WCG, CT, & Halloween

Today is the biblical Feast of Trumpets. A day that features the good news that the resurrection of the Christians and the book of life will be opened after the destruction to hit this planet (please see the article Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians? for details).

Those who are not observing the biblical Feast of Trumpets today, seem more inclined to at least partially support (it is the third biggest financially important holiday in the USA) a pagan holiday that promotes death.

On its web page last year, WCG mentioned and promoted its current article, with the related picture, on Halloween which states:

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

May Christians and their children participate in Halloween activities? To answer this question, we should first distinguish the secular observance of Halloween from such important Christian festival days as Christmas and Easter. Christmas celebrates the birth of our Savior and Easter commemorates his resurrection. Both these Christian holidays memorialize profound aspects of the life of Jesus…

The day does have religious significance for some people, particularly wiccans and druids. For some people and in some regions, Halloween or some of its elements may have a non-Christian religious meaning. Some Halloween activities could be considered anti-Christian, and would, therefore, be avoided. Christians would want to avoid demonic associations, for example. With these things in mind, it would be appropriate for Christians to consider carefully their activities on this holiday.

…It’s true that such things as jack-o’-lanterns, bonfires and black cats, which are part of the Halloween tradition, may have roots in pre-Christian activities…

Most Christians believe they can celebrate Halloween (in some respects) as a purely secular day of fun…

It is the responsibility of each Christian to decide, based on biblical and Christian principles, whether to participate in Halloween activities, and to avoid judging other Christians who have different circumstances and make different decisions.

WCG seems to want it both ways: it knows that Halloween is pagan, but thinks that Christians can celebrate it.

Christianity Today also seems to try to have it both ways: they seem to accept the compromise to observe it but try to suggest that not celebrating is okay while they also promote its observance. Here are a few quotes from its website:

Responding to Halloween…

Announcing a new line of costumes…

Over the years, we have come up with some great activities to strengthen our family ties in late October that you can use whether you participate in Halloween or not.

Hallowing Halloween
Why Christians should embrace the “devilish” holiday with gusto—and laughter.

Why I Let My Kids Go Trick-or-Treating…

Other Links to Halloween Resources

Holiday Tips
Tips for a safe and successful Halloween night from the American Tract Society…

Halloween: Trick or Treat?
Visit the American Tract Society’s website to learn about the history of Halloween and All Saints’ Day and find fun games for the kids to play.

I suspect that the other reason for CT’s acceptance of paganism is financial. There are various ads promoting books and other items related to Halloween. Interestingly, in its list of “Holidays and Events” (a listing of 25 mainly pagan holidays), no biblical Holy Day is listed.

Christianity Today fails again to promote Christianity, but instead sinks to the level of promoting compromises that were accepted and/or endorsed by the Catholics of Rome.

Halloween came from pagan sources, promotes pagan concepts, and is not in any way endorsed by the Bible.

Jesus and Paul did not observe Halloween. They observed the biblical holy days such as the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (which begins at sunset on October 8th in 2008).

Which should a Christian truly support?

Several articles of possibly related interest may include:

Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians? This article provides some historical and biblical insight on this question.
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days? Did they? Did Jesus? Did Paul? Should you?
The Book of Life and the Feast of Trumpets? Are they related? Is so how? If not, where not?
The Day of Atonement–Its Christian Significance The Jews call it Yom Kippur, Christians “The Day of Atonement”. Does it have any relevance for Christians today?
The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time for Christians? Is this pilgrimage holy day still valid? Does it teach anything relevant for today’s Christians?
LCG 2008 Feast of Tabernacles’ Information Here is information on many Feast of Tabernacles locations for this year.