[Note: It's time once again for my annual Halloween/Jack-Chick-bashing post.]
Every autumn Christians throughout North America engage in hand-wringing disputes over what to do about Halloween. The discussions tend to reflect in microcosm how we interact with overtly secular aspects on a larger scale. Should we separate and stand apart, becoming a witness by or disengagement or do we participate and attempt to redeem the event by acts of hospitality and neighborly love?
Last year my friend Bonnie from Intellectuelle adds a thoughtful contribution to the discussion, one in which I must confess to be in almost total disagreement with. But one section in particular caught my attention:
I think it could be wishful thinking to say that we can "redeem" Halloween by trick-or-treating in good will. It may not be expressive of good will toward those who do not understand the truth of spiritual matters. Again, aren't we endorsing the holiday itself by participating in it? The only alternative to non-participation is to hand out leaflets containing the history of Halloween (with appropriate verses of Scripture, plus a candy bar) or tracts to trick-or-treaters...but whether or not that is neighborly is a debate in itself. [emphasis added]
Reading that sentence about handing "tracts to trick-or-treaters" sent chills down my spine and reminded me of the most frightful man ever to be associated with Halloween: Jack Chick.
While you may not recognize the name, if you've ever used the restroom of a truck stop then you've probably seen his work. Chick produces tracts and comics that look like work that R. Crumb would have produced had he attended Bob Jones University. For over twenty years the tracts have been used to spread such Christian messages as Catholics are going to hell and that the Holocaust was a Jesuit-led inquisition against the Jews.
To me, though, Chick is not just another anti-Catholic bigot. When I was a kid Jack Chick was the man who was responsible for more nightmares than the Twilight Zone and Kolchak: The Nightstalker combined. Chick not only scared the hell out of me, he made me afraid that hell was all around me.
While his comic books are less well known than his tracts, they were a primary source of literature around my fundamentalist church. In a typical display of twisted '70s fundie logic, our congregation believed that comics about Satan and the occult were more wholesome than reading about Spiderman or Archie and Jughead.
One comic that still gives me the creeps is "Exorcists", a tale of young boy who prays to Satan and becomes possessed after falling asleep. Being a Christian I knew that I didn't have to fear about demons taking over my body. But I wasn't so sure about some of my heathen friends. Anyone who was sleeping over my house was quickly sent home for so much as mentioning a Ouija board or humming Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
It's been twenty years since Chick tracts damaged my fragile psyche but it appears that some otherwise well-meaning Christians are willing to subject a whole new generation to this horror. The Chick Publications website even has a list of "unique ways you can use Chick tracts this Halloween" such as:
When Trick-or-Treaters parade to your door this Halloween, drop a couple of Chick tracts in their bag, along with some candy. Or, to really get them excited, stock a tray with several different Chick tracts. (See suggested tracts.) When children arrive, place the tray in front of them and let them pick any two tracts. (Be sure to give them candy too.) Kids love receiving unique gifts, like cartoon tracts. And they love picking the ones they want. Your home could be their favorite stop of the night. With Chick tracts, you can witness to every child who comes to your door. Plus, they'll take the tracts home, where their parents will read them too!
Having to take a evangelism track in order to get a bite-size Snickers bar normally wouldn't be such a bad tradeoff. But let's take a look at one of the "suggested tracks" and what is being offered to impressionable children.
Boo tells the story of students from Salem High who rent a cabin in the woods for their class Halloween party. Fortunately for them, thirteen people were murdered the previous Halloween so they get the place at a cheaper rate.
A surprise? A keg of beer? A couple of fifths of whiskey? Some bottles of cheap wine? Nah, it's not that kind of party. The kids at Salem High are into the newest trend:
...sacrificing animals to Satan! Oh, and the dude with the pumpkin and the snake on a rope? That's Lucifer himself. Why the devil needs a chainsaw, Chick never makes clear. I mean he's got a snake on a rope. Isn't that enough to do the trick?
It appears Satan found his chainsaw after all. So now we have a high school kid ready to sacrifice a kitty while a pumpkin-headed demon reenacts the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Let me just say that if anybody were to drop this tract into my kid's candy bag I'd be paying that house a return visit. And I'd be bringing my own snake on a rope.
