I respectfully submit that this country has a better grip on "the other reason for the season" than this (linked) blog.
Forget the risks to kids from poisoning, kidnap, etc.
Forget the risks to health from overconsumption of calories, refined sugar, carbohydrates, etc.
Forget the underlying extortive theme.
At its root the celebration of October 31 with masks, jack-o-laterns, and the like, is a celebration of evil.
Hat Tip to Russian schools for taking the appropriate approach, and to the Patriarch of Moscow for using his political influence to staunch the desensitization to evil in Russia. Gentle ribbing to brother Harris for being softer on the celebration of evil than the Russians.
-Turretinfan
P.S. And, of course, shame on Britain for this.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
10 comments:
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A good practical reason why having One Church can influence things in a way that hundreds of denominations can't.
ReplyDeleteA) Russia does not have only one church; and
ReplyDeleteB) Britain has a national church (also claiming to have apostolic succession etc.) and yet it does not influence things in such a way for the better.
-Turretinfan
Out of curiosity,does Russia allow abortion since communism "fell"?
ReplyDelete--Godith
Good Question ... I think I heard that they permit first trimester abortions only - later abortions are a criminal offense.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's a significant change from the Soviet era.
-Turretinfan
TF,
ReplyDelete"A celebration of evil"?
I don't remember my kids celebrating evil last night. My 5 year old begged for candy as a princess, my 12 year old as a bumble bee, any my 15 year old went to a party as a scarecrow.
When my oldest child (17) was younger we would never let her participate. We would turn all the lights out in the house and go out to dinner for a few hours hiding from tick or treaters. We would tell our neighbors that Halloween was wrong and we did not agree with the holiday. In the past few years we have changed our stance and let our kids participate, so long as they dressed up in a non "evil" costume.
I may be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time, but my family had a very good time last night. We talked to neighbors that we had not seen for awhile and gave out lots of candy to kids in the neighborhood.
I believe most people think of it as a special day for their kids and not a day to celebrate evil.
Zog
Dear Zog,
ReplyDeletePlease try to distinguish between:
1) The holiday itself is a celebration of evil; and
2) Individual people may or may not be adhering to the reason for the season.
Presumably fundamentalist Wiccans are as much opposed to the commercialization of this holiday as conservative Roman Catholics are to the commercialization of their holidays such as Fat Tuesday or or Christmas.
-Turretinfan
Not absolutely sure, but I have heard that Oct. 31 is the "high holy day" of Satanism. Would that be a fallacy of origin to oppose it for that reason.
ReplyDeleteIt's an excuse to dress up and have some fun. Probably it's less objectionable than watching the average PG-13 movie in terms of offending God.
Every holiday (for that matter, probably every Friday and Saturday night) has its abuses, but we don't ban them for those reasons, right?
We don't want to associate with the evil parts of the "holiday", however. All in all, I think it's probably not worth arguing about.
If the ROC wants to be more biblical, let them speak out against abortion and talk to the government more about that.
I think one of Russia's motivations is to keep Russian culture Russian.
--Godith
--Godith
A) Fallacy of origin?
ReplyDelete(i) Holiday without origin is a strange concept.
(ii) Because celebration of a holiday is normally linked to the origin of that holiday, it's odd to call recognition of the origin a fallacy.
B) I have nothing against costume parties, nor against candy-giving/receiving, nor against gourd carving. Those activities on October 31, however, have special connotation, just as giving and receiving presents, bringing a tree into the house, and so forth have a special connotation on December 25.
C) It's not a big deal in itself. It is, however, one way youth are desensitized to evil.
D) Asking the ROC to do more about abortion is a great example of trying to extract a mote. Sure, they could improve in that regard, but places like America etc. have much to do even to become even with them in that regard.
E) The ROC is pretty explicit about their intention.
-Turretinfan
TF,
ReplyDelete"2) Individual people may or may not be adhering to the reason for the season."
I guess this is where we are. My wife and I both agree that being hospitable to our neighbors during Halloween is better than turning our lights off and hiding. We are trying (and I stress trying) to be salt and light to our neighbors and Halloween gives us more opportunities to meet them and do that.
What other "holiday" do you know of that people come to your door and you actually get to meet them? We handed out 8 huge bags of candy to the little beggars and met numerous parents in the neighborhood.
Zog
Zog,
ReplyDeleteSurely you don't think that Jesus is the reason for the season.
As noted in my response to Godith, I have nothing against giving away candy (even to beggars).
Incidentally, plenty of people go around door to door during the Christmas season, offering song, not demanding sweets.
But that's hardly the point.
The point is not whether or not the holiday can be used for good (surely it can). The point is whether participation in the holiday is participation in the spirit of the holiday - and that seems to be the case, even when it is not intended, not desired, and absolutely abhorent to godly folks such as yourself.
-Turretinfan