Should Christians hold "Fall Festivals" as evangelistic outreaches
Do Christians really need an "alternative" to Halloween?
The following is a discussion of reasons why some feel that Christians should
...or shouldn't ...hold fall festivals as Halloween alternatives:
#1. There are people that do not know the Lord--that get very interested in God at our festival.
We are being a witness to the community.
~Is there not another--less compromising--way to reach out to people and interest them in
the Lord?
When Christianity became the official religion of Rome, Constantine allowed the people to
incorporate elements of the demonic worship they had previously engaged in, into their Christian worship--in order to reach
more people--in order to make Christianity more appealing to the community--It was a very effective manuever, but was it the
right thing to do?
#2. Halloween isn't going away. We have to deal with it.
~No, halloween is not going away, because Satan is not going away--but the attitude of, "If
you can't beat em--join em," can definitely not be found in any scriptural example.
In fact...
Just the opposite is true.
#3. We can either sit at home with our doors shut or we can go out to be a witness to
our community, and let people see Jesus in us.
~And what would be wrong with letting them see Jesus in us by standing against an absolutely
Satanic Holy Day by staying at home?
That would be an excellent witness to the community. At any rate, we should
be making every effort at reaching out to individuals (-Vs-the "community") on a continuous basis--not just on certain occasions.
#4. Our fall festival is held--to glorify God--because we have compassion for our community.
~Wouldn't true compassion be better demonstrated by taking a Godly stand--as an example to
the community--by refusing to give Satan's big day any recognition at all?
Doesn't it give honor to Satan for his day to be so important to people, that even those
who know better than to celebrate it feel they must have a substitute for it? He loves any attention he can get...
So ignore him!
We disagree that all of these "Fall Festivals" held by churches just prior to, or actually
on, the day of halloween are motivated by unselfish compassion for the community...
We propose, instead, that a great many of them are motivated because God's people are simply
unwilling to give up a holiday most of them have enjoyed for most of their lives, so they have simply "Christianized" it like
the Roman Church did when it associated halloween with "All Souls Day" and "All Hallowed Eve" (neither of which are scriptural
anyway).
Satan is the God of this world, and the scriptures say to love not the world or the things
in it.
The scriptures also say that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us.
We cannot have it both ways.
Although harvest feasts are found in scripture, the feasts found there do not honor
the seasons themselves or even the harvests.
The 3 harvest feasts found in the Bible, foretell, represent and honor our redeemer, Jesus
Christ, who was the first fruits of a great harvest of "souls" who will receive eternal life as a result of his great redemptive
work.
However, Satan, the great deceiver, always seeks to counterfeit the good things of God, and
he twists the great prophetic feasts of the Lord into "Fall festivals," Winter festivals and Spring festivals honoring
the seasons themselves--the creation--instead of the one who created them.
This type of thing (honoring the 4 seasons, the 4 directions etc.) is found in all demonically
inspired religious systems.
They are also found in all forms of witchcraft and occult.
When we, as Christians, attempt to "Christianize" such things, we are setting ourselves up
for strongholds of deception to latch onto us.
And once that happens, we usually begin to demonstrate a preference for the lie rather than
a love for the truth (in more than one area), and our discernment can become seriously distorted.
The scriptures warn that if we allow the enemy to dwell--at all--in our land, he will be
a thorn in our sides (flesh/health related) and a prick in our eyes (discernment).
That's pretty strong stuff.
As Christians we are constantly called upon to choose. And each choice we make determines
some aspect of our future--either positively or negatively.
The Bible says that if we give up a sin (or sinful activity), we should replace it with something
totally unrelated to it...(Ephesians 4:24-32)
But can replacing a fall festival with a fall festival be considered putting off the old
and putting on the new (disassociating)?
Isn't a fall festival...
Well,
...a fall festival?
