#0122 Unmasking Halloween and the Church- Further. Every. Day.

11/10/23 • 82 min

Unmasking Halloween and the Church

Introduction: As we have exited the Halloween season, let's ask a question, should we be participating in Halloween as Christians? Are all things pure to those who are pure? Or are there some celebrations that we as Christians shouldn't coopt? Or here's a plot twist many haven't considered: Did Halloween Co-opt a Christian Holiday? Let's explore that as we watch our culture stray Further. Every. Day.

Now, if you are a Christian who believes that anyone who lets their children Trick or Treat is going to Hell, maybe reconsider your soteriology, you clearly don't understand Salvation. With that said, there are many Christians who don't seem to mind appearing worldly with their gory antics on Halloween. We'll get to that momentarily.

Origins:

But first, let's attempt to cover the most common question that arises in Christian circles on this topic: Where did Halloween come from? The sad thing is, we don't really know. Most sources actually cannot pinpoint the origins of the Halloween that we witness every year in America, but instead it appears to have an amorphous origin. Let's look at some of the other holidays that may have had an influence on what we now call Halloween.

Samhain (Sawhen)

All Saints Day

The Day of the Dead

Samhain (Sawhen)

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/

So where might all of these coincided? Was Samhain the origin of Halloween?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu-5BmAzbrU

0:45-7:29

What is the Day of the Dead? La Catrina was the Goddess of the underworld in Aztec Culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sSawpU81cI

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2019/10/la-catrina-dark-history-day-deads-immortal-icon

What will people who celebrate Samhain or the Day of the Dead think of us as Christians when we participate in Halloween?

Chair 1: Theology

What does God say about adopting the celebrations of Pagan Gods?

Deut 12:29-32 :“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

What does He say about marginal practices that are not primary Salvation related traditions?

Romans 14:1-5 : “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

How should we navigate Halloween?

Chair 2: Philosophy

How should we go about the addressing little children playacting as princesses and cowboys? Is this the same as worshiping pagan idols?
How has the Church allowed a celebration of the Saints, devolve into the 2nd largest financially grossing holiday in America?

Chair 3: Culture

As we have watched the Church lose the narrative to the Cultures around her, what has happened to the Culture surrounding Halloween? How has the Church's lack of authority on the matter degraded our Culture?
Should Christians participate in the horror movies and gore of Halloween? How does one navigate the verses above with Halloween and the Culture? What does the Culture see when we as Christians partake in the more paganistic practices of Halloween?

Chair 4: Politics

Multiculturalism has positive and negative effects as any system has, but we see the active support for pag...

Unmasking Halloween and the Church

Origins:

Samhain (Sawhen)

All Saints Day

The Day of the Dead

Samhain (Sawhen)

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/

So where might all of these coincided? Was Samhain the origin of Halloween?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu-5BmAzbrU

0:45-7:29

What is the Day of the Dead? La Catrina was the Goddess of the underworld in Aztec Culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sSawpU81cI

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2019/10/la-catrina-dark-history-day-deads-immortal-icon

What will people who celebrate Samhain or the Day of the Dead think of us as Christians when we participate in Halloween?

Chair 1: Theology

What does God say about adopting the celebrations of Pagan Gods?

What does He say about marginal practices that are not primary Salvation related traditions?

How should we navigate Halloween?

Chair 2: Philosophy

How should we go about the addressing little children playacting as princesses and cowboys? Is this the same as worshiping pagan idols?
How has the Church allowed a celebration of the Saints, devolve into the 2nd largest financially grossing holiday in America?

Chair 3: Culture

As we have watched the Church lose the narrative to the Cultures around her, what has happened to the Culture surrounding Halloween? How has the Church's lack of authority on the matter degraded our Culture?
Should Christians participate in the horror movies and gore of Halloween? How does one navigate the verses above with Halloween and the Culture? What does the Culture see when we as Christians partake in the more paganistic practices of Halloween?

Chair 4: Politics

Multiculturalism has positive and negative effects as any system has, but we see the active support for pag...

Previous Episode

#0121 How Anti-Semitism Crept Into The Church -Further Every Day

With all of the riots in the West, and even supposed Evangelical Christians championing the demise of Israel, the question rises: How did anti-semitism creep into the Church and the Western Psyche?

