This page allows us at Little Obion Baptist Church to deal with the issues of the day in a way that is practical and helpful. 

If you do not agree with our stand on any of the subjects on this page; we are not at all offended or hurt by your decision.  You have every right to be WRONG!!

What good is having the truth if you never tell anyone of it?  Do keep in mind that there is no sense in trying to present Biblical principles of living to a lost person.  They are spiritually discerned.  They need the gospel.  Those that claim to be saved are the ones who will give you more resistance to any truth. 

Another problem experienced by people who try to witness is their own ignorance.  If a person doesn't know what he / she is talking about: they should not be talking about it.  The greatest challenge for Baptists today is to know what they believe.  That is a strange statement, but many people just know the terminology of what they think they believe. 

Allow me to Vent...

HALLOWEEN?

            The popular holiday known as Halloween is very prominent in our world today.  Even many Christians participate with their children during this festive time.  What do we know about this day and its beginnings?  I dare say that most people never even consider the meaning behind this celebration.  How a Christian can participate in this evil, hellish, paganistic worship is a mystery to me.  Let us look at this day’s beginnings and culmination throughout history.

          There is nothing Christian about Halloween. It has nothing to do with Christ and everything to do with the devil.   The world of the Wicca religion has some different names for this day of celebration.  It is referred to as November’s Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Hallows Eve, and Samhain.  The more ancient and traditional name of Samhain is one of the Days of Power (or Sabbats) that the Celtics used in their yearly calendar.

          This derives from before the days of Christ.  The ancient Celtics had a two-fold calendar, and Samhain was the end of their summer, and their New Year’s Eve.  This was also referred to as the dark phase of the year. (i.e. daylight savings time)    The Celtics held a feast of the dead on this day.  During this day they believed that the division of the physical world from the spiritual world was at its thinnest point.  The dead could then return to the physical world.  This was thought possible because their concept that time ran in a circle.  Thus their new year was a point out of time.

          The Egyptians, other heathens, and later the Roman pagans soon picked up on this celebration and it grew in number and in imagination.  The Wicca practitioners of Samhain say farewell to their god during this time.  This farewell is only temporary, as their god is reborn at Yule. (another day of power in their calendar)  Samhain is opposite of Beltane on their calendar.  It is believed that Samhain is the dark twin brother of Beltane.  These two battle at the end of their year, and during this battle is when the veil separating the two worlds is weakened.

How did it become involved in Christianity?

For centuries the Romans conquered many Barbarian countries, and eventually their capitol was captured.  Thus the capital was over run with pagans and their diverse religions.  After centuries of establishing places of worship and idols, the city of Rome was retaken by emperor Phocus in 607a.d.  The city was given as a gift to Pope Boniface IV.  The images and places of worship were reconstructed to the Virgin Mary.  This was a common practice when Catholics would “convert” a group of people that were originally pagan.  The same celebrations and rituals were allowed to continue; only they were then focused toward the Virgin Mary. 

          In the year 607a.d., Boniface proclaimed May 13 as a day to remember unknown martyrs.  This feast was held in the Pantheon, which was a hodgepodge of reconstructed gods and goddesses.  Almost all pagans celebrated this feast because they had always prayed to their dead or for their dead.  This feast went on for almost two centuries as All Saints Day.  In the year 835a.d. Pope Gregory IV moved it to November 1st.   This was done to coincide with the ancient practice of Samhain that the “converted” pagans had been celebrating all along, though now through the Virgin Mary.

          This compromise, if one would allow the term, was just another way of the Mother Church appeasing her newly converted members.  This type of evangelism was and still is a well-used tool of Catholicism.  The term used to describe All Saints Day in the Catholic Encyclopedia is catchall.  This term describes something that contains all kinds of different things.  How true this is of this day that is so widely misconstrued.  There are several different types of pagan worship that compose of the All Saints Day, now known as Halloween.

How We Got the Modern Day Practices of Halloween.

In the beginning this day was a feast.  Obviously there was food involved.  As tradition grew of the spirits returning to this world, food was left on the doorsteps of houses to please the returning spirits.  A folklore was started that if a spirit came to a house with no food on the doorstep that the spirit would cast a spell on the house.  Thus the original saying was “treat or trick”.  As this celebration grew traveling parties would go from house to house eating and drinking.

          The custom of dressing in costume also has a Celtic background, but it was mainstreamed through Scotland.  The most common was cross-dressing.  This was done by both males and females as they traveled during the celebration.  The tradition of dressing in scary costume came from the idea of the spirits returning.  Some spirits were thought to be evil, thus the evil and scary costumes.

          One of the most widely used symbols is the Jack-o-lantern.  Not many people know the origin of this tradition, but it is also of early Scottish and Irish practice.  Turnips and gourds were originally used as lanterns.  They were hollowed out and a candle placed inside.  Holes were cut in them so that the light could shine.  Scary faces were used during the celebration to scare off any evil spirits returning during Samhain.

          Apples are another symbol of this celebration.  Today everyone loves to go bobbing for apples on Halloween.  This game represents a pagan baptism called seining.  During this baptism the convert’s head is covered and hands tied while his/her head is immersed into a cauldron of water.  This is still used in some traditional witchcraft initiation ceremonies.  The apple itself is a symbol in the Wicca religion.  When sliced perfectly in half, the core is shaped as a five pointed star.  Apples are used in this matter in many different ceremonies in the Wicca religion.

What about today’s society?

This day is mainly centered on children and the young at heart.  Although it may seem fun and harmless, it is deeply rooted in paganism.  There are no Christian roots to this celebration.  It is another infiltration of Catholic beliefs into the realm of Christianity, as are many of our American holidays.  Catholics are not Christians, they are pagans.  Only the faces of the idols have been changed.  An uneducated Christian may participate in this celebration and think nothing of it, but the Lord’s church must proclaim the truth and separate itself from the world as scripture commands.  As should each individual Christian.  You, dear reader, are no longer uneducated.  The truth has been exposed.  It is now in your hands.  A decision must be made.  I leave you with scripture.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

I Corinthians 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.