Acts 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Easter: mistranslated “Easter” in Act 12:4, AV, denotes the Passover (RV). The phrase “after the Passover” signifies after the whole festival was at an end. The term “Easter” is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast, but was not instituted by Christ, nor was it connected with Lent. From this Pasch the pagan festival of “Easter” was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity.

My original question was this; if pascha is mistranslated Easter why keep it? Now, a few hours later, in the beginnings of that study I see the term “apostate Western religion”. Who are you calling apostate? Who are you to judge those who celebrate Easter? Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has been a standard in my search for meaning. What do they mean by apostate and do I apply?

After close study I discovered to my disappointment that name calling is a consistent bad habit even amongst the best intentioned of us. Our desire is to be right on critical matters and we have allowed the need to be right on trivial issues to continue this bad habit.

I have studied under some extremely intelligent and dedicated theologians and without an exception I have found in each of them at least one point of personal judgement that is disturbing in its pronouncement. They all have a personal agenda that they just cannot shake and they erode fellowship for some to the point they scream heretic, blasphemer, or apostate. 

Personal agendas that caustic are not good for unity in the faith and need to be dealt with on a personal level.