Posted on 10/22/2006 10:37:57 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Halloween is undoubtedly one of the strangest holidays people celebrate, with its symbolism of witches, devils, skeletons, bats and black cats. Is it not a little bizarre that children are taught to dress up as ghosts and monsters to go from house to house demanding "trick or treat!" (with the threat of a trick or prank constituting a playful form of extortion)?
While tricks are no longer the norm in most places, it used to be common in many areas that refusal to give trick-or-treaters candy invited minor acts of vandalism, such as having one's windows marred with a bar of soap, trash dumped on the lawn, toilet paper unrolled across tree limbs, and raw eggs thrown against the house and car.
Where, how and when did such strange customs begin? And why do they continue?
Many parents encourage their children to celebrate Halloween, assuming it to be harmless and innocent fun. But why? Would parents honor this holiday if they knew what's behind it—behind the mask?
Halloween's origins
Few people really understand the origins of Halloween. However, many clues are obvious from the trappings of the holiday—witches, ghosts, jack-o'-lanterns, skeletons and the like.
History shows that behind the dark mask of this popular children's holiday reside the terrors of an ancient Celtic festival renamed All Hallows Eve. It was originally a holiday marking the mythical time when the dead supposedly rose from their graves to walk the earth.
To better understand the origins of Halloween one needs to be introduced to the ancient pagan festival of Samhain (usually pronounced sow-en).
In The Encyclopedia of Religion, under the heading "Halloween," the authors link Halloween to 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."
This encyclopedia explains that "the time of Samhain comprised the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November). This event was a crucial seam in the social and religious fabric of the Celtic year, and the eve of Samhain set the tone for the annual celebration as a threatening, fantastic, mysterious rite of passage to a new year" (1987, p. 176).
Both the eve and day of Samhain were thought to be a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken, allowing passage between the two. "Other worldly 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 that controlled the fertility of the land. Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during that period" (ibid., p. 177).
The Encyclopedia of Religion then explains the origin of the bizarre customs that survive in today's Halloween: "Divination activities remained a popular practice. Adults, dressed in fantastic disguises and masks, imitated supernatural beings and visited homes where occupants would offer tributes of food and drink to them. A fear of nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, persisted, since these animals were believed to communicate with the spirits of the dead" (emphasis added).
Halloween comes to the New World
Centuries later, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the custom of Halloween with them to the New World. After massive immigration of the Irish to the United States during the great potato famine in Ireland (1845-46), Halloween eventually became a national event.
Today, says The Encyclopedia of Religion, "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 . . .
"There also has been renewed interest in Halloween as a time when adults can also cross cultural boundaries and shed their identities by indulging in an uninhibited evening of frivolity. Thus, the basic Celtic quality of the festival as an evening of annual escape from normal realities and expectations has remained into the twentieth century" (p. 177).
God unmasks Halloween
Does the Bible have anything to say about strange customs and holidays such as this? In fact, it does—and none of it is good.
While God's Holy Days in the Bible celebrate the role of Jesus Christ in bringing mankind to salvation in the eternal family of God (as explained in the following article and our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind), Halloween is a celebration of the opposite—of demonism, witchcraft, death and evil spirits.
God's Word makes it clear that no one should dare entertain witchcraft or act as a sorcerer. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, emphasis added throughout).
God pronounced death on any Israelites who would dare dally with demonism or Satanism: "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:27). "You shall not permit a sorceress to live" (Exodus 22:18).
Why such a harsh penalty? God did not want such perverted, demonic practices to spread among His people and corrupt others. "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst" (Deuteronomy 13:5).
Would God be against something as harmless as Halloween, especially since it allows children to have fun and enjoy a little entertainment? Can't we let them have a little harmless fun?
Frankly, Halloween is anything but harmless. It focuses one's attention on witchcraft and demonism, which flies in the face of the holy God Almighty! When parents not only allow but also encourage their children to celebrate witches and goblins, they are teaching them that it's acceptable to deal in demonism.
And we have seen what God thinks of that. God is a God of light and truth (1 John 1:5). Satan, "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), is a very real being—a being of darkness, deception and death (Revelation 12:9; John 8:44). We are to have nothing to do with his ways. (To learn more, request our free booklet Is There Really a Devil?)
Do not assume that Halloween is a harmless holiday. God hates mankind's dabbling in the spirit world of Satan and his demons!
If there were no other reason available, that should be enough. But there are more reasons. Halloween keeps humankind, and many Christians, confused, disoriented and separated from the one and only true God.
God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Nor is He the author of Halloween or any other "Christianized" pagan holidays (Amos 5:21). Why would the only true God who loves mankind support any worldly holiday that blinds human beings to Him and His truth and that holds men, women and children captive to deception?
What does God expect from you on Halloween?
You now know what lurks behind Halloween's mask: Satan the devil! God will one day unmask the ritual and tradition of Halloween to all people (Hebrews 8:10-11).
If you believe that God exists and you understand that He is highly offended by the holidays designed and perpetuated by the god of this age, then you have a choice: whether you will begin honoring God the way He expects to be honored and be blessed for doing it, or whether you will ignore the truth revealed in history and His Word. Don't wait!
God is not a god of masks, but a God of truth. God says that if you honor Him, He will honor you (1 Samuel 2:30). Ignore God and He will leave you subject to the god of this world and all that entails. God expects all who love and honor Him to repent from dead works and turn in faith toward Him, the only true God. GN
In other words, it breaks through the deception that we know Satan has over many. It makes people extemely uncomfortable to have their world view challenged...which is why I suspect some are greeting an article about Halloween with such vitriol.
