Posted on 02/16/2005 5:07:50 AM PST by paudio
A long-overdue debate has been ignited thanks to a recent article by Washington Times reporter Julia Duin posted on Poynter Online. In it Duin asserted that too many newspapers, TV news stations and networks are failing to cover religion, and those that do have been failing to hire journalists who truly understand religion.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Hallowe'en is a Christian holiday, but Ascencion is too, and if they're going to have a calendar, they should get all the main ones.
Haloween is? I think the day after Haloween, All Souls Day, is. I don't know about Haloween.
I assume the "Ascension day" is Good Friday?
Why then wouldnt Halloween be called All Saints Day?
Ascension Thursday is 40 days after Easter and commemorates the ascension to heaven of the resurrected Jesus. Good Friday is two days before Easter and commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus.
Halloween is a contraction of the Middle English "All Hallow's Even" which in modern English would be All Saint's Eve.
Traditionally, All Saint's Eve was a day of fasting and prayer observed the day before All Saint's Day which was itself a feast day. The day after All Saint's Day is called All Soul's Day and is itself a separate religious holiday.
Halloween is NOT a Christian holiday.
Halloween is totally pagan.
Druids and moon worshippers...devil worshippers etc...
It began during the days of the persecution of the Church by the Emperor Diocletian.
It was originally called the "Commemoratio Confessorum" - Commemoration of the Confessors.
It was started because so many Christians died for the faith in the persecutions that the Christian community was unable to keep a record of all their names - All Saints' Eve and All Saints' Day are the Christian equivalent of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The holiday was later hijacked by occultists in the North Sea basin centuries after it was first established in Rome, Antioch and Damascus, mostly because October 31st, which was an otherwise meaningless date in the Mediterranean was the same day as a pagan observance in England and Denmark. Of course, the Christians who instituted All Saints' Day were not English and knew nothing of these practices.
Therefore, Hallow's Eve is either Christian or Pagan, counting on how you celebrate it.
I personally prefer to focus on the Saints and leave the druids to themselves....
I would say that is not necessarily Christian in general, but more specifically RCC.
Excellent article and food for thought, but I cannot think of a more potentially explosive topic for network or cable news. Thinking back to the special that FNC did on The Life of Jesus, would the next project be the life of Mohammad? Would there be a show that would include a panel of scholars on various religions? Would this be instructional for the viewing audience without creating conflict? Is it possible that any such show created by televised media would do nothing more than support the global unified religion?
My local newspaper has a weekly section on religion. The last covered New Age spirituality and had photographs of 3-year olds meditating on mats accompanied by quotes from children about Buddha. This followed a recent column about Indigo children, the terminology eminating from Lightworkers who glorify Lucifer. I exchanged emails with the columnist. She had no problem with Indigo and said it promoted spirituality, rather than religion.
So, any ideas here on how religion could actually be covered in the news?
It is also a holiday in the Anglican Communion and among the Eastern Orthodox (though on a different date as their calendar has shifted), so about 65% of the world's Christians celebrate All Saints' Day. Not observing All Saints is a peculiarity specific to the minority of Christians known as Reformed or Protestant Christians.
This is not true. Acension Day is celebrated by most of Christedom including Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox, Epsicopalians, Anglicans, and even some Methodists who bother to follow the liturgical calendar.
I wasn't talking about Acension Day, but "All Souls Day". Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Mea culpa. I wasn't paying close enough attention. Anyway, my statement still applies for "All Souls Day" as well.
I should have pointed out that not all churches observe All Souls Day in October. The Orthodox for instance observe it in June, I think.
But the mainline Protestants as well as the evangelicals do not - it would be an insult to them if someone claimed they did. It doesn't have a biblical mandate - in fact, some may even argue the opposite. So.. if it isn't observed by all of Christianity, the I don't think it can be called Christian. It seems to be more of the liturgical, ritualistic churches that pay attention to it. And that isn't all of Christianity.
Sadly, you are correct. Most "mainline Protestants" are quite anti-liturgical. I do disagree with your assertion that since the so-called evangelicals and "mainline Protestants" don't observe a particular Holy Day it is therefore not Christian. Simply because it is not a universal practice, it does not therefore automatically become un-Christian.
I don't want to read too much into your post, but I get the feeling you are very opposed to, or at least skeptical of, the very ancient practice of following a liturgical calendar. I am very interested in why you feel this way, if indeed you do. Please do not think that I am trying to pick a fight with you or anything. I am genuinely interested in your perspective. I very much like discussing these things. I hope, that if you're willing, we can have a productive discussion on this that will be enligtening to us both.
Check your freepmail. :)
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