aahhhh.....the Holy Days...oops...I mean Holidays!
I know, I know...just from the Title of my Post, you must know already what a killjoy I am, right ?
Well, truthfully...I hope that by shedding some light on this area, I would actually be doing the Father's will (glorifying Him) and thus bringing true joy to the party, instead of some facsimile that the world has sold you !
So.....what willyou be doing for 'Halloween'? Are you one of those bold (or uneducated?) enough to say, "I'm a Christian, and I don't see what the big deal is.....Halloween is 'what you make it', right?" At least these have an out...ignorance. Then there are the Christians who say, "We don't really do 'Halloween'.....our Church has a "Fall Festival". Some others call this a "Harvest Service", and yet others a "Hallelujah Festival". Well.....ignorance...no, I already used that once...anyway these are some of the worst. Who do you think you are kidding? This is pragmatism at its worst. Then there is the "Reformed (ing) Crowd" (O.K., I'm preaching to the choir!), who will be calling theirs 'Reformers Day' or 'Protestant's Day' or something like that, and singing the old chorus that goes, "95 theses nailed to the wall, 95 theses nailed, take one down, pass it around, 95 theses nai....." Well, you get my drift #:-)
(1) First group: So you're going to go to church on Sunday and say that you trust in God, you'll read the Holy Bible that you are so sure is God's Word to us (you know, the Book that says that those having to do with familiar spirits or sorcery, witchcraft, or the like should be put to death), and then on Monday dress your kids up like ghouls and goblins, witches and warlocks, and say, "Lighten up, it's harmless fun". By the way, that goes for any other sweet little costume (princess, cowboy, ballerina, clown, or Spiderman, etc.) either! I guess you aren't so sure about that "Word" after all, are you?
(2) Second group: Okay...you Fall Festival folks: I am not known for my subtlety, so here goes: You are guilty of instituting "traditions of men" of your own making. I know, you'll say, " We can reach more people for the Lord this way, especially the young people", won't you? Get real, this is pragmatism at its worst. What's next? We will have a Harvest Festival at the local First Baptist (of course, this is an evangelistic outreach program for young people.....OH PLEASE!!) and the next thing you know there will be a "Mardi Gras Mania" Sunday night, lest we loose anybody to that perverted celebration either!! Churches using "Halleluyah Festival" need to know what the word 'halleluyah' means. It means "praise to Yah", or "praise God". I have been to a few, and saw little praise directed heavenward. Most of what I saw was games and folly. They turned church out on Sunday night to have that.
(3) Third group: The intentions are good, but we are doing close to the same thing. Yes, I have preached on Halloween Sunday about Martin Luther and the protestant reformation. I do not do that now. I will be preaching in John 10, because I finished John 9 last Sunday night. Fellow reformING Christians, let us not feel that we must provide a "religious" substitute for every pagan holiday that hurtles down the humanistic highway. Those of us in this group should be setting an example for non-believers, and "believers" in groups 1 and 2.
To the Christian, this October 31st should only be one thing.....Monday! Let us not conform to the world in trying to get worldly people to conform to Christ. Let us show them the Christ in us, preach the Word, and pray that God blesses His Word!
May Monday find you dwelling on the things of God instead of perpetuating this pagan principle one more year.
No candy here kids,
The Dogpreacher
P.S. As for that "trick" business, MY GOD is bigger than your god. So there!!!
Well, truthfully...I hope that by shedding some light on this area, I would actually be doing the Father's will (glorifying Him) and thus bringing true joy to the party, instead of some facsimile that the world has sold you !