Whatever Halloween was is long gone. All the article is doing is trying to resurrect a boogie man.
If you've been reading, you know that Satanists, wiccans and other neo-pagan groups actively embrace Halloween. Why do you suppose this is?
Why not just accuse me of being the anti-Christ and get it over with?
From the linked article:
Paul said in verse 25, "Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience' sake." This is most interesting. He says it is okay to eat the meat bought in the market place even though that meat may have been sacrificed to idols.
Then in verses 28-29 he says, "But if anyone should say to you, 'This is meat sacrificed to idols,' do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?" (NASB). Paul is saying that if you find out the meat was sacrificed to idols, don't eat it -- not because of you, but because of the other person. In other words, eating that meat won't affect you. But, it may affect the attitude of another who does not understand the freedom the Christian has in Christ.
Is it any different with Halloween (or Christmas)? No. Even though Halloween has pagan origins, because of your freedom in Christ, you and/or you kids can dress up in costumes and go door-to-door and just have fun. However, if you are not comfortable with doing this, then you should not. If you know of a person who would be stumbled by doing it, then you shouldn't either.
The author does a pretty good job of explaining what Paul was talking about when it came to EATING MEAT sacrificed to idols. However, he errs in extending this principle out to Halloween.
Paul doesn't say that idol worship, idol sacrifice or any of the practices associated with paganism or idoloatry are acceptable. He merely is saying that eating meat that MAY have been used in an pagan sacrifice and later sold in the market is a matter of conscience.
A more apt analogy would be to say that if a Christian is offended by EATING CANDY collected by trick or tricking, then they shouldn't eat it.
Note that Paul did NOT say that we can go ahead and participate in pagan ceremonies. If Paul were writing about Halloween, he wouldn't say that we have "freedom" to participate in these pagan ceremonies. He would say that we should use our best judgement if we bought and consumed candy used in this pagan ceremony.
Because I don't think you are.
Do you think anyone who takes their kids out trick or treating is worshipping Satan?
Obviously that's a matter of opinion.
Undoubtedly there are some, but probably the vast majority just don't know anything different or better. They're under a strong delusion. They either haven't been called by God to understand this truth or they're still caught up in the world and can't quite overcome culture and what-people-might-think on this issue.
I think I did a pretty good job of comparing apples to apples.
I never said that you were a bad guy. Although my post may have assumed that. I was generalizing. I understand why you would not like Holloween, but in all seriousness don't you see how all children's activities are being taken away. I feel sorry for children today for the most part. They can't even bring in treats for birthdays anymore. Christmas is being destroyed because some feel that it should not have any religious value at all. To me it is just scary that soon there will not be any holidays that will be celebrated except perhaps New Year's Eve because God forbid that the alcohol owners be neglected. That is seriously my reasoning behind my emotional posts.
I don't observe Christmas or Easter, either, because they, like Halloween, are absolutely not about Christ or Christianity. They are pagan rituals which have been morphed into Christian holidays, albeit through the best of intentions.
I absolutely agree that kids are being deprived of their childhood. This is why my wife and I left "metropolis" to raise our kids in the country where we will let them climb trees, ride ATV's, shoot guns (gasp), ride bikes without wearing helmets, plant trees and produce, get dirty, and, above all, learn about God with as few negative influences as possible.
Halloween is one of these negative influences and we are very happy that we have a fun alternative. Shutting ourselves in the house and pretending that nothing is going on outside would likely add an antisocial element to our kids' upbringing.
That much is obvious.
They haven't been called by God to understand it, and you're going to fix that.
I agree with the author that this falls more under our freedom in Christ and that we shouldn't do anything that makes somebody stumble.
We are very good friends with fellow believers who do not celebrate halloween. They know we allow our kids to dress up and go house to house with like minded friends, but because they're not comfortable with it we don't talk about it around their children. Following Paul's advice, it's their conscience we don't want to offend.
As the author says, and I believe he accurately summarizes Paul here: if you are not comfortable with doing this, then you should not. Emphasis mine.
I can't make God call anyone or understand. I can be God's servant and spread information about the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of Christ and God's plan as revealed through scripture. What they do with the information is up to them. You've seen that there are various reactions to this presentation. I can lay out what I believe to be a clear and convincing case and yet if God doesn't open up someones understanding it will just be so much gibberish to them.
Does the possibility exist that what you believe to be a clear and convincing case might acutally be gibberish?
Because they like candy corn, too.
In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord tells us:
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Following human reason, the human heart, instead of the word of God is what gets us into trouble. If we're going to decide right and wrong by "what's in our hearts" then we soon fall into sin. That's how homosexual clergy justify their actions. That's how adulterers justify their actions. That's how thieves justify their action. The refrain is always "You can't judge me, you don't know what's in my heart".
I agree with the author that this falls more under our freedom in Christ and that we shouldn't do anything that makes somebody stumble.
As pointed out in my previous post, the author is comparing apples to oranges. The people who practiced pagan things in Paul's time probably weren't too much different then people today. Their practices were already ancient. They probably had a bit of fun doing what they did. They probably looked forward to, involved their kids in it. They didn't think that they were doing anything wrong. Paul addressed this too:
1Co 10:19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
1Co 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
We KNOW that Halloween is associated with Satan to this very day. We KNOW. It boggles my mind how Christians can read passages above and not think that there's nothing wrong with observing a day that is known to be a high holy day for the Church of Satan. I take what Paul says literally. We cannot partake of the Lord's table AND the table of devils. Pick...celebrate God's holy days...or celebrate the Church of Satans holy day.
lol...that possibility certainly exists, but only when I stray from the word of God and start making up stuff. God is not the author of confusion.
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