Wei,
I got this from our church. I think it is a good reminder not only to
Christian but also some regular comers. Please forward it to the
group.
Thanks!
Chiu-Chung
----- Original Message -----
From: Frances Chou
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 1:02 PM
Subject: Fwd: Ten Reasons Christians Should NOT Celebrate Halloween
Dear parents of FNF,
On October 31st, your child might want to go trick and treating.
Please read below an article forwarded by Pastor Gary Hua.
Thanks!
Frances
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gary Hua <pastor.hua@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/10/30
Subject: Ten Reasons Christians Should NOT Celebrate Halloween
To: Wei Zhou <weizhou46@gmail.com>
Cc: Steve Chou <stevechou3@gmail.com>
Wei,
Please pass the following message which was forwarded over by 芝加哥教牧联
会 to all fellowship groups.
Gary
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------
Ten Reasons Christians Should NOT Celebrate Halloween
by J. Kerby Anderson
Many in our secular society believe Halloween is nothing more than a
harmless festival that allows kids to collect candy. But is it? Its
origins
lie deeply rooted in the occult, and Christians should stay away. Here
are
ten reasons why.
1. October 31st has long been known as "The Festival of the Dead." The
Celtic tribes and their priests the Druids celebrated this day as a
marker
for the change from life to death.
2. Halloween today is performed usually by adherents of witchcraft who
use
the night for their rituals. Witches celebrate Halloween as the "Feast
of
Samhain," the first feast of the witchcraft year. Being a festival of
the
dead, Halloween is a time when witches attempt to communicate with the
dead
through various forms of divination.
3. Christians should not be involved with occultic practice or
divination.
Note God's command against divination in Deuteronomy 18.
4. Occultists believe Halloween is a time of transition between life
and
death. Some occult practitioners practiced divination and believed you
could
learn the secrets of life and wisdom by lying on a grave and listening
to
the messages from the long-departed.
5. Occultists also taught that spirits and ghosts left the grave during
this
night and would seek out warmth in their previous homes.
Villagers, fearful of the possibility of being visited by the ghosts of
past
occupants, would dress up in costumes to scare the spirits on their
way.
They would also leave food and other treats at their door to appease
the
spirits so they would not destroy their homes or crops but instead move
on
down the road. That is the real reason why kids dress up in costumes
today
and go door-to-door seeking treats.
6. Occultists also would try to scare away the spirits by carving a
scary
face into a pumpkin. This horrible visage would hopefully move the
spirit on
to another home or village and spare that home from destruction.
Sometimes
the villagers would light a candle and place it within the pumpkin and
use
it as a lantern (hence the name, Jack-o-Lantern). This is the origin
of
carving pumpkins at Halloween.
7. In some witchcraft covens, the closing ritual includes eating an
apple or
engaging in fertility rites. In the Bible (Genesis 3), eating a piece
of
fruit brought sin and death into the world. In witchcraft, eating an
apple
is symbolic of bringing life. The practice of bobbing for apples
brings
together two pagan traditions: divination and the fertility ritual.
8. Schools are removing any religious significance from Christmas
(often
called winter break) and Easter (spring break). Isn't it ironic that
most
public schools still celebrate Halloween even though it has occultic
origins?
9. Participating in Halloween gives sanction to a holiday that
promotes
witches, divination, haunted houses, and other occultic practices.
10. Christians should avoid Halloween and develop creative
alternatives.
Churches should celebrate Reformation Day (October 31).
They should not endorse or promote Halloween.
Copyright (c) 2001 Probe Ministries
Africa Christian Action
PO Box 23632
Claremont
7735
Tel: (021) 689 4481
Fax: (021) 685 5884
E-mail: info@christianaction.org.za
website: www.christianaction.org.za
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