So.....what willyou be doing for 'Halloween'? Are you one of those bold (or uneducated?) enough to say, "I'm a Christian, and I don't see what the big deal is.....Halloween is 'what you make it', right?" At least these have an out...ignorance. Then there are the Christians who say, "We don't really do 'Halloween'.....our Church has a "Fall Festival". Some others call this a "Harvest Service", and yet others a "Hallelujah Festival". Well.....ignorance...no, I already used that once...anyway these are some of the worst. Who do you think you are kidding? This is pragmatism at its worst. Then there is the "Reformed (ing) Crowd" (O.K., I'm preaching to the choir!), who will be calling theirs 'Reformers Day' or 'Protestant's Day' or something like that, and singing the old chorus that goes, "95 theses nailed to the wall, 95 theses nailed, take one down, pass it around, 95 theses nai....." Well, you get my drift #:-)
(1) First group: So you're going to go to church on Sunday and say that you trust in God, you'll read the Holy Bible that you are so sure is God's Word to us (you know, the Book that says that those having to do with familiar spirits or sorcery, witchcraft, or the like should be put to death), and then on Monday dress your kids up like ghouls and goblins, witches and warlocks, and say, "Lighten up, it's harmless fun". By the way, that goes for any other sweet little costume (princess, cowboy, ballerina, clown, or Spiderman, etc.) either! I guess you aren't so sure about that "Word" after all, are you?
(2) Second group: Okay...you Fall Festival folks: I am not known for my subtlety, so here goes: You are guilty of instituting "traditions of men" of your own making. I know, you'll say, " We can reach more people for the Lord this way, especially the young people", won't you? Get real, this is pragmatism at its worst. What's next? We will have a Harvest Festival at the local First Baptist (of course, this is an evangelistic outreach program for young people.....OH PLEASE!!) and the next thing you know there will be a "Mardi Gras Mania" Sunday night, lest we loose anybody to that perverted celebration either!! Churches using "Halleluyah Festival" need to know what the word 'halleluyah' means. It means "praise to Yah", or "praise God". I have been to a few, and saw little praise directed heavenward. Most of what I saw was games and folly. They turned church out on Sunday night to have that.
(3) Third group: The intentions are good, but we are doing close to the same thing. Yes, I have preached on Halloween Sunday about Martin Luther and the protestant reformation. I do not do that now. I will be preaching in John 10, because I finished John 9 last Sunday night. Fellow reformING Christians, let us not feel that we must provide a "religious" substitute for every pagan holiday that hurtles down the humanistic highway. Those of us in this group should be setting an example for non-believers, and "believers" in groups 1 and 2.
To the Christian, this October 31st should only be one thing.....Monday! Let us not conform to the world in trying to get worldly people to conform to Christ. Let us show them the Christ in us, preach the Word, and pray that God blesses His Word!
May Monday find you dwelling on the things of God instead of perpetuating this pagan principle one more year.
No candy here kids,
The Dogpreacher
P.S. As for that "trick" business, MY GOD is bigger than your god. So there!!!
posted by dogpreacher | 10:47 AM
16 Comments:
I'm excited
Hey brother I just found your blog and love it! I'll be back for "the rest of the story"!
In Him -Jacob
I just saw your blog description. Forehead like Ezekiel. That's funny.
Now do one from the Song of Solomon.
Your Reformation Day argument leaves a little to be desired.
I will be sitting down with my kids and telling them the story of Luther and the Protestant Reformation. We can't change the fact that this is the day that Luther nailed his Theses to the Castle Church door.
And I also think that you are a little legalistic on something that is not addressd in Scripture.
No, my kids will not be going trick-or-treating. But I will be giving candy to those who happen to come by the house. And I will give them a tract as well. If their parents are with them they will be invited to church.
As for the Fall Festivals, I agree that they are poor attempts at doing what the world can do better. The Church is not God's amusement park. It is the Bride of Christ, chosen to be separate from the world and to spread the Gospel of the glory of God.
1 out of 3. If this were baseball I'd be considered pretty good.
Hey Doxo:
I think you are right in that it (the "reformation" argument)comes up a little short. I SHOULD have been clearer, but was in a hurry.
What you are talking about doing w/your kids is not what I was referring to in #3. I was referring to those who (like I used to do) would show the "Halloween keepers/Fall Festival" types that I was more in line with righteousness/holiness by MY 'keeping' of "Reformation Day" (Now THAT is legalistic).
Obviously there is nothing wrong (and a lot right) about reminding our children about our Church History.
BUT...how many OTHER times a year do we 'memorialize' other Church history events?
And of all people, Doxo, I'm a little surprised you would think the scriptures silent on this issue.
More later,
The DOGpreacher
Why would it surprise you that I think the Scriptures are silent on the issue of Halloween?
Because the scriptures are definitely not silent about Christians taking part in pagan rituals, and God forbid that we should "marry" them to our faith in ANY way, shape or form.
