Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

From the Pulpit & Pen:

I am writing this for my church. I think it might be helpful for others, and so I will make it available here.

Clearly, certain questions are a matter of adiaphora, and no one should deny the reality that certain ethical questions fall into that category.

Adiaphora is a term developed by stoic philosophers and adopted by Christians to describe decisions that are neither inherently moral or immoral, right or wrong, or necessarily good or bad. As a category or framework to understand ethical conundrums the concept of adiaphora is often helpful.

However, not every ethical question can be answered by categorizing the matter adiaphora. There are also questions with answers that do not echo sentiments of Christian liberty, but can rather be clearly categorized as moral or immoral, right or wrong, righteousness or sin. Christians seem all-too-eager today to silence the collective conscience by putting every issue in the pigeon hole of adiaphora, shrugging their shoulders and mumbling something about floating your boat. In reality, even if something is adiaphora – meaning that it is neither explicitly forbidden or explicitly commanded – it doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t a wise or unwise, helpful or unhelpful, healthy or unhealthy decision to be made regarding that ethical decision. In short, even if something is adiaphora, it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook of thinking out the costs and benefits, implications and consequences of ethical decisions.

Paul references this notion in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” Clearly for the Apostle, even those things that may not necessarily be wrong, may still be unwise, unhelpful or unedifying. It would be foolish of the Christian to embrace “all things are lawful” while neglecting his admonition, “but not all things are helpful.”

First, we need to ask if it is sinful for a Christian to celebrate Halloween. Then, we must ask – if it is not sinful – if it is wise, helpful or edifying to celebrate Halloween.

In order to answer the first question, I need to explain the holiday known as “Halloween.”

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

There is a shortage in China that is shaking their society to its foundations. I'm not speaking of the shortage of Christianity, the Holy Spirit is working with that, I'm talking about the shortage of women. One of the hallmarks of communism and socialism is the complete and total enslavement to stupid ideas. Another hallmark of these political diseases is to implement those stupid ideas regardless of the cost in human lives. 

Mao's "Great Leap Forward" killed 45 million people in four years, the slaughter was unimaginable. Unfortunately that was not the only, or last, stupid idea inflicted on the Chinese people. A shining gem of shortsightedness is China's "One Child Policy" where couples are restricted to having one child only. Forced abortions became the law of the land and parents would abort girls so their one child could be a son. This has lead to the very easily forseeable condition of a severe shortage of women in China. So one would think that an advanced civilization (as compared to a communist civilization) would  avoid this kind of nightmare, right? Unfortunately, the dishonest agenda driven Planned Planned Parenthood, a tax supported "female friendly" organization is specializing on killing baby girls in the womb

Then there's the ideas generated by Mr. Pope

Todd White is beyond awesome

It's been very clear that Willow Creek church and Bill Hybels has had very little regard for Scripture. Here's more proof

Do you need to believe in God to be moral? Atheists say "No."

Speaking of immoral, how much more proof do we need that AHA is a group of domestic terrorists?

Jim Bakker tells us that he knows the mind of God. He wouldn't lie, would he?

Spurgeon Thursday - Spurgeon Speaks His Mind

The Protestant Reformation is a term used to describe a series of events that happened in the 16th century in the Christian Church. Because of corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, Godly people saw a need to change the way it worked.

In the beginning of the 16th century, many events occurred that led to the protestant reformation. The split was over doctrine not corruption. Martin Luther began the Reformation by criticizing the sale of indulgences, insisting that the Pope had no authority over purgatory and that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in the Bible. The Reformation incorporated doctrinal changes such as  a complete reliance on Scripture as a source of proper belief (sola scriptura) and the belief that faith in Jesus, and not good works, is the only way to obtain God's pardon for sin (sola fide).

The reformation was a schism, not a conquest, and the Roman Catholic Church preservered, yet many Christians called out to their Catholic brothers to come out of ideological slavery. Leading the call was Charles Spurgeon;

Roman Catholicism

If you and I had been about in our Lord's day, and could have had everything managed to our hand, we should have converted Caesar straight away by argument or by oratory; we should then have converted all his legions by every means within our reach; and, I warrant you, with Caesar and his legions at our back we would have Christianised the world in no time: would we not? Yes, but that is not God's way at all, nor the right and effectual way to set up a spiritual kingdom.

