Rob, In response to the "fuddy-duddy, stick in the mud" statement, I think that lament is a very real aspect to the Christian faith. Healthy lament puts our our lives in constant perspective. The essence of Lament is honesty before God and trusting that he is concerned with the very real frustrations our lives produce. A majority of psalms are laments, Jesus laments over the status of Israel in Matthew, not too mention Paul's lament for Israel in Romans. While it must be understood that we are not called to fixate on our pain, we are not called to disregard it as insignificant and necessary. (Not that I am arguing that this is your position :0 ) In regards to Hallow's Eve, I think it is important to understand the roots of the holiday and be able to articulate a conversation about the purpose for it, not too mention All Saints day that follows. That being said, I feel foolish dressing up, but that has more to do with me be a "stick in the mud" and not because I am opposed to the holiday. I do think it is dangerous to take kids out in and encourage them to knock on a stranger's door for the sake of "candy". That being said, I think there have been numerous churches, schools, and local organizations who have created great opportunities for kids to have fun and a place for adults to take them and feel at ease. Is this an endorsement of witchcraft, sorcery, and dabbling in dark arts, I don't think so. But I think this is because I am willing to honestly talk with my kids about the motivation. To me it's like any other form of entertainment, it gets out of hand, when we don't keep it in check. On Oct 8, 2008, at 10:31 AM, Rob L. wrote:
> > Follow me on this... > We were discussing James 4:7-10 this week and one of the things that > struck me was the admonition by James in 4:9 to lament and mourn and > weep. Obviously there is some context and the conversation did get > around to being sorrowful over sin and repentance. I started us out > though by discussing how this seems a poor way to represent > Christianity. I really don't like it when Christians come across us > as fuddy-duddy sticks in the mud when really we are capable of having > just as much, if not more fun than the world. > So, this verse caught my eye. One of the topics that came up is > Halloween and how many Christians want nothing to do with it. I am > not judging this point of view if anyone has it and in fact respect > and understand it. I laid out for the class Rob's theory of Holidays > and thought it might garner some discussion here as well. > Christmas and Easter have some pagan associations both with the timing > of the holiday and some of the symbolism. I've always thought that > the significance of the birth of Christ and the resurrection of Christ > could not be eliminated/squelched/hushed-up by the forces of darkness > so they used the strategy of misdirection (in the form of these pagan > symbols) to minimize and trivialize the significance of these events. > In kind of a reverse thought process I've kind of always thought that > dressing up in costumes and handing out candy kind of trivialized and > minimized the admittedly evil roots of Halloween. Plus! it's fun, and > you know how we like to justify our fun. Just thought I'd solicit you > alls thoughts - do you celebrate it? do you feel any guilt over this > or are you at peace with it being a harmless childrens holiday? > > Rob > > > > > Mike Butler, Minister to College and Singles CrossPointe Church Happy are the Beggars --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Crosspointe Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/crosspointe-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