The word 'Halloween' doesn't have to appear in Holy writ for the ritual itself to be warned against.
grateful for grace,
The DOGpreacher
As I once said on my blog, I long for your contributions on these subjects. I also said that they should come from diligent study of the scriptures (solid exegetical work), NOT subjective whimsy. You might think that a little haughty, picky, or...whatever, but that is how I am with the 'Word of God'!
Respectfully, Bhedr, you will find NO ONE who can biblically justify the "marrying" of pagan things with Godly things. You WILL find those (and they will probably be in the MAJORITY) who will justify it subjectively, which in essence means they have set THEMSELVES up as the final arbiter of truth.....NOT the WORD of GOD!
I will go to check them out when I have time tomorrow, as I ALWAYS do my homework. I will have a critique on them Monday.
In Christ,
The DOGpreacher
Perhaps the point of this is: When is Jesus' church going to set itself apart from the world? When will followers of Christ by their words and actions show that they are not a part of this world?
There's this old guy, Paul, who once wrote:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2(ESV)
Very well said, Sparks, your commentary was timely.
I firmly believe that as we are made PERFECT (MATURE) in Him, we should see these 'things' for what they truly are. We are to be a peculiar people, set aside unto Him.
Thanks for standing up to resist worldly conformation.
Your Brother,
The DOGpreacher
A good post and a good point. We went with reminding the girls about Martin Luther, the 'man who put the notice on the church door that we didn't have to pay to go heaven' as my four year old put it.
When they're older, as part of our home-education, we might make more of a deal of the day, from an educational standpoint, but I stress, as I hope I made clear on my blog, this is not 'an alternative to Halloween'. It happened on this day is all.
In the UK, we spend as much time talking about the Catholic plot to blow up parliament, which of course leads on to talking about King James, which of course leads on to Bible translation.
Christians, as you rightly point out, have no need to spend the year referencing secular or heathen festivals and finding ways to join in. We have a rich enough heritage of our own to celebrate - by the Grace of God.
Thanks for dropping by, Libbie!
As I said in one of the responses on this thread, our church history is something we definitely should be teaching our children. I had a full monday serving the Lord without a hint of 'Halloween' 'round the house, and it was quite a fine day.
BTW every one....if you haven't checked out "Libbie's" blog, you're missing out. She is one fine thinker and writer. Look into her past months archives for some real gems!
Halloween free,
The DOGpreacher
I'll play devil's advocate with you. Why not?
I don't think you've proved everything you need to prove yet in order to condemn Halloween.
:)
You have to do more than just link it to pagan practices in origin. You have to be able to say that what is done right now by families in the USA in the 21st century is paganistic in practice. Do you see the distinction?
I grew up being told that church steeples, for example, were evil because they find their origin in pagan worship as fallic symbols. Hogwash. I'm not buying. If we're going to play that game, then let's quit being syncretistic by adopting the world's use of pagan deities in naming the planets, the days of the week, the months of the year, so on and so forth. I doubt you will accuse us of promoting Sun worship because we have our worship scheduled on "Sunday" for example.
No, I think you have to do more than demonstrate Halloween's pagan origin. You'll have to demonstrate that allowing your kid to dress up like Spiderman and ask for candy at the downtown businesses once a year is condemned in Scripture.
How's that? (Hey, you said you wanted some differing perspectives.)
How's That ?
Well...it sounds typical of one who might say, "Hey, leave my (our) traditions alone", and then justify it by cloaking it in Christianity, OR, by saying that it is not the same now as it was at its 'origin'.
Why would I need to demonstrate more than it's pagan origin? Has God taken things of pagan origin & cleansed them for our neutral fun today? Has God washed & approved a
holiday that was recognized world-wide (originally) as an occultic celebration at worst, and a time when young hoodlums went door to door for food (the treat) so that they wouldnt harm (the trick) the people or their property (at best). Kind of sounds like the 'mafia' putting the 'arm' on the local businesses, doesn't it.
I am amazed at how many people who are "reformed" concerning soteriology, argue FOR certain 'holidays'! They line up with Luther, Calvin, Edwards, The Puritans, Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, etc., and yet disagree with most of them on this issue.
