Pagan Holiday Thread

Um...

A holiday that involves lots of chocolate???

Where did you say the sign-up sheet was again?!

Wait, what?

Hanukkah goes big on chocolate?

Why has nobody ever told me about this?

Okay... Um... It's late October. Still time to plan. So when does Hanukkah start again?

Seriously.

Why has no one ever mentioned a holiday where we can feast on chocolate -- in a way that honors the Lord!!!

Lynx, we've been bamboozled all this time, through all these holiday threads, year after year!

Wow, it only took 15 years to start hearing about holidays (Purim and Hanukkah) that we might actually be able to celebrate...

With all due respect Lynx, 1. I am not prideful as you say. Am I proud to be and say I follow Jesus, YES. However, to say it in terms in the context also in which you responded I feel is wrong. Can I agree that turning the light off as a way to say that you are either not home or not participating as a way to deter the ones who would come to your door and ask for candy, of course it would be an option and also the "easier" option to do. I said what I said due to the fact that many modern day men and women followers of Christ do the easy thing far too much and do not stand for God even in the slightest bit. I have in many occasions, overheard conversations from complete strangers speaking in general terms and I weighed in on their conversation and spoke the truth according to the Bible so that their ignorance of the Bible and their world view was not the ONLY thing being promoted.
It is written,

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

These verses can be found in - Matthew 10: 32-33. I would say of any follower, to get in prayer and ask God essentially how you should respond, yet if He places on your heart to stay silent than obviously do so as that is His direction for you to take in that moment, however, if He does the opposite know that He has gone before you and prepared the one hearing the message prior to you speaking. In all things of course follow the Spirit of God as He directs and leads you in your walk. If you hear nothing for or against from God through prayer, than turn your light off and show that you do not participate, and if you choose to not hand out tracts, pray for them at the very least.
And Lynx, as I said before, I am not prideful in the way you denote. I am bold when it comes to my faith and as for the name: Ambassador, You are also an Ambassador are you not? Does it not say in Scripture, " Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:20
Please understand, I do and say what I do as the Lord leads and I said what I said respectfully, and did not put anyone down. However, I do and can come off as very direct, for that I apologize if my directness comes off as disrespectfully or prideful.

My wife used to attend a church here where we live where they did both as well. They handed out tracts with candy and I also can see the benefits of this. I am not opposed to handing candy out, I am against remaining silent in the face of obvious opposition to God.

That's not a bad idea.

It is telling that you see yourself as weighing in on conversations and dispensing your wisdom to those who are ignorant.

It must be such a terrible burden to be the only enlightened person in your area. How kind, generous and incredibly spiritual of you to so bountifully share your great knowledge with the lesser beings around you. I'm certain all the little people appreciate you so much.

I'm cueing the "slow clap" gif here.... great speech.

Oh, but it's actually "due", not "do".... just sayin....

smh....

Not sure if I want to bite. Are these holidays pagan - Yes for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. Is it appropriate to be celebrating them - Depends on which one you mean and how.
Is it worth getting into - Depends on who is listening and why.

I guess I will say, and fairly categorically, that Christians are foolish if they think celebrating Halloween is no big deal. To direct quote God from a prophetic word:

"You say; but it’s only one day – and I say; there is only one eternity."

Our church just had our annual fun fest in the parking lot... many of the small group folks will set up some type of game for kids to compete in, to "win" candy and goodies.. we get a rather large turnout from the neighborhoods around... they have costume contests, bounce houses, etc... it's a lot of fun for everyone. My wife and I did not get to attend, as we are both still recovering from a late summer cold.... I heard from the youth minister that we had over 600 people in and out of the building and parking lot area... many folks asked about our worship service times, and several folks asked to be considered members of the church.... placing membership.

Don't tell me that we can not use Halloween as an opportunity to reach the lost, or un-churched. Planting seeds....

Unless you were being facetious, please allow me to be. - It's just so honoring of Christian saints to follow the pagan tradition of warding off evil spirits with jack-o'-lanterns, playing with fear (somehow my Bible is missing that fruit of the Spirit), and by dressing up as witches.

Not wrong to reference facts (though even those need to be vetted and considered in context), but as Christians, let's be sure to look to God and the spirit as our primary source since that is what really matters.

I like candy, turkey, ham, and eggs.

Halloween is about remembering the saints of God. It's even in the name. Sorry to break the news to you, but Halloween was made by the Christians to wipe out the pagans' religion and culture and mock them and glorify the saints of Jesus that largely wiped out the pagans and their culture and religions. Now if someone does something pagan on the holiday that doesn't make the holiday itself pagan, that just makes that person a pagan. Why surrender the glory that belongs to Jesus and his holy army of angels and saints to you know, their enemies?

Ahh, it's starting to feel like the old days around here.

Now all we need is a comment about tree worship and we'll be all set.

I'm not the one you asked, but God hasn't said anything against birthdays to my church though He has expressed issues with Halloween, Christmas, & Easter. In fact when we had a Pentecost party, He told us "Happy Birthday" since it celebrates the birth of His church.

You think (s)he is disappointing them? When my aunt got trick-or-treaters she told them she had some oatmeal mush they could have if they really wanted.

But since when is not disappointing children the highest goal? If you really love someone you tell them the truth.

Wait, we haven't finished on Halloween yet.

What we really need to complete the nostalgia is a comment about Jack O'Lanterns coming from a practice of making candles out of rendered fat from sacrificed children.

Don't look at me like that. People really have claimed that on this forum before.

Why not both? Isn't that what the ancient Israelites tried? Instead of worshiping God or Molech they decided to go for both.

Not sure what is really best, but there is definitely an argument to be made against "both."