Unhappy Halloween
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
In my younger days, I was excited about Halloween. Not just going door-to-door and getting candy from neighbors who were pressured into giving it out (although some liked doing it), but doing scary stuff and wanting people to be frightened by my lame costume. (Big scare, people are expecting diminutive people to show up in costumes on that day.) My mother made me take down the decorations I had up in my room.
As I grew older, I put aside those things and realized that I hate fear, and am not a fan of Halloween. Isn't there enough death, fear and evil in the world without celebrating it? Yes, I realize that some people believe it's a way of coping with the fear of death and fear of the unknown. There were tasteless jokes made about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and of the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 that I regret ever hearing, and I was told those were coping mechanisms. I don't buy it.
I don't get into horror movies (the Saw series and others have been called "torture porn"), but never mind about that now.
Halloween is a big money maker, and this 2014 article in The Atlantic tells us that although it's not one of the top retail holidays, Americans spend billions of dollars on costumes (including for their pets), decorations, candy, and so on.
Things get more intense every years, it seems. Some sidewinders had an exceptionally graphic, realistic and offensive yard display, including the image of someone crucified upside down, and other startling images. I'm going to send you to a site with a video from a news broadcast, but be forewarned, this is not for the young 'uns or people with delicate sensibilities. Click here for the site, and if the video doesn't work for you, an alternate with the images is here. These people had no regard that they were near an elementary school or that the neighbors didn't cotton to the displays. Instead, they took them down out of fear for their own safety, what with people standing in their yard in the middle of the night and such.
What did they expect? Those of us with a Christian worldview and some knowledge know that this kind of thing attracts people with demonic influence, the mentally disturbed, and the genuinely curious. The woman in the video actually played the victim card, and placed blame on other people. Hey, lady! Here's your sign!
Halloween is a day with pagan occult origins (see "Halloween History and the Bible" and "Are Ghosts Real?" It cannot be Christianized with the real meaning forgotten, and it is a major holiday for Satanists. Can Christians celebrate or participate? Although I don't, they do have their freedom in Christ, but should stay away from the occult aspects. Those of you who say, "Absolutely not! Jesus didn't tell us to celebrate it or any other holiday", don't get legalistic on me with your disunderstanding of the Bible, you savvy? We'll ride our trail, and they'll ride theirs.
In my younger days, I was excited about Halloween. Not just going door-to-door and getting candy from neighbors who were pressured into giving it out (although some liked doing it), but doing scary stuff and wanting people to be frightened by my lame costume. (Big scare, people are expecting diminutive people to show up in costumes on that day.) My mother made me take down the decorations I had up in my room.
As I grew older, I put aside those things and realized that I hate fear, and am not a fan of Halloween. Isn't there enough death, fear and evil in the world without celebrating it? Yes, I realize that some people believe it's a way of coping with the fear of death and fear of the unknown. There were tasteless jokes made about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and of the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 that I regret ever hearing, and I was told those were coping mechanisms. I don't buy it.
I don't get into horror movies (the Saw series and others have been called "torture porn"), but never mind about that now.
Halloween is a big money maker, and this 2014 article in The Atlantic tells us that although it's not one of the top retail holidays, Americans spend billions of dollars on costumes (including for their pets), decorations, candy, and so on.
Things get more intense every years, it seems. Some sidewinders had an exceptionally graphic, realistic and offensive yard display, including the image of someone crucified upside down, and other startling images. I'm going to send you to a site with a video from a news broadcast, but be forewarned, this is not for the young 'uns or people with delicate sensibilities. Click here for the site, and if the video doesn't work for you, an alternate with the images is here. These people had no regard that they were near an elementary school or that the neighbors didn't cotton to the displays. Instead, they took them down out of fear for their own safety, what with people standing in their yard in the middle of the night and such.
What did they expect? Those of us with a Christian worldview and some knowledge know that this kind of thing attracts people with demonic influence, the mentally disturbed, and the genuinely curious. The woman in the video actually played the victim card, and placed blame on other people. Hey, lady! Here's your sign!
Halloween is a day with pagan occult origins (see "Halloween History and the Bible" and "Are Ghosts Real?" It cannot be Christianized with the real meaning forgotten, and it is a major holiday for Satanists. Can Christians celebrate or participate? Although I don't, they do have their freedom in Christ, but should stay away from the occult aspects. Those of you who say, "Absolutely not! Jesus didn't tell us to celebrate it or any other holiday", don't get legalistic on me with your disunderstanding of the Bible, you savvy? We'll ride our trail, and they'll ride theirs.
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