5-24-20 Abstain from All Appearance of Evil
Abstain from All Appearance of Evil :: By Candy Austin
Seeing how the Holidays are upon us, I wanted to write about my findings in recent years on this topic. For a long time I loved Halloween because it was one of the few fun times I had as a kid growing up in a violent home. I guess by seeing how buckets of candy poured out on the table helped to appease the anger level around the house made for my love of this Holiday.
As an adult and a secular Christian, I justified celebrating it with my kids back in the day by not decorating our home with the ‘evil aspects’ of Halloween-like demons, werewolves, and death. I also thought by dressing our kids up as ‘good things’ like Princesses, Ladybugs, and Kitty Cats would be in keeping with the Christian Faith. Not surprising, for the most part; it was ‘okay’ because in these Last Days/Laodicean Age everything is pretty much ‘watered down and acceptable.’
What bothers me the most is that many churches in these Last Days acquiesce and celebrate this clearly despicable and pagan holiday. They justify participation in it by changing the title from Halloween (aka Samhain) to Fall Festival. Churches also use the excuse that it ‘draws kids in from the community.’ The truth is, most of the time that is not the case because it is really just a way for the kids and parents in the church to justify celebrating it ‘safely’. It is sad how far churches will bend from scripture to appease the lukewarm, despite the deep convictions of the true believers not to.
Excerpt from GotQuestions: “Should a Christian celebrate holidays?”
Answer: The Bible nowhere instructs Christians to celebrate holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. This leads some to refrain from observing these celebratory days, even those that are considered Christian holidays. However, at the same time, the Bible does not speak against celebrating holidays. The Bible mentions several “celebrations” that the Israelites observed: Passover, Pentecost, Purim, New Moon, etc. The difference between these holidays and the holidays celebrated today is that some of our modern Christian holidays have pagan or even anti-Christian origins. Christmas and Easter began as attempts to redefine a pagan holiday with a Christian meaning, i.e., the Easter bunny, the Christmas tree, giving gifts, hunting for eggs, etc.
That leaves Christians with a difficult decision in regards to holidays – should a practice that was started as a pagan religious ritual be continued? Here are a few things to consider: (A) Does the holiday in any way promote false doctrine or immorality (Galatians 5:19-23)? (B) Can we thank God for what we observe on a holiday (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)? (C) Will celebrating the holiday detract from your Christian testimony/witness (Philippians 2:15)? This is a decision a Christian family needs to make together. Pray to God, asking Him what He would have you to do (James 1:5). – Source
If you are still up in the air on this topic of “Should Christians Celebrate Pagan Holidays?” then let us do some more research from a reliable Christian source such as Gotquestions.org. There we can dive into any topic from a biblical standpoint and learn what paganism really means.
Excerpts from GotQuestions: “What is Paganism?”
These modern “pagan” practices are actually similar to their ancient counterparts in that they rely heavily on hedonism—sensual gratification and self-indulgence and the pursuit of happiness and pleasure to the exclusion of everything else. In ancient times, sexual ceremonies were a major part of pagan religions. The Old Testament references these perverted religions in such passages as Deuteronomy 23:17, Amos 2:7–8, and Isaiah 57:7–8.
Any form of paganism is false doctrine. Paul addressed this perversion of the truth in his letter to the believers in Rome (Romans 1:22–27). The people Paul described were worldly and materialistic, worshipping created things rather than the Creator. They worshipped trees, animals, and rocks, going so far as to abuse their bodies in deviant sexual practices to revel in their passions. Paul then goes on to tell us why they did this and the end result:
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:28).
That Satan is alive and well is powerfully evidenced in these pagan practices. This was not only clear in the times of the first-century church, but also in today’s postmodern world. To the faithful believers who know the Lord, pagan worship is what it appears to be—the power and deceit of the prince of this world, Satan (1 John 5:19), who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). As such, paganism should be avoided. – Source
The truth is, most if not all of the American Holidays that we celebrate have their roots in paganism. We do have freedom in CHRIST to observe one day over another; but it has become my conviction not to celebrate certain traditions of men that associate with paganism and/or satanic origins. If I know that I cannot celebrate a certain holiday in good Faith and Conscience, then I do not want to have anything to do with it.
One thing that surprised me in recent months was the fact that Valentine’s Day (Lupercalia) is just as evil if not more so than Halloween (Samhain)! Valentine’s Day aka Lupercalia has pagan roots that go way back. It is essentially an evil ritual and celebration of sexual perversion and lust.
Excerpts from BrotherJohn: “Should Christians celebrate Valentine’s Day?”
Like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, New Year’s and other holidays of this world, St. Valentine’s Day is another attempt to “whitewash” perverted customs and observances of pagan gods and idols by “Christianizing” them.
As a child of the God who hates abominable acts, especially of worshipping another god, should you still be interested in Christianized celebration of lust?
