There’s an old saw that recites the standard creed of our cultural bandwagon: “well, thousands of people CAN’T be wrong about _________!” And Halloween offers our community and region a prime opportunity to take a ride. Our land gives itself over to what it likes to call ” harmless Halloween fun,” every year, but many Christians still avoid participation with it. That all too many more professing Christians plunge headlong into it doesn’t prove that it is right for them to do so. Even if one’s purchase of pumpkins to carve and light upon their doorstep goes on for years still doesn’t mean it should continue.

In our last article, we briefly traced the spiritual significance of present-day Halloween from its ancient Celtic past as the paganistic festival of Samhain. Even if the gods invoked by the ancient Druids aren’t being acknowledged by the masquerading fifth grade elementary school class down the street, the holiday still must be remembered as one set up to give them their due. This is a reality that God-fearing people cannot compromise with when Biblical truth commands a far more discerning eye then we are often willing to use. Why is this?

There are several reasons why many Christians have nothing to do with it, even if all the while pop culture, peer pressure and the desire to follow the crowd demand otherwise. For these Christians, Halloween is not merely incompatible to Christian faith, but is a dark time of antichristian spirituality that should be shunned. It is our contention that God’s Word is the only standard for Christian faith and practice, and it is from Holy Scripture that these reasons come forth. The Bible contains many admonitions for Christians to acknowledge His self-revelation there, to hold fast to His commands to glorify Him alone and to diligently avoid any casual or serious interaction with any pagan practice due to its’ idolatrous and deceptive nature. We would like to examine these now.

1. The One True God reveals Himself through the Bible

The central truth of Christian faith – God’s self-revelation to us by His Word – is totally incompatible with the pagan beliefs that view Halloween as a sacred religious holiday given over to contacting and worshipping other gods or the deceased. We must understand how these beliefs contradict one another before we can understand anything else we discuss here.

Halloween by default echoes the ancient pagan belief in other gods and goddesses. The evening’s focus is upon communion with them and other spirit beings. Paganism is based entirely upon the belief that their gods and goddesses are revealed through the created order and must be rightfully acknowledged and interacted with for personal empowerment and benefit. By their own confession, paganism is an “earth based religion”, one which sees in the various features of our natural world very real manifestations, or revelations, of divinity.

Pagans hold that behind the activity of the created order is an impersonal spiritual energy that can be viewed as many things to many people, and is the fundamental principle of true spirituality. In other words, as pagan author Scott Cunningham, “this energy is the basis of all religion. It is that which has been called God, Jehovah, Yemaya, Goddess, Isis and every other human conception of the divine.” (1). Pagans have defined this “energy” in a personal way with hundreds of names of ancient deities man has sought to worship throughout time: Halloween is a time when pagans do just that.

However, Christians sharply disagree with this belief and practice. For Christian believers, Bible Scripture is the sole basis for an understanding of who God is. God has chosen to reveal Himself through the pages of the Holy Bible, even if he does use the wonder of His created order to reveal His providential care and almighty power. And in light of His Word, the fluid impersonality of pagan conceptions of divinity are shown to simply have no common ground with a Biblical perspective on the personal nature of God, who is revealed as Creator and not the creation, as Lord over all time and all eternity:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Isaiah 45:18 – For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Psalms 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

The One True God is not simply one deity in a whole universe full of other gods and goddesses who share elbow room in the spirit world. He is the Sovereign Lord of all lords whose reign and Lordship tower over all other gods (and goddesses):

Psalms 97:9 – For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

Psalms 136:2 – O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Ultimately, for Christians God is personally revealed in Jesus Christ, not in sacred trees or the passing of seasons. Jesus came to reveal who God is, something he even had to remind his disciples of! Again, for all of its creative, even appealing attempts to do so, paganism fails miserably in this regard when it points us to the earth, the moon, the elements, animals or even our “higher selves” to find God. We should not be deceived by the lyrically beautiful claims of pagans who “see God in all things.”

John 14:6, 9 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. .. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

And Jesus is truly made manifest by the presence of His Spirit in the Christian’s personal example of genuine love, compassion, service to others and holy life. Obviously, it’s tough to see Him when fallen Christians wallow in their intolerance, hypocritical pride and open sin (not to mention the carnal and materialistic televangelist scandals) but it’s no better than the earnest yet no less misguided pagan attempts to open themselves up to possession by the spirits of supposedly deceased ancestors for guidance. A Christian’s life is to be marked by the presence of God’s Spirit, whose character should be seen in what the Scriptures in Galatians 5 list as “the fruit of the Spirit,” in which love, joy, peace, gentleness and meekness are to be found. Professing Christians who stubbornly cling to the fruit of our fallen nature, that is, our inevitable drift into sinful and shameful behavior certainly are in sore need of repenting and turning back to God for a renewed touch of that same Spirit. Sadly, it is this kind of stubborn rebellion in Christian lives that turns pagans and anyone off from seeing the Lord Jesus as He has ordained them to do so. But that doesn’t change the reality of the revelation of Jesus Christ among man today.

2. God calls the God-fearing to honor His Lordship

As we have seen, Halloween originally sought to draw people into submission and worship of pagan gods and goddesses. But all who respect and love the One True God are called by Him to live a life that proves that they actually do so. God expects that our love of His Lordship over our lives will be lived out in the battlefields and playgrounds of life, and that each and every action we take be done with the central thought of glorifying and loving Him first and foremost:

Matthew 22:37 – Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

1 Corinthians 10:31 .. Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

This call is one that both draws the believer to submission to His authority and care, and to be mindful of glorifying Him and Him alone. And it is this call by God that also demands total rejection of the authority claimed in opposition to Him by all other “gods”, a theme that is dominant in the Bible:

Exod. 34:14 – For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God

Jeremiah 1:16 – And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Just as a man would be consumed with the zeal for his wife to desire him only, so God likens his fervent desire to be acknowledged as the One True God among those who profess to serve Him. This is not a jealousy based upon a human passion, but upon the longing of Almighty God to be in perfect, unbroken and undistracted communion with those who claim they follow Him. The attention given at Halloween – or indeed any other time – to pagan gods and goddesses is an insult to His Lordship and a rejection of His lovingkindness and care. Such actions are a very real idolatry that further underscores the forsaking of God for false gods and goddesses and is often referred to as “whoredom” in the Old Testament. And they are shamelessly performed by those who often claim to be thoroughly enlightened by the occult wisdom of the pagan past. Paul the apostle, in the frankest of candor, thought otherwise:

Romans 1:22-25 – Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Time and again, history has shown us that when anyone or any nation rejects their relationship to God by turning to other gods their slide into wickedness and moral ruin was always right behind. The entire history of the nation of Israel is a prime example of this in the Scripture. The descriptions of the steps into moral and spiritual depravity by the people vividly described by the apostle Paul here in Romans1 have a chilling parallel to our world – and of pagan thought, the mindset that today perpetuates Halloween as a “holy day.” This is not to say pagans are generally immoral, but that the moral relativity underscoring their philosophy of “do what thou wilt, harm none” has no room for any logical need for moral or ethical restraint, and can only help to encourage their rejection of Biblical values that uphold Christian principles.