The story takes a weird twist when Satan goes down to a village church. His chainsaw must have run out of gas because instead of trying to chop up a young kid, he simply "Yaaaaaah" at him.
Satan sure has some mouth on him, don't he? Anyway, the next day the kid asks his pastor about Halloween. Oddly enough he forgets to mention that he went toe-to-toe with Lucifer the night before. The preacher gives the kid a brief intro to demonology before explaining the origin of Halloween.
None of this, of course, is true. Halloween is the holiday equivalent of Wicca -- a 20th century invention that pretends to have ancient pagan roots. Halloween has nothing to do with Samhain, a Celtic agricultural festival that marked the beginning of winter. There is also no evidence that Samhain was a celebration devoted to the dead or to ancestor worship, much less to kidnapping, human sacrifice, playing with chainsaws, or walking with snakes on a rope.
I think it's safe to say that if the Lord hates Halloween then he must despise Chick tracts. When a well-intentioned but overzealous Christian gives these "comics" to a child it must be, as Chick would say, a "slap in the face." If you are the type of person who does this on Halloween I only have one word to say to you: repent.
Irrational fear is an overrated motivational tool, especially when you're trying to win the hearts and minds of children. Just look at my example. Twenty years later I'm still creeped out by the thought of the Chick comics. While they might have had the intended impact -- to scare the living hell out of me -- they did so by appealing to an unnecessary fear of Satan. If a Christian really wants to show a child the light of God's grace then they should do so by showing them God's love rather than by giving them the hateful, disgusting, and demonically-inspired work of Jack Chick.
OK, I won't pass out any tracts, but I'm still posting my facsimile of the 95 theses on my front door.
Jack Chick sure hates Halloween. He's devoted a half-dozen cartoon tracts to showing how it is Satan's holiday. Two of these tracts were made into short films, "Bewitched?" and "The Little Princess". They are a gas. Over at www.316now.com. Happy Halloween! HAW HAW HAW!
Jack Chick sure hates Halloween. He's devoted a half-dozen cartoon tracts to showing how it is Satan's holiday. Two of these tracts were made into short films, "Bewitched?" and "The Little Princess". They are a gas. Over at www.316now.com. Happy Halloween! HAW HAW HAW!
We don't give out Chick tracts, but we do give tracts with candy.
Collin
http://evangelicalperspective.blogspot.com
This is still one of the funniest things I've read on EO. I love it!
Halloween is not Satan's holiday
by John Fischer
Here's what I have to say to everybody on Halloween, 2007. Fear not, stock up on candy, and turn on the lights.
Christians have a short history of opting out of All Hallows Eve, even though the origins of this holiday celebrated the martyrs who had given their lives for the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few years ago someone convinced a group of already frightened Christians that they should really be sacred on Halloween, so that's when the bad news of Satan's holiday spread all over the country (fear travels fast), houses went dark and everybody went to church for a safe, alternative celebration.
Now I know this wasn't always the case for Christians, because when I was a kid in a fundamentalist, legalistic, God-fearing, Bible-quoting, practically-live-at-the-church household, we always celebrated Halloween. In fact I have a friend, a little younger than I from a similar background, who remembers the year that Halloween suddenly wasn't okay for the families in his church, so he had to go to an alternative event at the church dressed as a Bible character. He was so bummed he didn't get to go trick-or-treating that he went to the church event as Satan! Major Bible character, indeed, but not what they had in mind. Happily for him, they ended up sending him home so he got to go trick-or-treating after all.
This said, I am not unaware of the fact that there are crazies out there putting drugs and sharp objects in the candy, and that Satanists may be into some nasty things tonight, but I refuse to let these people win by darkening my house. Halloween is the one night out of the year that everyone's home is open (almost everyone's), and moms and dads are out on the street with their kids, or entertaining neighbors at home. If people of the light opt out of this ideal opportunity to build relationships in the community, I can't help but wonder who really wins that battle.
So if you're new at this, this is what you should do. If you have kids, go out with a group of your neighbors and their kids. Talk to them as you go and find out things you can pick up later in conversation. At houses where adults seem to be a part of the fun, introduce yourself and chat a little bit. Try and remember their names so that the next time you pass any of them on the street you can say, "Hi Tom, how's it going?"
