Posted on 10/30/2016 11:06:02 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
I received an email this week from Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church.
“Halloween,” he said, “is a huge opportunity … to be a light for Christ on a dark night.” Indeed, he explained, “you’ll have the MOST contact with families in your community than any other day of the year.”
So Pastor Rick asked members of the Southern California megachurch to do the following for Halloween:
Buy a package of the biggest candy bars we can find and tape “Trick-or-Treat invitations” to next weekend’s services at Saddleback. And stay home on Halloween night and turn on the lights so kids know they are welcome to drop by.
Now I appreciate that Pastor Rick is trying to reach out to the saved and un-churched in the communities in which his members reside.
But I am reminded of the words of Aldous Huxley, who famously authored “Brave New World” but who also less-famously authored a collection of essays on the religious experience:
“We know,” he wrote, “that the pursuit of good ends does not justify the employment of bad means.”
Indeed, using Halloween, a day on which the devil is exalted, to win the lost to Christ runs contrary to the word of God.
In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul warned that Christ followers must “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
The annual observance of Halloween is an unfruitful work of darkness.
And rather than participate in such unholiness – much like the Hebrews during the time of Moses who prostrated themselves before a golden calf – the redeemed of the Lord should expose Halloween for what it is – an affront to God.
It owes its origin to the Celtic druids, who celebrated their new year (Samhain) on November 1, when the pagans believed the souls of the dead, as well as witches and demons, freely roamed the earth.
In the Eighth Century, Pope Gregory III declared November 1 All Hallows Day, an annual commemoration of saints and martyrs that effectively co-opted Samhain. October 31 came to be known as All Hallows Eve, which is celebrated today as Halloween, with the same unGodly influences as the pagan celebrations of Samhain nearly two millennia ago.
Halloween celebrates occult practices the Bible declares abominations – séances, necromancy, fortune-telling, casting of spells, wearing of charms, real magic, etc. It also is a day of adoration of the demonic – witches, vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts and the like.
Many, if not most of us who consider ourselves Christ followers think Halloween is harmless. That’s because the works of darkness associated with Halloween have been mainstreamed (like other cultural abominations).
Indeed, Walmart is selling a “Smoldering Devil Boys Halloween Costume.” Amazon is selling a “Bride of Satan Child Costume.”
That’s why, as much as I respect Pastor Rick, I will take a pass on his Halloween outreach tomorrow. This Christ follower will not be complicit in furthering the works of darkness.
Halloween is your birthday?
That explains a lot.
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But those ugly pagan holidays are important to our economy; are you trying to cause a recession? (/sarc)
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Bookmarked
Precisely
“gonna”? “Holloween”..HAHAHA. Also, you contradict yourself.
yes. well, a fish rots from the head
HilLIARy and Obummer contradict themselves all the time
so now maybe I will, too
Could not agree more...
Again, could not agree more.
To elaborate: If you and/or your kids don’t get into the occult part of this, it’s simply a nation wide dress-up party.
Now don’t use a Ouija board on Halloween or mess with any of that stuff. JMHO, of course.
Eek! You’re going as something Demonic! You might want to reconsider!
/joke
where in the bible does it say to dress up and scare away demons? Or to go out and collect bunches of candy that can trigger life long bad habits/addictions leading to disease etc? There really is NOTHING good about Halloween to celebrate.
Halloween was a man created annual event based on misbelief, fear etc.
Why do we want to promote or continue something that is rooted in those things?
I’m all for celebrating God for abundance, even dressing up specially, for sure thanking God for family and loved ones past and present, yes have fun, but I don’t think it pleases God when we try to justify our twisting a bit of His word/truth into an old man made ritual that was rooted in fear and misguided beliefs of man trying to eradicate evil spirits with costumes and such at best.
Just how many times do we think we know better than God before we slip into “real” sin of some kind? why teach our kids to test or go against God?
And his transferral of the feast to November 1 had nothing to do with Samhain, which was a British Druid feast, not a Roman one. He transferred it because they were having trouble feeding the pilgrims in Rome, with too many spring feasts happening before the harvest had been brought in.
There's nothing intrinsically wrong with dressing up in costumes and passing out candy on October 31, any more than there is on October 30 or November 1.
Seriously...as a CCD teacher I embrace Halloween and have a lesson plan that discusses the history in reference to All Saints Day.
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>> “There’s nothing intrinsically wrong...” <<
We have a judge that knows our hearts.
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i think the kid need more than NOT getting to the satanic elements of Hween
I think Hween affords the parents a SPLENDID teaching Opportunity to help their kids understand a more genuine kind of faith (whether they be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Orthodox or xyz)
but yes, to get out and have a little fun too, once it is all clearly understood...., explained.... sure thing!
Yeah, don't forget to tell that kid he's going to burn in hell for dressing up like Iron Man and eating candy.
And then wonder why the pews are empty.
I don’t agree with Rick Warren often but... I think he has a point. If we can co-opt something non-Christian and use it to bring people to Christ, what is the problem?
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