Halloween is a prime time in which so many people freely and casually commit these kinds of sins at the expense of the glorification of God in shockingly great numbers, professing Christians among them. Perhaps this is done out of ignorance of the things we have been discussing, and perhaps the individual may genuinely see no conflict of interests. We are not interested in labelling those Christians who are involved with Halloween festivities as apostates, but we would ask these same believers to consider these questions: How can anyone loving the true God wish to even pretend that they are communing with dead spirits, let alone actually and intentionally seek them out? Why would we indirectly encourage our impressionable children, over whom God has given us direct charge to raise in the Christian faith, to engage in “fun” practices that will only desensitize them to deeper levels of the occult which will beckon to them as they mature? When God has so clearly commanded us to not entertain any notion of flirting with the spirit world, why should anyone want to push the envelope and reckon this to be a pastime than the rebellion it actually is? How could a Christian even pretend to perform ritual magick to control their destiny if they are claiming to be trusting God for their daily needs, let alone pursue the casting of spells? All of these lead to the deception of those who are snared by their appeal, and only lead the deceived deeper into worship of other gods and away from God’s care and presence.

What kind of “fun” is this that both saddens and angers the Lord?

3. God’s commands to shun pagan practices

It is bad enough that our supposedly God-fearing community will entertain the kind of compromise with pagan religious principles that participation in Halloween represents. But along with Halloween’s celebrations come the inevitable exploration of blatantly occultic rituals and practice by teens, party goers and skeptics alike. The spiritual peril this puts the partygoer into is very real. One can argue until the cows come home that such “games” are just for fun, for “entertainment purposes”. According to Scripture, God sovereignly disagrees:

Deuteronomy 18:9-13 – When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Despite our all too casual attitude to the subject, any practice of these occultic arts as God described them here is forbidden in the strongest possible terms. Divination, witchcraft, the casting of spells, spirit mediumship, necromancy and the worship of other gods are abominable acts to Him. That is the way it is: no one has any room for negotiation on the subject. No one has yet learned how to bargain with God on the sharing of His glory because it is not for sale and never was. That has never stopped Satan and an infinate variety of human pretenders from trying anyway.

Divination and omen interpretation is the occultic art of searching for prophetic warning and revelation through various means that rely upon the invocation of contact with spiritual powers or beings.. As we have seen, the usage of the ouija board is one of the most popular forms of this, but many other forms of divination are available such as astrology, the tarot, and crystal reading. Witchcraft is the practice of rituals centered around a given body of pagan teaching involving casting of spells, the invocation of spirits, and the appeasement of various gods and goddesses by sacrifice and offerings. Communication with the spirit world (necromancy) is the deliberate solicitation of contacts with spiritual entities other than God through people called “mediums” (these contacts may involve contact with the dead (necromancy) or “inner guides”. This often includes outright possession of the individual used to convey the spirit’s message ( Acts 16:16-18, 2 Chron. 18:18-21), a point we have seen that the Campanellis and other pagan writers readily will concede. All of these will be flirted with this Halloween in the Tennessee Valley, and all too many willing practitioners of these occult arts are ready to help – from the pages of books to the chat rooms of America Online.
So why does God forbid these things? Is it because He’s so insecure and petty? He forbids their practice because they boldly establish rival forms of worship that are as deceptive as they are literally demonic. The focus of provision and power is said to come not from God’s grace, but from spiritual beings viewed as divine by pagans of all stripes. These forms of occult practice are attempts to negotiate with spiritual entities that wield undeniably real power. And the “magick” performed to do this is an attempt by humans to supernaturally manipulate their lives by invoking these beings by ritual, spell and sacrifice. It is at this point that the real source of the teachings of paganism become revealed, as well as the depth of deception from which it comes:

Isaiah 8:19-20 – And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

This reference to necromancy shows how seeking spirits that speaking through mediums (or “wizards” as they are called here) is a direct rejection of seeking God, and a rejection of His Word (the “law” and “the testimony”). These spirits are real creatures whose power to interact in human affairs was revealed by the prophet Micaiah in 1 Kings 22 as he related the conversation of a spirit with God Himself regarding how the spirit would deceive a wicked king who faced imminent judgment by Him:

1 Kings 22:22 – And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

Here, a true prophet reveals the activity of spirits that set forth to deliberately deceive, under God’s permissive will, so that judgment may be executed. In this case, the spirit who appears before God is one of the fallen angels that God’s opponent, Lucifer himself, has as his allies (Revelation 12:7-9). These spiritual beings are sharply differentiated from angels in the Bible, and are called devils, unclean spirits, and “the angels” of “that old serpent called the Devil”. It is these opposers of God that the inspiration and demand for their worship originate; every god and goddess under the sun is identified by Scripture as being the image behind which these beings have lurked since the dawn of mankind:

Deuteronomy 32:17 – They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Deuteronomy 11:16 – Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

1 Timothy 4:1 – Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Throughout history, then, the human perception of spiritual entities as being actual deities, divine gods and goddesses has been a tragic human miscalculation. It has been demonically inspired teaching and philosophy that has been spread around the world among all who practice contact with spirits, in all cultures and times. Unbiblical beliefs have proceeded from this demonic intervention, such as reincarnation, “past-life” and “God-self” connections, as well as supposed glimpses of “hidden truth” that contradict Christian moral and spiritual teachings (the “worship of angels” in Colossians 2:18 is another Biblical example of this deceptive work). And in many cases, to make the deceptive revelations seem divinely bestowed, there have been verifiable displays of seemingly miraculous power that have accompanied these contacts, phenomena that 2 Thessalonians 2:9 calls “signs” and “lying wonders”. They have taken many forms, from fulfilled prophesies, supernatural healings, visions of angelic visitation, and even spiritual possession of individuals present. Some of this will occur, the grace of God not intervening, during some of the occultic Halloween parlor games that many people will dabble with at this time of year. Among these are the ouija board, which often become conduits of information that can only be said to have been supplied by powers not of this world. While admittedly much of it is nonsense that is more the creation of fevered and impressionable minds, much more occurs during ouija board sessions that can only be explained as orchestrated by invisible powers and intelligences that to most people seem disturbingly uncanny and inexplicable. But in light of the Scriptures we have seen, it is clear to us that such action has been indeed brought about by unclean spirits, fallen angels seeking to deceive men by appealing to a human desire to gain power over their lives without any regard to the revealed will of God for them.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 – Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

Ephesians 5:11-13 – And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 – Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Christian Response To Halloween

We have seen why Christians avoid Halloween. As we see, it is not an issue that one can easily dismiss, either. It involves some very high stakes: one’s momentary pleasures in play or the possibly eternal displeasure, even separation from God Himself. Now those who have no real relationship with God through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ aren’t likely to agree, either. And many Christians may continue to disagree as well, but their arguments can only fly against the authority of Scripture. Our discussions here have been based entirely upon the Bible, yet we have no illusion that all will simply and automatically submit to our arguments. That is between the reader and his god.