If you don't have kids, turn on lots of lights so they'll know you are home, open your door when the doorbell rings, rave about the incredible costumes of the little ghosts and goblins who are trying to scare you (be scared, in other words -- be really scared!), dump large amounts of candy into their bags (buy the best stuff if you haven't yet, the word will get out quickly that your house is the one to be sure and visit), wish them a Happy Halloween, and invite them to come back to your house any time. If you're feeling especially adventurous, you might want to try and do a little scaring yourself. I like to play the Ghostbusters theme and jump out of the bushes in a gorilla mask.
So have a safe Halloween, get to know your neighbors better, and above all, don't be afraid (except when scared by little ghosts). It's not Satan's holiday unless we give it over to him.
Oh by the way, Chandler's going as a Star Wars storm trooper. He's got the whole outfit, including that very cool white helmet they wear.
After reading this particular Chick tract I see that it is preaching another gospel.(Gal 1:6-10) This wasn't the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. (1 Cor 15:1-4)
He didn't use the Law to point to Christ either. (Gal 3:24) It would have been well to take the child through some of the Ten Commandments. (Exo 20) So that the child can see that they have perhaps lied, or stolen or used God's name in vain and thus understand the reasonableness of hell and the like and then they would be ready for the good news of the gospel.
As a result of reading this I can now warn others of this particular tract.
I was wondering if you disagreed particularly with the tract about catholics are going to hell or the statement?
For they indeed are going to hell and need to become born again. They preach another gospel, which cannot save. Thus if a catholic does repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ they will no longer be a catholic.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Isa 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
http://www.seanpayne.net
Halloween is Satan's holiday.
Do people still believe the urban legend of razor blades and needles in candy? I remember when I was a kid people took their halloween bags to the hospital to get x-rayed.
JohnW, you are a mystery, wrapped in a riddle shrouded by an enigma.
I don't understand why high schoolers look so old.
Shame on you for comparing a pervert like Crumb with Jack Chick. Crumb doesn't deserve that kind of ill-treatment.
; )
I wonder how much it would cost to have a bag of candy x-rayed at a hospital these days? I doubt that insurance would cover it. They don't like to cover preventative measures. By the way, I could be wrong, but weren't there actual instances of sharp objects being put into candy and apples in the past? If so, that's not an urban legend.
I wonder how much it would cost to have a bag of candy x-rayed at a hospital these days? I doubt that insurance would cover it. They don't like to cover preventative measures. By the way, I could be wrong, but weren't there actual instances of sharp objects being put into candy and apples in the past? If so, that's not an urban legend.
"If a Christian really wants to show a child the light of God's grace then they should do so by showing them God's love"
First of all, how do you do that when the children are at your door for maybe five seconds? Just by giving them candy and saying "Happy Halloween"? Or do you also add, "God loves you"?
Second, people cannot appreciate and understand their need for God's grace unless they understand how lost they are without Him. Obviously, that is not a message you can get across in five seconds, hence the reason for tracts.
"rather than by giving them the hateful, disgusting, and demonically-inspired work of Jack Chick."
That's a little harsh, isn't it? Not all Chick tracts are bad. You really think Satan likes Chick tracts being passed out?
I have some really good news, everybody! Satan and hell are made-up, they don't really exist! They were invented by the Zoroastrians in about 1000 BC as a way to scare people into converting, to explain evil, and to convince everyone that bad people would someday have to pay for their misdeeds.
Jews in exile picked up these beliefs in time for Satan to make three brief appearances in the Old Testament (in Job, I Chronicles and Zechariah), but the belief was peaking just when Jesus hit the scene. We can't really blame him for absorbing what was so prevalent in his culture (except among the Sadduccees, who were the conservatives of their day). Not everyone writing the New Testament got the memo about hell being real, since hell is missing from both the Gospel of John and all of Paul's writings.
Satan is as real as ghosts, hobgoblins and leprachauns. So enjoy yourselves out there. Watch out for the cars and be sure to get lots of chocolate. Happy Halloween!
And don't forget "Harvestfest", aka "Just like Halloween, except CHRISTIAN!", where you seal yourself in your church fellowship hall with an imitation of the holiday for the duration, terrified by the real thing.
