Halloween

Considering Satanism? So Is Ned Flanders! Here’s Useful Information You Need To Know!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a couple of stuffed animals sitting on top of a fire hydrant
Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash

Once, I was mistaken for Ned Flanders (the ultra-Christian), not in person, but in my writing. Ned and I are pals, actually!

Ned and I are in the same group because we aren’t allowed to expel anyone (I.e., those who aren’t cool enough) from the Jesus club. And that’s a good thing, in hindsight, because what if they wouldn’t accept me? But we’re not talking about that today.

We’re talking about Satanism!

In brief, Satanism to me:

  1. Sounds nice!
  2. Until you realize you got tricked into Satanism!

I’ll try to explain.

I began researching Satanism when my friend Ned Flanders said, “Gee, Lori! This group sounds cool!” He sent me some of the stuff he was learning, like these seven fundamental tenets of The Satanic Temple. Christianity has the same principles (Admittedly, “tenets” sound fancier than “principles” though)!

Let’s explore the similarities between the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple, and some key principles of Christianity.

Satanic tenet #1: One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

Christian principle: Amen! For example, the book we like best says the second most important command is to: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’

Satanic tenet #2: The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

Christian principle: Amen! Last year, this organization, International Justice Mission, convicted 1,244 traffickers and abusers in local courts, and is a Christian organization! Do Satanists have a similar organization?

Satanic tenet #3: One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

Christian principle: Amen! An unborn baby’s body is inviolable, subject to their own will alone!

Satanic tenet #4: The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.

Christian principle: Amen! Jesus was the king of being offensive to certain people! For example, he once said this a bunch of people! “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded?” By the way, being called a snake was NOT a compliment back then! (In case you think it might be because you have a snake on your logo?)

Satanic tenet #5: Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.

Christian principle: Amen! There are many noteworthy Christian scientists including Francis Bacon (who invented the scientific method by the way), Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Francis Collins, and many, many others (including me!) Also, check out this this guy who talks a lot about science and Christianity! Also check out this post!

Satanic tenet #6: People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

Christian principle: Amen! For example, Jesus taught us to pray like this: Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Satanic tenet #7: Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Christian principle: Amen! We agree that the spirit of compassion, wisdom and justice SHOULD ALWAYS prevail over YOUR written or spoken word!

“Come and join our little club!” the tenants of Satanism suggest.

These seven tenets sound like Christianity or at least like something that regular people strive toward! (“Oh, and we also rip pages out of Bibles and have strange rituals including black mass and maiming ourselves with cigars, but that’s not a big deal!” they’ll mention later.)

So, I put my arm around my friend Ned Flanders and said, “If you want to be kind to others, go ahead and do that!” You don’t need to burn the book that is the pillar of our privileged culture in a weird ceremony or call yourself a Satanist to be kind and reasonable! (“Huh? What now?” said someone who just started reading this post).

What often happens instead is that you’ll get wrapped up in a whole lot more than you bargained for by joining this kind of a group – a group that seems great on the outside because it sounds a lot like the principles of Christianity, but is actually on the opposite team of truth.

Don’t fall for it, friend.

(Extricate the lies.)

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Fight Past Annoying People On The Beautiful Path To God

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a dog dressed in a costume standing on its hind legs
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

Since we’re in a holiday spirit this month, we talked about another time I dressed up in a costume recently.

So you can see a picture of me in my cool unicorn suit later on in this post, as I illustrate – YES! CLEARLY! – why we want to push past any (potentially) annoying people in our pursuit of God.

Click here to continue reading this post.*

* This post is part of our “Say-It-Again-On-Thursdays” blogpost series, where we say it again, on Thursdays!

Important! You Need To Stay AWAY From This Scary Person!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
A small dog dressed in a halloween costume
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

(No – Not your Kindergarten teacher! Someone EVEN scarier!)

So last time we talked about what parts of demonic culture we SHOULD TRY to incorporate into our lives.

So, this time, we’ll talk about  – EW! GET that Satanic stuff OUT of your life, for heaven’s sake! Why the back and forth of recommendations? Well, you never know what’s true anymore on the internet so it’s essential to use our critical thinking skills at ALL times!

Constant vigilance!

(This is a Harry Potter-ism that we WANT to bring into our lives. But we’re not talking about that today. Pay attention!) Wait – you weren’t listening AGAIN? It’s okay – You didn’t miss anything (said in a whisper).

