 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
A regular look at the best (and worst) that the web has to offer...
10/8/97: It has been brought to my attention by the Christian anti-abortion web site Life Enterprises Unlimited, that the world will end on October 5th. Please take any precautions you feel are necessary in order to avoid God's wrath.
And now on with the...
It's that time of year again. Skeletons and witches, ghosts and graveyards, trick or treat, pumpkins and candles... and worried fundies. Unlike Christmas, Halloween hasn't been completely sanitized and Christianized.
A quick look at the Halloween on the Web site at www.halloween.com reveals a set of inviting links to other web sites. Information about modern-day witchcraft is only a couple of clicks away at the Covenant of the Goddess's witchcraft FAQ. Other pages offer addresses of mailing lists and other contacts for interested readers who want to learn more about paganism. Yes, Halloween seems to be the one time of the year when it's socially acceptable to talk about witchcraft, so it's not surprising some Christians become a little concerned.
There's a fine line between concern and paranoid delusion, though. It's pretty clear to me which side of that line "Ex-Satanist Elaine" is on. If you believe her claims, Halloween 1997 will see Satanists torturing and killing human virgins in sinister Satanic rites. Never mind that countless investigations by law enforcement agencies around the world have turned up no evidence of any ritual abuse ever occurring; "Elaine" is convinced, and is keen to tell all. According to an interview with her, titled "What Should A Christian Do On Halloween?", the best thing for god-fearing citizens to do on the evil night is to hand out Chick Tracts.
Yes, "Elaine" helped Jack Chick to write his classic comic-book tract "The Trick". If you've never read any of Jack Chick's publications, you really should. Drink in the atrocious artwork, and appreciate the sheer glee with which he depicts a modern-day witch burning in agony in the flames of hell.
Some more moderate Christians prefer the carrot to the stick. They try to lure kids away from evil by holding Christian celebrations, which just happen to coincide with Halloween. The Halloween Alternatives web page offers some suggestions.
Personally, I think a naked orgy sounds more fun. Failing that, I might just fall for the cold charms of those two demons of temptation, Ben and Jerry. Yes, I'm referring to Ben & Jerry's Halloween Page, which tries to put you off-guard with fun and merriment, before seducing you to the dark side with Vermont's finest. So far I've managed to keep my virtue and stick to sorbet, but the fudge beckons...
Seriously, though, it's not all fun and games on October 31st. As the Los Altos Town Crier web site explains, the streets can be a dangerous place on Halloween. Particularly if you're a black cat. It seems that there are only too many people aware of the feline's association with witchcraft, and eager to punish it for its sins.
Finally, take a look at "Halloween: Carefree Children's Holiday or Demonic Day of Darkness?". I'll let you in on a secret: read through to the end, and you'll find that it's credited to "Jonathan C. Chance and P.F.T.P." What is PFTP? Some Evangelical Christian group? No, it's Propaganda For The Paranoid, a site of entertainingly over-the-top fake paranoid tracts. There's just one problem: the PFTP tract is actually a lot less insane and over-the-top than the real thing.
It's no joke. Jack Chick's anti-Halloween tract is deadly serious--and for thousands of off-the-deep-end Christians, its message is the literal truth. A little something to meditate on when you go out partying. See you again in November.
mathewSpecial thanks this week to Angus McIntyre
|
[ e-mail the URL of this page ]
[top of page]
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Copyright© Internet Infidels® 1995-Present. All rights reserved.
|
