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Why do some Christian Churches Celebrate Halloween???

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
I don't know if you have kids but did they ever dress up to pretend? That's just what my kids did yesterday, as they dress up many days!
 

TaliOrlando

New Member
My daughter plays alot too!! lol... she doesnt dress up every day in costumes to day that I would be lying. Now I truly respect your opinion...and you are a great sister in Christ just wanted to say that :thumbsup: :1_grouphug: .

I get very upset that the world changes churches. Now and days Pastors dont preach the kingdom because the Truth hurts and the Truth doesnt attract new members either. Too many Pastors wooried about Offerings and tithes instead of just understanding that GOD is awesome and he always supplies. Too many pastors afraid to preach the Truth about Sin, Too many sugar coat things.

As a country we as Christians have a responsibility and its to let Jesus shine through us at all times. It just upsets me when I visit churches and it seems as if Pastor are afraid to call sin for what it is... Sin. There is no gray area... there is no little white lie... there is not gray area.. Sin is Sin... and because of Pastors who allow such non-sence to go on their church there are way to many Christians who are ready to eat meat and are still in baby food.
 

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
OH, believe me, I SO agree with you on that. My pastor has the gift of prohesy - he SO tells it like it is and sometimes will even come across as a bit brash because when something is black and white, there IS no grey. We've had people stand up and walk out during a particularly tough sermon, There are also general principles for so many things that we need to make sure that we are in God's will when we live. I respect those of you who do not wish to 'do' Halloween - I honestly really wish the holiday could be outlawed because of all of the mischeif that goes on under the guise of 'fun' (and I'm ever so grateful we live in a village where the police are out with such presence on Halloween that even *I* had a hard time getting into the neighborhood last night after picking up the kids from school). However, I do not see dressing up and trick-or-treating as a sin, or even harmful to my kids. They DO know of the darker side of what some people do on the day but they also know that God is greater than the darkness and we have nothing to fear.
 

EdSutton

New Member
rbell said:
It sounds like most folks here are doing this in their churches. So what's the problem?
In a word - "Legalism"!

But I guess in some minds, we would have been better off at our church last evening if our members had all gone out to a movie or something (No- wait! Can't do that either, 'cause you don't know what is playing on the other screens- there might even be a PG (that stands for 'Pretty Good' maybe?? :confused: ), PG-13, and/or R ratings on others, than the one you were viewing!) rather than gathered at our church to have something called "Trunk of Treats", to provide a safe supervised environment for kids to attend, (and get the names of the parents to follow up with), provide food and snacks inside (Not candy :rolleyes:), and instead let the tykes roam semi-freely in an urban environment. BTW, as our church is located out in the rural are a bit, some adult had to accompany them, basically. And FTR, my wife and I have no children. Or maybe we should have just "pretended" we weren't home, locked the doors, and turned off the lights, hid in the dark and turned off the TV or radio when we heard a car coming up our drivew...

It's called being "honest", I think. :rolleyes:

Ed
 
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SBCPreacher

Active Member
Site Supporter
Just thought I'd toss in my 2 cents worth.

As a pastor, I encouraged my church not to let or encourage their children and (grandchildren) to "pretend" to be something that is evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, "Abstain from every form of evil." (NKJV) I pointed out that I believe it would not please God to pretend to be what God calls evil. That would not be wise.

Cinderella is not evil. Superman is not evil. A black cat is not evil. A mouse is not evil. (Just some of the costumes I saw last night.) And, having fun is not evil!!

I'm glad that the children go trick-or-treating in my neighborhood. I was also glad to see parents walking with their small children. We had the youth of our church over last night for hot dogs, and they passed out candy bags with gospel tracts to every kid, even the ones with evil costumes. We prayed that God's would do great things through His Word.
 
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Linda64

New Member
For those who think Halloween is not evil or does not have occultic roots, go to the following link and check out the articles on Halloween. Children need to be taught the history of Halloween and its occultic roots.

http://logosresourcepages.org/HalloweenBook/history.htm

Halloween History

He caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 2 Chronicles 33:6

Our Pilgrim forefathers knew well of Halloween's occult roots. In fact they banned celebrating Halloween in America. Halloween was not celebrated in this country until 1845. At that time multiplied thousands of Irish emigrants flooded into New York because of the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-46. They brought with them an old Druid Holiday they called Halloween. Gradually celebrating this day spread throughout the rest of the country.