So let’s get started.

“What demonic stuff do you think we should keep OUT of our lives, Lori?” you ask with rapt attention. I’m glad you asked, friend! Let me advise you so I can feel important (Or help you – WHATEVER!).

Nope- those of you who are asleep still haven’t missed anything (whisper).

Let’s begin.

So there ARE people who stay at home concocting ways to hurt people, abuse power or manipulate with fear. And no, I’m NOT talking about your mother or Wall Street, although, come to think of it, a similar culture sometimes dominates there, too. No! I’m talking about REAL live scary people – DIFFERENT ones from the ones you already know!

Are you scared yet?

Oh, never mind setting the mood. I’ll tell you what I already know. But I can hear you asking me, “Wait – Why do YOU, Lori, the perfect caricature of Ned Flanders, have any knowledge of ALL of the REAL scary stuff that happens in the world?”

Good question.

Well, I read this book once.

It’s called Out Of the Devil’s Cauldron by John Ramirez.

The book has over 3,500 reviews and maintains its 5-star rating. That alone smacks you in the face and says, “Pay Attention!”

As well, the guy speaks in SECULAR (that means they don’t talk about religion!) schools people! Another slap up side the head. Someone who DOESN’T BELIEVE all this spiritual stuff thinks that this guy is someone kids need to learn from.

Let’s dive in.

Here’s what I learned from John’s book:

  1. I guess “Warlock” is a valid career choice! Huh! Who knew? That’s the career opportunity the author of this book, John, chose, anyway!
  2. John loved the power associated with his position. For example, little kids with their moms would purposely cross to the OTHER side of the street if they saw him coming. I can’t say that is MY top aspiration in life, but we each have different life goals!
  3. A notorious New York City street gang leader, Nicky Cruz, after Jesus exchanged his rock-hard heart for a new, living one, gives a sheet of paper with some facts about Jesus to this guy, John. John comes to faith! (Actually, John sees a spiritual ring of fire around Nicky Cruz as he preaches on the streets of New York, but you have to be a lot deeper into the faith rabbit hole to believe THAT stuff! Let’s get back to discussing real-life Warlocks -Look, JOHN said it – not me!)
  4. After John’s conversion from Satanism to Christianity, a story resembling a Marvel Movie in its scope and range of characters representing those pulling him in both directions, John, the scary demon guy, changes into his Clark Kent attire and peacefully attends church every Sunday for the rest of his life. (Actually his spiritual journey began that day, but that’s another story and this post is getting too long.)

The end.

The point?

STAY AWAY FROM DABBLING IN SATANIC STUFF, people. Seriously! Get your head out of your rear end! (If you are from another culture, that statement is an English expression. No, I don’t know what it means, either! But it seems to fit here.) Or read this book, at least, before you assume you KNOW that there’s nothing behind this gross stuff.

John opens up about stuff that most people don’t usually talk about when they get involved in Satanism because if they did, they wouldn’t get invited to quite as many cocktail parties with their co-workers.

So his book is an opportunity to see the world through some different glasses – through Ned Flander’s glasses, to be precise.

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

And Happy Halloween!

Wait: Halloween isn’t happy. It’s creepy. It’s gross.

Expert advice – read: How To Steal Hallowe’en, So It’s Uplifting, Not Gros! (Shh…!)

Then listen to this song.

As you listen, ask God if there are any scary things God wants you to put in the trash.

Then do it.

Follow joy and freedom instead, friend.

low-angle photography of brown bird
Photo by Jacques LE HENAFF on Unsplash

Read Harry Potter – The Book About Halloween Type Dark Arts – To Better Grasp One Aspect Of The Christian Faith

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a statue of a soldier holding a yellow object
Photo by Cody Otto on Unsplash

Last time, I wrote here and here about why we should try to give a wide berth to the dark arts and the demonic or satanic.

This week, to confuse you, I will tell you that you SHOULD read the Harry Potter series. I didn’t say I would be consistent! Give me a break! Who has time for authenticity nowadays? We’re too busy scrolling social media to have time to figure out who we are! It’s easier to follow the crowd, anyway!

And since there are gross Halloween decorations in every major department store right now, let’s talk about why you might as well read Harry Potter, too, while you’re at it.

