verbosity -- 3 sides of the same coin

Welcome to 3 sides of the same coin--the place where verbosity's editors take the time to rant about a new and exciting topic every month. This month, we're complaining about the concept of Halloween and its role in glorifying Satan. Feel free to mail the editors with your opinion on their ramblings.

s i d e   1

So, it's October 28th and you're on your way to the local grocery store to pick up some of that lovely candy corn to hand out to the neighborhood kids for Halloween. As you drive down the streets of your burg, you pass a local church. On the marquee of the church, there's a lovely little inspirational message that reads: "Halloween glorifies Satan." You get to the store, find out they're out of candy corn, and you get candy pumpkins instead. You go back home and wait a few nights to distribute the candy to the kids.

What's wrong with this picture? If you ask me, the concept that Halloween glorifies Satan is entirely ludicrous (along with the idea of buying that nasty candy corn). I was told by various people in my community and at my church that the holiday was entirely evil and that I wasn't much better myself for celebrating it. To quote one of our interviewees this month, I say, "Poppycock!"

Halloween is all about having fun. It's a chance for kids to dress up and get a ton of candy. I hardly think that little Timmy running around dressed like the Mauve Ranger is akin to Satanism in any shape form or fashion. Just like playing some sort of role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons, I think it's virtually impossible to inadvertantly "glorify Satan." I seriously doubt that when non-Christians are opening up their Christmas gifts on Christmas morning that there parents whisper to one another, "Honey, we'd better have a talk with Suzy. I think she's glorifying Christ over there."

And speaking of Christmas, it's another holiday with pagan origins--nobody ever bothers to pick on it. It's nothing more than a Roman holdover with a newly-created Christian background. Most biblical scholars agree that Christ was not born on December 25th--many place the time of birth closer to spring. Same thing with Valentine's Day--just another fertility festival. At least Halloween was a harvest festival!

Either way you look at it, a bunch of kids running around in costumes could never be inherently evil in my book. People need to stop looking for ways to take the fun out of life. Nobody is going to accidently worship Satan. Halloween is just plain fun; get out there and trick-or-treat before some militant Christian group takes away your right! Jess once dressed up as a punk rocker--the first time it was cool. s i d e 2

We have many holidays in our culture; days such as Independence day, Valentine's day and Halloween are popular times to take part in celebratory activities. On Independence day we go to picnics, cook-outs and swim parties. On Valentine's day we color things pink and celebrate Corey's birthday. On Halloween, kids dress up as cartoon characters and visit their neighbors who give them candy. What's wrong with that? The interaction between neighbors? The problem is that some people decide that 'Halloween glorifies Satan.' Hrm.

The idea that Halloween is a way of glorifying Satan is preposterous. I challenge anyone to tell me what aspects of Halloween exalt Satan. Halloween is a holiday that allows kids to pretend to be anyone they want! A child can be a pirate, a fairy, a ghost or a cartoon character on Halloween. What part of that elevates Satan? Of course there are sick people out there; they're willing to warp the fun of Halloween into something dark and twisted. They would do it anyway without Halloween. The presence of Halloween does not create these people!

As a Christian, I hold quite a few conservative views, but this? This is ridiculous. Halloween glorifies Satan as much as Independence day glorifies rebellion and revolt. Halloween glorifies Satan as much as Valentine's day glorifies sex. Halloween glorifies Satan as much as-- oh wait. It doesn't. Seth is decorating the "office" for halloween, much to the disapproval of our neighbors. s i d e 3 Every year, about this time, in addition to the crunching of leaves on the ground, cackles, screams, and moans can be heard throughout the town. No, I'm not talking about Halloween. The sounds you hear are the fanatics who go door-to-door... ranting: "HALLOWEEN IS EVIL! HIDE THE CHILDREN! SAVE THE PUMPKINS!" This is especially evident where we go to school, in Bristol. Being at the heart of the Bible Belt, you can't go by a church without seeing the light-up signs yelling the notion that Halloween glorifies Satan. Now, let's be a little more realistic. Certainly, Halloween has had its evil background, I can grudgingly agree with any wannabe theologian on that... that's not my point. Halloween's PAST is just that. If current-day Halloween is the spawn of Satan, then I'll go this year as Pat Robertson if it'll make the Christian Coalition happier. The closest thing you get to anything remotely occultic these days is seeing all five Power Rangers come by yr door, already high on sucrose and artificial colors. If that's not evil, I don't know what is. But certainly, when one sees a kid come by, wearing a fireman outfit, or even [God save us?] a Baby Bop costume, how can ANYONE see Satan thwarting the sacred Plan, short of a stomachache, or a bad sugar crash? It all comes down to how much Augustine you want to choke down with yr SweetTarts. This is merely another example of his dualistic idealism, something that the church has held on high, ever since the Augstinian monopoly came into being. If something is not FOR Christ, it's AGAINST Christ. Yeah. We know who's giving away figs this year, Big A. Corey is giving out carrots and coal this year. [back to verbosity]