Bribes and threats are alike unlawful, eloquence and carnal reasoning are out of court, the power of divine love is the one weapon for this campaign. Long ago the prophet wrote, "Not by might, nor by power, but by Spirit, saith the Lord." The fact is that such conversions as could be brought about by physical force, or by mere mental energy, or by the prestige of rank and pomp, are not conversions at all. The kingdom of Christ is not a kingdom of this world, else would his servants fight; it rests on a spiritual basis, and is to be advanced by spiritual means.

WWUTT Wednesday - Papal Perfection Pettifoggery

As we come closer and closer to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we have to keep in mind one of the main driving causes of the Reformation; the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, the Primate of Italy, the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, the Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, the Servant of the Servants of God.

We know him as Mr. Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and a member of the self styled "unbroken succession" of Bishops (ignoring instances of popes being involuntarily deposed and instances of contention over the papacy by two or even three popes simultaneously, accompanied by multiple colleges of cardinals and bishoprics) seated in the "Chair of Peter" to rule over people who should instead be ruled over by God. The only history of Peter being in Rome was a letter written over 120 years after his death yet this church claims to be founded by Peter in Rome. How do we know that's true? Because Mr. Pope says it is.

Getting Closer To The Throne

At 7:12 PM EDT last night I officially became a sexagenarian which, if you don't know what the word means, isn't what it sounds like. And like anyone else reaching a milestone in their progress toward the Throne of Mercy I pondered and prayed a prayer of thanks for God's guidance in reaching that point. 

I don't have a problem with reaching 60 but King Solomon wasn’t all that enthusiastic about growing old. In fact he was really upset with his age. In Ecclesiastes 12 he says

1 

1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun is darkened and the light and the moon and the stars and the clouds return after the rain;

Then he goes on

6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the pulley is broken at the well, 7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,  and the life breath returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity!

He finally finishes up Ecclesiastes with the words For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Solomon was very disheartened. He obviously was looking back on his life and realized where he fell short far too late. He had it all and squandered it all away in his pursuit of power. His selfish ambition lead to the division and fall of Israel, and as he neared the end he realized the folly of his actions.

WWUTT Wednesday - Does God Cause Hurricanes?

You have to admit that there's been a whole lot of interesting things happening this year. I say 'interesting' instead of 'horrible' because I feel like I'm standing on the sidelines of a game or a stage play that I know how the ending will turn out, as all Christians should.

Houston, Barbuda, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, St. Martin, Naples, Jacksonville, these areas and more were battered by weather systems as hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria danced across the Atlantic and slammed in to the Caribbean and mainland United States.

Where do hurricanes come from? Humanists will want you to believe that every time you start your car you're contributing to the next category 5 hurricane, but then if humanists are so sure that CO2 emissions are the cause of hurricanes, why don't they demand more power plants be built based on reactors? Thorium reactors are very safe and they are not based on 1960's technology so the humanists don't have anything to worry about there, and unlike wind power, they don't slaughter bats and birds wholesale. The problem is that hurricanes don't come from your exhaust pipe, they come from God.

Resist We Much

My annual False Teacher Of The Year award is coming up soon and to be honest, there's plenty of candidates out there. The problem is that although a plethora of new false teachers are clamoring for recognition, there appears to be a wealth of old names putting themselves in the running for this prestigious award. We had thought that these graybeards had retired from the limelight and were quietly praying for redemption or making their livings saying things like "you want fries with that?"

It breaks my heart that people I know who are good Christians are falling to the spell of smooth talking "prosperity pimps", pulpit "Weinsteins", and teachers of the word of "If It Feels Good Do It". False teachers are nothing new, Paul warned us about them two millenia ago:

28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:28-31)

And then there's Al Sharpton. "Reverend" Sharpton has always been on the periphery of bad news but there is one question about Al Sharpton that always bothers me: "Just what exactly is the "Reverend" Al Sharpton a revered for?" (I know that ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong, but sometimes you just have to do it)

Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. was born in Brooklyn NY on October 3, 1954 and he claims to have delivered his first sermon at the age of four, his sermon was titled "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled" a sermon he delivered before learning to read or write. By age ten Sharpton was "ordained" by Pentecostal minister Bishop F.D. Washington - a man with no training or education himself. After Bishop Washington's death in the late 1980s, Sharpton became a Baptist. He was re-baptized as a member of the Bethany Baptist Church in 1994 by the Reverend William Augustus Jones and became a Baptist minister. 