Ahem . . .

So, several years ago, I was huddled in a corner, trying to shut out the world with its scary stuff. Children held out their Halloween candy to me once and yelled, “Boo!” and I screamed, terrified. “We have to keep ourselves CLEAR of all of that stuff!” I yelled after them as they ran away, laughing.

Actually, that memory has exactly the same point as my recent posts, come to think of it! Stay CLEAR of demonic stuff!

So today, let’s run as far as we can in the opposite direction. What satanic stuff SHOULD we be holding onto and perhaps even incorporating INTO our lives?

Ha!

I bet you don’t hear that question every day! You’re welcome! Good luck!

Now let’s get started as we dig a bit deeper to unearth some insights so that we can travel on our spiritual paths free of BOTH:

  1. Weird satanic stuff that could overwhelm us (See the last post), AND
  2. Weird spiritual “rules” (I.e., what to read or not read) designed to make us appear more spiritual than others* but that also choke the proclamation of Christ’s love

We’re talking about Point #2 today, so that’s why we’re discussing which demonic stuff we want to incorporate into our lives.

Let’s start with Harry Potter. The books crawl with spider webs and warlocks, abuse of power, and fear-filled followers of evil (I.e., scary Death Eaters).

Surely, this stuff is a NO-GO! We must confidently assert.

Not so fast.

The Harry Potter series helped me to more deeply emotionally resonate with the choice Jesus Christ made to hang on a cross so we could be free.

What now? You’re wondering.

Yup. Here. Hold my popcorn because I need my hands to explain (I’m Italian).

Harry Potter discovered a prophecy that said he needed to die so that his world could be free of evil (I.e., the guy Voldemort). Harry’s struggle with what this sacrifice would cost him personally and what it would mean for everyone else’s freedom in his world was a palpable decision he struggled with that made my hands sweat, quite literally. The point is, the fact of Jesus CHOOSING to undergo such intense pain SO THAT I could be set free came home in a new way to me as I stayed up into the wee hours of the night with a flashlight trying to figure out how the story ends.

The Harry Potter series ends with freedom for everyone in his world because he CHOOSES to sacrifice his one life for them.

Exactly like in our world.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

. . . God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

on him, on him.

The Message

Can I have my popcorn back? I want to see how this movie ends.

Our movie here on earth, that is, with OUR actors, us.

Great literature must treat evil, sometimes in a base and repulsive form . . . as do the Christian Scriptures.

Three Faces of Evil: Christian Writers and the Portrayal of Moral Evil by Susan Wise Bauer in The Christian Imagination

Drawing by MY HOMESCHOOLED KID! (Because homeschooled kids are our hope)

Footnotes

*Wait – Isn’t that the goal of our spiritual lives? Dang! Now I’m confused again!

Advice: Stop Offering Satan Your Heart For Two Forgotten Reasons!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
black and white heart illustration

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

He was trained and expected to emerge as a teen rock idol.

Then, he died in a sudden air crash at a young age. Over 40 years later, his music is still popular, resonating deeply with our hearts*. And he had shaggy hair, a groomed beard and bell bottoms, so we know we can trust him!

(I’m a closet Hippie, too. How can you tell? One of my teachers didn’t seem to know my real name and called me “Hippie Chick” for four years of high school.)

And that’s how you can know you can trust me, too, because therefore, I MUST be cool, too!

And now that I have established my authority as someone who is MORE COOL than you, I’m sure you will be waiting in anticipation for my next words!

Ahem . . .

You MIGHT want to stop worshipping Satan.

This suggestion is just an idea. See this post for the beginnings of this argument. Now, before you SLAM your laptop closed in indignation, asserting to me, “I would NEVER do that, Loser!” can I have your ear for two minutes so we can challenge each other for a moment?

There has been an alarming increase in people visiting exorcists in the last several years. An exorcist is someone “who expels or attempts to expel a supposed evil spirit from a person or place”. For example, as mentioned here, over the last several years both the Catholic and Protestant churches have noted an alarming increase in the number of reported demonic possessions.

People are more frequently looking for hope in the dark arts.

Why is this?

The musician mentioned earlier, Keith Green, gives us a hint in the lyrics of his song “No One Believes In Me Anymore (Satan’s Boast)”

I’m drawing people just like flies ‘cause they like what they hear

Keith Green said (and we can trust him, as noted above because of his nice hair – remember?) that we are looking for hope in the wrong places.

