Some people see this as evil. Some people are blind. (She's sooo cute!)
Posted on 10/25/2008 7:00:34 AM PDT by DouglasKC
It all looks like so much fun and seems so harmless: jack-o'-lanterns, grotesque grinning masks, long black witch attire with pointed black hats, costumes painted like skeletons, outfits that represent demons and goblins, and children going door to door, soliciting treats from compliant neighbors.
But when Halloween comes around, do you find yourself yearning for the hours to pass until the whole trick-or-treat farce is over? If you don't, you should!
Since when is it acceptable for little children to threaten to commit vandalism?
What happens if the homeowner doesn't come to the door or doesn't have the treats the kids might expect? Is it permissible for children to then soap his windows, toilet paper his trees, chalk mark his sidewalk or turn over plants as they leave? When is it okay for children to commit vandalism while on another person's property?
Isn't it about time for all well-meaning citizens to just say NO to Halloween?
The clergy, in general, hasn't stood against it. Some churches even have Halloween parties. Some citizens do speak up against it, as the letters to the editor in your newspaper occasionally show.
Is Halloween simply good, clean fun, or is it something else entirely? You need to know!
God is giving a wake-up call to professing Christians. As it was with those the prophet Elijah addressed in his day, so it is with us: "'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' But the people answered him not a word" (1 Kings 18:21). What will it take for Christians to accept and stand for God's truth rather than harmful traditions that originated in paganism?
Just where did Halloween come from, and why is it so widely celebrated?
The Encyclopedia of Religion explains: "Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain, a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November).
"On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land . . . Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (1987, pp. 176-177, "Halloween").
On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits . . . The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature" (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").
It was, bluntly put, a day devoted to appeasing demonic spirits and the dark side of the spirit world—something no Christian should have any part in (Ephesians 5:11).
So how did this dark celebration continue into modern times? Sadly, Halloween came down to us from the Roman Catholic Church, which assigned a day of each year to each of their saints. When it reached the point that they had more than 365, they then combined them together on Nov. 1 and called it "All Saints Day" or "All Hallows Day"—the night before being "All Hallows Eve" or "Hallow Even" (holy evening), contracted to the name Hallowe'en or Halloween.
Why did they choose this particular day? Again The Encyclopedia of Religion explains: "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain . The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" (p. 177).
Thus a pagan celebration was relabeled as Christian.
You cannot find any support for Halloween in your Bible, because God is adamantly opposed to it and the pagan, occult practices it revels in. He warns His people to have nothing to do with these (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). They blind us from the truth of God.
God does not take Halloween lightly. As He says, "Learn not the way of the heathen" (Jeremiah 10:2, King James Version). And, "Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise'" (Deuteronomy 12:30).
God will not always remain tirelessly patient with those who insist on celebrating harmful and superstitious customs such as Halloween. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance . . . What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God" (2 Peter 3:9-12, New International Version).
The author of sin and death, Satan the devil, is also the behind-the-scenes author of pagan customs like Halloween. Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44). God is the God of the living, not the dead (Matthew 22:31-32). He is the God of not only true Christians alive today but, because of the certainty of the coming resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15), of those who will yet live when raised from death. So certain is this resurrection that to God it is looked on as an accomplished fact (see Romans 4:17).
Conversely, Satan is the "lord of the dead." Hebrews 2:14 says of Jesus Christ that "only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death" (New Living Translation).
Satan is the lord of the dead in that he leads people by his lies and influence into the way of death and, as the next verse shows, puts them in bondage to the fear of death.
He has foisted Halloween on ignorant people and even well-meaning Christians in a subtle and deceitful way, perpetuating it through the Catholic Church with a "Christian" mask that hides its demonic origins.
When it comes to Halloween—or any other holiday for that matter—you should ask yourself, "Did God make man in His image, or did God intend man to remake God in man's image?" Now that's a sobering thought.
The religious excuse for perpetuating Halloween might be that, as we've seen, church leaders long ago called it a "holy evening" for all the Catholic saints who had no day assigned to them. But face it: People who celebrate this evening today couldn't care less about such religious notions. All they think about is instant gratification, to follow the pack with everyone else and to have some fun.
The Encyclopedia of Religion goes on to say: "Modern Halloween activities have centered on mischief making and masquerading in costumes, often resembling otherworldly characters. Folk customs, now treated as games [such as bobbing for apples], have continued from the various divination practices of the ancient celebrants of this occasion. Supernatural figures [such as the ghost, the witch, the vampire, the devil] play a key role in supplying an aura of the mysterious to the evening, whether or not they originally had an association with the festival.
"Children are particularly susceptible to the imagery of Halloween, as can be seen in their fascination with the demonic likeness of a carved and illuminated pumpkin, known as the jack-o'-lantern. In recent times, children have taken up the practice of dressing in Halloween costumes and visiting homes in search of edible and monetary treats, lightly threatening to play a trick on the owner if a treat is not produced" (p. 177).
Halloween is one of many human traditions that cloud biblical teachings and keep people in the dark from God's truth that can set us free (John 8:32). It is not a harmless holiday for you or for your children. God warns us to avoid it and to follow His ways, because He hates for us to dabble in the spirit world of Satan and his demons! Instead, as God tells us in Isaiah 66:2, "On this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word." GN
Holidays or Holy Days: Does it Matter Which Days We Celebrate?
