HALLOWEEN: TIS THE SEASON TO BE EVIL
"Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of
devils" (1 Corinthians 10:21).
When I was a new Christian, I was astonished at how many churches
celebrated Halloween. Some had costume parties. Others went so far
as to sponsor "Haunted Houses" to raise funds for projects.
Perhaps I was more sensitive than most because I had been an actual
witch! Though many Christians today think of witches as fairy tales
with no more reality than the Smurfs, the fact is that witchcraft, or
"Wicca" as it is known to its followers, is a major religion counting
hundreds of thousands of worshippers. I wondered how many parents
would let their children partake of Halloween if they knew its
sinister history.
GRISLY ORIGINS
Halloween began in the British Isles with the Druids, an ancient pagan
priesthood and one of the fountainheads of Wicca. They considered
Halloween to be the highest festival of the year, Samhain. In this,
it was named after Saman, god of the Dead.(1) It was Feile na Marbh,
the Feast of the Dead.
The druids worshiped the sun god, called by names like Bel (Ba'al?) or
Chrom. On October 31st, they believed that he died and went into the
kingdom of the dead, Anwynn. The purpose of Samhain was to insure his
return. Even witches admit this involved human sacrifice.(2) Only
innocent blood could resurrect Bel and thus infants were slain on the
Druid altars.
Human blood opened up the gates of Anwynn and released the spirits for
a night. Thus, October 31st came to be associated with ghosts. This
is not just history. Samhain is still celebrated by pagans and is the
most solemn ceremony on their "calendar."
In America, the Founding Fathers forbade Halloween. It was not
celebrated until the 1900's when Irish immigrants brought it over.
Something once forbidden has now become part of our culture. But does
this mean that Christians should partake of it?
IDOLATROUS SYMBOLS?
Are the symbols of Halloween innocent--the cardboard black cats and
Jack-o-Lanterns? Let's see what history says:
The Jack-o-Lantern
Here it's a pumpkin, but in Europe it was often a turnip, or even a
skull with a candle in it. This serves two symbols, 1) the Lord of
the Dead, a "god" just like a Buddha--in short, an idol. 2) the
fearsome face represented the god, Saman, who would drive off less
powerful evil spirits abroad that night. The lights in the Jack-o-
Lantern symbolize the "faery fires" or "Will o' the Wisps" which were
the lost souls flitting through the night. They also hearken back to
the huge Samhain "balefires" which were lit to help conjure back the
god from the darkness.
Broomsticks and Witches
This image (however cartoon-like) shows an actual ritual in which
witches mount broomsticks (symbol of the male organ) and leap high
around the fields on them to "teach" the crops how high to grow.(3)
In our drug-conscious society, it should be noted that the flying
witch actually related to the fact that witches believed they could
fly great distances to their feasts by smearing their bodies with
"flying ointment." This ointment actually contained drugs like bella-
donna, aconite and cinquefoil and gave them psychedelic "trips" so
that they thought that they flew distances.(4) Are these images we
wish to convey to our children?
Black Cats
The black cat is also both the witch's "familiar" or magic helper, and
is the chief totem (idol) of the goddess of Wicca, Diana.(5) In
legend, she turns into a black cat to commit incest with her brother,
Lucifer. It is also a form of the Egyptian goddess, Bast.(6)
Ghosts and Skeletons
Christians are forbidden to have anything to do with supposed ghosts
(Deut. 18:10-13, Isaiah 8:19-20). The skeleton is a form of the
dead, the witches' "Horned God."
THE MINISTRY OF FEAR
"Haunted houses" and trick or treat are deeper issues. These haunted
houses are used to frighten kids. For a church to sponsor one should
be unthinkable!
Children are very sensitive, and we cannot know what damage we do to
them by exposing them to bone-rattling terror. Innocent thrills are
one thing, but in many cases terrifying experiences can open up
doorways for Satan to come in and mess around with their minds. I
know that my first attraction to witchcraft came right after my being
utterly terrified during a Halloween night experience.
To induce terror in a child is emphatically NOT a Godly ministry!
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind"--2 Timothy 1:7. We are promised that "perfect
love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18). Haunted houses are the farthest
thing from these precious promises.
Far too many former witches who are now believers share testimonies of
having their innocent little souls cracked open as kids by Halloween
activities and the floodgates of hell pouring in! Hear our warning
and offer your children some Godly alternative to Halloween.
Fear has also become part of trick or treat because of the placing of
razor blades, etc., in candy by witches. They are using this to help
provide the human sacrifices for Samhain, spreading fear through
spiritual terrorism.
Many witches also fill their candy with familiar spirits and then feed
it to trick or treaters, hoping that in eating the candy, the child
will take the controlling spirit within. Does your child partake of
this "table of demons"?
Even more fear has emerged recently with the realization of the very
real danger of children being kidnapped for Samhain sacrifices at this
season. Our ministry has dealt with several cases of either alleged
ritual kidnapping or ritual abuse by witches and satanists.
"GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN US."
In the midst of all this, we Christians can know that if we bring up
our children prayerfully, in the knowledge and fear of the Lord and
don't expose them unnecessarily to Satan's ministry of fear, we have
in us a Power that can effortlessly turn aside Halloween's evil.
Jesus said, "In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Plead the blood of
Jesus and the victory of His cross and resurrection over your kids
daily. Send them out into the world with a hug and the knowledge that
you love them and that Jesus loves them and lives within them. Do
spiritual warfare against Samhain and against all the wiles of the
devil and know that in Jesus we can tear down and smash all of the
machinery that Satan has devised to come against us and our families.
Take back this night for the glory of God and remember that "greater
is He that is in you than he that is in the world!" (1 John 4:4).
--William J. Schnoebelen
Notes
1. Baskin, Dictionary of Satanism, 1972, p. 285, & Walker, The
Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, 1983, p. 372.
2. Farrar & Farrar, Eight Sabbats for Witches, 1981, p. 122 and
Spence, The History and Origin of Druidism, 1976, p. 104.
3. Valiente, ABC's of Witchcraft, 1973, pp. 48-49.
4. Valiente, pp. 142-146.
5. The Alex Sanders Lectures on Witchcraft, Part Ten, "The Legend of
the Goddess."
6. Valiente, pp. 54-55.../