Also, his words align with those who are intimate with these sorts of issues.

For example, in The Exorcist Files, which is among the top podcasts overall on Apple, Father Carlos Martins explains that many seeking hope turn to Spiritists etc. because they desperately want something. Power, unusual strength, knowledge of the future, or sometimes things as joyful as the hope of having a baby drive people to open the door to satanic practices.

This deep hope is also called worship.

Worship is where we show “reverence” or “deep respect.” It’s where we turn to for hope for our spiritual, emotional or physical ailments. We dabble. We dip. We sacrifice just a bit.

We toss a coin in the wishing well of the dark arts, hoping our wish comes true. And what emerges from this innocent hope is sometimes a dark shape that is much stronger than we anticipated.

And then we need help.

And so many more are returning to the church, but not as we expected. Not as congregants wondering if worship on Sunday will offer their soul’s peace, but as those seeking to be rid of the dark art’s hold on them. Bummer.

It’s better to steer clear of that stuff.

I’m just suggesting.

My opinion.

Hello World text

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

My job is getting easier because no one believes in me anymore

Keith Green – No One Believes In Me Anymore (Satan’s Boast)

And so, the two forgotten reasons we should stop giving Satanism our hope?

  1. The stuff is real.
  2. Satanism will eventually consume you, friend, not set you free.

More on that next time.

God, we pray you give us the wisdom to steer clear of and open our eyes to any dangers of Satanism.

To learn from real people who have been set free from demonic possession, consider listening to The Exorcist Files. Stories are based on the real experiences of Father Carlos Martins.

If we want to feel scared at Hallowe’en, we might as well fear REAL stuff!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

As the song below plays, ask God, “Am I seeking hope in the wrong direction? Where can true hope be found to help me with my very real problems?” Consider chatting openly about your thoughts with one who is trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

God is love . . . There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear.

The Message

Footnotes

*The music of Keith Green still comforts over 175,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, for example.

ADVICE: Worship A Good God Instead Of Foul Demons!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
person holding pink flower
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

So, I’ve been reading about becoming a successful and influential online figure that others look up to and admire.

Did I mention that yet?

Yesterday, I learned that we need to establish AUTHORITY that we KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON before we boss others around. “So THAT’S what I have been doing wrong!” I realized, slapping my head with this newfound wisdom. So today, I will ASSERT my AUTHORITY and EXPERTISE in the following sentence before I advise you:

I WAS VOTED ONE OF THE BEST DRESSED PEOPLE (!!) IN MY SMALL RED-NECKED HIGH SCHOOL SEVERAL DECADES AGO!!

And so, because of this obvious flair for fashion, you can now wholly trust me as I tell you about the cultural fashion trends I am currently observing!

As I sat in the new Mexican taco place last week, I was scratching my head and puzzling over the décor.

Why was this place decorated with skeletons and skulls?

The previous month, in another restaurant, when the 20-year-old kind waitress turned, her forearm flashed a skull tattoo. She didn’t look or sound like a terrifying “Hell’s Angel” motorbike member, cussing and starting fights. Or whatever scary biker guys do – I don’t happen to have any good friends who are active Hell’s Angels members, come to think of it!

Actually, there is one scary-looking biker guy who attends our church, but his heart is so kind and full of a desire to love like Jesus that I forgot he’s frightening.

a man in a santa hat holding a cat
Photo by Petrebels on Unsplash

Anyway, this young waitress had a kind smile and a genuine desire to see us be well served.

She just happened also to like skull tattoos. “Why did she like a skull tattoo so much that she wanted it engraved into her arm, never to come off?” I wondered, scratching my head, trying to figure out this new fad.

Now, as proven here I am a very cool person, and with only a BIT of imagination, I am even CLOSE to attainting the title of “Cool Surfer Dude!” At least, this is the case in my imagination. (Now – What is my editor yelling at me again for anyway? – And something about “Authenticity”? She’s a bother!)

We can all define ourselves the way we want, and I am definitely cool.

Anyway, since I am, as proven above, so VERY cool, you’ll want to sit down and listen to me when I talk about tattoo fashion trends and current decoration styles in the public space.

