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From: rbq@iforgetmyname.lbp.harris.com (Robert Quattlebaum)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Halloween, a rebuttal
Message-ID: 
Date: 1 Oct 89 01:08:42 GMT
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[I commented on a previous posting:
>[Of course Halloween is not derived from Satanism.  It's derived from
>a festival of the Church combined with earlier generations' fears of
>evil creatures.  ... Why are "ghost
>stories" around a campfire still attractive?  For me at least they
>provide a little opening in a world that otherwise has all too little
>room for anything mysterious or beyond the ordinary.  Certainly one
>would not want to do this in a way that promotes superstition, but I
>worry about completely ridding the world of all fairy tales, ghost
--clh]

This depends, of course, on your perception of the word 'derived'. If it
smells of evil, has been tainted by the world, or otherwise is not from
God then I believe that it must be from Satan. After all, a scan of Romans
(I forget the exact reference) will show you that whatever is not from
faith is sin (pretty much an exact quote).

--->no flame or insult intended---> I am really shocked that you find
things such as ghost stories and Halloween well and good. The same goes
for the other 'mysterious' things that you don't specifically name. As a
Christian I can't go along with anything that seems to promote the dark
side of life.

The Holy Spirit provides PLENTY mystery and beyond-the-ordinary
experiences for me. I'm not on any kick to rid the world of the things
mentioned above, but I certainly will not promote their existence. 

This doesn't mean I'm a tied-up stick-in-the-mud who doesn't believe in
having good fun, either. I find a very fulfilling life in Christ.

But anyway, back to my original statement: Halloween is derived from
Satanism. The origins of Halloween may have been 'church' doings, but this
doesn't mean it isn't from Satan. Satan corrupts 'churches' as much as
anything else. Those people should have used the name of Jesus Christ to
ward off any evil spirits rather than start some bogus ritual. (As a
clarification, Satanism doesn't have to mean the direct worship of Satan.
This is MY opinion. Sorry if it caused any confusion)

If the air of this posting seems inflammatory -- it was NOT intended that
way. I just needed to expound on the idea of my original posting and clear
up the apparent confusion about what *I* consider to be Satanism.

By the way... Been in any Christian book stores lately? There are quite a
few books out denouncing Halloween in a BIG way.  ... and the reason most
of the churches are offering alternatives to Halloween is NOT the safety
factor - they want no part of an evil practice either. This is NOT an
opinion -- I've been in contact with many such people who believe the same
as I on this issue. This, of course, doesn't mean that I've got the
correct answer to this issue :-) I know I could be wrong.



R. Quattlebaum			My employer doesn't CARE what I think.
"God is love, not religion"     So what does it matter what I say?

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