Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Ecumenical Buddhism: Religions and their Lunisolar, Lunar, and Solar Calendars

Ecumenical Buddhism: Religions and their Lunisolar, Lunar, and Solar Calendars

Ecumenical Buddhism is one of the most interesting blogs I have ran across in a long time. I have really enjoyed following it lately and reading over its large list of postings. Today, a post (linked above) was added that explains the history of different types of calendars and how they are or have been implemented by various religions throughout history. Follow the link above to read this post; there is also a link included in the original post to a Wikipedia article on the same subject that goes a bit more in depth about these calendars and their historical relationship to varied religions. 

At the end of the post, the following statement is made:
"...without realizing it, most Christians do use a lunisolar calendar in the determination of Easter."

This is stated after establishing the fact that a lunisolar calendar  has been and still is used by much of the East and is still employed by the Hebrew, Hindu, Buddhist, and numerous other religions. I do not want to reduce the post to this one statement, but it definitely spoke volumes to me as I read it. 

Anyone familiar with Christian history must realize that the date of Easter has long been the subject of much controversy. Even today, and despite much work at reconciliation by groups such as the World Council of Churches, the Eastern branch of the church and the Western  branch still celebrate Easter on different dates (most years). Ironically, the reason for the controversy is related to calendars: which one  should be used to calculate dates in the ecclesiastical year? The Julian or the Gregorian? Who knows? 

Anyways, before I get too side tracked with history and begin to show my nerdy side, let me just say that the fact that Christians use a calendar predominately associated with other faiths to establish the date of its crowning and most important festival is very indicative of the history of the Christian faith. From its very inception, it has been a compendium of many faiths and sects. This syncretic action has defined much of what Christianity is, does, and believes. It is very important for us to understand this and if this is fully understood, perhaps ecumenism and multifaith endeavors will seem more consistent with the inherent spirit of historical Christianity. 

Lastly, the Christianization (Wikipedia has a great article on Christianization; go read it here.) of pagan symbols, terms, practice, geography, deities, etc, makes up a great part of what Christianity is today. Its simply inseparable. There is a huge segment of Christianity that would rather deny this truth; particularly much of Protestantism. But, one can not effectively argue against substantiated history. With all this said, let me ask a question that speaks to the heart of what this blog stands for and what I believe to be a very beneficial practice in my spiritual journey. If Christianity as a whole can take elements of other faiths and use it to enhance itself and/or make itself more palatable to those around her, why can not I, as a Christain and person of faith do the same? I know how I answer that question. How do you?