Christians Should Not Celebrate Halloween

Yes, I'd certainly say Paul proclaimed a differing ideology than Jesus. Paul's knowledge of Jesus was confined to his "visions", which he considered to be equal to or superior to those who were closest to Jesus during the Lord's lifetime. The idea that Christ died for our sins is certainly more Paul than Jesus, and Paul seems to be more concerned with Jesus' death and resurrection than with His teachings--possibly because Paul didn't know much about the teachings. I think Paul did an excellent job of discerning the core idea of Jesus' teachings--unconditional, non-judgmental love--and making it universal, joining Jews and Gentiles together under the same umbrella. We don't find that emphasis in the early Jerusalem church. As for "the biblical indictment of paganism", paganism was the competition. This of course goes way back before Christianity to the Deuteronomists, who pushed a "Yahweh only" message against the worshipers of Baal, Asherah, Astoreth and Moloch. The exclusivist monotheism promoted by the early Christians was not a live-and-let live philosophy. Some of the early church fathers were more intolerant than others in this regard. What is my stance? I think the biblical indictment was mostly misguided, although I'm all for the prohibitions against human sacrifice. Pagan spirituality that reveres nature is something Christians can learn from, and the notion of some of the early church fathers that all non-Christians are devil worshipers is unfortunate. Saint Justin Martyr accepted the great pagan philosophers like Socrates as honorary Christians. I think all religions stem from the same basic human need for meaning, and we can learn from all of them, including paganism. I'd include atheism, as well, although I think my atheist brothers and sisters might object if I called it a religion. Justin Martyr acknowledged that: "those who live according to reason are Christians, even though they are accounted atheists."

 

Thank you for the clarification your conclusions still confuse me but that is alright