To understand Halloween's roots better we need to go back further into history and take a look at the Druids and the Celtic people. The Druids were the pagan priests of the Celts. They were idolaters, occult practitioners and witches of sorts. Let’s begin with the information found in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Halloween and its former attendant ceremonies long antedate Christianity. The two chief characteristics of ancient Halloween were the lighting of bonfires and the belief that of all nights in the year this is the one during which ghosts and witches are most likely to wander abroad. Now on or about the 1st of November the Druids held their great autumn festival and lighted fires in honor of the Sun-god in thanksgiving of the harvest. Further, it was a Druidic belief that on the eve of this festival Saman, lord of death, called together the wicked souls that within the past twelve months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. Thus it is clear that the main celebration of Halloween was purely Druidical, and this is further proved by the fact that in parts of Ireland the 31st of October was, and even still is, known as Oidhche Shamhna, "Vigil of Saman." On the Druidic ceremonies were grafted some of the characteristics ! of the Roman festival in honor of Pamona held about the 1st of November…

Depending on your source material, the Druid Lord of Death and evil spirits was called Saman, Shamhan, Samana, Shamhain or Samhain. I have received numerous letters and e-mail from witches telling me there was no such Druid god. Yet, in the source material that I have used, (see the above quote), such as the historic 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, it identifies the Druid Lord of Death as Saman and his holiday named after him as Oidhche Shamhna, translated "Vigil of Saman." Other reliable sources call his "holiday" "The Vigil Samhain" (Shamhain is pronounced so-wein). I ask you, are the protests of the occult community an effort to "white wash" the truth about Saman and how they worshipped him in fiendish, bloody worship rituals? I believe that is probable.

Suffice it to say, at this point that the pagan worship day Samhain evolved into Halloween. But what of their Lord of Death? You probably have seen a modern day version of SAMAN without even knowing it. This pagan god was shown as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in his hand. He later came to be known as THE GRIM REAPER.

reaper.gif
 

Chemnitz

New Member
I am with SBCPreacher on this issue and I speak as a pastor myself.
Dressing up as a superhero, a mouse or any other animal and going around recieving candy from the neighbors and friends is not evil. I do not think dressing up as something scary is evil but I hesitate to condon it because it does give the appearance of evil.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
Chemnitz said:
I am with SBCPreacher on this issue and I speak as a pastor myself.
Dressing up as a superhero, a mouse or any other animal and going around recieving candy from the neighbors and friends is not evil. I do not think dressing up as something scary is evil but I hesitate to condon it because it does give the appearance of evil.

Why is participating in the Halloween festivities, such as wearing costumes, not evil? Is Halloween an evil holiday, a righteous holiday or are lukewarm on the subject?
 

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Chemnitz said:
I am with SBCPreacher on this issue and I speak as a pastor myself.
Dressing up as a superhero, a mouse or any other animal and going around recieving candy from the neighbors and friends is not evil. I do not think dressing up as something scary is evil but I hesitate to condon it because it does give the appearance of evil.

But I honestly do think the 3 eleven year olds that came to the door last night are pushing the limit. They were Playboy bunnies. ARG!!! What the ..... heck .... are parents thinking??? Yeah, I wouldn't let ANY of my daughters ever THINK of dressing like that!! This is what I'd like to do to their parents :BangHead: :tonofbricks:
 

TaliOrlando

New Member
SBCPreacher said:
Just thought I'd toss in my 2 cents worth.

As a pastor, I encouraged my church not to let or encourage their children and (grandchildren) to "pretend" to be something that is evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, "Abstain from every form of evil." (NKJV) I pointed out that I believe it would not please God to pretend to be what God calls evil. That would not be wise.

Cinderella is not evil. Superman is not evil. A black cat is not evil. A mouse is not evil. (Just some of the costumes I saw last night.) And, having fun is not evil!!

I'm glad that the children go trick-or-treating in my neighborhood. I was also glad to see parents walking with their small children. We had the youth of our church over last night for hot dogs, and they passed out candy bags with gospel tracts to every kid, even the ones with evil costumes. We prayed that God's would do great things through His Word.

God Bless Pastor!! Its an honor to even be writting to you because I respect all Pastors. You all have such a great deal of responsibility and now and days most members dont respect Pastors.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, "Abstain from every form of evil."

Above the word of God states Abstain from every form of evil, so if we as Christian now that Halloween has a background from the occult... if we allow our Children to be part of that Holiday are we abstaining from evil. God doesnt have to use Wordly tactics to save people. I just dont think he has to.....God doesnt substitute he renews... He is not substitute.. he is the Almighty I am...our Savior Jesus and he needs no assistance of the World to reach a soul. I believe to use an excuse as our kids can pass out tracts to every kid and even one with evil costumes.. its just an excuse.

If I just to preach to my olg gang member friends.. thats where God took me out of. Now If I just to preach to them, would hang out with them. Go to a club, while they are smoking weed, i am not smoking but getting high through second hand. I try and preach to them while I can.. however.. If I used that as an excuse to join in their sin.. I am only fooling myself.

God wants us to be his and his only. Yes we are redemmed by his precious blood and nothing can change that but we need to be carefull because in Galatians

GALATIANS 6
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
annsni said:
But I honestly do think the 3 eleven year olds that came to the door last night are pushing the limit. They were Playboy bunnies. ARG!!! What the ..... heck .... are parents thinking??? Yeah, I wouldn't let ANY of my daughters ever THINK of dressing like that!! This is what I'd like to do to their parents :BangHead: :tonofbricks:

What's the problem? They're just pretending to be Playboy bunnies ;)
 

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Rufus_1611 said:
What's the problem? They're just pretending to be Playboy bunnies ;)

Because they're pretending to be playboy bunnies ....... at 11 years old!! They were in the skimpy leotard, high heels, bunny ears and tails. I'm disgusted at Playboy Bunnies playing Playboy Bunnies!!
 

