inverted
I love drawing biotech. I recall some really cool scenes and concepts from the short lived ‘War of the Worlds’ series back in the 90′s. By season three, the world was beginning to collapse into a martial law, nearly apocalyptic setting, as the alien hybrids were living among us and changing the chemistry of our world. Bizarre stuff, I loved it. 
Our heroes confiscated living weapons from them, but I dont recall them ever using the alien tech, sticking with their automatic weapons and trusty pistols.
This makes me think of a verse from the Bible. 2nd Corinthians 10:4 – ‘…For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds…’ Our living weapon is the Word of God, that is a trippy thought.
And, why do we as Christians think we can use the ‘devices’ of this world and claim the end result as glory for God. Case in point, Halloween. I dont think we Christians should participate in this holiday, so entrenched in Pagan Occultism. There is nothing redeemable about this holiday. This is part of my Irish heritage that I am ashamed of.
The Halloweenies ( I am speaking of the church pro-Halloween peeps ), have varied reactions when this topic rears its ugly head. They can take the righteous approach which is under the guise of evangelism, and in my limited scope – I havent seen much tangible evidence that this happens. I’m sure there could be people going out there, sharing the love of Christ with people in costumes, but again, I never saw this happen in my pond.
There is the fun parent approach. “Well, we just don’t feel its that big of a deal, so why not let the kids have some fun with their friends?” This is fine, as we all have different styles of parenting. Personally, I think it would be a great idea to show non-participation in this holiday as a way to teach your kids that they can resist the flow of the world and survive. We dont celebrate Kwanzaa or Cinco De Mayo over here either, so what is the big deal? If you want to have fun with your kids, plan something else, like a costume party at another time during the year, not coincidentally on a Satanic Mass / High Holy Day.
The last resort is the legalist label.
The best way to get away with what you want to do is call the other party a ‘Legalist’. Unfortunately, by doing this, you reveal that you have no idea what the meaning of legalism is, but are just engaging in a smear campaign against the personal convictions of your brother or sister in Christ. I think that qualifies as a weapon of the world. Not participating in a holiday has nothing to do with personal salvation, but personal conviction. The legalism label is a straw-man argument at best and is easily toppled when you get to know the heart of those trying to walk out their ‘salvation with fear and trembling’. Not personal salvation per-se, but a walk of personal sanctification. Resisting the worlds devices and ways should be a no-brainer for the Christian. We are called to die to ourselves daily, just think about it a little. If we are to be like Jesus, then we should expect to miss out on things.
If you have a conviction not to do something, there is a guarantee that there is a fellow believer in Christ who adheres to the opposing side of the gray area, this is where love comes in. We are called to hold the hand of the ones that we do not necessarily agree with, because the world will see our love in spite of our differences and then they will know that we have been touched by Christ.
I am no legalist. Just a concerned parent who wishes to honor God and protect his family from the world’s garbage.
The sad thing is that non-Christians could care less if we celebrate this holiday or not. Most of the flak and fallout comes from my fellow church people. That is really backward.
For the first time in four years, I am relaxed about this coming holiday. The inner knots that start to form in mid-September inside me are absent this year. And for that I gladly rejoice.
If you participate in Halloween, just be safe. And if you don’t, then don’t – and don’t let anyone judge you for it. Nuff said.
(artwork is all inks on my super-duper recycled paper)
