Betwixt the Sea and Sky

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This page has apparently been viewed 3616 times .... I wonder how many of them left with the truth?

(open for discussion ... no flamming, thanks)

LOL... alright, alright.... so no one wants to touch it with a ten foot pole (so to speak), lol As far as 'who' persauded me to post... well ... must have been my alter ego ... honest. Anyways, I came across this on one of my web wanderings and just had to bring it home with me, lol

Heres to hoping its a nice night for the pumpkin patch

Sorry, I can't reply without flaming. My opinion--it's stupid. I will never trust anything that has the entire history of the Roman empire, European Pagan practice and the Christian infiltration summarized in a paragraph and a half. I've read lots of Christian articles bashing Pagan practice as "satanic" and I have to say that this is one of the most poorly-written--both grammatically and facts-wise. The subjects jump all over the place. The paragraphs are poorly-formed, etc. The author obviously didn't learn anything beyond 5th grade language arts. As to what the article is saying, again, it's just ignorant and below a response, imo.

OOooooooooooooooooooooooo groan!! I do bite my tongue at those "good christians" who celebrate Halloween and yet dont want their children dressing up as something 'evil'. As far as I know Britain doesn't celebrate Halloween (Samhain, a Druid god of the dead was honored at Halloween in Britain,) so they are wrong in that respect. It is hardly doubtful that they could be wrong about so much more considering most of their own holidays were built on lies and attached to Pagan holidays so as to be easier accepted and now have become comercial blunders, hardly representing the original intended holiday anyway. Ah well I try hard not to read these things

Not to mention that Satanism promotes the worship of self and not of devils, other gods, etc....many Christian sects have as many silly rites as many Satanic ones may....

Cmon, Red....You didn't expect a serious discussion on this did you???? This would be like trying to discuss the .......I can't think of anything that this would be like trying to discuss! There are blantant factual errors throughout the entire thing. Samhain, a Druid God? Muck Olla? And you have to looove her sources!

Well one thing is clear from this, since I've already made my "choice"

Don't pray for me Argentina......la la la

Although it's exactly what I would expect from an Alabama Baptist churchgoer, I can't help but think that it represents even a minority there! I mean seriously, I went to school in the South (tho not that far south), we did learn real history. This is the kind of thing that one has to consider....humorous, and....trite.

And this should demonstrate quite convincingly why gun rights are soooo important here in the states. The moronic index is way too high. When officials at the highest level still espouse the creation theory and dominence over all living creatures as an effective environmental policy, you have to know the inmates of the sanitorium have taken over......

Doc viewed 666 times.

OMG! I just about wore my tea while reading your post... justification for the U.S gun law due to moronic majority?? LMAO

Okay okay... I already fess'd up and I didn't really expect a 'serious fireside' discussion ... but it was too good to pass up. Forgive me and my twisted sense of snicker, lol

xians trash talking Halloween/Samhain shows that they've got no sense of fun at all....

The Meaning of Halloween

by Matt Reid, Collegian editor
October 25, 2004

For the first time since 1999, Halloween falls on a Sunday this year. For people across the country, especially those found in Bible Belt states, holding Halloween celebrations on a Sunday is unacceptable. Some feel that holding a day of "devil worship" on a day that is supposed to be reserved for the Lord is sacrilegious. It has even been suggested that a national campaign be started to celebrate the holiday on Saturday instead.

Before one can decide on this issue, it's important to understand where Halloween really comes from. Some people think it originated as a day for witches to worship Satan and burn crosses. It actually dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"). Nov. 1 marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year, and it was believed that on the night before, the ghosts of the deceased would return to the world of the living.

The presence of the ghosts allowed Celtic priests to make predictions about the future, and give comfort and direction for the upcoming winter. Bonfires were built to commemorate the New Year, and people would dress in costumes of animal skins and dance around the fire.

Over the years, Roman and Christian influences would seep into Celtic lands and traditions, and Halloween as we know it today would eventually be born. But even today, many of the elements from the ancient Celtic holiday remain.

This holiday is not, and never has been, about worshiping the devil. Samhain began as a way to commemorate the end of the year, and the word even means, literally, "summer's end."

Moving Halloween to a Saturday this year would anger some, and it would anger others to just keep the day as-is, so obviously there is no solution for everyone. But keeping things as-is would seem like the most logical course of action. For one thing, just because some people have a problem with it, doesn't mean a change needs to be made that will affect everyone involved. If an individual doesn't want to send their child out trick-or-treating, that is there choice.
However, they should not decide for everyone.

