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?
Halloween may be based on a pagan holiday, but it has always been a fun one for my family. We don’t go for any of the ghoulish, horror costumes. It is supposed to be fun, not scary.
Calling people clueless isn’t exactly polite.
Don’t pray for me I’m fine. I’m going to have a fun Halloween that won’t include anything that’s actually pagan. Like it’s been done by most of the Christian world for about 1200 years. It’s only a pagan holiday if you want it be, and I don’t, so it isn’t.
I guess my Jesus costume this year would be in bad taste?
That's the truth. When I was a little monster we used to go out at 6:00 pm with pillow sacks to collect candy until 10:00 pm or so. Our parents never worried. Now, the few groups of children that make the rounds are always escourted by at least one adult. Times are changing, and not for the better.
so you agree with the parents who are shoving the little red faces of their sobbing toddlers into something they are deathly afraid of at the moment, and which it is not in the least necessary that they confront at that particular moment.
Way to go. Nice way to handle it.
I sincerely hope you don’t have children.
Gross.
Please do not post to me on this topic again. Thank you.
And all because we were collecting free CANDY!
My immortal soul endangered for some milk duds and cheap chocolate!
Did you bother reading the article?
Parents who validated their children's fears and explained situations reported more success and less anger towards their children. Ann, a parent at Valley Preschool, described her response to Avral's fears as:
I ask what her fears are and we sit down and talk about why she's afraid of it and I explain, well I tell her that her fears are justified or I explain why she should not be afraid of it.
However, Ann as parent is making the judgment for Avral about whether her fear is justified, rather than working with the child to decide. Other parents gave children more of an opportunity to make judgments about fears themselves. Maggie reported:
We try to encourage the children to consider, for example, spiders as part of the natural world and that we all have our place...while things are dangerous, so long as we're careful and take a responsible attitude.
Including children in assessing and evaluating their fears helps them to take responsibility for their own emotion understanding and expression. It shows acceptance of the fear and support for the child's growing emotion understanding (Arthur et al, 1999).
Empathy, putting yourself in the child's position, is another way of validating the child's fear. Leona, a parent at Braddock Preschool, said she empathises with Cindy's fear and tells her "it's okay to experience her emotion."
http://www.aare.edu.au/00pap/sor00251.htm
As I said in one of my posts, there is no reason to force a little child to confront a "monster" (the typical Halloween macabre garbage) or a dog that makes them apprehensive.
Their instinctual fear should be validated, they should NOT be forced to encounter it when they are fearful (what is the point? What are people such as you trying to accomplish?), the matter should be discussed later in a calm and loving environment, and the child should be given the opportunity to work through his own emotion at his own pace.
Your response was obscene. Again, I sincerely hope you don't have children. It is always cruel to consider another human being's emotions, but especially your own child's emotions, "invalid."
So in simple small minded world Halloween should be outlawed cause “God” doesn’t like it. God doesn’t like adultery but according to your view people who practice it should be in jail correct?
Oh, you're in a perfect position to be the judge of that. NOT.
You have no clue whatsoever what impact forcing a little three-year-old into a frightening situation might have, including how it might make them feel about YOUR competence and trustworthiness.
If you must make the child jump from a burning building to save their life, fine. But to force a child who is sobbing in fear to go up to a dog when they are not ready, to be around "monsters" they could easily avoid, to ride scary rides or whatever, that is simply obscene.
It doesn't help the child overcome fear. It helps the child become afraid of the parent's judgment. And I can't say that response is "invalid."
I'm very glad you got out of that coven, that sort of thing is not good for anyone. You see, the kids on Halloween are just out for free candy. The witches may think it's a powerful day for them, but they are lunatics and losers.
Did you read the article?
Wow, you sold out cheap. I held out for the Snickers and the Milky Way bars.
When it pops up I know it is time to haul out the black and orange decorations.
Interesting you should mention adultery seeing that sexual immorality has always been a mainstay of demonic worship. Ever wonder why that is so? Just asking.
But anyway, things God disapproves are already outlawed to Christians so they don’t need threats of jail to refrain from them, adultery being one, Halloween another.
But I suggested nothing about jail nor pressing the secular authorities to punish anyone. so why do you ask?
Yes, but does Satan s--t in the woods?
I hate to break it to you, I have always celebrated Halloween and the last time I check I’m not sacrificing virgins at the alter or selling my soul to satan..
Most of them still live with their parents..
Of course none of that is pertinent to the point of whether Halloween is a celebration God approves of and if not whether Christians should have any part of the celebration.
“I’m not sacrificing virgins at the alter or selling my soul to satan..”
I’m glad to hear that!
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