The U.S. Constitution and human nature assure that people will choose whatever course of action they wish to take, and of course, we concede that. No conscientious Christian wishes to see another Inquisition to take place! Yet, in closing this article, we once again assert that if one is to please God, they must avoid doing anything that God clearly reveals as displeasing to Him. On the basis of this simple truth comes the need to assess the culture that challenges Godly authority and to firmly avoid it. That is ultimately the position we have taken and one we submit is the Biblically validated action by God-fearing people. We don’t expect pagans, non-believers or skeptics to support this position, and indeed expect them to heartily disagree and even castigate these articles as examples of intolerant and hate-mongering propaganda. Whatever the opinion, we cannot compromise our principles.

Responding to Pagans: Despite our strong stance and disagreement with them, we certainly would support the right of Wiccans and pagans to celebrate their religion’s feast days unmolested. They are citizens and human beings whose religious convictions should be respected in civility. But such respect should not be viewed as agreement with their pagan belief! Tolerance does NOT equal compromise. We view paganism as a misguided spiritual dead-end that involves occultic practices that clearly displease God and exalt demonic power. And pagans deserve to hear about the majestic power and sovereignty of God from our godly lives, our communication of the Gospel of Christ and our neighborly recognition of them as fellow citizens and human beings. However, if pagans want to persist in the pursuit of a myth that in the end leads nowhere, their right to do so should be respected just as surely as we Christians would expect our rights to be respected in holding to our beliefs.

Spreading The Word About Halloween: Instead of simply blasting Halloween as “the devil’s night”, Christians should earnestly set about providing “an answer to every man” who would need to hear about the need to avoid any involvement with the darker side of the day. Reasons – not railings – are the need of the hour for the church. Pastors and other church leaders need to be involved directly in spreading soundly balanced and Biblical admonitions for the Christians they are in leadership of to be aware of Halloween’s spiritual snares. The sheer amount of misinformation about the occult alone is a major problem that garbles clear communication. Add to this the temptation to evangelical smugness about being “in the light” and a miltantly witch-hunting posture and the task of intelligent dialogue about the dangers of Halloween becomes almost impossible. Encouraging others to avoid Halloween’s occult snares to please God out of love for His direction should be done in the right spirit, out of love for their spiritual condition, yet with passion tempered by humility and a commitment to truth.

Christian Alternatives To Halloween: Many churches and communities have attempted to take the high ground and provide opportunities for people to gather and enjoy the kind of community activity that are both wholesome, creative and in keeping with the season. Fall festivals and block parties that are focused around themes such as harvest time and civic service happen every weekend across the Tennessee Valley. Individual Christian families often engage in alternative celebrations of Christian faith in the days before, during, and after Halloween, using special daily devotions, All Saints Day parties, and role-playing (an excellent book detailing these is Ann Hibbard’s Family Celebrations At Thanksgiving And Halloween by Baker Books).

Some, but not enough, churches attempt to counter the darkness of Halloween’s shadow by staging pageants and celebrations that exalt God and provide everyone involved with a good time as well. Worship services dedicated exclusively to praise of God (“praise parties”) are often held as responses while others channel the desire for festivity by holding alternative gatherings. For example, at my former homechurch, the Westmore Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee, the annual Hallelujah Night events were held on the evenings before and on October 31 (this video still was shot in 1996). The ever popular “Trunk Or Treat” gathering is also one of these sort of activities. Creatively staged and designed reenactments of various Biblical stories are conducted that are both tangible and hilarious, yet memorable. Children still get their candy! And games and snacks for all are available.

Others options for churches are to have intentionally publicized praise gatherings for the community, with worship time for adults and parties for the kids. After all, worshipping and praising God for His awesome power and Lordship over all creation seems much more appropriate a response to the pagan worship of the same earthly realm! Personally, I’m all for that kind of celebration. By so doing, the church is publicly acknowledging just who is in control of Halloween night and beyond.

Unfortunately, not enough churches seem to have any spiritual passion about the challenge of Halloween (and sadly, don’t seem to have much passion about anything else). They remain isolated and aloof and don’t get involved with the need to be an example in our increasingly godless, amoral, violent and degenerating culture. It is a sad state of affairs in the Body of Christ, we feel, but in this article we have attempted to provide a Biblical perspective on just why such a passion should be shared when it comes to our national cultural infatuation with the “spooky.”

The glory of God is at stake, and when our Heavenly Father’s glory is diminished, no Christian worth his testimony should sit still and passively allow it to go unanswered. And that is ultimately the main reason why Christians should have nothing to do with Halloween.

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(Prove) what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Ephesians 5:10-13

With the arrival of autumn comes along our annual October 31st observation of Halloween. Across the Tennessee Valley, we’ll see the trappings of Halloween found in settings as diverse as the halls of middle schools to the interior cubicles of telemarketing offices and everywhere in between. Communities across our region will hold festive “block parties” complete with games and activities for young and old, social service organizations will host “haunted houses” aimed at scaring the daylights out of visitors who are led through them, and brightly costumed children will make their annual evening visitations to neighborhoods and trailer parks in city and countryside for their “trick or treating” candy harvests. For our community, by and large, it would seem that Halloween is just another harmless season of celebration and party-going.

The dominant theme of Halloween’s draw is, of course, directly related to the morbidly supernatural, sufficiently sanitized for popular consumption. Costumes of witches and demons will be worn in abundance, paper cut-out bats and ghosts decorate restaurants and businesses, and carved “jack-o-lantern” pumpkins will be found alight on many a doorstep across the Valley. Thousands of people – many of them professing Christians – will engage in a hearty embracing of the evening with little thought as to the underlying significance of what they are doing. Few can deny awareness of Halloween’s undeniably yet inexplicably dark, even frightening overtones, but fewer seem to even care. We believe that if these same folks knew what they were involving themselves in, they might think twice about dabbling with our annual cultural infatuation with the “spooky.”

What is this “dark side” and why should we speak of it in such dire terms? The answer to that question is one few Halloween fun-seekers want to grapple with, yet the truth remains. Unknown to most people, the underlying essence of our celebrations of Halloween is based upon modern Wiccan interpretations of pre-Christian paganism and involve occultic rites and practices that Christians should have no dealings with. Why should involvement with such activities be avoided by those who make even the most nominal confession of faith in Christianity? In this article, we urge you to consider this point and its implications.

The Essence of Halloween: The Pagan Feast Of Samhain

The term “pagan” is often thrown loosely around by most people, who use the word often in a very negative sense, as a label applied to a person or a belief supposedly devoid of any redeeming virtue or decency. There are many who would sharply disagree with this definition of the term and have embraced it as one that describes their deepest spiritual and cultural passions. These folks proudly call themselves pagans and are more often than not actually quite decent people with family lives, responsible positions on their jobs and who just simply happen to have embraced a spirituality that is entirely different from Christianity. This is a very important distinction that must be kept in mind when considering who pagans are. Two pagan authors, Dan and Pauline Campanelli have concisely described – in terms very open to no little interpretation and debate by other pagans – what paganism in general essentially teaches:

As Pagans, we believe that: All of nature is a manifestation of Divinity or the Creative Forces, and that everything in Nature has a spirit. These Divine Creative Forces can be perceived as a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. As everything in Nature has its complement, so must it be with the Gods, a polarity of male and female, spirit and matter, God and Goddess. As Nature proceeds in the cycles of the season, so must we be born to die and be born again. And that by actively participating in these natural cycles through ritual, we can attune ourselves to the Creative Forces that flow through us, to live happy, creative and productive lives, for our own benefit, and that of the planet. The simplest way to do this is to celebrate the seasons of the years according to the ancient Pagan traditions of our ancestors ..(1)

As we can see, paganism is a spirituality based upon a belief in many gods and goddesses (this is called polytheism) and upon man’s essential union with them as a manifestation of their divinity (this is called pantheism). This divinity has both male and female aspects, and both are revealed in both nature and the passage of seasonal time. Man is seen as a vital part of the energy that these gods and goddesses supposedly originate and that interaction by ritual and experience with these “creative forces” is to bring about personal prosperity and empowerment as well as global transformation. The emphasis on the polytheistic versus pantheistic views of divinity in pagan thought may differ widely but these generally are seen as compatible with one another.

