This past Sunday, my family watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” as we often do during the Hallowe’en season. As we watched, my wife commented that the show had some theological implications. I mentioned I had blogged about the theology of this cartoon, and my wife asked me to read my post. Afterward, my…
Tag: Halloween
Jack-o’-lanterns for Jesus
This is a post from years ago that has been on my mind since Hallowe’en is approaching *** Hallowe’en is a contraction derived from “All hallows even,” and marks the beginning of All Saints Day on November 1st. All Saints is a time of commemorating those who have died in the faith. Martin Luther chose…
All Saints, Every Day
The evening of October 31st, or Hallowe’en, marks the beginning of All Saints Day. All Saints Day is observed by various Christian groups, and is most often a remembrance of canonized saints. These are believers who meet criteria set by the denomination celebrating them. Generally, these criteria involve especial holiness, the performance of miracles, exceptional…
Halloween in Context—Dennis Patrick
The following is by Dennis Patrick, my father-in-law. Dennis writes a weekly column for the Mountrail County Promoter, in which this piece originally appeared. *** It’s that time of year when pumpkins metamorphose into jack-o-lanterns and little imps provoke adults to give them candy. Halloween is here again. Is this really a time for celebrating…
Bobblehead Devil
My wife took my son for a haircut the other day. The barber had a bobblehead devil decorating her space for Hallowe’en (pictured above). My son said, “Look! A hungry guy!” She chuckled because all my son saw was a guy with two forks. I mean, what else can you be but hungry if you have…
Linus Christianity
Hallowe’en is fast approaching so our family watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the story: Linus spends Hallowe’en in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin (GP). The GP is a Santa Claus-ish figure that appears only in the most “sincere” pumpkin patches. He rewards children…
Jack-o’-lanterns for Jesus
Hallowe’en is a contraction derived from “All hallows even,” and marks the beginning of All Saints Day on November 1st. All Saints is a time of commemorating those who have died in the faith. Martin Luther chose to post his 95 theses on Hallowe’en, possibly evoking the “great cloud of witnesses” that preceded him in…
The Voice of One 