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Old 10-28-2013, 07:53 PM
 
Location: US
32,530 posts, read 21,861,394 times
Reputation: 2226

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAAN View Post
I started to look through their site more and more and didn't realize how political they were and how much of a grudge they had against President Obama.


But this isnt the 1st time I have heard about Halloween and having a wicked past to it.

You should do some more detailed research and not jump to conclusions...
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Old 10-28-2013, 07:58 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
2,817 posts, read 3,444,719 times
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I am just surprised that the churches are having haunted houses too.
And for the love of God, call it what it is: a halloween party , not fall festival.
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Old 10-28-2013, 07:59 PM
 
Location: US
32,530 posts, read 21,861,394 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShepherdMaster View Post
No.

The pics in the OP are accurate.

You are partaking of evil, yet you dismiss your own failings, but worse, you cause others to stumble.

Do you participate in the new moon festival?...
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Old 10-28-2013, 08:02 PM
 
183 posts, read 191,747 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard1965 View Post
Do you participate in the new moon festival?...

No, we don't.
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Old 10-28-2013, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Up above the world so high!
45,218 posts, read 100,370,072 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutDude View Post
It's unfortunate you suffer from such paranoia.

But it's heartbreakingly sad that you inflict it upon others.

I hope one day that you and yours find, and follow, the Creator's true light.



Those who claim to know God but actually have no clue as to who He is make me really sad.
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Old 10-28-2013, 09:15 PM
 
Location: Ontario, Canada
31,374 posts, read 20,025,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShepherdMaster View Post
As I said, evil is posted here.


It sure is.
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Old 10-28-2013, 09:22 PM
 
32,516 posts, read 37,022,775 times
Reputation: 32572
Quote:
Originally Posted by SAAN View Post
I started to look through their site more and more and didn't realize how political they were and how much of a grudge they had against President Obama.


But this isnt the 1st time I have heard about Halloween and having a wicked past to it.
ALWAYS check the source if you truly want to get non-biased information. Or at least the chance to figure out if what you're reading is accurate or lies and half-truths. It takes 10 seconds to click on a link to a home page.

Personally, as soon as I saw bonfires (which I personally associate with hot dogs and s'mores) linked to evil I knew checking the home page was going to reveal something other than Pulitzer-winning journalism.
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Old 10-28-2013, 09:53 PM
 
12,003 posts, read 11,818,039 times
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Okay, I'm not going to get into various interpretations of Christianity (other than to say that I try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ), but the original article in this thread is filled with inaccuracies and outright falsehoods in regard to British folklore and history, and the origins of Hallowe'en.

For the record, British and Celtic folklore are among the subjects I've studied formally at the college and post-graduate level (as well as on site in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

Samhain was a Celtic holiday, not a god.

Druids were not and are not devil worshippers. The ancient Druids are said (by Julius Caesar, no less) to have engaged in some pretty unsavory practices involving human sacrifice, but since they had no knowledge of the Christian version of the devil, they could not have worshiped him. Their beliefs seem to be more about the sun's importance in the changing of the seasons and the shortening and lengthening of the days. Modern day "Druids" certainly do not practice human sacrifice, and generally are more or less nature worshippers.

Stonehenge greatly predates the ancient Druids, and appears to be a ceremonial religious site with strong ties to astronomy - among other things, it's a giant device for marking the solstices and equinoxes. It may well have also been the ceremonial burial site for the leaders of the early people who created it (over many years, and with extreme laboriousness). Stonehenge is the best known of the hundreds and hundreds of standing stone circles found throughout Britain, as well as in France and other parts of western Europe.

Samhain traditionally was believed to be the date on which the "door" between our earthly existence and the next world was open, so that the spirits of those who had passed into the next world could return. It was a time to welcome and remember loved ones who had passed away, not to worship evil, though it was thought wise to be cautious, in case the spirits of those who were not good should be around. But being wary of spirits is hardly the same as devil worship! The ancient association of the return of spirits around what's now called "Hallowe'en" is how ghost stories came to be associated with the holiday.

Actually, Samhain would not have been celebrated on "October 31", as "October" didn't exist then, nor did a calendar with months named as we know them. As with all the other Celtic holidays (i.e., "holy days"), it was linked to the seasons rather than to the calendar. But Samhain did occur about the same time as our modern Hallowe'en, whose name means "hallowed (or holy) eve", as it preceded All Souls' Day in the early Christian church. And this is how that came to be:

The early Christian missionaries in Britain and Ireland (St. Augustine of Kent and St. Patrick in particular) were very wise men, who established Christian holidays whose actual, historic dates were uncertain to coincide with the Celtic holidays already part of the society, and in other cases, created new Christian holy days whose dates also coincided with those of non-Christian celebrations - hence, All Saints and All Souls' Days, Christmas, and Easter coincided with major Celtic holidays, as does May Day (Beltane - May Day is still considered sacred to the Virgin Mary in Catholicism, though this association is not found in Protestantism).

There are lesser Christian holidays which similarly coincide - and it's no coincidence.

Similarly, standing stones were turned into crosses, and Christian churches were very frequently built on or adjacent to sites considered holy by the Celts - all those St. Whoever's Wells found all over Ireland and Britain are a clear indication of this very deliberate practice.

Think about it - the early Christian missionaries would patiently hear out those whom they were trying to convert, then tell them, "Yes, you're quite right - this IS a holy site - but we've learned more about it and wanted to share the wonderful, exciting good news with you - it's holy because this is really St. Whoever's Well, and that good saint loved Jesus Christ because..." and so on.

Many of those early St. Whoevers bore a striking resemblance to the heroes or minor gods of the earlier non-Christian legends associated with such holy places, so that if an earlier holy person was noted for granting particular prayer requests or was said to have particular supernatural qualities or to have performed certain miracles, then the Christian saint might be said to have similar attributes.

Pumpkins originated in the New World, so there's no way the European ancients of any belief could have carved them. Now, when this article referred to turnips being carved, it might have had a point. (big turnips make very cute jack-o-lanterns).

If you buy the very dubious arguments presented in this article, then logically, you must also refrain from having a Christmas tree, decorating with mistletoe, holly or any other evergreen, using the colors red and green at Christmas, hanging a wreath on your door, singing secular carols like "Deck the Halls", feasting on Christmas dinner, wearing festive clothing, etc., since all of these lovely, long-established and much-loved traditions have their roots in beliefs common before the arrival of Christianity in northern and western Europe.

It's too bad that some feel their faith so threatened by such unscholarly false claims and deliberate efforts to create fear and mistrust that they, and in particular, their children, are prevented from the enjoyment of a great holiday with an ancient and fascinating history.

Last edited by CraigCreek; 10-28-2013 at 10:33 PM..
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Old 10-28-2013, 10:13 PM
 
12,030 posts, read 9,279,269 times
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The parochial school of my parish will hold the annual Halloween parade so the kids can enjoy themselves in a safe environment.
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Old 11-01-2013, 04:41 AM
 
15,068 posts, read 6,115,809 times
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I don't believe in celebrating Halloween. It amounts to practicing pagan religion.
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