The danger of sinful imitation

In Deuteronomy chapter 18, as the law of God is presented to a new generation of Israelites prior to their entrance into Canaan, various instructions are given on how they were to conduct themselves once they came in to that promised land. In verses 9 to 15 they are told that 'when thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations'. Various pagan practices such as divination, witchcraft and necromancy as practiced by the Canaanites are then prohibited. These sinful practices were forbidden to the children of Israel and are described as being an abomination to God, showing them to be loathsome and offensive to his holy name. Indeed it was for the practice of these things that the Lord would drive the Canaanites out of the land (verse 12).

Among these sins here listed there are many practices and which are linked with and familiar to the celebration of Halloween. The satanic practices of sorcery and witchcraft, of human sacrifice and communicating with the dead, condemned by God as being among the vilest of sins, are found at the very root and origin of Halloween. Behind every Halloween custom, when it is traced back far enough, the hand of Satan can be found. Halloween customs such as trick or treat, jack-o-lanterns and bobbing for apples, things which on the surface are fun and harmless, all have their beginnings in ancient pagan druid practices, rituals which can themselves be traced back to Babylonish idolatry and the very things which we find condemned in Deuteronomy 18.

Protestant - not a name to be ashamed of

There is a tendency among some believers today to avoid the use of the name of Protestant when describing themselves. The will call themselves Christian, and rightly so for we are followers of Christ before we are anything else. They will describe themselves by their denominational affiliation, be that Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist or something else. Yet when it comes to the name 'Protestant' there sometimes seems to be an aversion to using the name, as if it is something they should be ashamed of. This should not be the case, but every believer should be proud of their Protestant heritage. There are doubtless some who avoid emphasising their Protestantism because of an ecumenical spirit. They do not want to risk ruining their relationship with the local priest by proclaiming too loudly that they are Protestant. By avoiding the use of that name they can more easily blur the lines between their respective churches. Yet there are others, who have no desire for communion with Rome, but who also avoid using the name Protestant. They are not ashamed to be called Christian, yet they will not use the distinctive name of Protestant. In Northern Ireland the association of Protestantism with unionism and loyalism has caused them to be treated as one and the same, and perhaps for some this is the reason some have rejected the name Protestant. Yet they are not the same, for Protestantism is a matter of religion, not politics.

A pivotal verse for a pivotal day

31st October 1517 was a pivotal day in the history of the church of Jesus Christ. The nailing of Martin Luther's 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral has been seen as the spark which lit the fires of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Whilst earlier men such as Wycliffe and Hus had also rejected the teachings of Rome and sought to turn the church back to the teachings of the bible it has been the actions of Martin Luther which have been traditionally viewed as the start of the Reformation. So significant were his actions on 31st October 1517 that this date has become known as Reformation Day, although sadly that fact has been forgotten by many Protestants. What better verse then to consider on this day but the words with which Luther had struggled, yet were also the means of converting that great Reformer, and bringing him out of the darkness of Romanism into the glorious light of the gospel:

'For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith'. (Romans 1:17)

For a long time Luther had struggled with a sense of guilt of his sin. Although he had lived the life of a monk, and been devout in doing so, he knew that was still unrighteous in the sight of God. The demands of the law were such that all his prayers, penance and pilgrimage had not given him peace, either within himself or with God. When he considered the justice and righteousness of God, he could not understand how a man could possibly be justified in the light of God's holy justice. Luther's own words describe how he felt:

Martin Luther's idea of recanting

When Pope Leo X issued his Papal Bull against Martin Luther on 15th June 1520 he left him no room for manoeuvre. There was no offer of a discussion on the issues of difference, Luther was not given the opportunity of explaining from scripture why he held the views that he did, but was given the ultimatum of recant or be excommunicated. Luther response was to publicly burn the Bull at Wittenburg and respond to it in a tract entitled 'Assertation of all the Articles Wrongly Condemned in the Roman Bull. The tone of his response gives an indication of what he thought of recanting his views, and of of the Pope's demands.