Last Spring a family moved into a house down the street with us. Their little boy and our little boy started playing together, and our boy was invited to spend the night with the neighbor boy, and even go to Sunday School together. Now I am a Wiccan, and many of you know, but I do not broadcast this to everyone, I think a person's religion should be their own. Anyway, our Trick or Treat time is tomorrow night, and our little boy dressed all up and went down to show his friend his new costume, he is a vampire this year. He had the costume on, but not the makeup or fake blood. Our son came back in tears, and told us that he could not play with the little boy anymore, because dressing up in costume and celebrating a satanic holiday (their words, not mine) Now I will agree that All Hallows is an ancient holiday, and is is a Pagan holiday. The Christians "churched it up" a long time ago, and good hearted Christians have dressed up and went out trick or treating for years now, obvious to what the holiday really means. Now this? What thinks you, ATS?

Originally posted by autowrench
Last Spring a family moved into a house down the street with us. Their little boy and our little boy started playing together, and our boy was invited to spend the night with the neighbor boy, and even go to Sunday School together. Now I am a Wiccan, and many of you know, but I do not broadcast this to everyone, I think a person's religion should be their own. Anyway, our Trick or Treat time is tomorrow night, and our little boy dressed all up and went down to show his friend his new costume, he is a vampire this year. He had the costume on, but not the makeup or fake blood. Our son came back in tears, and told us that he could not play with the little boy anymore, because dressing up in costume and celebrating a satanic holiday (their words, not mine) Now I will agree that All Hallows is an ancient holiday, and is is a Pagan holiday. The Christians "churched it up" a long time ago, and good hearted Christians have dressed up and went out trick or treating for years now, obvious to what the holiday really means. Now this? What thinks you, ATS?

I think thats sad that they have to tell that to a child, couldn't they have discussed it with you, the parent first? I respect all religions to an extent, but when the followers are intolerant of other beliefs, that is when I end my respect for the person. A person of another religion could very easily say that to a Christian for celebrating Christmas.

[edit on 30-10-2009 by Phlynx]

As Christians they of course have the right to celebrate Halloween or not but to subject a child to judgement when they have no idea why they are being made to cry doesn't seem right.

Please remember not all Christians are the same. Just like any other religion, if you choose to judge based on their worst representative you are not being very open-minded.

You should have seen this coming from a christian family. If they go to Sunday school or church every week, chances are high that this would take place. At least with the more fundamentalist christian denominations. I would recommend you go talk to your neighbors and educate them about the history behind halloween, as well as tell them why they would do such a thing.

Heck, it should be common knowledge by know that one should not speak about religious belief and politics to someone else's child without parent approval, apparently your neighbor did not get the memo.

This is exactly what happens when "Christians" allow a preacher to charge them to interpret the Bible for them. Jesus would probably be handing out miracles to trick or treaters instead of making them cry.

Jesus was all about love your enemy, yet evangelical "Christians" are the first ones to cry for the murder of every last Muslim on the planet. Jesus was all about turn the other cheek, yet evangelical "Christians" are the first ones to call for bombing the Palestinians into the stone age just to bring about the Armageddon. Just because the Armageddon was written about in the Bible does not mean that it is the will of God. It is a story. It is NOT God saying "This is what I want."

There is no mandate in the Bible that gives preachers the right to pimp out the Son of God like a common twenty dollar whore. In fact, he threw the money changers out of his father's temple. Not once did Jesus tell his followers "Go forth and fleece the flock to provide for your own safety, comfort, and convenience in my name." Preachers have taken the practice of TITHING which was a burnt sacrifice offered up DIRECTLY TO GOD and made it into their magic money machine. NEVER was it given to the temple or to the priests and they have changed it to put money into their own pockets. Like pimps working a ho. Like professional con men fleecing their marks.

Most churches have a "fall festival" around halloween time. They still celebrate it, but by a different name. They have games like cake walk, and dunking for apples, and carnival midway type games. It is a fund raiser event.

The churches around here have pumpins and some even carved that are on the church steps.

The tide is changing, though, and I see a lot of churches parting from the "old ways."

Religion has always, always served to divide people and to hurt one another. Someone always has to be superiour or condescending.

We should all ask ourselves which is more important: knowledge (background and origins of the holiday) or love (treating each other kindly, no matter what the disagreement)?

So sorry your little boy was hurt over this. So sorry that he will be punished by the loss of his friend. This is how manipulation trickles down to keep us in line. It keeps us from upsetting the apple cart and status quo as we get older. The first hurts are hardest to heal and leave deep psychological impressions.

It's this type of ostracism which leads us to grow up not to question authority and leaders. More fear based psychology. Fear of loss; fear of being left out or labeled.

And this is why, like lemmings, so many will follow the one in front...right off the cliff. Children do not want to be labeled "different". They want acceptance and inclusion.

What these parents did was one of the most hurtful things they could have.

Halloween is not some serious santanic evening of blood sacrifices. It is just a fun excuse for children to have a special game and play night.

Yes this is an unfortunate side effect in many Christians that causes them to react with vitriol to those who they perceive are evil or horrible sinners. They put themselves into a position of God, and call down judgment on the evil sinners.

I was like that at one time, but God revealed to me that this is not the way to convert people. Really, it was more of a second conversion for me, which I will call being regenerated.

Now I realize I'm no better than anyone else on this planet just saved by Jesus sacrifice, and forgiven for my sins. And I know where I will spend eternity after death, which is a great something to be sure of.

I'm sorry that happened, but you will find amongst the strongest "true Christians" that things like that wont happen. They will show by calm words and actions why they believe a particular thing is wrong. But this spirit of fanaticism is also in other religions like Islam.

I agree with the previous post, you should try to be more tolerant of your Christian neighbors.

Actually, I am very tolerant of my neighbors. Not once have I went over and clued them in on the falsity of their belief system, or had any sort of Bible discussion with them. I don't even know them, my son does. All I am saying is I think it was wrong to send a childhood friendship over a religious thing. As for educating them, I think this may be a lost cause. For many years I have tried to educate Christians with no success at all. It's the beliefs that are pounded into their heads that does the actual brainwashing, it is a fact that if a controller tells a subject a lie often enough, the subject will remember it as a truth. I have told my son these things, and that they are taught things to scare them, and that he doesn't have to believe that. He will no longer be going to their church, not if they are teaching hate.