Many of those have written concerning certain holidays, saying that we should have nothing to do with them, BECAUSE of their pagan/heathen origin.
Go ahead...play the games they (non-believers), celebrate the days that they celebrate, BE like them in such things, then go witness to them, and tell them how different, and set aside to the Lord you are as a Christian. Then listen to them say.....hhmmm...from what I've seen, I thought you were just like us!#:-( 1Th 5:22
P.S. I haven't even started on Christmas/Easter yet!#:~)
grateful for grace,
The DOGpreacher
For the record, my Uncle Chuck was not adamantly opposed to the celebration of Christmas like, say, Pink was.
But come on! Pink was a nut! The guy didn't even go to church the last few years of his life. (smile)
Actually...there is a quote from 'Chuck' where he DOES speak against Christmass, and it is easily accesible...anyway...
You said: "You have yet to make the case...
(1)That Halloween is morally wrong
(2)That the world perceives it as morally wrong."
My answer to #1 is two-fold:
I need not prove this at all BEYOND what scripture does. Jeremiah 10:2-5 tells them (Israel) not to 'learn the way of the heathen', and God says, "the customs of the people are VAIN...", and then begins to describe what can only sound eerily like someone cutting down a 'christmas tree', putting it up, and decorating it. This custom was forbidden by God because it was VAIN. I think it is more than fair to say that these holidays we are referring to are definitely VAIN. I wouldn't ask anyone to tell me they are a much better servant of Christ because of ANY of these holidays, lest I encourage them to lie.
Is this 'vanity' stuff morally wrong? Well, one could argue that it violates the 1st, or 2nd (or both) commandments...but there is no need to. God said do not do these vain customs of the heathen (lovers of the world, not God). That should be good enough.
My answer to #2:
I do not need to prove that the world perceives Halloween as immoral. Why WOULD a largely unregenerate world perceive this holiday immoral.
If this #2 was a criterion for abstinence, I guess...hmmm...it would be like a LOT of Churches today, where majority opinion takes precedence in place of God's Word. To sum it up, I would have to say (at the very least) that IMO, Paul might say, "all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient".
I think Dr. Mohler did a fine job looking at this:
Christianity and the Dark Side: What About Halloween?
Monday, October 31, 2005
Over a hundred years ago, the great Dutch theologian Hermann Bavinck predicted that the 20th century would "witness a gigantic conflict of spirits." His prediction turned out to be an understatement, and this great conflict continues into the 21st century.
The issue of Halloween presses itself annually upon the Christian conscience. Acutely aware of dangers new and old, many Christian parents choose to withdraw their children from the holiday altogether. Others choose to follow a strategic battle plan for engagement with the holiday. Still others have gone further, seeking to convert Halloween into an evangelistic opportunity. Is Halloween really that significant?
Well, Halloween is a big deal in the marketplace, surpassed only by Christmas in terms of economic activity. According to David J. Skal, "Precise figures are difficult to determine, but the annual economic impact of Halloween is now somewhere between 4 billion and 6 billion dollars depending on the number and kinds of industries one includes in the calculations."
Furthermore, historian Nicholas Rogers claims that "Halloween is currently the second most important party night in North America. In terms of its retail potential, it is second only to Christmas. This commercialism fortifies its significance as a time of public license, a custom-designed opportunity to have a blast. Regardless of its spiritual complications, Halloween is big business."
Rogers and Skal have each produced books dealing with the origin and significance of Halloween. Nicholas Rogers is author of Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Professor of History at York University in Canada, Rogers has written a celebration of Halloween as a transgressive holiday that allows the bizarre and elements from the dark side to enter the mainstream. Skal, a specialist on the culture of Hollywood, has written Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. Skal's approach is more dispassionate and focused on entertainment, looking at the cultural impact of Halloween on the rise of horror movies and the nation's fascination with violence.
The pagan roots of Halloween are well documented. The holiday is rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which came at summer's end. As Rogers explains, "Paired with the feast of Beltane, which celebrated the life-generating powers of the sun, Samhain beckoned to winter and the dark nights ahead." Scholars dispute whether Samhain was celebrated as a festival of the dead, but its pagan roots are indisputable. Questions of human and animal sacrifices and various occultic sexual practices continue as issues of debate, but the reality of the celebration as an occultic festival focused on the changing of seasons undoubtedly involved practices pointing to winter as a season of death.
