All-Saints' Origin

Post date: Sep 19, 2011 1:31:31 AM

ARTICLE #1

If you take a poll among your Christian friends about Halloween you are likely to come up with some very divergent views. Some call it the devil’s day. This idea came from ancient pagan beliefs that the veil between our world and a spiritual world to come was pierced on Halloween night (They didn’t call it Halloween. Why would those things be called ‘holy?’), allowing the demonic world and the spirits of the deceased to wander the countryside. As time went on, the superstitious invented masks and Jack-O’lanterns and giving of treats in an effort to placate the spirits that they feared. The addition of fairies, elves, trick or treating, pumpkins (turnips were originally used), and other modern inventions were imported much later.

The early Church also had its special days, including days set aside to commemorate many of the saints who had played such an important role in the preservation of the faith.  Some began to lump their saints together into an All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Day, (hallows just comes from the word holy) and it was officially placed on the Roman Church calendar in 610 AD, and was celebrated on May 13 for over one hundred years. 

As Christianity spread into the West, the pagan practices of the Celts and Druids began to be modified and brought into the Roman world.  In much the same way that many assume that our modern American celebration of Halloween is just harmless fun for children, many began to turn the end of October into a big party time.  Only it wasn’t just a kids party.  Church leaders began to notice that even many of their own people would act like Chrisitians every Sunday, but use the pagan festival that fell each November 1 as an occasion for unparalleled sin.

The Bible teaches (e.g., Eph. 4 & 5) a principle of replacement or displacement.  It is not enough to tell people to stop doing something wrong and expect to get satisfactory results.  Many who work with addicts and various kinds of life dominating problems have observed that the only way to beat a habit is to replace it with another (acceptable) habit (He who stole, let him steal no longer, but work … to give …).  The Roman Church was strong and finally moved all the various All-Saints’ celebrations to the night of preparation before this pagan religious celebration, October 31.  It was called “All Hallows E’en,” (a contraction for ‘evening’) or “the eve of the holy ones.”   Instead of participating in the pagan practices, or trying to hide in their homes until the celebration was over, the Church encouraged people to redeem the day by emulating and celebrating those saints who fearlessly faced torment, hardships, and death, no longer subject to the evil spirits, but filled with the Holy Spirit.

In short, we are trying to do the very same thing with our All-Saints’ Museum.  Without spoiling what is truly harmless or participating in what is not, we want to redeem Halloween by having some Christian fun, fellowship and food; educating ourselves about our history and that of the pagan side of Halloween; providing a biblical interpretation of many of those standard Halloween symbols (witches, demons, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, darkness, etc.); and taking time to consider not only those early saints, but also many who still suffer persecution around the world.  We certainly have something to say about death and darkness and ghosts and demons.  There is a real, biblical interest in blood, bones, mummies, tombstones, and the cross.

We can make the day a holy day.  We can minister to all the little mission fields who come to our door, we can have some fun, and we can celebrate the saints who bravely brought us the faith.

ARTICLE #2

It is interesting that this time of year stirs up so much controversy among believers.  One end of the spectrum says that Halloween is and has never been anything but satanic, pagan evil.  The other end of the spectrum says that even if it started that way, it is nothing but harmless fun for children.  What surprises the few who take time to research is that “Halloween” was not birthed in the fires of a devil’s hell, but rather in the fiery trials of persection endured by those early saints. 

Those early Christians endured persecution that ran the gamut from loss of privileges as a citizen, loss of employment, loss of friendship and being disowned by family to the most gruesome means of torture and death that the world has seen.  The Bible tells of Jesus’ promise that His followers would suffer persecution.  He was mercilessly beaten and then crucified, John the Baptist was beheaded, James had his throat cut by Herod, and Stephen was stoned to death.  But these were just the beginning.  Christians, from the time of the apostles until the Church was finally given freedom to worship, had been strangled, gouged, beaten, racked, crucified, crushed, stoned, boiled in oil, burned at the stake, used as tar-coated candles, drowned, frozen, melted on hot iron plates, torn apart by lions, bears and virtually any other means contrived by sinful man.

"…  for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”" (Revelation 12:10-12, NKJV)

The early Church celebrated Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and a host of special days set aside to commemorate many of the saints who had played such an important role in the preservation of the faith; so many saints that the calendar became crowded.  Different parts of the world began to celebrate All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Day, (hallows just comes from the word holy) and it was officially placed on the Roman Church calendar in 610 AD, and was celebrated on May 13 for over one hundred years. 