They say they're Christianizing Halloween, but they're really Reinventing the Wheel. My Church "baptized Samhain" around a THOUSAND years ago to give us the three-day Christian festival of Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day.
Get a clue and stop Reinventing the Wheel!
"That's a little harsh, isn't it? Not all Chick tracts are bad. You really think Satan likes Chick tracts being passed out?" -- Activist
You've never had your head messed up by Chick tracts, have you? I lost 20 years of my life to Jack Chick & Hal Lindsay, to "This Was Your Life" and "The Beast" and all the others, and the scars are still there. To me, God will always primarily be the Cosmic Josef Mengele making his Selections from the Great White Throne in "This Was Your Life".
20 years I could have married and settled down. 20 years I could have written and gotten published in my dream of becoming an SF writer. 20 years the locusts have eaten.
And why isn't anyone reconsidering the actual NAME of the day, All Hallow's Eve? *Tomorrow* is the actual feast day, All Saints' Day. Whether you believe in the prayerful intercession of the saints gathered around the throne of God or not, you can take the day as a day of learning about Christian heroes, great warriors and martyrs and servants of the poor.
That balances the little ones dressing up like pirates and gypsies and wanting to hear spooky stories.
Hey everybody, good ol' ex-preacher (probably quit due to the multitude of his congregation's injuries from falling off their pews in fits of pure boredom) is absolutely sure about all of this information he's spewing that was gathered on the zoroastrians (and their influence of the Jews) dating back 1000 B.C, yet he'll tell you tomorrow that documentation from 200 and 300 A.D. cannot be trusted and most certainly didn't happen.
Congratulations, exybaby, you are your own best joke!
Satan is only as real as murder, hate, genocide, rape, serial killers, reality TV, and those like ex who would love to indoctrinate you to believe that the be all and end all of human existence is death, nothingness and the dark abyss forevermore, amen. Happy Halloween, indeed...
Halloween comes before All Saints day and was orginally a celebration of Satan (or atleast paganism).
Maybe there is no little red man with a pitch fork...but there is some thing evil out there confusing and dividing people and causing misery. Whatever it is-it's nothing to celebrate.
Not trying to bash ex-preacher-he knows his history. He's right, the concept of Satan is an attempt to explain evil. Evil is very real and not something to celebrate.
JohnW,
In your previous comment you said Halloween was Satans's day. Now you are saying Satan is made up to explain evil? I don't get it.
Happy Reformation Day! And a prayer for ex-preacher, God help him.
Expreacher, who tempted Jesus in the gospel accounts, then?
Oclarki,
Evil is real and Satan is real.
It's not something that was "made up", it's just that as humans we can not explain everything with our finite minds. To further complicate matters, over the course of mankind's history various traditions/myths/explainations about Satan have been created and passed on to future generations.
To help me out, maybe you or someone else could list the attributes of Satan that are mentioned in the bible. I am not remembering to much about it, except a few things like Satan is an accuser, deciever, and a tempter. What are some other things about him?
My favorite part of the Chick tracts is the part where the angel says, "His name does not appear in the Book of Life, Lord" and then God points his scary finger, sending the hapless miscreant to Hell. Like God doesn't know whose name is in the book! Chick must think God is a sadist, employing an angelic secretary to add a little suspense before announcing the doom of yet another unrepentant (or doctrinally misguided) sinner.
Chick tracts never frightened me; they made me comfortable in my atheism, since they were obviously the product of a depraved, delusional mind.
Thirty one years ago, one of the key things that brought me to the Lord Jesus was a book by a Catholic - a Jesuit no less - about exorcism. Now - just to be honest - that book did not lead me to Christ, and in fact it offered no easily attainable spiritual solution to anybody. What it did, however, was document real cases of demonic attack and "posession" and the circumstances that led to these horrific conditions - and so awaken in me a yearning for a power that could certainly defeat the demonic every time. But the ONE common denominator in all of the carefully-documented cases of demonic activity? FEAR: in each and every case, extreme and mind-numbing fear was the strong emotion that opened the door for a truly Satanic attack upon a soul.