St. Valentine’s Day originates from the ancient paganism of this Satan-influenced world. It is designed to deceive mankind by appealing to fleshly, carnal desires—or, as the Bible calls them, the works of the flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest [made obvious], which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry…drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal. 5:19-21). Do any of these sound like Lupercalia to you? –Source
Needless to say, once I found this out about Valentine’s Day (aka Lupercalia), I wanted nothing more to do with this pagan holiday either. Call me ‘extreme’ but I have purged our home of all kinds of things over recent years. If I find out it is not biblical, I will get it out of our home! Extreme or not, the mental and spiritual clarity that comes from purging these things from our home and life have been exponential. More importantly, it has helped us to grow in Spirit and in Truth.
Ultimately that is what GOD wants is for us to grow in Spirit and in Truth, so we can worship HIM in Spirit and in Truth! So, if getting rid of pagan influences, idols, Hollywood distractions such as worldly entertainment (video games, movies, secular music) helps us to focus more clearly on JESUS and HIS WORD, then, by all means, it is more than well worth it!
John 4:24 KJV “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Even as secular Christians back in the day, we made a point to teach our kids when they were little to put their focus on JESUS at Christmastime by having our kids pray before we would open our gifts. By the time they were teenagers, we would take turns reading scripture concerning the birth of CHRIST, and then we would take turns praying before we would greedily dive into our gifts.
So concerning the question, “Should Christians Celebrate Pagan Holidays?” the answer I have found to that inquiry is that since we have freedom in CHRIST, we can choose to celebrate or not to celebrate. If we can choose to celebrate in a CHRIST-centered and GOD-honoring way, then we are exercising our GOD-ordained liberty.
Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Resurrection Sunday can honestly be celebrated in good Faith and Conscience when centered around CHRIST. Holidays such as Halloween, on the other hand, cannot.
Thanksgiving is all throughout the Bible; we are to give Thanks to ABBA FATHER GOD for everything! That is what we make Thanksgiving about in our home. We choose to take time before we eat to honor GOD by reading devotionals and by taking turns to pray. We also take turns stating the many things we are Thankful for before we clink glasses and share a toast. Mainly, we give HIM Thanks for everything good or bad throughout the past year because we know that GOD knows what is Best for us.
Sadly, more and more homes do not make a point to pray or to put the focus on Thanking GOD before their Feast on this day. It has unfortunately become more of a day to “gobble until you wobble” instead. How ungrateful can we get for all the Bountiful Blessings ALMIGHTY GOD has given to us each and every day?! Even for the things we take for granted like our five senses, the air we breathe, and HIS PROVISION in keeping us alive!
Resurrection Sunday for us has nothing to do with coloring or hunting for eggs, bunny rabbits, or baskets of candy. It has everything to do with the Resurrection of CHRIST! This Holiday is a High Holy Day for many True Believers. JESUS rising again from the grave has huge implications for us in this life and in the one to come! Why would our focus be on anything else?!
Excerpts from GotQuestions: “What is Easter Sunday?”
As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection should not be referred to as “Easter Sunday.” Rather, something like “Resurrection Sunday” would be far more appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is unthinkable that we would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny to be the focus of the day instead of Jesus’ resurrection.
By all means, celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ’s resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just once a year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not allow the fun and games to distract our attention from what the day should truly be all about—the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection demonstrates that we can indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven by receiving Jesus as our Savior. – Source
Bottom line, we do have freedom in CHRIST; but like the Apostle Paul said, “Everything is Permissible but not Everything is Beneficial.” Should we celebrate or should we not celebrate? That is something for all True Believers and Christian Families to decide, to conclude, and to become fully persuaded in their own minds about.
So, concerning the celebration of Halloween (aka Samhain), I have become very adamant and passionate about the spiritual implications with the participation of this holiday, among other things. I believe it was one of the gateways in our oldest becoming a Prodigal.
Like I have stated before, I am mad at myself. Mad at my lack of discernment in allowing gateways in her life. Letting her read Harry Potter books, watch Goosebumps, and other witchcraft-related cartoons as a kid only led to her eventual rebellion. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, so the spiritual implications of involvement in these things cannot be overstated, in my honest opinion!
Therefore, it is no surprise that I have come to the conclusion that if it is something that I cannot in good Faith and Conscience celebrate, then it is something I will not have anything to do with anymore. Halloween and pagan rituals such as the ‘traditions of men’ are things I find repulsive now. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy; and that is exactly what he has done to my family. If anything, I am at war with Halloween and anything witchcraft-related!
That is my fully persuaded conviction, and I am sticking to it.
1 Corinthians 10:23, Berean Study Bible “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is edifying.”
1Corinthians 10:20-21 KJV “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. 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.”
Romans 14:5-8, KJV “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Until next time… Maranatha!
JESUS = WAY, TRUTH, LIFE
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