As Christianity spread into the West, a threat was imported to the civilized world from the Celts and Druids.  These pagan practices focused on their great fear of death and of evil spirits.  Trick or treating and other modern inventions were imported much later. 

When even some Chrisitian communities began to participate in this foreign pagan festival that fell each November 1, the Church decided to use the same tactic that they had used with Christmas, purposely moving their own Christian celebration of God’s work through the saints to the night of preparation before this pagan religious celebration, October 31.  It was called “All Hallows E’en,” (a contraction for ‘evening’) or “the eve of the holy ones.”   Instead of passively watching as people focused on their fear of death and evil spirits, the Church encouraged people to emulate and celebrate lives lived fearlessly in the face of death, no longer subject to the evil spirits, but filled with the Holy Spirit.

What this mean is that while there are certainly elements of modern Halloween to be shunned:  witches, demons, vampires, ghosts, etc., those elements NEVER WERE a part of the original Halloween (why would those be called ‘holy?’), which was celebrated for over a hundred years before any association with October 31.  We can relax, try not to overdo the candy, minister to people who come to our door, and spend time celebrating the saints who bravely brought us the faith.

ARTICLE #3

This weekend is Halloween – not generally understood as a church holiday (holy day), because of the way most of us grew up.  You may have heard that many of our modern secular practices have pagan roots going back to ancient Celtic superstitions and their belief that at the time of year that we celebrate our holiday, the veil between the physical and spiritual world is pulled back, and that the spirits of people who died during the past year, unable to move on until they obtained all the food and other provisions, wander around, harassing the living.  Those in the land of the living came up with a plan - just all put out food and dress up as scary, grotesque creatures - to either placate the spirits, or at least to blend in with them so that they’d be left alone. 

Of course, devils, witches, ghosts, and vampires don’t fit in with Christianity.  This has caused confusion and division within the church.  Some are resolutely anti-halloween; others are supporters of the holiday; and many just try to get through the season as if nothing is going on - turning out the lights and hiding in the back room to avoid the conflict of having to defend any position. 

The answer for the early church was, after centuries of celebrating the saints, in 741, because of growing concern over the pagan harvest festival observed on Nov. 1st, to move their All Saints Day celebration to Oct. 31st.  To see the place of fallen saints in the Church, we can look to the Book of Hebrews.  The author didn’t have many New Testament heroes of the faith at that time, but he had plenty from the Old Testament.  After almost 10 chapters telling us how Jesus is better than prophets, angels, Moses, priests, law, temples and sacrifices; he tells us that we can know God the Father through faith in His Son, Jesus. 

“Faith is” described (v. 1, 6) as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  You can only understand the Christian life and realize the benefits of saving grace in the finished work of Jesus Christ by believing that He can really do what He told His disciples that He could do - forgive our sins and raise us from the dead, just like He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven.  In other words, just because Jesus went to the cross for us doesn’t mean that we are automatically saved.  We have to exercise faith to believe that He died in our place, and that He will save us if we will ask Him. 

Take a look at what their faith did for them and what it can do for you. 

1.  A Good Testimony - v. 2  - He later points to a great cloud of witnesses – the saints who had faith before us.

2.  A True Understanding – v. 3 – A Creator – not widely accepted in the Greek culture of that day – nor our day.

3.  An Acceptable Sacrifice – v. 4 – Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice through his faith – God remembers.

4.  A Pleasing Walk – vv. 5-6 - Without faith it is impossible to please God – with faith we please God. 

5.  A Safe Passage – v. 7 – Noah heeded God’s warning.

6.  An Enduring Vision – vv. 8-22 Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, ... all believed God for heaven. 

7.  23-38 - More of the same again and again – testimony, understanding, sacrifice, walk, safety, throughout the life of Moses, and again throughout the times of the Judges, the Kings, and all the way to Jesus.

And after all these great testimonies are considered, he makes the point that none of these faith heroes ever had what we have.  They were all looking forward in faith to a coming Messiah.  But we, like the readers of this passage in the first century, are able to look back in faith to “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  We have a faith founded in historical facts that tells us that He “endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  And He asks us to to use that faith to lay aside every weight – every sin that slows us down in this Christian race of faith – and He asks us to use that faith to run with endurance.  The endurance comes from exercising faith and from drawing encouragement from other believers from both our day and before. 

To learn more about the saints, come check out the Museum.