Subject: halloween |
Bible Note: Dear Cheri, Sorry... can't resist replying... Tradition forms a backdrop for all peoples. For example, in Judaism much of the way that holidays the holidays (i.e., holy-days) are observed was cobbled together down the centuries -- the majority of it well after the Diaspora. How Pesach seder is observed in the time of Christ, for example, would look very different from how it is observed today. Christianity is no different. Traditions arise out of how things are interpreted, usually starting in the generation in which the original questions arose. The question of just how Jewish ought Christians to look is one that dates from the apostles in the first century. (Have I recommended Galatians, by the way?) The conclusion was that Christians should look a lot like the Jews in external norms of moral behavior (Acts 15:29; 21:25), but more than that, they were to walk in righteousness that originated on the inside (Galatians 5:16-24). Thus, the imperfect things that foreshadowed Christ were abandoned (Colossians 2:16-17) -- which things included holidays. Consequently, the day of primary significance to Christians -- Resurrection Day -- gained a preeminent place. That's certainly understandable, considering that our faith stand or falls on this single historic event (1 Corinthians 15:14). The Scriptures do not prohibit, however, setting up a schedule on which we may fully mediate on the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Since the church also needed to teach these truths to the flock, gradually overseers and elders put together what is known in modern times as the Liturgical Year. (By the way, it is really quite ingenious. Those who designed this commemorative and educational cycle of seasons are lost in history. But somehow, I suspect they wouldn't mind! It makes for a great study subject, by the way.) Days like Christmas and All Saints Day, etc. grew out of the Liturgical Year. During that whole time, though, lots of different cultures participated, and there was plenty of time for things to get pretty confused. Finally, it took the Reformation -- and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears -- to get it sufficiently straightened out. Still and all, the old Romanist thinking pervades cultural thinking. Therefore, I suspect that the reason Halloween is the focus of so much antipathy arises from the fact that it is a celebration to which it is difficult to apply a some kind of positive spin. (I think calling it a Harvest Festival doesn't accomplish much.) We don't think of Christmas as some sort of special day as Bible believers, but we can use it as a day to think about the Advent. But try as one may, it is hard to wrench something positive like that out of Halloween. Hence, michael03's, bream925, and jesusman's attitude toward this holiday. It is also why I ignore it. Still and all... October 31, 1517 was a date in which God providentially gave the world a great and precious gift. Without it, we'd still be trying to work out our own righteousness. Without it, there would be no sola Scriptura. Without it, there would be no Lockman or SBF! In Him, Doc |