It was a different book, written by a Protestant Pentecostal pastor and evangelist, that actually led me to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to my first decision for Jesus. Don Basham later fell somewhat from favor over a practice called Shepherding, as I understand, but his comments on the demonic still seem awfully cogent and scriptural, and he too identified FEAR as one of the primary avenues by which Satan attacks believers and non-believers alike.
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Tim 1:7
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." - 1 John 4:18
These ancient and sage words of advice from a condemned Paul to his young disciple Timothy - and from John the Beloved to the Church - are just as valuable and appropriate today as they were 1,950 years ago. Fear is never a valid tool for evangelism, and Christians should not use fear of Satan as a means of bringing the unsaved into the safety of faith in and confession of Jesus. Such efforts are contrary to the explicit instruction of Jesus and of all scripture: respect ("fear") of God is to be encouraged, but regard ("fear") of the weak power of Satan should be discouraged at every hand. Satan's power was defeated at Calvary, and NOTHING can ever restore his usurped power to him at all.
Christians need not fear Halloween any more than we need fear "the fiery darts of the wicked." We are the victorious ones, after all, having been handed the victory on a plate by our Savior. Our work is to show others that Satan is without teeth: a liar and a deceiver whose only real weapon is to fool us into fearing him. When we realize that, he is put to flight and Jesus rules in us.
This Halloween, by all means do pass out tracts with your candy - but make those tracts the Four Spiritual Laws. That will be more profitable for our Lord Jesus.
For what it's worth - I grew up Fundamentalist in the 50s. Mom handed out candy wrapped in a tract. The next day I was verbally and physically abused because we "gave those papers instead of candy."
If you're going to hand out tracts, you might want to hand out extra candy - and wrap the tract in the candy, not vice-versa.
mark my words: i will have a snake on a leash!
Jack Chick sure hates Halloween. He's devoted a half-dozen cartoon tracts to showing how it is Satan's holiday. Two of these tracts were made into short films, "Bewitched?" and "The Little Princess". They are a gas. Over at www.316now.com. Happy Halloween! HAW HAW HAW!
Activist
That's a little harsh, isn't it? Not all Chick tracts are bad. You really think Satan likes Chick tracts being passed out?
Chick does seem to take a perverse pleasure in other people's suffering. Many of his tracks seem to take a sadistic joy in depicting people being tossed into hell screaming , begging etc. I don't know what Satan would think of them but they are over the top. If you enjoy them as camp then that's fine but I agree with Joe on presenting them to children as something to take seriously.
First of all, how do you do that when the children are at your door for maybe five seconds? Just by giving them candy and saying "Happy Halloween"? Or do you also add, "God loves you"?
Every day there are people you spend hours with and people you spend only a few seconds with. Halloween is unique only in the sense that it has a bit more '5 second' people than average.
JohnW
Halloween comes before All Saints day and was orginally a celebration of Satan (or atleast paganism).
Actually it was never a celebration of Satan. Originally Church days began at sunset so nightfall on Oct. 31st was really the beginning of All Saints Day. In the Christian world Halloween was never a Satanic holiday.
Headless Unicorn Guy:
"You've never had your head messed up by Chick tracts, have you? I lost 20 years of my life to Jack Chick & Hal Lindsay, to "This Was Your Life" and "The Beast" and all the others, and the scars are still there. To me, God will always primarily be the Cosmic Josef Mengele making his Selections from the Great White Throne in "This Was Your Life"."
No, I haven't had my head messed up by Chick tracts. I am sorry for your experience, but there are many more people who have lost their eternal souls because they never heard a biblical presentation of the Gospel. I would say Chick's presentation, though not my first choice, is more biblical than the "gospel" you hear presented in most churches and by most Christians these days. If God is going to call you to be His own, He can even use Chick tracts to accomplish that.
Jordan:
"Christians need not fear Halloween any more than we need fear "the fiery darts of the wicked." We are the victorious ones, after all, having been handed the victory on a plate by our Savior. Our work is to show others that Satan is without teeth: a liar and a deceiver whose only real weapon is to fool us into fearing him. When we realize that, he is put to flight and Jesus rules in us."
