September 27, 1999

These are busy days here at American Tract. We're gearing up for our biggest, most fruitful season of evangelism in the entire year - Halloween.

That may surprise you. Some people believe Christians should write Halloween off as a "pagan" event. But the fact is that the original observance has deep Christian roots. Although it is far from that for most people these days.

October 31 is All Hallows Eve on the church calendar. It's the evening before All Saints Day on November 1, a time for remembering those believers who have gone before us and dedicated their lives to the truth of the gospel.

Over the years, the celebration of All Saints Day spilled over into the evening before - which came to be known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. So when we minister in Christ's name on Halloween, we are reclaiming the Christian roots of this holiday.

Daniel Southern

Christian Comment: This is just another in a series of evangelical surrenders to Roman Catholicism. Anyone with a knowledge of the history of Hallowe'en knows that it is basically a Roman Catholic holiday, and that what the Catholics failed to include was generously supplied by the Druids.

"(T)he original observance has deep Christian roots." According to Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, "it is a feast honoring all the saints of the Church." Certainly a Christian should be able to distinguish between a "saint of the Church" who is recognized through the process of beatification and canonization and a biblical saint, who is made a saint by the miracle of regeneration (see "How to Become a Saint ", October CEC Journal).

All Saints Day, rather than commemorate those "believers who have gone before us and dedicated their lives to the truth of the Gospel" elicits veneration to "saints" like St. Christina the Astonishing who seemed to have died, but rose from her coffin and flew to the roof of the church. She told the priest who ordered her to come down that she had been to heaven, hell and purgatory and spent her life praying for the "Holy souls." She could not tolerate the odor of humans, and to escape them flew into trees or the rafters of the church. Sometimes she hid in an oven. She was thought to be insane by some and venerated by others.

Another St. Christina (of Tyre) had her tongue cut out but spoke more fluently; when she threw her tongue at a priest he was blinded. She was thrown into the sea where she was baptized by Christ and returned to land by the Archangel Michael.

These are some of the "Christian roots of this holiday" that we are reclaiming, according to the American Tract Society.

Although modern Catholic scholars admit both Christinas were either legendary or exaggerated, they have received due veneration by some on All Saints Day.

The present day for the celebration was first set by pope Gregory VII in 1085.

Giving out Gospel Hallowe'en tracts to trick or treaters is commendable, and we trust that those the American Tract Society is preparing will contain a good Gospel message. But it saddens us to realize that, as falling dominoes, evangelicals are bending toward Rome in their efforts to help Satan recognize Catholicism as an alternate religion.

This letter from the ATS may offend you; it blasphemes our Savior.

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