Years ago, I picked up a free magazine called Well-Being Journal in a local health food store. I threw it away, but not before saving a quote by a woman who received this bit of wisdom from her inner guide. She wrote, Many people believe in evil, sin, and dark forces. It is your purpose to teach the opposite which is the Truth: there is no devil, no hell, no sin, no guilt except in the creative mind of humankind.[1] The fact that people believe this lie suits the devil just fine. He has always tried to blur our view of evil and sensitivity to sin. So while evidence for supernatural evil multiplies around us, the masses deny it. Sure, they may believe in cosmic forces and bad vibes. But sin or Satan? Such old-fashioned notions simply dont fit the new paradigm. Back in the nineties, our local school district held a large public meeting to discuss Halloween festivities. Most parent were upset by some proposed limitations on the traditional in-school celebration of a harmless holiday. After all, why should they listen to a small minority of Christians who felt offended by a dead pagan religion? A former Wiccan priest explained that the old Celtic witchcraft that gave birth to Halloween is anything but dead. Flourishing in todays pagan revival, it has become an official religion with tax-exempt status.[2] Then a few Christian parents shared their concerns about programs that compelled children to celebrate occult themes. They knew well that pagan symbols and occult amusement were desensitizing children to a fast-spreading subculture obsessed with death, spells and black magic -- not just at Halloween but all year long.[3] The majority booed, jeered, and refused to listen. These are religious objections to secular events, declared the president of the board, Phil Faillaice. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that a different minority had, only nine months earlier, banned Christmas songs as offensive to their beliefs. But times have changed. By the end of the evening, the pro-Halloween group had won its case, and the media spread the good news from coast to coast. We have the holiday back again, declared Bay Area witch, Zsuzsanna Budapest. These pagan calendars are imprinted in our genes. They cannot be taken away.[4] Its hard to give up a good party, added Daniel Melia, UC Berkeley professor of Celtic languages. Satan is a Christian notion. This is a pre-Christian celebration.[5] He was wrong about Satan. The Old Testament mentions Satan fourteen times, and that doesnt include all his other names. From beginning to end, the Bible shows how Lucifer has always been stirring rebellion against God and hatred for His people. But then as now, the good news outshines the bad: the evil one could never cause more trouble than God would allow. The clash between two worlds at Halloween is part of the war raging in the unseen, and the enemys strategy hasnt changed since the Old Testament days when God warned, Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. (Isaiah 5:20)
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 01:41:09 +0000
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