Obviously this is radically unlike Christian belief in many ways. This is a generic definition of the pagan worldview, which is found in many belief systems around the world from Native American spirituality to the many schools of Hindu religious practice. These beliefs were generally shared in particular with the ancient Celts, peoples of ancient western Europe that were guided by a priestly class called the Druids. The Druids served as advisers to Celtic rulers, led them into ritual communion with their own gods and goddesses, and preserved their mythology and learning, much of which was quite sophisticated. Many of the contemporary Wiccan (witchcraft) community fully embrace many of these foundational pagan teachings, as well as a host of other pagan traditions from the ancient world.

And it is from these Druidic traditions that the observation of a Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced sah-win) originated, one that affects us to this day. It was observed over three nights in the fall season across the ancient Celtic regions and involved prayers, offerings and ritual magic that sought contact with the Celtic deities, as well as attempts to divine the future and commune with the spirits of ancestors. The festival, orchestrated by Druid priests, was a series of ceremonies clearly aimed at invoking and tapping into supernatural inspiration and power. Through their casting of spells, induced dream states and sacrificial offerings at sacred hilltops with blazing bonfires, we can see that the Druids made Samhain an earnest time of search for contact with their gods and goddesses, a vital part of pagan thought and practice (2).

The ancient Celtic pagan religion began to decline early in the first century A.D. when the military conquests of the region by the Roman Empire under Julius Caesar disrupted the Celtic culture with occupying Roman legions and control. With the advent of Christian missions (under the leadership of men like Patrick and Columba) in the next four centuries, the decline isharply intensified as Christian conversions of Celts and Druids who had preserved the “old ways” escalated. By the fifth century A.D., Christianity clearly was the dominant spirituality in the Celtic regions, particularly in the British Isles, but observation of various aspects of Druidic tradition stubbornly endured. The festivals of Samhain were one of these. Many converted Celts saw no reason to discontinue participation in them, and continued to mix the old Druidic traditions with their newfound Christianity. This came about primarily because the Christian Church failed to disciple their new converts regarding God’s command to honor Him alone and to forsake pagan god and goddess worship. This lamentable failure has always been a thorn in the side of the Church throughout history, and continues to this day globally.

It was made even worse in the eighth century when a decision was made by Pope Gregory IV that attempted to sanctify the season: he established the celebration of All Hallowed Evening (on October 31) followed by All Saints Day (on November 1) as a means to both honor the martyrs of the Church and assert its’ authority. This led to the establishment of a Middle Age custom of celebrating “All Hallows” with parades of parishioners dressed as saints, angels, devils and other church icons around the churchyard and then through town. It was a compromise, and a serious one with major implications for our day. Over time, the condensed term of “Halloween” became the most popular form used to identify the evening celebrations. And while most of the pagan religious aspects of Samhain were largely discontinued, some of their elements were preserved by the Celtic peoples in their folklore that continued to be handed down among them for hundreds of years. Irish emigrants to American soil brought along with them their distinctive traditions, which included some of the practices that were found in Samhain. These practices were imported into American popular culture by the mid 1800′s and used to celebrate Halloween. It is these practices that are based purely upon pagan spirituality that we now wish to look at.

Pagan Occultism In Halloween

The term occult literally means “hidden” in Latin: it is refers to the secret wisdom or knowledge about supernatural powers and the spirit world that man can acquire so as to use them for his benefit. Exploration of the occult has been a habitual fascination and even way of life for mankind for thousands of years. Occultic systems of thought widely differ in their outward appearance, but they all share a common bond, that being the practice of techniques many pagans would call magick. These are performed to access the powers of the supernatural or to commune with the spirit world. As we have said, many schools of witchcraft and other pagan traditions fully identify with this sort of occultic practice: certainly, the manner in which the Campanellis have described it is a good example. They have shown us that preserved elements of Druidic tradition about Samhain were freely re-interpreted and practiced by the newer Wiccan and neo-pagan movements around the turn of the century, complete with its emphasis upon necromancy, divination and community festivity.

The Church’s attempt to sanctify the feast by renaming it “All Hallowed Evening” (or Halloween) and adjusting its’ focus was irrelevant to both pagans and Wiccans who simply ignored the effort to re-establish the purely pagan essence of the time. To them, Halloween is an actual religious holiday that is central to the practice of their beliefs. Renewed attention to Samhain (however reinterpreted) by the pagan and Wiccan communities is their attempt to maintain a distinctive continuity and connection with the pagan past so as to preserve their faith for the future.

And Samhain’s pagan elements of Druidic tradition hold a profound spiritual significance yet are freely – if not ignorantly – entered into by many a non-pagan at this time of year. Millions of people across the United States and thousands here in the Tennessee Valley will involve themselves in Halloween activities that were originally intended to literally invoke pagan gods and goddesses, spirits of the dead, and to even invite some form of literal possession by them to receive revelations and guidance. So the following commentary of the Campanellis on the significance of these pagan elements is quite revealing and show us how Halloween is viewed by many a pagan:

The Wearing Of Masks – “The purpose of wearing a mask in most primitive religious traditions is to make a spiritual connection with the deity or the Nature Spirit represented by the mask. … The mask would then have a spirit or magickal power of its own .. it seems like the most natural thing, to use masking as a part of the Samhain Sabbat. .. That the practice of masked dancing is still today associated with Samhain, the time when the veil between the living and the spirits of of the dead is very thin, suggests that in some way the masked dancers were trying to contact the spirits of the slain and hunted animals. .. Though much of this has been lost or temporarily forgotten, there is still much about the tradition costumes worn by children today that tells us Halloween is a celebration of the spirits.”

The Jack O Lantern – “The pumpkin, an American vegetable, certainly symbolizes the season; but it is the candle inside the pumpkin that is of magickal importance. The candle flame represents not only the element of Fire, but also the white light of pure spirit. .. It has become traditional among many Pagans to mark the four quarters of the Samhain Circle with Jack-O-Lanterns, but it might also be in keeping with the season to light one white candle in a Jack-O-Lantern placed in a window or on a front porch as a beacon to the spirits. .. In Japan .. paper lanterns are hung at gardens to welcome home the spirits of the deceased. In Egypt, candles are lit in cemetaries to guide the spirits of the dead back .. and in Ireland candles are lit in cottage windows to welcome home the ghosts of the dead.”