The only problem is, with this ONE vogue trend of demonic fashion decor, I have absolutely NO idea what is going on. (I’m SURE there are NO other cultural fashion trends for which I am confused – Rest assured!)

The point of this post?

We’ve tossed the church as the source of a beautiful gate leading to God’s heart. The gate has cobwebs, and the path beyond it seems dark and foreboding.  We have added stuff to Christ’s message so that The Way isn’t as brightly lit, especially in contrast to other paths that flash their bright neon lights and claim The Way to God. And so, people are gently turned away from the beautiful gate by the cultural forces of progress. “Travel here,” the dark shapes seduce us.

“Life comes from death”, they whisper, stroking our heads to keep us calm, like a parent to a small child.

It is true that life comes from death.

Unless a grain of wheat is . . . dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.

Jesus Christ, the guy 1/3 of the world claims to follow

We sense hints of the divine in the symbol of the life of a flower emerging from the skull of symbolic death, so we blindly walk in that direction.

And so, we allow ourselves to be steered down a path of partial truth, which has always been the path to the most destructive of lies.

There is a profound truth within this metaphor, but blindly embracing all demonic symbolism is a path leading in the wrong direction.

Wake up, friends!

Let the bathwater of unhealthy Christian culture wake you as we toss it in a panic. Ah! Let’s throw out everything that doesn’t reflect the love Jesus showed us as He washed His friends’ feet and hung on a cross! Let’s toss the dirty bathwater of some parts of Christian culture! And may many wake up by this water splashed in their faces as we toss it, friends.

But let’s keep the baby.

A virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (. . .for “God is with us”)

The Message

Let’s polish that beautiful gate and allow Christ to transform our hearts so they are bright enough, full enough of selfless love that our hearts on fire light the way for others to see the path to God, too.

But let’s stop turning to demons, friends, to show us the path to God.

Let’s worship God instead!

The reasons why we may want to worship a beautiful God who wants to set us free in joy instead of foul demons that will eventually devour us will be discussed in the next couple of posts!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Why Whining Is Remarkably Preferable To Actually Acting Maturely *

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Photo by Marco Aurélio Conde on Unsplash

*(Boring) Administrative Announcement: Hello! I sent this same post from my Substack yesterday. However, I have recently realized that some prefer reading posts here on WordPress instead of Substack. ALL FUTURE POSTS WILL BE SENT FROM WORDPRESS unless I hear otherwise from you. Thank you so much for supporting me so I can feel important!

I prefer whining, usually.

It’s less risky. 

Plus, it’s safer on my ego to point the finger and deride others than to realize that we’re the ones who’ve accidentally fallen on our rears. 

My example:

Hear us whine:

“Hallowe’en is a lot more disgusting than it used to be in years past, etc,” we said. And so we bury our mouths in tubs of candy, fix our eyes on the latest movie, close our ears to the kids knocking upstairs, and hide in our basements, waiting for November, when all is right once more with the world. (Isn’t it? But I digress. . . )

Hoisting oneself by the seat of the pants and leaving the house:

So we asked the grocery store manager to please remove the DISGUSTING display of realistic, cut-off body parts sitting on top of the oranges. These were their “decorations” during October.  “Yes!  Of course!” she exclaimed, running off to remove them before we finished speaking.

And then came another fall on my rear with the following sentence from this store manager, “You are the first person who has said anything about these decorations in ten years.” 

Ouch. Doing the mental math as I sat on my rear after the fall, I quickly realized I had shopped in that store for that long. I have complained every year and yet never once spoke out in love.

And the store manager?

She wasn’t a fierce wolf waiting to attack the foundations of excellence in our culture. But she was a confused sheep, head in her hands, crying, waiting for someone to shine a light on a mess in her store that she couldn’t quite see but knew intuitively needed cleaning up. She had longed for someone to give her a reason to take down the decorations that the rising tide of culture had deposited in her store.

The other thing is – I didn’t create an enemy in this store manager but the reverse happened.

She opened up to me about her cancer struggle and her search for God. Years later, during COVID-19, when the sign at the grocery store exit said in bold letters, “WE WILL NOT HELP YOU CARRY ITEMS TO YOUR CAR”, I didn’t ask for this service, but she carried items to my car. We shared some love in the way that strangers do when they talk about God together (This is another post).

But the point?

Maybe it’s time to grow up a little?

Nah.