It is always frustrating to me how some Christians say that if others choose not to observe Halloween, it is out of "fear", and that we don't have to worry because we are victorious over Satan. Apparently, these people have not read Paul's warnings to believers about Satan's deceptions, not to mention the fact that Jesus told Peter Satan wanted to sift him like wheat. Yes, we have the ultimate victory over Satan through Christ, but that doesn't mean he no longer presents a danger. And, besides, avoiding something you don't feel is honoring to God shows love and obedience, not fear of Satan.
I guess my take on it would be on the side of "Activist." I think that it's a choice for each of us, first and foremost, if we'll follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and what he's prompting us to do. It is interesting in that we had a microcosm of this very debate in my own home this year. I wanted to invite folks in, give them cider and appetizers, and get to know them a bit. Perhaps the opportunity to discuss spiritual matters would present itself. Otherwise, we were going to give the kiddos some candy, and a great tract that we found written by the Mennonites on Halloween (Rod and Staff Publishing: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RS&Product_Code=3295&Category_Code=64_T)
However, my wife really didn't feel led to do this, and in fact, she felt quite led to just "opt out" this year. Knowing that she would bear the burden of all of the preparations, we decided instead to just attend our regular Wednesday night bible study. It was such a blessing! But, by no means did we decide not to participate out of fear.
We have friends who decided to put together their own "tract" on the history of Halloween, and give it, along with candy and a child's version of "The Jesus Film" out. I think this is a fantastic idea!
Two verses kept coming up yesterday. With me, I kept pondering (I think the Spirit was prompting) 2 Cor. 6:14b "what fellowship can light have with darkness?" I really felt strongly that, regardless of the history of the day, that darkness is still celebrated through this observance, and I frankly did not want any part of it. As for the other verse, Ephesians 6:11-17 kept coming up yesterday. It was in our devotional before homeschool, it was on the radio, it was on T.V., it seemed to be everywhere. I haven't had as much time to reflect on this one yet, but, it is interesting, nonetheless. Ultimately, our family seeked after the Lord's will, and decided to do what my wife suggested.
I guess what I'm saying with all of this is just that we, as believers, all need to do what we feel most led to do. After all, our reliance should be on Christ through the Spirit. If he's leading us to hand out (appropriate!!) tracts and love on our neighbors, then that is what we must do. If the Spirit, for whatever reason, feels that we should opt out, that's what we should do. First and foremost, we should pray about it, and seek the Lord's will, and then live in that will with regard to all things, including what we do on All Hallow's Eve.
I was one of those kids in the 70s/80s whose dad kept about many a Chick comic...even those full-sized ones. I really enjoyed the original post as it brought a lot of memories. As a kid I was compelled to read them with a solemn, sometimes horrific, fascination. They are definitely NOT appropriate for children, and I can't imagine letting my young, elementary-aged kids read them, let alone passing them out to the neighbor kids on Halloween!
Halloween, whatever. It doesn't make or break my salvation.
I did have to add that the only tract I remember with true fondess is the sad, melancholy girl in "Somebody Loves You."
Kind of like "The Little Matchgirl" by Hans C. Anderson.
But I am getting a grin remembering those Chick comics...it's like pop culture for Christians of that era...the hippie-looking sinners and the shoe-shined saints...sigh. Who could forget the melting face of the girl who took LSD? LOL, probably why I never did drugs...thanks, Chick comics! ;)
Two verses kept coming up yesterday. With me, I kept pondering (I think the Spirit was prompting) 2 Cor. 6:14b "what fellowship can light have with darkness?" I really felt strongly that, regardless of the history of the day, that darkness is still celebrated through this observance,
Bahhh, its dark because it happens at night which is when the days 'turned over' in the old calendars. Hence All Saints Day would start at night time on Oct 31, not at 12 midnight as it does in our world of cell phones and digital clocks.
If by darkness you mean evil then I don't see what you mean. The core of the holiday is kids having fun and adults giving them candy. I would ask you if modern day Christmas isn't actually all the more dark as it has turned into a materialist game where everyone is made to feel obligated to spend all their money on gifts least they offend one of their friends or relatives....or is it not seen as dark because the decorations feature more white, silver and gold than black?
Boonton - touche, as usual. Good to see that you're still here.
I would agree that Christmas has become all that it was not meant to be. In fact, I read a very interesting book over the summer about a Christian view of opting out of celebrating Christmas. We've given it serious consideration, and if the Spirit is leading us, we will opt out of it, too.