As Rogers comments: "In fact, the pagan origins of Halloween generally flow not from this sacrificial evidence, but from a different set of symbolic practices. These revolve around the notion of Samhain as a festival of the dead and as a time of supernatural intensity heralding the onset of winter.
How should Christians respond to this pagan background? Harold L. Myra of Christianity Today argues that these pagan roots were well known to Christians of the past. "More than a thousand years ago Christians confronted pagan rites appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. Halloween's unsavory beginnings preceded Christ's birth when the druids, in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer with sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic year and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves."
Thus, the custom of wearing costumes, especially costumes imitating evil spirits, is rooted in the Celtic pagan culture. As Myra summarizes, "Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan rites and superstitions."
The complications of Halloween go far beyond its pagan roots, however. In modern culture, Halloween has become not only a commercial holiday, but a season of cultural fascination with evil and the demonic. Even as the society has pressed the limits on issues such as sexuality, the culture's confrontation with the "dark side" has also pushed far beyond boundaries honored in the past.
As David J. Skal makes clear, the modern concept of Halloween is inseparable from the portrayal of the holiday presented by Hollywood. As Skal comments, "The Halloween machine turns the world upside down. One's identity can be discarded with impunity. Men dress as women, and vise versa. Authority can be mocked and circumvented, and, most important, graves open and the departed return."
This is the kind of material that keeps Hollywood in business. "Few holidays have a cinematic potential that equals Halloween's," comments Skal. "Visually, the subject is unparalleled, if only considered in terms of costume design and art direction. Dramatically, Halloween's ancient roots evoke dark and melodramatic themes, ripe for transformation into film's language of shadow and light."
But television's "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (which debuted in 1966) has given way to Hollywood's "Halloween" series and the rise of violent "slasher" films. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff have been replaced by Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger.
This fascination with the occult comes as America has been sliding into post-Christian secularism. While the courts remove all theistic references from America's public square, the void is being filled with a pervasive fascination with evil, paganism, and new forms of occultism.
In addition to all this, Halloween has become downright dangerous in many neighborhoods. Scares about razor blades hidden in apples and poisoned candy have spread across the nation in recurring cycles. For most parents, the greater fear is the encounter with occultic symbols and the society's fascination with moral darkness.
For this reason, many families withdraw from the holiday completely. Their children do not go trick-or-treating, they wear no costumes, and attend no parties related to the holiday. Some churches have organized alternative festivals, capitalizing on the holiday opportunity, but turning the event away from pagan roots and the fascination with evil spirits. For others, the holiday presents no special challenges at all.
These Christians argue that the pagan roots of Halloween are no more significant than the pagan origins of Christmas and other church festivals. Without doubt, the church has progressively Christianized the calendar, seizing secular and pagan holidays as opportunities for Christian witness and celebration. Anderson M. Rearick, III argues that Christians should not surrender the holiday. As he relates, "I am reluctant to give up what was one of the highlights of my childhood calendar to the Great Imposter and Chief of Liars for no reason except that some of his servants claim it as his."
Nevertheless, the issue is a bit more complicated than that. While affirming that make-believe and imagination are part and parcel of God's gift of imagination, Christians should still be very concerned about the focus of that imagination and creativity. Arguing against Halloween is not equivalent to arguing against Christmas. The old church festival of "All Hallow's Eve" is by no means as universally understood among Christians as the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas.
Christian parents should make careful decisions based on a biblically-informed Christian conscience. Some Halloween practices are clearly out of bounds. Others may be strategically transformed, but this takes hard work and may meet with mixed success.
The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn."
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God's Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ's church on earth. Let's put the dark side on the defensive.
James...I do hope you were joking about Pink. If not, I believe you have been fed incorrect data. Not only was your statement concerning him totally in error, but that actual statement was written by a man who wrote Pink's biography. THEN many years later, the same writer wrote a much different version, correcting mistakes he made. I truly respect him for that. He was no novice. His name is Ian H. Murray.
Pink's commentary on the 'Gospel of John' is incomparable, and his 'Exposition of Hebrews' is a must read. These are as good as it gets, BECAUSE of how incredible his 'OT Gleanings' were.
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