Boy, if that was true, then Christianity would be more narrow minded and strict than the Wahabbie version of Shiite Islam.
Not so. Islamics emulate Mohammed who was a violent murderer. Christians are supposed to emulate Jesus who was a peaceful man. Bad comparison on your part.
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Somehow I don't see Jesus Christ getting upset about a holiday... I have the feeling he'd laugh and approve, just like he approved of a good party and celebrating at a boisterous wedding.
He sure got upset about the money changers in that temple. If they had been celebrating a pagan holiday in that temple, I think the reaction may have been similar...
He sure got upset about the money changers in that temple. If they had been celebrating a pagan holiday in that temple, I think the reaction may have been similar...
I think I found the communication problem.
YOu see Haloween ONLY as a pagan holiday, and insist that if we celebrate it, we are sinning.
I see Haloween as an extention of All Saints day and All Soul's day. I see it as a Catholic holiday that has been a cheerful Christian celebration for hundreds of years, but that has been reverting to it's pre christian roots over the last 15 years or so, mainly due to the secularization of our culture.
Rom 14:5-12 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
In other words, Christians who decline to celebrate a holiday because it is "pagan" are praising the Lord.
But those of us who use the holiday to encourage our children to "pretend" to be heroes, and to have fun visiting the neighbors in exchange in candy are also praising the Lord.
Now, if we celebrate Haloween by killing a black cat, burning down the local Baptist church, or cutting all the tires of the local cars, and consider that this is the only way to celebrate Haloween, then I would agree with you.