St Valentine and Nimrod the Same God Worshiped?

[Bible Speaks]

* Valentine’s Day. “St. Valentine’s Day has nothing very saintly to commend it as to its origin.”—The Golden Age, December 25, 1929, page 208.

"The romantic nature of Valentine's Day may have derived during the Middle Ages, when it was believed that birds paired couples in mid-February. According to English 18th-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, Valentine's Day was most likely created to overpower the pagan holiday, Lupercalia.

(Note the picture, another name to the worship of Nimrod) (Both Lupercus, and St Valentine)

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priestmartyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

[Bible Speaks]

Cupid, Lupercus, St Valentines all listed under NIMROD'S NAMES

[Bible Speaks]

 

[Ann O'Maly]

I hope it's OK to ask you some questions.

On 2/7/2017 at 5:29 PM, Bible Speaks said:

Cupid, Lupercus, St Valentines all listed under NIMROD'S NAMES

I'd like to ask:

What is/are the source(s) of your information?

I see you've referenced The Golden Age article, but do you know where the magazine got its information from?

[JW Insider]

54 minutes ago, Ann O'Maly said:

I see you've referenced The Golden Age article, but do you know where the magazine got its information from?

The issue quoted from includes the following under the Christmas holiday heading, on page 195:

In its issue of December 26,
1927, the New York World carried a full-page
article on Christmas which showed beyond a
doubt that the day was observed by various
heathen nations for many centuries before the
birth of Christ. On the same date, the Chicago
Tribune, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the St.
Paul Daily News carried shorter articles proving
the heathen origin of the day. So did some
of the larger magazines of the country. Should
anyone desire to investigate the subject further,
after reading this article, I would recommend
a perusal of the following four books:
Kitto's Illustrated Commentary; Wilkinson's
Egyptians; History of Medieval Drama, by
Robinson; and The Two Babylons, by Alexander
Hyslop, an English clergyman. The last named
book is specially interesting in its revelations,
not only on the subject of Christmas,
but also on other holidays and feast days now
so popular.

However, the actual article on Valentine's Day has no reference to any origins that go back to Nimrod (although this is used for Easter and Christmas, etc). The portion of the above post from @Bible Speaks that looks like it comes from the Golden Age (starting with "The romantic nature of Valentine's Day...") is not from the Golden Age. It's from Catholic.org as is the next section starting out "The first representation..." The quote is interrupted with a reference to Nimrod which is an allusion to the chart that apparently derived originally from "The Two Babylons."

Here's the complete quote from the Golden Age regarding St. Valentine's Day, on page 208.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY has nothing very
saintly to commend it as to its origin. The
whole month of February was given over by the
Romans to a period of almost unbridled licentiousness.
One of the common practices was for
a group of young men and young women to
meet together. The names of the young women
were placed in a box and the young men drew
them as chance directed and they became partners
for a day subsequently known as St. Valentine's
Day. The young woman's gift for the day
was a man.
The gift the young woman drew might be
more or less bad, mostly bad; and therefore the
gifts passed out on St. Valentine's Day are
often bad ones. It will be noticed that St. Valentine
is supposed to be the god of love, or at
least that cupids represent him. The dragging
of the word "saint" into this thing is only a
scheme of the Devil to make real saintliness
seem like what it is not, licentiousness.

 

[Bible Speaks]

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/sysl/r1/lp-e?url=/en/wol/sydp/r1/lp-e/{rsconf}/{library}/r1/lp-e/1102014249/null

 

[Queen Esther]

I  just  read  this  by  a  Brother.....

Why  Jehovah's Witnesses  " Do Not " participate in Valentine's Day,...
See neutral news report in the newspaper Tenerife  Weekly  14. Februay  2014

 

[Ann O'Maly]

Thanks for tracking it down, JW Insider.

20 hours ago, JW Insider said:

[Golden Age quote]

... and The Two Babylons, by Alexander
Hyslop, an English clergyman. The last named
book is specially interesting in its revelations,
not only on the subject of Christmas,
but also on other holidays and feast days now
so popular.

Ah. Therefore, we can dismiss any information culled from this source as unreliable.

On 2/7/2017 at 2:09 PM, Bible Speaks said:

[The catholic.org quote]

According to English 18th-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, Valentine's Day was most likely created to overpower the pagan holiday, Lupercalia.

Any claims from centuries-old works should be treated with caution. It's wise to check their sources, if they've provided any, and see if scholarship has moved forward since that time with new information. If no sources are given, then it's prudent to cross-check with current findings and/or take what the antiquarian author says with a barrel of salt.

The work alluded to by Francis Douce is an 1807 commentary on Shakespeare's plays. It's in the discussion of Hamlet that Douce explains the background to Ophelia's reference to 'Valentine' and links it to Lupercalia.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50228/50228-h/50228-h.htm (1839 ed.) - p. 470f.

He says it used to be a festival in honor of Pan and Juno, "the latter deity was named februata, februalis, and februlla." I can't find reputable corroboration for Juno being called these names. For a start, Juno gave the month June its name, not February, so how is she associated with rites in February? Some research on the purification festival of Februa or the god Februus might be useful.

