheesypopfan · 05/04/2010 10:55

runnybottom - thank you for enlightening me. FWIW you may have things called annual leave but it is not always the case that you can take it at these times - in my job we are banned from taking annual leave at Christmas

RealityIsWalking100K · 05/04/2010 10:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

cheesypopfan · 05/04/2010 10:57

yes, that was another thing that confused me about the amount of anger in this debate - our local shops were open too, so if you did run out of stuff, you could get it.

runnybottom · 05/04/2010 10:58

Then don't take a job that interferes with your religious beliefs. Do you hear yourself? Its important to you to have a particular day off work for religious reasons, so the entire country should close down to facilitate you!
Madness.

abitpearshaped · 05/04/2010 10:58

Could the people who don't agree with Easter Sunday closing accept it in the spirit of tolerance towards others? It is only one day after all.

shockers · 05/04/2010 10:59

Actually... mass consumerism has affected my life and continues to affect the lives of us all because of it's effect on the environment.
If y'all can't manage for 2 days a year then I feel pity for you.
I'm going out with the dog now .

runnybottom · 05/04/2010 11:00

Still missing the point there shockers.

cheesypopfan · 05/04/2010 11:00

But the entire country didn't shut down runnybottom. And, once again, if you read my post, i said I was fine with shops etc being open but that it would be reasonable to be tolerant of those for whom it holds huge religious significance. What's the problem with that?

SolidGoldBrass · 05/04/2010 11:02

Shockers: An interesting point. However, as I pointed out earlier, there are SO MANY professions in which 7-day or indeed 24-7 coverage is necessary and employees work shifts that I don't get this particular obsession with forcing shops to shut on superstitious grounds rather than just accepting that people want different days off and can/should arrange this with their employers or work in professions which don't involve 24/7 coverage.

runnybottom · 05/04/2010 11:05

I doubt you'd find enough people for whom it holds huge religious significance to even fill a large tesco. Most people just want the day off.
I'm all for tolerance of everyone's religious beliefs. I am not at all happy with this notion that one particular religion should get extra notice over and above all others. Forcing shop closures by law on Easter Sunday is state sponsered religious promotion. Its discriminatory and unfair.
Its nothing to do with needing to shop, its the principle of the thing.