As for Halloween, I wasn't trying to argue that the day itself is evil - Romans 14:5 says "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." In this same vein, I think that our decision was to opt out because we don't feel like the way that the day is celebrated is God-honoring. But, in the grand scheme, I don't see anything wrong with a Christian handing out candy and tracts. Or, alternatively, going out with their own children to meet the neighbors, and perhaps share the gospel if the opportunity presents itself, or if they felt led to do so. In years past, we've used the opportunity of Halloween to do some of this. Prior to this year, we spent the past two years "trick or treating" to raise money for our local rescue mission, and for immunizations for third-world children provided by UNICEF. So, I don't want to leave the impression that I think that the day itself is evil. I do want to reiterate that I think what is most important is to seek the Lord's guidance on what we should do.
Good to talk with you again.
Emmaus,
I think we agree on this. Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine because its demands have been kept in check. True costumes seem to be getting expensive I doubt it can ever become what Christmas has.
I appreciate that you have tried to incorporate your religion into it without being overbearing about it as I think the Chic track is. I would point out, though, that if you think about it all 'good things' are God honoring....in other words if you happen to treat your neighbor nicely you're honoring God even if that moment doesn't happen to be accompanied by a prayer or track. This is mostly in response to Activist who complained that he couldn't preach to kids when he only gets 5 seconds or so when they show up at his door. Well not all moments will contain actual preaching but that doesn't make them less important....in a sense they might be all the more important.
In previous years I've had good experiences with taking my nephews out and greeting kids at the door. This year I didn't do much because the day was very busy for me so I'm not going to jump down anyone's throat for opting out of it. I think the holiday, though, has a lot of quiet points to be made for it that are easy to miss. First you're sharing something with others. Second you're sharing something with strangers just because they happen to come into your life. Compare that to Christmas where the gift regime has turned into a Machelivian game where gifts are ranked by how important everyone is to YOUR life (wife gets big gift, little gift for office minions...maybe the garbage man gets the $5 Blockbuster card). Third it is great fun for kids without really spoiling them (except on the candy but hey, candy's cheap and dentists have to make a living too).
Boonton,
I appreciate your good humor, and willingness to see Christ in all things. I think it is a great way to see the world.
When I was a child, I wasn't raised in a Christian home. But, one thing that my mom did was to invite folks in to have some hot apple cider and an appetizer or two. She'd take some time to talk with her neighbors, and share a bit of what we had with them (which wasn't much). I've always held this tradition in my heart in high regard, and hoped to be able to do it in my own home. I think that it, in many ways, reflects Christ's ministry by inviting folks in to "dine" with us while we share our lives, and through it, our faith with them (Rev. 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."). This time around, we weren't able to do this; as I said, much of the prepartory work would fall squarely on the shoulders of my wife. Without her "buy in" to the idea, the burden would just be too great. My hope is that, in the years to come, we'll be able to. My church in recent years has shifted from a programs/activities based model to a missional community model. This idea of sharing our home and our lives with those in our community is very missional. I hope that we can bring it to fruition!
As for Christmas, I so completely agree with you on so many levels. As I said, I read some material over the summer that really, really challenged me to think about how we let the world in through the door of a secular view of Christmas. In these materials, the author spoke of how her family had decided not to do anything for Christmas - no tree, no gifts, nothing. They instead celebrated the Epiphany in January. The author spoke about all of the traditions associated with the Christmas holiday, and how so many of them don't seek to honor God, but, instead seek to impress "man" (Galatians 1:10: "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.") For several years now, my family has been trying to break the Christmas "habit." We are so endeared to the traditions, though, it has been a difficult road.
With regard to my agreement with Activist - it was more in reference to his comment on 11/1 at 11:16 am. I was agreeing with him that it is not fair to accuse Christians of opting out of Halloween only out of "fear." I think that there are many reasons why folks choose not to participate. Beyond that, it just reeks of painting everyone with a broad brush stroke - it is just not fair or well justified. There probably are many who don't participate out of fear, but, I would argue that this is just one reason. I think that, by extenstion to his remarks, we are all lead to different decisions, probably based on where we are in our walk, and the plans that God has for us and our family members.