As for education, "Reverend" Al attended and graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn, but dropped out of Brooklyn College in 1975 failing to complete two years. I dropped out of college around the same time so I can't fault him for that, I had dropped out to go on a 20 year world tour with the United States Air Force. "Reverend" Al dropped out to go on tour with James Brown, the Godfather of Parole Soul. While I did return to college to earn my degree Al never did. It is said that "Reverend" Al received an honorary degree from A.P. Clay Bible College, an educational institution that doesn't seem to exist on the internet.

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

Fair warning: If you're not a history buff just skip over this part. Today is a dark anniversary in Catholicism - 710 years ago today King Philip IV of France exercised the nuclear option to erase his debt with the Knights Templar: he killed them.

At daybreak on Friday, 13 October 1307, hundreds of Templar's in France were simultaneously arrested by agents of Philip the Fair, tortured into admitting heresy, then slaughtered. After seven years in prison the leaders of the Templars, Jacques de Molay told the French jury that he was tortured into lying so he was dragged out to a small island on the Seine, the Île aux Juifs where the French executed Jews, and very slowly roasted Jacques de Molay to death.

The main crime of the Knights Templar was the sin of being better with a dollar than the King of France and the pope which made them targets. The pope was better with a dollar than King Philip IV which made him a target too, Pope Boniface VIII was arrested by King Philip IV and was replaced by  French archbishop Bertrand de Goth who was elected pope as Clement V which sheds yet another unfavorable light on the claim of an "Unbroken chain of apostolic succession"

Speaking of the Knights Templar, England roasts them slowly to death again

Christians denied service by a gay business owner. Where's the outrage?

I don't do politics here, but this isn't politics, this is satanic crushing of the truth. If you disagree with that assessment, please start a conversation in the comments below ↓

Note to Tim Allen - you used to work for DISNEY, Disney does not like you if you're straight, conservative, or a man of faith

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

Christian men - have you ever had an issue where your wife or other women in your church start giving a false teacher or false teaching more credence than it deserves? I've actually seen it in action more times than I'd wish to recount. "We decided to use the Message at our woman's bible study because "it's current and fresh and understandable" or you see that the women of the church plan to attend a seminar featuring Paula White or Joyce Meyer.

Men don't fall under the spell of charismatic (and Charismatic) false teachers like women do. When a man realized that a person is a false teacher the man will walk away. Women don't do that, they will knowingly follow a false teacher for reasons that us men cannot begin to fathom. This is the reason why God made men the spiritual leaders of our families and our churches, and precisely why we men need to "Man Up" and protect our families and church families from the ravages of the wolves that are false teachers. This battle goes back to the Garden of Eden where Adam failed to act courageously and look where we are today, Read this fascinating study of the problem and be sure to read the comments too

Speaking of false teachers, here's Mark Driscoll, just in case you forgot

Speaking of false teachers, here's Paula White and her rockstar 3rd husband on the Jim Bakker show. It's like the Grand Slam of false teaching

How to tell if the gospel you are being taught is a false gospel

It's 25 more days until Reformation Day, Here's how some folks celebrate

And here's how other folks "celebrate" Reformation Day

Why Doesn't God Prevent Evil?

Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas Village early on Monday morning killing more than 50 people, and injuring more than 500 people. The question on any people's minds and on the tongues of many scoffers is:

If God is love, why did he let this happen?

The Bible describes God as holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Psalm 7:11), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and sovereign (Daniel 4:17-25), so how could He have allowed this to have happened? God clearly despises evil and wants to rid the universe of evil, so how could a madman pack 10 or so rifles into a Las Vegas hotel room and open fire on a crowd 32 floors below him? Does God not care that His people are suffering at the hands of madmen, terrorists, political anarchists. and ruthless dictators? Why does God allow evil? And knowing that these questions are coming from all sides, are we as Christians ready to answer them?