If someone truly has a problem with the concept of Halloween, it would seem that the specific day of the week it is celebrated on would be inconsequential. A woman quoted in an Oct. 24 Philadelphia Inquirer article was quoted as saying, "[Sunday] is a day for the good Lord, not for the devil." The woman went on to say that she would allow her 4-year-old daughter to go trick-or-treating on Saturday instead, dressed as a princess. Apparently, worshiping the devil is perfectly acceptable on a Saturday, just not a Sunday.

Some people are saying that celebrating Halloween on a Sunday will confuse little children, warping their minds as to the true meaning of the Sabbath. I have a hard time swallowing this statement. I doubt that any 8-year-old who puts on his SpongeBob SquarePants costume will get to the first doorstep, ring the door bell, and think to himself, "gee, I find it odd that mommy and daddy are letting me take part in this extremely Pagan festival of devil worshiping on a
Sunday, when they always used to tell me that Sundays were reserved for prayers to the Lord for all that he gives us. I wish I did this yesterday, so the Lord wouldn't think any worse of me."

Maybe some kids do think this way nowadays, and maybe I was just uncultured and ignorant as a child. When I was an 8-year-old all I cared about on Halloween was filling up my pillowcase with as many Snickers and Butterfingers as I could, regardless of what day of the week it was.

It's no doubt that Halloween has changed in meaning over the years. As is the case for most things in our society, the day has become commercialized, which is perhaps the bigger tragedy here. People are going to profit off of Halloween any way they can. It is estimated, according to a CNN report, that the country will spend a total of $3 billion on costumes and candy this year. And other negative occurrences associated with Halloween, such as pumpkin smashing,
egging of cars and houses and toilet-papering of trees have nothing to do with the devil. These things have to do with pre-existing problems with society that plague this country all 365 days of the year, not just on Halloween.

Is Halloween the most wholesome of holidays? No. Has it come to be associated with the Devil and evil practices? Yes. But when you consider that Christmas has come to be associated with getting the most expensive toys on the market, Valentine's Day has come to be a cash-cow for Hallmark, and Thanksgiving is centered on watching football games and parades, it becomes obvious that all holidays are tarnished in today's world. The bottom line, Halloween has come to
symbolize a worshiping of chocolate, not Satan (and some would argue that that is an even bigger problem).

Information from historychannel.com was used in this column.

Matthew Reid is a Collegian editor.

© 2004 The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

here's a pamphlet that is quite amusing...however you WILL lose braincells and become stupider for having read it...anyhow http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5012/5012_01.asp

the rest of them are here read up and try not to choke

Last night on the way home from work I was forced to listen to a xian "teen chat". My father was driving. I'm fairly certain he did it on purpose. The topic--why Halloween, Witchcraft, Wicca etc. are "satanic." I'm sure you can imagine how awful it was. I found it to be extremly offensive and ignorant on the whole. The worst part, however, were the call-ins. The ex-Wiccan girl telling everyone how she was saved from her evil, satanic practices and about her visions of evil clowns (don't ask me, I don't know). The satan-worshipping boy who was "saved" on the air. It was topped off with the girl calling in to ask if it would be "un-Christian" if she dressed up goth for Halloween. Of course, the advice she recieved was brilliant. They told her that goth was satanic and she should dress up as a marshmallow or exclamation point instead. It just made me even more annoyed than I already was. I try to bash any belief even when I disagree...but give me a break. I dressed up goth every day for years and I knew plenty of xian goth kids too. The ignorance is astounding.

Ack...that should read "Itry not to bash any belief"...jeez...I'm too tired to be typing.

Here is a story I found from the other end of the extreme. Any thoughts?

"The district said Halloween celebrations and children dressed in Halloween costumes might be offensive to real witches.

"Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that," Hansen said.

The Wiccan, or Pagan, religion is said to be growing in the United States and there are Wiccan groups in Puyallup.

On the district's list of guidelines related to holidays and celebrations is an item that reads: 'Use of derogatory stereotypes is prohibited, such as the traditional image of a witch, which is offensive to members of the Wiccan religion.'"

She was saved from her visions of evil clowns?! That is most laudible...the evil clowns do exist and people should be more aware of em...they eat people!!beware the clowns!!!

Education is the only key to beating this. The extreme christian right is empowered with Bush and the climate of fear that this administration has created. The climate of fear present today, is not so much different than the environments that led to the witch phobias throughout the centuries. There may be no flaming requested on many sites now, but the time will come where the educated must try to teach the ignorant. Fundamental Christianity, in every way is the binding force of the ignorant. And when the ignorant are rallied, the result is a mob. This administration must change. We'll see tomorrow whether that will be true.......

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