But, I do agree that the Chick tracts seem very over the top, especially to be handing out to young kids. I wouldn't present the gospel message to children that way. So, I'd never, ever use those tracts. Up until I started reading EO, though, I'd never heard of them before.
I do think that the little time that we might have is a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to those who come to our doorstep. But, I think that it has to be so much more than that. The Halloween meeting could just be viewed as a chance to just say "hello" to our neighbors. But, after that, I think that its imperitive that we get out there and talk with them - meet them where they're at, live through their struggles, failures, and joys with them. I think that, in this time and age, your chance of getting a non believer to go to church with you is somewhere on the scale of possibilities near your chance of getting hit by a meteor (joking!!). Seriously, though, you have a far greater chance of sharing the gospel message with someone if they trust you, and they know that you're truely concerned about them, their welfare, and that of thier family. I just think we'll have more success if we just get out there, and out of the "holy huddle" and meet and talk with people right where they live. With that said, I think that the first step in this process is to just say a simple, friendly "hello." That's where it all starts.
Anyway, back to you...
Silly Chick, everyone knows there's no such thing as witches and satanists, and the devil is just a mythological horned headed figure. Enlightened Christians like Joe know better than to believe in a such a silly concept.
ex-preacher, wasn't Job one of the earliest books of the Bible written?
Drew,
There are two dates involved: the setting of the story described in the book and the date of composition of the book.
The setting of the story appears to be prior to Abraham, perhaps around 2000 BC.
No one knows the date of composition or even the author of Job.
The conservative evangelical NIV Study Bible says that the book was written between the reign of Solomon and the exile.
The liberal Oxford Annotated Bible puts the date of composition around the time of the exile.
The respected Catholic Encyclopedia says this:
"The author of the book is unknown, neither can the period in which it was written be exactly determined. Many considered the book the work of Job himself or Moses. It is now universally and correctly held that the book is not earlier than the reign of Solomon. On the other hand it is earlier than Ezechiel (Ezekiel 14:1-20). For it is the natural supposition that the latter gained his knowledge of Job from the Book of Job, and not from other, vanished, sources."
There is also debate among scholars about whether the prologue and epilogue (the chapters that mention Satan) were added to the original text at some point. There is also disagreement about whether the book is intended to be taken as literal fact or is a parable or even a play.
The Jewish Encyclopedia has this interesting comment about the appearance of Satan in the Hebrew Bible:
"In both of these passages [Job and Zechariah] Satan is a mere accuser who acts only according to the permission of the Deity; but in I Chron. 21:1 he appears as one who is able to provoke David to destroy Israel. The Chronicler (third century B.C.) regards Satan as an independent agent, a view which is the more striking since the source whence he drew his account (II Sam. 24:1) speaks of God Himself as the one who moved David against the children of Israel. Since the older conception refers all events, whether good or bad, to God alone, (I Sam. 16:14; I Kings 22:22; Isa. 45:7; etc) it is possible that the Chronicler, and perhaps even Zechariah, were influenced by Zoroastrianism, even though in the case of the prophet Jewish monism strongly opposed Iranian dualism."
jack chick is an arsehole really. all he does is spread lies about Freemasons and halloween. freemasons have nothing to do with satan they accept any religion. i don't know what his problem is. he's quite clearly homophobic aswell, i mean sure its a little creepy but you dont go printing comics saying gay people are evil and under the control of satan. he is sick and needs psyciatric help.
up yours jack chick, i think if anyone belongs in hell its you.
Here's a comment from someone who passed out chick tracts for Halloween (220 of them). The tracts are shocking - and with what kids are doing nowadays - they are into what is shocking. The difference is that the tracts are reality - unseen reality - and yes - it IS disgusting! That's the point. Sin and the evil world and the devil is not to be admired or joked about - it is real, it is powerful, and the only ONE strong enough and loving enough to give us victory is Jesus. Jesus came to save people from sin and death and all that is ugly. He is beauty and light.
"So many laughing at Jesus. Well the funniest thing that HE's done is love this whole stubborn rebellious world while their hate for him just goes on. But love just like that will bring Him back for the few He can call His friends, the ones HE's found true who've made it through enduring until the end." - Keith Green