Contact With The Dead (Necromancy) – “At this time of year, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is very thin. As the old Pagan year draws to a close, it is time to receive messages from those who had gone before .. Necromancy is technically the raising of the dead for the purpose of learning the future from them. Spirits can contact us directly, conveying messages to us telepathically, or in rare cases, controlling the physical body and the vocal chords. This type of necromancy is the focus of Spiritualism and is believed to come from the deceased. But any message from the spirits is welcome .. There is much wisdom to be gained from contact with spirits. .. These two elements, contact with the spirit world and divining the future, are as much a part of Halloween celebrations today as they were during the earliest shamanic beginnings of the Pagan religion.”

Divination – “There are a number of devices that might be used for the purpose of contacting spiritual entities, such as the Ouija board .. and the pendulum and the alphabet board .. Our personal preference is the wine glass, which, like the Ouija board, can be worked by quite a number of people at one time, thereby making self-delusion a bit more difficult .. In more recent times, a variety of games and objects for predicting the future on Halloween night have been developed and mass produced. .. To people who have developed the ability to scry, images of the future might appear in a mirror, a bowl of water, a crystal ball or the polished blade of a sword. .. Probably the most popular object for scrying with among Wiccans is the cauldron,, another symbol of the Goddess.”

Dark Clothing Of Witches – “The black clothing of the Halloween Witch represents not “the powers of darkness,” as followers of the new religion would have people believe, but that great luminary of the night, the Moon, in its waning phase. The waning phase of the Moon, of course, represents the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess .. These three Goddesses preside over life, at the end of which each individual spirit bids farewell to the realm of the Goddess and crosses the threshold into the realm of the Horned God of Death and that which comes thereafter. Samhain represents this threshold separating the dark half of the Wheel of the Year, presided over by the Horned One, from the light half presided over by the Goddess.” (3)

“Trick-Or-Treating” – “Trick-or-treating originated in Ireland when on the eve of Samhain, people would go house to house looking for food contributions to Muck Olla. The group was led by a man in a white robe with a horse-head mask. After him walked young men blowing cow horns. They would stop at each house recite some verses that told the farmer that his prosperity was due to Muck Olla and if he wishes to prosper he should make a contribution to the spirit. .. people in costumes and masks went begging from farm to farm, reciting verses that described the damage that spirits would do to a farmer’s house or barn if the farmer refused to give something. This is not unlike the American way of trick- or-treating, in which we sometimes recite the verse, ‘Trick-or-treat, smell my feet. Give me something good to eat!’ It is assumed that a practical joke will be played on an unwilling neighbor.” (4) While the identity of a Celtic deity named “Muck Olla” is in serious question (we don’t have any evidence that the Druids identified any god by this name), the practice of trick-or-treating is what we are focusing on. The practice of making offerings of some sort to Celtic deities is what contemporary children’s visitations to homes on Halloween is largely based upon.

It often amuses pagans and Wiccans to see many people around them who would never think of involvement with witchcraft or paganism any other time of the year jump head first into Halloween participation. For they are fully aware of Samhain’s ancient spiritual roots and nature of the popular Halloween activities that so many ignorantly engage in. It is quite clear in considering these facts that Halloween truly is a holiday based upon ancient pagan spirituality and that it is alive and well as seen in the diligence which many pagans and Wiccans put forth in observing it as a holy day, as one of the “Great Sabbats” of their religion, even if it is a freely reinterpreted version of the ancient reality. And it is indirectly reaffirmed by the uninformed attention the non-pagan culture bestows upon it, even if distorted by commercialism, sensationalism and sanitized adoption of morbid motifs (death, ghosts, monsters and the generally macabre). Indeed, Halloween is great seasonal business for pumpkin farmers, occult book sales, costume manufacturers and so many other sectors of our national economy from Hollywood to candy makers that this affirmation and subsidizing of the pagan worldview is guaranteed to continue indefinitely. Much of the business of costume rentals by adults comes during the Halloween season who want to make Halloween simply another excuse for partying tinged with an occultism they can play with.

And while pagans meet and observe Samhain according to whatever perspective they hold, in many a party or private gathering thousands of people will test the waters of the occult by dabbling in “party games” that directly involve the kinds of practices we have spoken of. Ouija boards, candleburning rituals, and seances will be the experiments of choice in many a den or bedroom. Most people – young and old – do so “in fun” to amuse themselves, but many others will often go along with it out of curiosity, even wonderment. And then there will be those who will enter into it in serious earnestness and who do so seeking answers, power and direction. For many of these persons, for the first time in their lives on Halloween, they will make contacts with powers beyond their ability to understand or control and will find themselves inexorably drawn into deeper involvement with the occult as time goes by.

For many people, this begs the question: “So what?”

To these folks, dabbling with the occult is no worse than anything else. To make anything of this, in their eyes, is to make a big deal over nothing at all. The occult to them is just another exotic playground for free spirits to explore, no more dangerous than going to a rave, whitewater rafting or cruising the Web in chat rooms. Kids, grandmothers and all kinds of people should freely toy with such stuff as long as they don’t go “over the edge.” Anyway, if something really was to come of it, certainly it could be useful the same way a good tip on the stock market could be. It could be even be empowering, enlightening, even sublime. Getting uptight about such a harmless thing like necromancy can only be seen as a “fundy” tantrum of narrow minded intolerance. So many people see absolutely nothing wrong with our cultural infatuation with Halloween for this and many other reasons.

If someone’s experimentation with the supernatural was nothing more than an absorbing pastime or a series of metaphysical parlor tricks it certainly would be foolish to get upset over them. However, that is not the case; the occult is a reality that cannot be toyed with, and the spiritual stakes for all who do are far too high to ignore. What are these realities? What are the consequences? Why do so many Christians strongly oppose Halloween? Should you really be involved in any way with Halloween?

1)      Use common sense

2)      Do not send money, stamps or a ton of tracts (you may send one tract per letter)

3)      Do not promise anything

4)      Do not discuss their case — if they tell you their crime understand they are showing you great trust.

5)      Do not offer legal advise

6)      Do not address any one as Dr or other title (the men are all the same in there)

7)      Do not send books, food etc.

8)      Do not visit them or accept calls from them.

9)      Do not send photos.

10)  Be aware of con-games, romantic involvement can happen easily…avoid this.  If you feel uncomfortable for any reason stop writing and if your concern warrants it, report your concerns to the prison warden.

11)  Do pray for them, encourage them and let them know you are praying for them.

12)  Commit to writing at least once per month.  Many find it easy just to drop a quick note and a copy of Pastor’s Sermon Notes.

Congress is considering cost cutting measures (about time!) including cutting the BOP budget. They are getting some pressure to pass HR 223 but need LOTS more! HR 223 would cut prison time to 50% for 45 and older, first time, non-violent inmates. That would send me (Kent Hovind) home! Please encourage your friends and family to go to this site and vote YES, “like it” to add support.

Visit www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr223 to vote.  You can also send a letter to your congressman on the site.

Thanks for your help!
Kent Hovind

Inmates:

Kent Hovind #06452-017
FPC Satellite Camp Florence
P.O. Box 5000
Florence, CO 81226 USA

 Dr. Kent Hovind is an evangelist in prison for tax evasion.  I have read all of his legal papers and to me it looks like he was setup.  At any rate…write him.  He will write back…he will most likely include a generic letter and a note since he gets so much mail.

