If love of halloween (or fear of standing up to the social pressure to celebrate it) is part of a religious belief system, first have the brains to understand the fact, and then just own it. Don’t pretend it’s not a religion.
How weak is it, that it can’t be claimed openly?
If your belief system is so weak, walk away from it.
Finally, worshipping the dead is not of God. If it’s not of God, then what can you say of it?
The problem you have is that once you go down that road, you discover you've undermined the observance of other common and fun holidays. This will include, but not be limited to, Christmas and Easter.
Tread carefully.
Rev 8:2-3 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints ...
WE sinners also know from Jude and Daniel, that demons and devils wrestle with the angels for the souls of the deceased from the moment of earthly death:
Jude 9:
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (that is, St. Michael prayed for intercession )
Daniel 10:13:
The prince of the kingdom of Persia [a demon] withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained...
Catholic faith or no, the Universal Truth is that The Almighty's time is not linear.
Catholic prayers for those in Purgatory are no less significant than Protestant prayers for someone's health or marriage or children, or justice for a deceased loved one. A prayer before or after the fact really doesn't matter; either are just as capable of being answered because The Almighty hears all prayer submitted in the name of Jesus.
Romans 8:38-9 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nobody is worshipping the dead. It’s a harmless holiday where children mooch candy and play make-believe. God’s Kingdom is in no danger from a 5-year-old pirate.
Put down the Cotton Mather and let people have some fun.
You are brave. I’ll give you that.
We are both ‘fools for God’.
Now then...
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Just so happens that EVERY FREAKING ELECTION this rises up at the absolute worst time — patriots rarely make the time for proper deliberation regarding Halloween.
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However, since I can write off-line and my internet time is limited each month, now I have the time to address it properly.
Some diatribes you’ve been writing. Where is the scripture to back it up?
Or are there modern prophesies?
“Don’t pretend it’s not a religion.”
Are you certain that a jack-o-lantern is devil worship?
I hope not. You would be wrong.
Are you certain that a devil costume is devil worship?
You probably do, right?
What are people thinking handing candy to a kid in a devil costume?
“Cute kid. I’m glad we are enjoying this neighborly bond.”
No, can’t be that.
No — they are thinking to themselves, “Oh Lord of Darkness, I am thy servant!”
Sure. That’s just the kind of people we are.
And the kid knows it too. So the kid will grow up and become a satanist.
Hardly.
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The kids in the boring neighborhoods are the ones you better keep an eye on. The kids who look at a neighbor’s house and can only assume the worst. There is no widely practiced national tradition during Christmas or Easter to visit your neighbor.
Even Thanksgiving is ‘family time’. A big travel day in fact — away from neighbors.
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Halloween is the most neighborly tradition we have. And it is under seige by religious ‘scholars’.
And the great thing about the tradition is that even poor people can buy candy.
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We are so isolated from each other, it’s sick. And the more boring a child’s life is the more tempted that child will be to join up with real witches, especially a lot of preachers’ kids who are stuck in the public school ‘cyst-em’.
[I hate that word, ‘cyst-em’.]
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I eat eggs. Hm ... might be because I subconsciously worship of the Easter Bunny.
FRiend, you think you have the answers. But you are masking insults with what?
“If your belief ‘cyst-em’ is so weak, walk away from it.”
You have NO idea how strong my beliefs are. Mainly because I don’t rely on a ‘cyst-em’. I don’t rely on a theology book.
Why?
Jesus said that God’s way is so simple that a child can understand it. But it vexes the learned. [Paraphrase.]
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Evil in the Churches
I have traced back my pathway of sin. Guess where it was rooted?
My spiritual problems are mainly due to leftist policies that suppressed the economy and the natural desire for wealth. And without wealth a man is most likely a fool to get married in this nation.
So poor and unwed. In my 50s now. A real ‘witch’s brew’ for sin, ‘aint it?
I believed that love of money is the root of all evil. I heard a televangelist say that when I was young. I found it in the Holy Book.
I got so mixed up that I enjoyed the Krokus song, “Eat the Rich.”
It seemed ‘crusade-like’ even though I myself had no intention of stealing or killing. But it was something to look forward to witnessing one day. Robin Hood fascinated me too. So you could imagine how that went.
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My problems and ALL of our nation’s problems are rooted in GREEDY ministers who wanted to shame people into larger donations:
[Such as, ‘Rich man and the eye of the needle’.]
And now innocent ministers are brainwashed into believing the same misinterpretations. AND they are educated in a cesspool known as ‘higher’ learning rather than being mentored properly.
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And all of that greed made it easy for college professors to belittle religion. Greed was the undoing of the Catholic orthodoxy as well. [I never said the love of money is always good — especially the LUST of money.]
Our nation would be even more blessed if we sought after leaders of faith rather than ministers educated in a scholarly way.
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Too much book learning and not enough belief in the supernatural — that is rebellion against Jesus Himself, and rebellion is the sin of witchcraft!
Jesus insulted scribes. He felt contempt for them as much as the Pharisees.
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The Churches’ Secret Problem with Halloween
Some religions like to ‘stand out’ as ‘morally superior’ to the point that their theology denounces American traditions. They need to justify their own uniqueness so that donations flow into their baskets rather than the church next door.
Halloween is the closest thing kids come to understanding spiritual evil.
It’s the annual wake-up call. Some people will always take it too far. But at least it’s in a box, far better contained. And an obedient child with decent parents will never do anything wrong. [If there were such a child.]
But if we ignore evil to the point that no one ever dares put on a devil costume, then we are completely blinded as a nation.
Kids are curious about the supernatural. What do churches offer?
Jesus raised the dead. And so did Peter.
That is the foundation of our growing faith — the supernatural. And since our religious leaders have strayed so far from that foundation they fear what they cannot compete with.
You realize that Christmas was originally a pagan celebration before Constantine, wisely, turned it into a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ? How's that worked out? Very well, I say.
Christians engaging in trunk or treat and reaching out with the gospel are doing the same thing -- using a secular and/or pagan celebration to reach kids with the gospel. Only someone ultra legalistic would have a problem with that.
It's your beliefs that are weak if you don't think Christians can wisely turn a secular/pagan celebration into an opportunity to preach the gospel. What are you afraid of?
we dont “worship the dead”, we MOCK it with stupid Halloween crap. C’mon dude, there is a big difference here..