I’ve got a bag of candy I’m enjoying tonight (Yes, sugar is a poison – what is your point?), as I watch another episode, and whining is easier, frankly.

But as my joints become enflamed from all this candy, and my spiritual life shrinks with me as I hide in the corners of my culture and complain, I wonder if I should get up off the couch, again?

a woman sitting on a couch holding a cup of coffee

Photo by Julian Bock on Unsplash

How about you?

Should we help each other put down our candy and get up?

Nah.

Oh OK! I’ll tell you about the next time I do something like this in another post. Now leave me alone so I can finish my candy and movie, ok?

(Thanks.)

Anyone Else Find Some Parts Of Halloween Disgusting? Let’s Steal Halloween! (Shhhh…)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Yes, I did design a blog post around this picture.

This is my dog.

I had to find a way to get this picture in front of your eyes. We can end this post now. Some things are just worth 20 bucks including this dog Superman costume.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, I told you all to leave now.

But…

Since you obviously have nothing better to do, I will tell you my thoughts on why we should take over Halloween! We should all host a “Pentecost-Halloween Party”.

Now before all of you go to Wiki to look up a term I will spare you that hassle. Yes, Pentecost has something to do with God.

And yes, Halloween, at least now in our culture, has a lot more to do with the religion of Satanism (I said the word that must not be said in our culture! Satanism! Satanism is a religion! Open your eyes, people!)

For those of you rubbing your eyes trying not to go to sleep as this post irritatingly blasts its contents into your ears, the point I’m trying to make is that Halloween and Pentecost don’t go together very well on their own terms.

Here’s my logic for hosting a “Pentecost Party” on October 31:

  • December 25, what we now celebrate as Christmas, used to be an important pagan celebration, the birthday of the sun.
  • The Christians got together and (essentially) said, “Hey! We don’t like that a pagan holiday is the most important celebration in our culture! Let’s pretend that Jesus was born on December 25, even though he wasn’t, and we’ll slowly steal the focus away from these weird pagan rituals (killing cats etc). towards baby Jesus as a hope for the world.”

They will name [Jesus] Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”)

The Message
  • And like many crazy ideas it worked!

Now, let’s not get technical in calling Christmas a purely spiritual holiday because I know that buying a lot of presents and then returning them the following week when your relatives aren’t looking isn’t exactly the pinnacle of Christian high culture.

Some Christmas carols, however, are essentially hymns, and many of these songs are the pinnacle of high Christian culture, even if our hearts need a little stirring to unblind our eyes to this reality.

The point is, that Christmas still has a holy essence to it if you know where to look, shining your flashlight into the darkest corners of our holiday culture.

So my rationale is let’s do this for Halloween!

Halloween is now the weird Satanic holiday. (I.e., killing cats and pretending that other fearful or gross things are actually funny! They’re not, by the way.)

So sure, the liturgical calendar may be out of order a bit, but let’s change the date of Pentecost to coincide with Halloween for the same reason the early Christians changed the date of Jesus’ birth to coincide with the birthday of the sun.

Pentecost was the day that Holy Spirit breathed on the disciples. This was the day when a bunch of his cowardly followers changed into bold outspoken preachers for Jesus Christ, most of whom were eventually murdered for their beliefs.

So that’s why my dog got a new costume.

And that’s why I asked some homeschooled kids (because let’s face it, homeschooled kids are a part of the hope for our society) to join us for a Pentecost dress-up party coincidentally on the day we used to call Halloween.

Go on! Have your own Pentecost Party on October 31! Have more fun than them! Then invite them to your party!

Three ways to take over Halloween at your Pentecost Party on October 31:

  1. Carve pumpkins because – well, it’s fun. Why wouldn’t we? Carve crosses into the pumpkins. This was my daughter’s idea. Let the candle inside shine it’s light through the cross of Jesus Christ and remind us that His kingdom is hope for our culture.
  2. Have you seen those dog dress-up costumes that look like a monkey riding on the back of your dog? If you find one, can you please send it to me? Thanks. Oh yeah, point number to dress up! Why not? It’s fun!
  3. Remind each other that a few loser fishermen (have you ever noticed what the disciples were like before Jesus was resurrected?) by the power of Holy Spirit, ushered in The Message that altered the course of our world.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

What are you waiting for?

Go eat some candy and change culture!