Jeff Friedlander #50846-018
Federal Satellite Camp
2650 US Highway 301 South
Jesup, GA 31599-5676

 Dr Jeff Friedlander is now divorced at fifty-two; no children; his medical license now gone; and enduring the emotional roller coaster of a huge prison term that he does not deserve—Dr. Jeff is more than depressed. He was raised Jewish, but knows little about any religion, even his own.   Pray God will open his eyes and heart to the gospel.  His crime had something to do with a doctor in his employ writing illegal prescriptions.  Dr Jeff, the law said should have had more control over his employees.

Servando Ordonez Jr. #68421-280
FPC, Box 5000
Florence, CO 81226 USA

Sammy just got saved.  He is Dr. Kent Hovind’s roommate.  Sammy is twenty-six, of Mexican heritage, from El Paso, and is serving four years for drugs. Him and Dr Hovind read the Word every day and Sammy is eagerly taking it in!  Please pray for him.

Michael Write #21627-047

FPC, Box 5000
Florence, CO 81226 USA

 He is divorced, has three children, is lonely, and is from Nebraska.  Send him a quick note of encouragement, a Bible tract, one of Pastor Tim’s sermons.  One day Dr Kent Hovind was in the library reading a pile of mail.  Michael came in with a  sad look and said, “I wish I would get some mail.”  Dr Hovind said, “Are you serious?”  He said, “yes I am.”  Dr Hovind said, “I will see what I can do.” This is where you and I come in.

As Dr. Hovind provides I will add more inmates to this list.

Prison Ministry: Understanding Prison Culture Inside and Out By Lennie Spitale / B & H Publishing Group Endorsed by Chuck Colson – “This may well be the definitive book on prison ministry. Fascinating insights about the prison culture and how to reach it. Mandatory reading for everyone in corrections and for Christians who care about the commandments to visit prison.” For most Christians, prison culture is like visiting a foreign land, and the thought of ministering in prison to those incarcerated is an intimidating prospect. This book will impower any pastor, educator, or lay leader in doing effective prison ministry by providing a thorough “inside-out” view of prison life. Author Lennie Spitale offers a unique and qualifying vantage for writing about prison culture and prison ministry. As a young man, Spitale served a prison sentence for an armed robbery that was later reduced to assault and robbery. Two years after his conversion to Christianity, he began conducting a weekly Bible study in a local jail.

Kevin R. Airrington

Copyright ©2011

This is a story about Paul Edgecombe and his encounter with a man of God who has unique healing powers and may even have some empathic ability.  John Coffey, a huge black man, 6’ 8” tall convicted of raping and murdering two small white girls.  Please understand that this took place in the South during a time when prejudice ran high.    Cell block E of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary was nicknamed “the Green Mile” because of the color of the floor.  From the moment John Coffey stepped foot on The Green Mile you could tell that Paul took a special liking to him.  I mean what was not too like?  John was a kind and gentle man.

There were several other men on The Green Mile with John Coffey and the story really does not go into the crimes of each of the men with much detail. As the supervisor of the block, Paul insisted the prisoners were treated kindly and spoken to in a calm tone.  At least one of the men, William Wharton or Billy the Kid as he liked to call himself, it was obvious that he deserved to be there.  Coffey sensed immediately that this was an evil man.  Billy the Kid played nasty tricks on the guards, including urinating on one of them.  But still, Paul wanted this man treated with respect.  With all of the kindness Paul showed to both his fellow guards and the inmates, we do not see Paul’s heart concerning his Savior until the end.

One of the men, Eduard “Del” Delacroix, seemed like a nice man despite his crimes.  He even captured a mouse, Mr. Jingles.  He named him and he taught him several tricks.  Oh how Del loved Mr. Jingles.  One of the guards, Percy Wetmore was a sadistic man who loved to antagonize the inmates, despite Paul’s insistence that he treat them in a “calm manner”.  Ol’ Percy was the nephew of the Governor’s wife and would often threaten the other guards with their jobs if they did not bend to his wishes.  Soon we would see some of Percy’s evil percolate to the surface.

From the onset of the story it was apparent that Paul had a serious bladder infection.  As he put it, it was like trying to pee razor blades.  I myself have had several urinary tract infections so I have a unique perspective into what Paul was going through.   One day John Coffey calls for Paul.  He said, “I need to see you a minute boss.”  Paul was in the middle of a painful episode and told Mr. Coffey that this was not a good time, but, Mr. Coffey was insistent.   Paul finally gave in and went down to Mr. Coffey.  Mr. Coffey asked Paul to step closer.  Del, right across the block says, “Boss you ain’t supposed to do that.”  Ignoring Del’s warning Paul stepped forward and in the blink of an eye Coffey grabs him by the privates and with his other hand he restrained Paul from removing his pistol.  Del lets out several yells for the other guards to come…but they would not hear him.  You could see John Coffey’s face as he, “took” the infection from Paul.  When John released Paul, Paul immediately made for the bathroom.  He unzipped and with a smile on his face he relieved himself without pain.  Something he had not been able to do for some time.  John, with the healing power of God, healed Paul.

One day while Paul and the boys were having a final talk with Del. The kind of talk at least with most of the men on E block you dreaded to have.  It was a discussion about your final meal, do you need a preacher, any final wishes sort of talk.  The discussion led to “a what of Mr. Jingles”.   Del agreed to let them take Mr. Jingles to a Mouseville down in Florida.  Meanwhile during the talk Del was slightly distracted by making Mr. Jingles perform some tricks for the guards.  All of sudden Mr. Jingles took off out of the cell into the corridor to fetch a spool of thread.  That mean ol’ evil Percy Wetmore STOMPED on Mr. Jingles killing him dead.

Everyone was silent and in shock except for Del who let out a scream and the guards had to restrain him from attacking Percy.  Percy was a cruel evil man no doubt.  John Coffey, standing at the front of his cell, felt the whole thing.  He slowly extended his huge black arm out between the bars.  Mr. Coffey said, “gimme the mouse while there is still time.”  Paul scooped up the mouse.  The other guards were like, “What are you doing Paul.”  Paul placed Mr. Jingles’ dead body in John’s hand’s.  John Closes his eyes…and then blows life back into Mr. Jingles.

Mr. Jingles ran back to the safety of Del.  Paul and Brutus, another guard immediately went to find Percy; intent on messing with his mind a bit for what he had done.  Percy was certain it was a trick, but in a bit of a delusional state, lost his sense and wondered too close to Billy the Kid’s cell.  Billy snatched Percy and pulled him close to the bars.  He started kissing his ear and licking his cheek telling him how pretty he was.  Fear struck Percy and finally Billy the Kid released him.

Percy quickly moved to the other side of the cell block away from Billy the Kid and still shaken by the event, Percy wet his pants.  Urine ran down his pant leg into a puddle on the floor.  Del started laughing at Percy.  Calling him a sissy and he even made up a little song about him wetting his pants.  Percy obviously upset, the guards told Del to shut up.  He obeyed.