First off, what is Anti-Semitism: “Hatred of and hostility toward the Jews, at times including the belief that they pose a threat to society and should be eliminated. The term was coined in 1879 by the German anti-Jewish writer Wilhelm Marr to refer specifically to “scientific” rather than “religious” opposition to Jews, but it is generally applied to all manifestations of hatred of the Jewish people. Over its long history, it has taken different forms in different cultural contexts. This has led to debate about what precisely constitutes antisemitism and whether it is unique or merely the specific expression of the kind of inter-group hostility that is found in most societies. The Jewish experience of antisemitism over the centuries, especially under the Nazis, plays a significant role in contemporary Jewish self-understanding and communal life....” -Oxford
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199730049.001.0001/acref-9780199730049-e-0207

We are seeing pro-Hamas protests across the US and Europe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fmahzTQppw

How did we get here? Well let's set up a rough timeline:

Timeline of Events:

Early Christian Period (A.D. 160-180):

Marcion launches a theological crusade against perceived Jewish Influence (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, p. 493).
Later, many of these same anti-Judaic sentiments found their way into the thinking (and writings) of the Early Church fathers. Irenaeus (c. 180), for instance, wrote, “The Jews have rejected the Son of God and cast Him out of the vineyard when they slew Him. Therefore, God has justly rejected them and has given to the Gentiles outside the vineyard the fruits of its cultivation” (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, [1885-1887], Volume 1, p. 493).

7th Century (A.D. 680-687):

Jewish converts to Christianity must renounce their Jewish heritage before baptism (Professions of Faith Extracted from Jews on Baptism, compiled by Professor Paul Halsall of Fordham University).

Development of Theological Views:

Chiliasm (premillennialism) prominent in Early Church despite later shift to amillennialism (History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2, p. 614).
Augustine's symbolic interpretation of Israel's prophecies contributes to amillennialism (City of God, Books 15 to 19).

Martin Luther and Anti-Semitism:

Luther, a supersessionist, advocates burning synagogues, expelling Jews, influencing Nazi policies (On the Jews and Their Lies, Luther's Works, pp. 268-271).
Luther's ideas inspired Nazi leaders Goering, Himmler, and Hitler to commit the atrocities Luther prescribed against Jewish people (The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 236).
https://youtu.be/RW-bx3-aO5E?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/B-7OiA-G3hA?feature=shared

So what does the Bible say about the Jewish People and their Covenant with God?

Paul asserts God has not permanently rejected Israel (Romans 11:1-2, 11-12, 15).
Foresees a future restoration of Israel, a time of "fullness" and recognition of Yeshua as Messiah (Romans 11:26).
David is promised an eternal heir in 2 Samuel 7:12-13
And of course the Abrahamic Covenant: https://www.gotquestions.org/Abrahamic-covenant.html

Closing Question to each chair: So how should we as Christians look upon the Jewish People?

Final Question: What Old Testament Era Figure has inspired you the most in life?

Next Episode

#0123 Can Christians Explain the Existence of Aliens Biblically? Further. Every. Day.

https://youtu.be/kvAsSer5ZTw?feature=shared 56:00-1:01:45* 59:25 Occult Eschatology with inverted saviors being the aliens and the rapture being the removal of the spiritually unworthy. Theological constraints on Alien Existence We don't see Aliens in the Bible, but what do we see concerning the spiritual world and Heaven? Elisha's Testimony of Elijah 2 Kings 2:11-13 Baalam's Donkey Numbers 22:21-39 The Mount of Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-8 John's Account of Revelation Revelation 4:1 There's no mention of Aliens, but there is mention of demons. (This is the weakest argument available, yet it holds some water. Why would God be silent on this issue?) Philosophical Constraints Privileged Planet stats. https://youtu.be/XiKL49YqzB4?feature=shared 11:06-1235 How does this information make it more difficult to believe that there is more life out there? Stats on trip length: How does this affect the plausibility of advanced travelers? Might they rather be inter dimensional or extra natural? 25,000 years. Via Dr. Brian Huffling Jacque Valet: Aliens are Interdimensional Beings 11:13-12:33 We're not being visited by Extraterrestrials, but Interdimensional Beings 25:00-27:18 How would the presence of Aliens affect the nature of Christ's death with more than one world to save? Does the presence of these creatures make more sense from the perspective of a demonic presence? Cultural Constraints on Civilization Stats on Civilization's decay after 2,000 years 28:00-28:35 How does the debauchery that we see in our own culture, testify against the possibility of an advanced civilization. (Think of how in 60 years we went from Moonshot to VR Chat and self actualization being prime motivation for research.) How does the idea of an advanced civilization clash with the reality of what we see in society. How would a demonic force use such a delusion, that a society untethered from God could advance so far, to elevate the individual over their need of Christ? Political Reasons for Releasing Data on UFOs Why now? Why are they stirring the pot right now? Could it be something to do with our failing economy? Why would they even release these things during the pandemic? What is the government's track record been on keeping secrets? Economic Incentive for the Story How has the culture embraced the sensationalism of the Alien phenomenon and grown an industry around the topic? What is the incentive to publish more material on the topic? Is there an inherent bias towards sensationalism? How should the Christian tread here? #respect #goodguyswinning #Guns #trans #nra #transgender #brettcooper #mattwalsh #changemymind #stevencrowder #michaelknowles #benshapiro #fed #woke #podcast #christianity #furthereveryday #america #rights #listenable #abortion #deathofthewest #israel #palestine #hamasattack #israelhamaswarnewstoday