Additionally, Kimberly Daniels represents all Christians as much as Yusuf al-Qaradawi reresents all Muslims or Richard Hoagland represents all scientists.

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:tpp4ipDgs2IJ:www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/halloween_danger_daniels.aspx+http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/halloween_danger_daniels.aspx&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

When I went to parochial school (something I will actually admit to), November 2nd was All Souls. Your description of the meaning was correct, but according to the nuns in our school it was the “civilian” version of “All Saints.”

- Jack

But like Hitchens likes to put it: What is asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.

All Souls Day is a time to remember those of our families and friends who have departed. It falls on Halloween, but is not in anyway associated with Holloween. However, the Catholic Church does not condemn Halloween celebrations, in fact, every church I have attended usually has a Halloween party or carnival for kids. Can’t we just have fun for fun’s sake?

I really didn’t realize that I have been eating demonized candy!!! I thought tasted a little different.

From the blog: “Certainly Pat Robertson has done so much damage in his lifetime that he gets no pass at all from me. My thoughts on him are clear and public (for example, he is ‘bigoted, small-minded zealot who will say anything to appeal to his base’).”

Phil, can you edit your blog post to bring it into compliance with your own Comments Policy? There is so much wrong with what Pat Robertson has said over the years that you really don’t have to call him bigoted or small-minded to see that his world view must be questioned, especially when you try to tell others not to do such things. Be the leader here and show us by example how to debate without ad homs.

Thanks George. I actually meant 1977. Sheesh, I thought I’d re-read the posting, then THAT error crept in. Good thing we have accountability here. Must be some scientists in the crowd.LOL

GAry 7
PS. Dr. Wolfgang Rindler (diff.eq.instructor) was considered one of the top ten experts in the world in the Theory of (General)Relativity at the time. He was teaching at the Univ. of Texas in Richardson, Texas. A really Superb teacher. Wish I’d had a few more like him.

And now back to the show. Which, apparently, is even being denounced as “controversial” by CBN itself at http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/prophetic-insight/23723-the-danger-of-celebrating-halloween.

badreligion – having a badday?

You throw this editorial about how Halloween is a pagan holiday with evil spirits and such, but that article, and you yourself, fails to acknowledge the pagan cultural roots of Christmas and Easter.

George

I’m not sure where you get the well-poisoner bit from. A number of sites I looked up all have the root hebrew word meaning essentially a female spell caster. Every English translation of the Bible uses the the word witch or sorceress or woman who practices magic.

Oh, you poor boy!

I read that at first as “a devil possessed BY Pat Robertson” which would be pretty funny.

“Halloween is meant to *discourage* vandalism? Wuhhh!? ”

As others have pointed out, it was an appeasement thing to keep jerks from acting as jerks. As with anything with a definable economic metric, if you pay for something, you get more of it. Once it became institutionalized extortion, it filtered down to the younger set where it currently resides, while the older jerks still occasionally display their true nature.

BTW, I’ve always wondered which came first, Halloween or All Saints Day. Obviously the name “All Hallows Eve” was coined after All Hallows (Saints) Day, but was the establishment of ASD a reaction to a pagan celebration that was already going on, or did the idea of spirits rising to roam the earth one day a year come as a kind of spiritual blowout before a day deemed so holy (sort of like Marti Gras before Lent)?

- Jack

I think it’s more accurate to say that Christianity produces far more mockable idiots in the English-speaking world. In Saudi Arabia, Islam produces more. In India, Hinduism dominates. In Israel, there are Jewish mockable idiots. Hard to say what religion dominates among the mockable idiots of China, between its official atheism, its own government-sanctioned idiocy, and the general repression of non-government-sponsored press, but it’s probably Confuscian.

I think the religious demographics of mockable idiots tends to reflect the demographics of the population as a whole. This is because idiocy is not a feature of religion alone, but of humanity. (Religion is merely a reflection of human nature.) Unfortunately, this means idiocy is very hard to get rid of; you can’t get rid of it simply by eliminating religion, for instance, as has been demonstrated time and again through the centuries.

Chris:
Also just happens to occur at the same time, sort of, as Samhain

No. It didn’t just happen. No better way to co-opt a pagan holiday than to move an existing holiday to the day you want to suppress.

Originally, Christians observed All Saints’ Day on May 13. But in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III moved it to November 1.

The answer is MUCH worse than just ‘maybe’ for the following reasons:
1. he is a politician
2. he is a conservative and a Conservative
3. he is a Chiropractor

In lieu of flowers and sympathy cards, keep up the fight against the Merchants of Woo

Wake me up when Phil takes on any world religion other than Christianity… so safe to mock.
________________

It’s not that Christianity is “safe” to mock. It’s just that Christianity produces far more mockable idiots than any other religion in the world. THAT’s who’s being mocked. Not Christianity, but the idiots who gleefully misunderstand it.

Islam produces its share of mockables, too. Like the Saudi cleric who declared a fatwa that all young women should be compelled to breastfeed adult men – he was comic fodder in the Saudi press for a good long while. There’s even a comedy tour of Muslim comedians who mock the mockable in their cultures.

But they don’t hold a candle to Christians. When Muslims or Hindus build an anti-science science museum, then maybe we can start calling it a fair contest.

Petrolonfire, I recall it (vaguely) but I also remember criticism of the attempts by some Muslims to stop vaccinations on the grounds that it’s a infidel/atheist/Christian plot to sterilise Muslims. But I guess you can wake me up when badreligion starts checking his/her facts… so safe to just make assumptions.

Doing a quick search on the Google Reader (RSS feed for BA), I find the following from ‘Muslim’:

Is Canada’s Science Minister a creationist?
Mar 17, 2009 8:24 AM

Creationists infect Europe
Dec 23, 2008 12:12 PM

Mecca lecca no, Part 2
Apr 24, 2008 12:06 PM

Fundamentalists say the silliest things!
Feb 18, 2008 10:29 PM

Religion, asteroid, doomsday… and a dose of reality
Oct 23, 2007 8:27 PM

Why fighting antiscience is important
Apr 12, 2007 10:15 AM

Fundamentalism is bad for your health: Muslim edition *****
Feb 1, 2007 2:18 PM
I believe this may be the one you mention, I haven’t read them all (at least not since soon after they were posted)

J/P=?