The next day Del would take the walk down the green mile.  Percy insisted being upfront and calling the orders.  He promised Paul he would put in for transfer to the State Mental Institute if he let him be up front just once.  Paul sensing an opportunity to be rid of the evil, sadistic man on his cell block leaped at the opportunity.

Percy had gone through the rehearsal like a professional executioner.   However, Percy deliberately avoided soaking a sponge in water that is supposed to be tucked inside the electrode cap to ensure a quick death in the electric chair.  As one guard put it, “it’s like a bullet straight to the brain.”   About 3 seconds before the switch is thrown Paul notices that there is no water on the floor and no water dripping on the way up to Del’s head.  But it was too late…

The switch is thrown!   Electricity passed through Del’s body in an agonizing, tormenting jolt.  It seemed like the clock ticked on forever; Del did not receive a quick death, the “bullet to the head”.  Del’s head caught on fire and the witnesses screamed in horror and complained of the smell of burning flesh.  Vomit stained the floor of the execution hall as Percy tried to look away but Paul forced him to watch and then extinguish Del’s burning torso and head.

One night the guards put Percy in a strait jacket and locked him in a padded room.  They drugged Billy the Kid so he would sleep and they took Mr. Coffey for a ride.  The Warden’s wife was nearly dead with a brain tumor the size of a lemon.  Doctors said there was nothing that could be done.   Once again, with the gift of healing the Holy Spirit had given John Coffey, he heals her of the tumor.  This makes John Coffey very sick himself.  Which later he passes to Percy and Percy shoots Billy the Kid dead and he himself ends up in a comatose trance.  Paul asked John what he had done and he said that he had to punish both those evil men.

Paul continued to have this simmering suspicion that John Coffey is innocent of his crime of raping and murdering these two girls.  Later, Paul learns the awful truth that John did not kill the twin girls; he was actually trying to revive them when he was found with them.

Paul confides in his wife what he has learned about his innocents.  She asks, “Have you spoken to the warden, does he have the power to save John Coffey.”  Paul tells her that no the warden does not have the power to save john Coffey.  Very wisely she tells her husband that he must never know then.  With a look of sorrow and his own torment Paul looks to his wife and says, “I have done many wrongs in my life and never have I been as concerned about Hell as I am now.”  His wife, again, filled with wisdom tells her husband to go and speak with Mr. Coffey.

The next day at work, Paul opens John Coffey’s cell.  Pulls a stool up close to his bunk, second in command and friend Brutus Howell close by.  Paul tells John he knows he is innocent and he asks John what he wants him to do.  John looks at him, “Boss, what you mean.”  Paul said, “John, one day I will stand before God’s judgment seat and I will have to give an account for killing one of His children.  Should I open the door and let you run?”  John Coffey tells Paul that he is ready to die to escape the cruelty of this world.  Paul tells John that he understands but he has a look on his face that perhaps he is still not doing the right thing.

The day comes.  John has to duck his head as he steps out of his cell.  Today, John will walk the green mile.  John senses the sadness of Paul, Brutus and the other guards.  John says, “Fellas, this here is the hard part.  In a few minutes I will be ok.”  His words were meant to comfort but only brought agony of the moments to come.

At the execution, John could feel the hatred of the witnesses and Brutus encourages him to feel them…that they love him.  This comforts John.  As the executioner begins to put the black hood over John’s head he asks Paul if he can leave it off as he is afraid of the dark.  Paul obliges.  The moment arrived for Paul to give the order to throw the switch.  Paul hesitates almost paralyzed.  Brutus whispers, “Paul you must give the order.”  Paul steps forward and shakes John’s hand, steps back and gives the order, “roll on two.”

What strikes me about this story is Paul, knew one day he would give an account for the decision he made concerning John Coffey’s life.  This troubled him so that he had to face John to try and clear his soul and do what John Coffey wanted.  Would Paul have let John Coffey go?  I think yes, he would have.  Damn the job, damn his life, damn his freedom.  Why?  Because Paul Edgecombe believed in an all-powerful God, a God that created heaven and earth, a God that was outside of time and a God that made revenge on anyone who harmed one of His children.  In life, too many of us give little or no thought of the after-life.  We are concerned with the here and now…what pleases me now.  What makes me happy, what will satisfy me?  If it feel’s good do it.  Beyond this life is another life, a life where we live out eternity in Heaven or in Hell.

The average human today lives about 70 years and then you are dead.  You get an itty bitty dash between two dates on a rock.  Eternity is a long time.  Maybe we should be more concerned about what happens after this life ends and less about now.

Have you considered Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?  Have you asked Him to forgive your sins and take you to Heaven?  If you have, what are you doing for Him for heaven’s sake?  If you call yourself Christian, are you living for Him?  Are you showing His children love and Kindness?  1 Corinthians 13 has come to be known as the “LOVE CHAPTER”.  We can easily see the attributes of Jesus in this chapter simply by removing the word Love or Charity and replacing it with Jesus.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not JESUS, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not JESUS, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not JESUS, it profiteth me nothing.

JESUS suffereth long, and is kind; JESUS envieth not; JESUS vaunteth not itself, JESUS is not puffed up,

He doth not behave Himself unseemly, He seeketh not HIS own, JESUS is not easily provoked, He thinketh no evil; He rejoiceth not in iniquity, but He rejoiceth in the truth; He beareth all things, He believeth all things, He hopeth all things, He endureth all things.   JESUS never faileth…”

What attributes do you have? What attribute do you have the most trouble with?  Are you living your life in the example of Christ or Lord?  Each decision we make should be made as if it had eternal consequences, because it does.

The Green Mile – Word Document [Download] By Christianity Today International / Christianity Today Intl.

One thing my six year old daughter reminded me of is as much as we all may have wanted him dead for the murder and terror this character wrecked on America and the world this past decade, that he still had a family, still had people that loved him and cared for him.  With that said, how much rejoicing of his death should we celebrate?  When does it become disrespect to the loved ones he left behind?

America is a nation founded on laws and due process.  Since when does a President have the authority to kill someone without due process of the law?   Then to carry out such an act that is of such consequential interest to the world as to not give us one shred of proof, but leave us with questions and reasons to question the very death of Usama Bin laden.

I did some research on the whole “Muslim burial at sea tradition”.   What I found is that it did not exist.  Muslim leaders are even quoting the Quran saying it contrary to their beliefs.  So, the questions begin Mr. President, “Why the burial at sea?” and “Why would you tell the world he was buried at sea honoring the Muslim tradition?”

You may recall when US Soldiers cornered Saddam Husain’s sons in that safe house.  A fire fight broke out…moments later the news hit that Uday and Qusay were dead, killed by the bullet or bullets of US Servicemen.   Hours later, blood riddled bodies were released to the public.  You could see the swollen faces drenched in their own blood on every TV Screen in the world.  Then within days more photos were released of a cleaned up body.   More questions for this President, “Where is our proof?  Do you simply expect us to take your word when you have lied to the American people time and time again?”

Reports filtered through media channels quickly that we identified his body using Familial DNA.  More specifically, DNA taken at some point from his mother and his three of his sons were used to give us, what they are saying is a 99.9% probability that it was him.  More questions, “Where are the results, the certified results of this Familial DNA report pointing to a 99.9% certainty that we have indeed killed Usama Bin Laden, the greatest terror mastermind ever?”