Douce did name his source for some of his information: Alban Butler. The relevant work must be The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, Vol II, published 1756–1759.

https://archive.org/stream/livesfathersmar09butlgoog#page/n149/mode/2up/search/Valentine (1866 ed.) - p. 135.

It's a short piece, and Butler doesn't provide any sources for this comment:

"To abolish the heathen's lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of Girls in honour of their goddess Februta Juno, on the 15th of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints on billets given on this day."

Again we see the (mistaken?) Juno association, but Lupercalia isn't mentioned at all in the 'Saint Valentine' entry. And who were these pastors? More research is need to ascertain this story's veracity.

As for The Golden Age's assessment of Valentine's Day, its sources are unknown, uncredited, and therefore unverifiable.

Regarding all the 'other names for Nimrod,' I'd like to ask Bible Speaks again:

What is/are your source(s) for these name associations to Nimrod?

 

 

[ARchiv@L]

the celebrations because of "love" had nothing to do with actuall love or agape.
all celebrations included eʹros,=love between the sexes.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002781?q=agape&p=par#h=5
(see also images above)

22 hours ago, JW Insider said:

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY has nothing very
saintly to commend it as to its origin. The
whole month of February was given over by the
Romans to a period of almost unbridled licentiousness.
One of the common practices was for
a group of young men and young women to
meet together.

---

 

Babylonian Deities.

After the death of Nimrod, the Babylonians reasonably would have been inclined to hold him in high regard as the founder and builder and first king of their city and as the organizer of the original Babylonian Empire.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=9
 

Origin of Gods and Goddesses. 
The striking similarity readily observable when comparing the gods and goddesses of ancient peoples can hardly be attributed to chance. Concerning this, J. Garnier writes: “Not merely Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, but also the Hindus, the Buddhists of China and of Thibet, the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Druids, Mexicans and Peruvians, the Aborigines of Australia, and even the savages of the South Sea Islands, must have all derived their religious ideas from a common source and a common centre. Everywhere we find the most startling coincidences in rites, ceremonies, customs, traditions, and in the names and relations of their respective gods and goddesses.”—The Worship of the Dead, London, 1904, p. 3.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=6
 

 

Tradition has it that Nimrod died a violent death. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=9
....the religions of many ancient peoples included the worship of a god placed in the role of a benefactor who dies a violent death on earth and then is restored to life.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=8
 

...................................................................................................................

give me some more time if I can find MORE SIMILARITIES !

thank you

............................................................................................................................

 

A number of scholars have linked Anahita with the Babylonian Ishtar. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=37
 

 

Grecian Deities. 
An examination of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece reveals the traces of Babylonian influence. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=41

Origins
The name Lupercalia was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of ....
...whom the Greeks call Pan (see image above) from @Bible Speaks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia
 

[ARchiv@L]

As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day
 

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thank you all for your comments ! 

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[Queen Esther]

I see it more simple   The Bible does not speek about the weird Valentin's day....  so its not importend for me and  I not give much time for such of commercial days, the same for Xmas, etc. etc. -  Satan is using many traps !  The Bible is deciding and on the 1. place,  NOT always our literature. Thats my opinion and experience.

3 hours ago, ARchiv@L said:

the celebrations because of "love" had nothing to do with actuall love or agape.
all celebrations included eʹros,=love between the sexes.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002781?q=agape&p=par#h=5
(see also images above)

---

 

Babylonian Deities.

After the death of Nimrod, the Babylonians reasonably would have been inclined to hold him in high regard as the founder and builder and first king of their city and as the organizer of the original Babylonian Empire.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=9
 

Origin of Gods and Goddesses. 
The striking similarity readily observable when comparing the gods and goddesses of ancient peoples can hardly be attributed to chance. Concerning this, J. Garnier writes: “Not merely Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, but also the Hindus, the Buddhists of China and of Thibet, the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Druids, Mexicans and Peruvians, the Aborigines of Australia, and even the savages of the South Sea Islands, must have all derived their religious ideas from a common source and a common centre. Everywhere we find the most startling coincidences in rites, ceremonies, customs, traditions, and in the names and relations of their respective gods and goddesses.”—The Worship of the Dead, London, 1904, p. 3.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=6
 

 

Tradition has it that Nimrod died a violent death. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=9
....the religions of many ancient peoples included the worship of a god placed in the role of a benefactor who dies a violent death on earth and then is restored to life.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=8
 

...................................................................................................................

give me some more time if I can find MORE SIMILARITIES !

thank you

............................................................................................................................

 

A number of scholars have linked Anahita with the Babylonian Ishtar. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=37
 

 

Grecian Deities. 
An examination of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece reveals the traces of Babylonian influence. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001732#h=41

Origins
The name Lupercalia was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of ....
...whom the Greeks call Pan (see image above) from @Bible Speaks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia
 

Thanks for your detailed comment and time, you needed for that...  our dear Brother ! 

[ARchiv@L]

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thank you all for your comments ! 

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