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Trick or Treat? Disclaimer: What you choose to do with Halloween or any other cultural holiday is your choice. You will not be judged here if you choose to allow your children to wear costumes and “trick or treat.” The purpose of this message is to inform, enlighten, and encourage you to seek the Lord for how He wants you to respond to these and other cultural opportunities we have available to us.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins Before the spread of Christianity to the British Isles, Celts and Druids (poly-theists) would celebrate the festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-wane), marking the end of harvest, the beginning of the dark half of the year and the start of their new year. (Nov. 1)

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins The pagan festival of Samhain (Lord of the Dead) included rituals such as the lighting of bonfires, the carving of turnips, sacrifice of animals, wearing of animal skins and recognition of the dead.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins As Christianity spread, the Roman Catholic Church attempted to replace pagan festivals with Christian ones. Such was the case with the Festival of Samwain and All Saints Day.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins In the 8th century, the Roman Catholic Church moved “All Saint’s Day” from May to November in an attempt to shift the focus of fall pagan festivals from their polytheistic roots to the hope of eternal life in the one true God.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins Another name for “All Saints Day” was “All Hallow’s Day.” The night before (Oct. 31) was known as “All Hallow’s Evening,” which later was shortened to Hallow’een.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins “Carving Pumpkins” - springs from the “souling” custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering souls held in purgatory. (Catholic belief) North Americans used the pumpkin since it was easier to carve than turnips. (Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 29, 57.)

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins “Guising”- It was believed that Samhain (pagan Lord of Death), called spirits of the dead to attack the living on the eve of Oct. 31. People would try to fool these tormenting spirits by wearing disguises to make themselves look like evil spirits or animals to blend in. (Christianity Today, October 22, 1982, p.32).

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins “Trick or Treating” - Celts and Druids believed that people who were not able to fool spirits of the dead by “guising” could appease them by leaving “treats” outside their homes.

Trick or Treat? Halloween’s Origins “Trick or Treating” also resembles the practice of the poor in Christian communities who would go begging door to door for food in return for their prayers for the souls of loved ones still believed to be in purgatory on All Hallow‘s Day.

Trick or Treat? Halloween and Wicca Wicca, also known as “Pagan Witchcraft,” is polytheistic or pantheistic depending on the group. Its members are referred to as “Wiccans”, “Witches” or “Crafters”. They meet together in local “covens” (groups) to practice their rituals.

Trick or Treat? Halloween and Wicca Wiccans could be described as “gnostic” (gnosis = knowledge) in that they believe that secret/hidden knowledge and power is available to them from pagan gods or the cosmos itself. They believe that through practicing pagan rituals and the use of the occult they can access this power.

Trick or Treat? Three Types of Occult Practices: 1. Divination: seeking to know the past, present or future by astrology; horoscopes; channeling (inviting a spirit to possess your body), reading of tea leaves, palms, tarot cards; etc.

Trick or Treat? Three Types of Occult Practices 2. Magic/Sorcery: seeking to control or manipulate reality using spells, incantations, potions, etc. 3. Spiritism: seeking to communicate with the dead or other entities through a medium, Ouija board, séance, etc.

Trick or Treat? Halloween and Wicca Halloween and Wiccans are closely linked because Oct. 31 is one of their most sacred days of the year due to their strong identification with the pagan Festival of Samhain.

What the Bible says about the Occult – Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult – 1 Samuel 28: 3, 5, 7 (NIV) “Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled all the mediums and spiritist from the land… When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart… Saul then said to his attendants, ‘Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go and inquire of her.’”

What the Bible says about the Occult – Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult – Saul knew better! As Israel’s first king, he had previously expelled all the mediums from the land. Now that Samuel, Israel’s prophet of God is dead, he does the what he knows is detestable to God – he seeks a medium to try to communicate with Samuel. Why? He was terrified of the army of the Philistines. Fear and desperation sometimes makes us do things we know we shouldn’t. Saul knew he shouldn’t consult a medium from the book of Deuteronomy.

What the Bible says about the Occult - Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult - Deut. 18:9-12 (NIV) “ When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults with the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD…”

What the Bible says about the Occult – Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult – Galatians 5:19-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What the Bible says about the Occult – Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult – Ephesians 5:8-12 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.”

What the Bible says about the Occult – Trick or Treat? What the Bible says about the Occult – Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Trick or Treat? Application – Clearly, the Lord teaches us in the Bible to avoid the occult and those who practice it. Please bear this in mind as you seek God’s direction to determine how you and your family will respond to the occultic, “spooky” elements of Halloween. If you have been involved personally in the occult, God’s grace and forgiveness is available to you through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Trick or Treat? Halloween Alternatives: - Harvest Parties - “Trick or Treat for Unicef” - “Trick or Treat so others can eat” - Give Christian tracts with candy

Family Fall Fest Saturday, Oct. 29, 3-5pm @ Ferry Farm Baptist Church (1 Westmoreland Dr., 22405) Free Food, Fun, Games, Moon Bounces (even pumpkin bowling!)

Trick or Treat? Next Sunday: What is Satanism and what does the Bible say about it?

See you next Sunday!