If in fact, Usama Bin Laden id dead and let’s face it there is no way for us to know one way or another, either we believe our President, a man who has repeatedly lied to the American people, a man who refuses to produce a legal copy of his birth certificate, or we believe the Muslim world who says that burial at sea is not Muslim tradition and even contrary to the Quran.   Maybe we believe the fact that all we have is the testimony of this President and no physical evidence.  In a court of law, this case would be dismissed for lack of physical evidence.

In conclusion, I guess it is up to the individual and what they believe.  Just like with the resurrection of Jesus.  Oh wait; we do have evidence of the life, crucifixion, death and RESSURECTION of Jesus Christ.  Over 500 people saw Jesus alive in physical form after the crucifixion.  That’s right, over 500 eye witnesses, not just His followers.  In fact, when the gospels were written many of the 500 were still alive and all could be interviewed.  Thomas thrust his fist in Jesus’ side; Thomas pushed his finger through the holes in Jesus’ hand.   The tomb is empty.  The followers of Jesus went from timid men to bold men who were martyred in the name of Christ.  Many first century historians including Flavious Josephus wrote about Jesus.  Jesus’ enemies wrote about Him.  Recently, in the tomb of Caiaphas, the chief priest that put Jesus to death, they found nails that were used in a crucifixion.  As far as we know Caiaphas was only involved in one crucifixion.  The Shroud of Turin — Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ, or what is widely believed to be the burial of cloth of Jesus Christ, has an image of a man who was crucified; holes in both hands, holes in both feet, a large hole pierced in the side, blood puncture holes around the crown of the head.  The blood stains that are on the Shroud of Turin have maintained its bright red color.  And the fact that it had not even begun to oxidize is unexplainable.   The blood was highly loaded with bilirubin a bile pigment that would only show up if the dead man had been traumatically or severely beaten.  The image is negative yet the blood is positive.  There were words written in first century Aramaic around the head that had Christ’s name, the method and reason for His death and the date of His death.  That data lines up perfectly with the gospels.

Those facts are without dispute.  The only questions are how do we know it was actually Jesus and how did the image get there?  I would strongly attest that because of the wounds and their location, it must be the Christ.  This must be the burial cloth mentioned in John 20:6.

The evidence of the resurrection goes beyond the scope of this writing, the evidence is just too numerous.  However, it would be irresponsible for this writer not too include the Bible.  A reading of Psalm 22 (written perhaps 1000 years before Jesus was even born and many hundreds of years before the Romans invented crucifixion, we find a very carefully, detailed account of the crucifixion of Jesus.  And let’s not forget Isaiah 53.  That chapter makes my hair stand up as does Psalm 22.

It is ironic to me that we have more evidence of an evident that took place over 2000 years ago than we have for an event that took place a few days ago.

Copyright 2011 Kevin R. Airrington

If you were not in Bible Study this morning you miss a good one.  We are studying the book of Job…Verse by Verse.  Our studies are about 1 hour and boy are we ever learning.  We dissect every verse and squeeze out every drop of information that God intended.  It is a fascinating exposition.  You can join us each Saturday at 9:00 AM MST by clicking the Live Services link at the top of this page.  Soon we will have our very own video conference rooms.

We are about 1/3 of the way into Job chapter 3 and we ran across verse 8.

Job 3:8, “Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.” KJV

To understand this verse I need to give you some of the context of what happened before this verse. (Job 1:1-Job 3:7)  God has allowed Job, an upright and righteous man to be messed with or cursed by Satan twice.  The second time God allowed Satan to bring physical harm to Job.  Job is sitting in the ashes (Jewish custom), his 3 friends are sitting with him.  He is using a piece of broken pottery to pick the pus from his boils.  Finally, Job has had enough and is ready to die and although he is a little scared he just wants it to come quickly.  On v.8 he calls for the hired mourners to come and mourn his death. (Jeremiah 9:17).

One one of the people at the bible study (Elvis) read a footnote in his Bible.  While I disagreed with the footnote it did open up a discussion and we all learned so much.

He read (I will paraphrase): those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has “those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan,” which was some kind of mythical sea monster.  Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers.

My immediate objection was the notion that Leviathan was a myth.  Without getting into too much discussion we certainly can, Leviathan is a real  creature that lived in the ocean.  Probably a plesiosaur or similar.  There is a mention of the Leviathan int he Bible and outside of the Bible.  So…not a “sea creature”, crocodile and don’t make me laugh, with supernatural powers.”  The footnote above came from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) Elvis was using a study Bible…not CEV.  We have to be real careful of some of the modern translations.  They deny the creation, dinosaurs and reduce the Bible down to a myth.  More on this in another discussion.

Curious…I went deep…why in the world would Leviathan even be mentioned that that verse… I read it and read it…and I could not see a connection.  So I went to the Hebrew.  The KJV uses the word “mourning”.  I looked that word up in my Hebrew dictionary (in fact from my Interlinear Bible:  which is keyed to the Greek and Hebrew text using Strong’s Concordance.)  Hang on this gonna be cool! 

The Hebrew word used there is the word: !tywl The transliterated word (Transliteration is the practice of converting a text from one writing system into another in a systematic way. ):  liwyaataan or Livyathan.  But wait we are not done.  The word also means “mourning“.

The Hebrew word liwyaataan has two meanings:  Leviathan (perhaps the extinct dinosaur, plesiosaurs) and Mourning (an outward sign or grief for a person’s death).

Now I really disagree with the footnotes in Elvis’s Bible and the CEV.  The KJV have the translation exactly right!  You say how can the same word have two meanings?  It is called a CAPITONYM.  This word means a word that changes meaning when it is capitalized or a word with the same spelling but different meaning.

Here are some English examples:

bat (flying mammal), bat (used in the sport of baseball)

will (as in a living will), will (used to express desire, choice)

Catholic (the Roman Catholic Church, a religion or denomination), catholic (the universal church – if you are a Christian you are part of the catholic church, but not necessarily the Catholic Church)

Mosaic (having to do with Moses), mosaic (a kind of decoration)

Turkey (a country), turkey (a bird)

Job (man, book in the Bible), job (an occupation)

I think you get the idea.

Out of curiosity I went to some other translations to see how they handled Job3:8

(NIV) May those who curse days [a] curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.  Footnote: a. Or the sea

(NASB) Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

(NLT) Let those who are experts at cursing – whose cursing could rouse Leviathan [a] – curse that day.  Footnote:  a. The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.

(ESV)  Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.

(NKJV)  May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

(ASV)  Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.
You might be asking yourself, “How in the world could all of those translations get it wrong and how could the KJV be the only one that got it right?”  The most straightforward answer is that these “modern” translations are using the wrong text!  More about this in our O.E.P.

Some of the translators have good intentions…but if the document that they are translating from is wrong to begin with, then logically the final product will be wrong.  Still, other translators are deliberately on a mission to make God’s Word invalid.  How?  By denying the creation, by denying man lived with dinosaurs, by denying the deity of Christ and so much more.  I hope you leaned as much as I did about Job3:8.  God Bless you.