Archive for October, 2011

THE ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN!

Monday, October 31st, 2011
The following article was written 10 years ago by elder Richard T. Ritenbaugh, son of pastor John Ritenbaugh who once pastored here in Illinois and Michigan. He wrote about an incident 10 years ago, when the Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas cancelled official “TRICK OR TREAT” so-called “celebrations” across the city!
Here is his essay on this day, Halloween:
Howls of protest arose this past week because the mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, advised residents not to allow their children to trick-or-treat from door to door this year, due to the recent terror attacks on the U.S.
His critics prated on several “how dare he?” themes:
How dare he “cancel” Halloween?
How dare he take such “fun” from our children?
How dare he dampen our esprit de corps during our war on terrorism? How dare he further stifle our recessed economy?
How dare he!
Though this happened in just a few places, it became a modest national uproar, even appearing as a major topic on national talk shows. A majority of Americans just love Halloween—many enjoy it more than Christmas, July Fourth, and Super Bowl Sunday! In terms of its impact on the economy, it already ranks second to Christmas, and it is comparable to Super Bowl Sunday and St. Patrick’s Day in beer sales. Only Christmastime sees more sales of holiday decorations, and of course, candy sales are off the charts before Halloween!
What is the attraction? Are people really into ghouls, spirits, devilry, and monsters? Are Americans really that attracted to the otherworldly theme of the holiday? No, probably not. Polls to the contrary, most Americans do not believe in demonic or even angelic spirits enough to think of Halloween as some kind of celebration of them.
The answer lies in the donning of costumes and the consumption of alcohol: Halloween is the year’s biggest escape from reality!
The ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain (November 1), from which All Saints’ Day and All Hallows Eve derive……
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE: CLICK HERE

HOW WOULD YOUR OBITUARY READ?

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

If you have been checking your local newspaper recently, the increasing amount of  young people dying is stunning. Men and women, from all ages from 50 and under, are moving on to eternity in rapid fire. They are dying from accidents; cancer or heart disease. In the cities, urban violence is claiming untold youth.

But what is really disconcerting, more than the scary increase in youthful deaths, is the content of their obituaries! I have been following the daily Obits in the paper for the past couple years and the content of these people’s lives is stunning!

Here is just a sample of a few obituaries. These are more than local samples. These are representative of a national culture, mindset and soul, which have lost their way!
“He was an avid poker fan; loved fishing; playing videos games and his guitar….”
“He loved hanging out with his buddies; hunting; fishing and tattoos…..”
“She was a sorority sister; loved life, animals and was very giving…”
“She cared about her cats; loved bingo and cared about people (in that order)…”
“He loved his Cubbies; NASCAR and going to the BRICKYARD 400 every year…”

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE