Thanks Andrew. I forwarded this to a few churches that do "trunk or treat" and use it to get people into the church.  

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 18, 2014, at 11:16, Andrew <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Halloween - Part 1 of 2
> 
> Should Christians celebrate Halloween? No! What the world will
> celebrate on October 31 is not anything that a Christian should be
> part of. The origin of what we know of as Halloween began in 5th
> century B.C., Celtic Ireland as a holiday marking the end of summer on
> October 31 known as Samhein (sow-en).
> 
> The pagan Celts believed on that day, the disembodied spirits of all
> those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in
> search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed
> to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws
> of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit
> world to intermingle with the living.
> 
> Naturally, the still living did not want to be possessed. So on the
> night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their
> homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in
> all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the
> neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten
> away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
> 
> The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the
> first century A.D., Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some
> of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as
> their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The
> symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our
> modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween. The thrust of the
> practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief
> in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like
> hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
> 
> The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish
> immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the
> favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and
> unhinging fence gates.
> 
> Since the eighth century, the Catholic Church has celebrated All
> Saints' Day on November 1 to celebrate the known and unknown Saints
> whom the Church has canonized. The night before the celebration of All
> Saint's Day is known as All Hallow's Eve ("Hallows" mean "saints" both
> mean "holy ones" as in "Hallowed be thy name"). So, Halloween means
> "the evening before All Saint's Day."
> 
> You can see from the pagan roots of Halloween why this has become the
> most important day to those who worship satan or choose to live in
> rebellion to God and the TRUTH of His Word. There is NOTHING about
> this day that honors God, remembers God, or has anything to do at all
> with God. It is, quite honestly, a celebration of those who oppose God
> and all that He stands for. THIS is why it's a day Christians should
> NOT celebrate nor be part of in any way.
> 
> I love you and care about you so much. Tomorrow, Part Two of this
> series is titled, "A Christian's Response to Halloween." Do we hide in
> our homes with the lights off? Do we all go to church and hide in the
> basement so the devil doesn't get us? What exactly should a Christian
> be doing on Halloween? I will give you a hint. It will be a bold call
> to action. I can think of no better night to see souls won for Christ
> than on Halloween.
> 
> DO NOT MISS PART TWO TOMORROW AS WE CELEBRATE A NEW HOLIDAY ON
> OCTOBER 31ST THAT WILL HONOR JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD
> OF LORDS!!!
> 
> In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,
> 
> Bill Keller