Chemnitz

New Member
Rufus_1611 said:
Why is participating in the Halloween festivities, such as wearing costumes, not evil? Is Halloween an evil holiday, a righteous holiday or are lukewarm on the subject?

I just love these kind of questions particularly since the answer isn't even a choice. The act of dressing up and going around recieving candy is neither forbidden nor commanded. It is a matter of adiaphora and therefore left to the Christian conscience. As much as people try to make them the same, Halloween and Samhain are not the same, Halloween for most people is a time to dress up, get some candy, and may be scared. The worst thing Halloween leads to is an upset stomach from to much candy and maybe some soiled pants. Samhain, however, is a religious festival where people try to appease and invoke spirits, be they gods or dead people.



But I honestly do think the 3 eleven year olds that came to the door last night are pushing the limit. They were Playboy bunnies. ARG!!! What the ..... heck .... are parents thinking??? Yeah, I wouldn't let ANY of my daughters ever THINK of dressing like that!! This is what I'd like to do to their parents

I would say the Playboy bunny is over the limit as it does advocate pornography and the exploitation of women. My daughter wouldn't be allowed to have that costume, hopefully will never want to be dressed that way.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
annsni said:
Because they're pretending to be playboy bunnies ....... at 11 years old!! They were in the skimpy leotard, high heels, bunny ears and tails. I'm disgusted at Playboy Bunnies playing Playboy Bunnies!!

I hear ya and agree...pretty disgusting. I saw a girl of a similar age who was a vampiress and her gown had a slit that went up her thigh. They were selling french maid outfits for teens this year as well as "Transylvania Temptress," "Handy Candy," "Major Flirt," and "Red Velvet Devil Bride," as stated in this article:http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1016sexy-halloween16-ON.html

We are a compromised people who are prone to compromise. Kids dress up as heroines from movies that participate in withcraft and we say "that's not evil". They dress up as ogres, ghosts, vampires skeletons and all sorts of heinous creatures but we say aaaww junior is just having fun. It's good that there are still one or two people out there who get offended when young girls dress up as Heffner Hoes.
 

rbell

Active Member
Rufus_1611 said:
It's good that there are still one or two people out there who get offended when young girls dress up as Heffner Hoes.

just in the interest of accuracy: I don't see anyone defending eleven year-olds dressing up as Playboy bunnies.
 

Chemnitz

New Member
rbell said:
just in the interest of accuracy: I don't see anyone defending eleven year-olds dressing up as Playboy bunnies.
I don't think anybody has advocated dressing up as a demon or a witch either.

I think that so many christians enjoy being against stuff they actively seek out things to be against.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
rbell said:
just in the interest of accuracy: I don't see anyone defending eleven year-olds dressing up as Playboy bunnies.

If it is a child dressing up as a witch the sin they are pretending to engage in is witchcraft.

If a child is dressing up as a poor mistreated step-sister like Cinderalla who rises to good fortune by being the object of witchcraft, then they too are pretending to promote the the sin of witchcraft.

If a child is dressing up as a character who gets visions by gazing into crystals, like Superman, then the sin the child is promoting is divination.

If a child dresses up as a mafia boss, then the sin they are promoting is extortion.

If a child dresses up as a sorcerer from a popular movie, like Gandalf the Gray, the child is promoting the sin of sorcery.

If a child dresses up as a playboy bunny, the child is promoting the sin of a pornographic, fornicating, harlot.

All of these issues are the same, just different sins. You're right, no one is defending playboy bunnies but it's a bit hypocritical to criticize playboy bunnies while defending all of the other sinful characters that kids are pretending to be.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
Chemnitz said:
I think that so many christians enjoy being against stuff they actively seek out things to be against.
I think so many Christians love the world so much, they have no idea how far they have compromised.
 

rbell

Active Member
Rufus_1611 said:
If it is a child dressing up as a witch the sin they are pretending to engage in is witchcraft.

If a child is dressing up as a poor mistreated step-sister like Cinderalla who rises to good fortune by being the object of witchcraft, then they too are pretending to promote the the sin of witchcraft.

If a child is dressing up as a character who gets visions by gazing into crystals, like Superman, then the sin the child is promoting is divination.

If a child dresses up as a mafia boss, then the sin they are promoting is extortion.

If a child dresses up as a sorcerer from a popular movie, like Gandalf the Gray, the child is promoting the sin of sorcery.

If a child dresses up as a playboy bunny, the child is promoting the sin of a pornographic, fornicating, harlot.

All of these issues are the same, just different sins. You're right, no one is defending playboy bunnies but it's a bit hypocritical to criticize playboy bunnies while defending all of the other sinful characters that kids are pretending to be.

If a child dresses up as David, he is promoting adultery and murder.
If a child dresses up as Paul, he is promoting persecution of Christians.
If a child dresses up as Noah, he is promoting drunkenness.
If a child dresses up as Rahab, she promotes prostitution.


The loud "snap" you folks heard is your logic stretching past its breaking point.
 
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