It's ironic that so many of today's popular holidays—including major religious celebrations like Christmas and Easter—originated in ancient pagan festivals and customs, while God's Holy Days revealed in the Bible are almost universally ignored. Which should you celebrate and why?
God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind
Is it possible to know what the future holds for us? The Creator of mankind does have a plan for us, and He reveals it to us through an annual cycle of festivals described in the Scriptures. It is an astounding plan offering an incredible future to every man, woman, and child who has ever lived.
Halloween's Dark Roots
In recent years eye-opening materials have been published about the questionable background of Halloween
Ghouls, Ghosts and Goblins
It seems like such harmless fun—children dressed as witches, skeletons or Darth Vader ringing the doorbell, enthusiastically announcing, "Trick or treat!" But is this preoccupation with the dead, witches and demons really harmless? And do you realize that Halloween was originally an important religious holiday—and still is in many parts of the world?
Can Halloween Be Christianized?
What should you do in deciding how you will approach this hotly debated issue?
LOL
Well nobody is saying you should go hugging pagans on Halloween.
Here’s the meat of it:
1 - every single argument you or anybody else can come up with about Halloween’s pagan roots applies equally to Christmas and Easter. So if you don’t want to be a hypocrite you need to skip all 3 or none at all.
2 - never pay for the same ground twice. The Christians seized control of these days and symbols from the pagans, if you walk away from any of them you’re giving them back.
It is fear. You’re terrified of having the slightest tie to paganism. At least this month. In December you whistle a different tune.
I believe as St Augustine taught. Faith is a gift of strength from God. It is your tool to deal with difficult times, and like all strength it grows through use. It’s not a hot house flower that needs to be protected from the world, it protects you. Nothing about freely partaking in sin, faith gives you the strength to NOT partake in sin. It’s your shield.
In this case a Christian version is a Christian version, it means they’re NOT pagan holidays in spite of their history.
Things of abhorrent origin are things of abhorrent origin. A Christian holiday that stole from the pagans is no more or less abhorrent than a surgery stolen from vivisectionists. They’re both good things with abhorrent origins.
Sitting in front a computer doesn’t seem like the placer to be proposing rejecting man made things. If Jesus is in your heart then every day is a holy day. Some days might get some extra rituals, but every day is part of God’s creation, no matter what we or some pagan call it.
Sorry but Christians used pagan holidays as theirs in order to get the pagans on board. That's capitulation not conquering. It's also blending in which is not what we are called to do.
It is fear. You’re terrified of having the slightest tie to paganism.
I'm not in the least afraid of pagans or wiccans.....been there, done that, was one. We are called to be a separate people. If you want to blend in, that's your choice. But Revelation has something to say on lukewarm Christians.
In post 64, I posted links about my wiccan "teacher". She read her Tarot cards for me one day. She told me that by 35 I would be more "powerful" than her. As she kept reading cards, she became more agitated and finally told me to leave. I never saw her again. I accepted Christ at 34. I don't fear pagans or wiccans.
No wonder the left-wingers thinks we’re a bunch of kooks. We’ve got the far right-wing religious nuts thinking something as childish and fun as Halloween is against Jesus. Turning Jesus into a fascist cult is offensive.
Some people see this as evil. Some people are blind. (She's sooo cute!)
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
You’re joking right?
Mark Kilroy’s murder was more about controlling a group of drug runners with terror disguised as Santeria.
And all because we were collecting free CANDY!
That’s not capitulation, that’s subjugation. Capitulation is switching what you worship, subjugation is talking somebody else into switching.
You can still be a separate people and celebrate the Christian Halloween. Again, nobody is saying you need to go hug them.
Sorry but your entire behavior reeks of fear. You’re afraid to celebrate something Christian on the same day that pagans are celebrating something else. You’re afraid that makes you not separate people. If you weren’t afraid you could use Halloween, which is about demonstrating your power against evil, to mock those pagans you used to be one of. Instead you flee in terror from the day. Every single post you’ve made on this thread is nothing but declarations of fear. It’s kind of sad really. You aren’t powerful at all, at least not today. Maybe after Halloween goes by you will be.
Be afraid, be very afraid....
Guess I’ll be seeing all those kind old ladies who were handing out candy in Hell.
Halloween is not Christian and never was. It has NOTHING to do with Christ. It is All Hallow's Eve when the spirits cause mischief. Witches "celebrate" the earth dying. And Christ is nowhere represented in it. Witches, ghosts, ghouls and goblins but not Jesus.
If you weren’t afraid you could use Halloween, which is about demonstrating your power against evil, to mock those pagans you used to be one of. Instead you flee in terror from the day.
Dang you're clueless. On a great many things. Hopefully you'll have an epiphany.
The modern Halloween, the evening before All Saints Day, IS Christian. Just like you it’s been converted. It’s is no longer a pagan holiday, hasn’t been for hundreds of years. Time to catch up.
Yup, now you leash out with the insults. Entirely typical of the fear response.
Everything we do does not have to "glorify" something.
Sometimes things are done just for fun.
I lash out? Have a blessed evening. I’ll keep you in prayer.
We were discussing Halloween. It doesn’t Glorify God as Christmas and Easter do.
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