"First, we should recognize that Halloween is indeed rooted in the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain (sah-ween).The Druids believed that on the eve of Samhain the veil between the present world and the world beyond was pierced, releasing demons, witches, and hobgoblins en masse to harass the living. In order to make themselves immune from attack, people disguised themselves as witches, devils, and ghouls; attempted to ward off evil spirits by carving grotesque faces on gourds illuminated with candles; and placated the spirits with a variety of treats.
Furthermore, we can learn a lot from how the early Christians responded to Halloween. October 31st, the eve prior to All Saints Day was designated as a spiritually edifying holiday (holy day) on which to proclaim the supremacy of the gospel over the superstition of ghosts. Thus, "All Hallows Eve", from which the word Halloween is derived, was an attempt on the part of Christianity to overwhelm the tradition of ghouls with the truth of the gospel."
All right, here we go. Everybody's got quirks. You know, the one thing that makes an otherwise seemingly normal person seem a little different. Well mine is halloween alternatives. DISCLAIMER: Please realize that from here on out I am simply spouting off my opinions. This is my blog and I am allowed to do that. I AM NOT questioning anyones faith or judging anyone. Perhaps this is just a cry for help to be pointed on the right path to understanding. But I don't think so.
I'm going to jump right in by saying halloween as it is popularly celebrated is WRONG. Dressing up as demons and witches as the pagans did in their fear of the unknown is not what a christian should do. I'm sorry, there are definites. Especially for christians. We know that they were unnecessarily afraid of what the Druid leaders taught them. We now have courage in the truth of Christ and the gospels.Ok, for sake of argument, become all things to all men in order to witness to them. Should I become an adulterer to reach adulterers? Should I become an alcoholic to reach alcoholics? Should I commit a crime and be sent to jail to reach prisoners?
How about if I want to reach out to adulterers so I have an affair with another woman. But I'm doing it to attract other adulterers and show them I know where they're coming from and that I care about them. I'm someone they can relate to. So it's an alternative to adultery because I'm doing all the things an adulterer does, but I'm doing it to teach them about Christ.
Hank's paragraph two says that the early christians responded to October 31st (All Hallows Eve or halloween) by designating it as a spiritually edifying holiday or "holy day".
The American Heritage Dictionary defines edify this way;
To instruct or enlighten so as to encourage intellectual, moral, spiritual improvement.I am not making this up. To edify does not mean to dress up. It means to lift up and build up. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to reach others for Christ at this time. This would actually be a good oppurtunity to point out the differences between what God teaches and what tradition teaches. But let's do that by being different. When Paul said be all things, he meant be everything they need. Be with them, be their friend, laugh with them, live with them. But be different. And when you have their trust, be the salt and the light. As Roebin preaches, the way you live your christian life day in and day out is what people see and think of us. That is how you earn their trust. If they see christians commiting adultery they'll think it's ok. If they see christians participating in a pagan ceremony paying off demons and witches with candy they'll think that's ok too.
So. There it is. The biggie. The belief that is almost as bad as the one that Jonna and I have that vacation bible school is "ob the deb'l". As Bobby Bouchier's Momma would say.
But, seriously, this is not like a deal breaker for attending a church for Jonna and me. And I certainly hope it doesn't affect the friendship of some people we are getting to know. This is just a personal view that I had to get off my chest. And a blog is the perfect place to do it.
But, hey, who's that throwing rocks at my pretty glass house???
4 comments:
Oh, I know. Didn't you catch the glass house reference at the end?
That's all you got? I thought I'd get hammered.
Hey, no 'fense taken, dude. I got enough weird beliefs of mine own to not take exception to anyone else's. People gots to follow their own personal convictions. For you, the mandate to "be not conformed to the world" in this issue takes precedence.
My personal take on the matter is complicated. First of all, Christians know the pagan meaning and origins of Halloween. Modern day pagans know the original pagan meaning of Halloween (and it's significantly different than the Samhain they currently observe, but that's a lengthy other posting).
Joe Schmoe unchurched and undecided--probably not that educated on it, and probably could care less. What Joe Schmoe unchurched knows is his kid is going to scream like a blond in a Freddy Krueger movie if he doesn't take said kid out in a Disney princess costume where she can be admired and complimented, and pick up a boatload of candy.
So when a church offers a convenient place where his kid will get to show off her costume, get lots of candy, be safe and not get scared by someone dripping fake blood, he's going to be all over it. When he gets there, his kid has a ball, the "church people" are friendly and not snobby. There's a hayride with an evangelical skit at the end of it.
At worst, I'm thinking he's going to think "If I brought my kid here on Sunday mornings, I could have some frickin' peace for an hour or two," and the kid gets the chance to learn about salvation. In that sitch, the people putting on the "alternative" view it as following their conviction to not pass up an opportunity to seek and save the lost.
Just puttin' that out there.
I remember one time Ryan painted up jenna's face like a skeleton and it scared her so bad she started crying and all her make ran. lol
I too think that we should be different as christians and not participate in the halloween thing at all. don't try and make it better by doing an alternative just completely ignore it.
But then again, a lot of celebrations come from pagan origins...like valentines day.
but i do agree with you!
Valentine's Day???!!!!
jt
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