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Halloween
Article by Richard T. RitenbaughSpiritism receives explicit condemnation in Scripture as one of several occult practices that God labels abominations. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 prohibits anyone among His people from practicing witchcraft, soothsaying, interpreting omens, sorcery, conjuring spells, serving as a medium or spiritist, or calling up the dead through necromancy, because such acts constitute idolatry that honors demonic spirits rather than the true God. The same passage states that these customs formed part of the reason the Lord drove the Canaanite nations from the land. Leviticus 20:6 further equates spiritism with spiritual prostitution, the counterpart to physical adultery, showing that it severs the covenant relationship between God and His people in the same way that sexual immorality damages a marriage. This biblical teaching connects directly to the origins and ongoing practices of Halloween. The Celtic festival of Samhain centered on the belief that the boundary between the physical and spirit worlds thinned, allowing departed spirits to return; participants therefore offered food to appease them, conducted séances, performed divination by incantation or trance, and sought guidance from the dead. These customs survived the nominal Christianization of the holiday when Pope Gregory IV moved All Saints' Day to November 1, preserving the pre-Christian focus on unseen spirits under a thin religious veneer. Modern Halloween retains the same elements through trick-or-treating, which echoes the extortionate demand for tribute to avoid curses, and through fortune-telling and séances still held on October 31. The New Testament maintains the same stance. Galatians 5:19-21 lists sorcery among the works of the flesh that prevent inheritance of the Kingdom of God, placing it immediately after idolatry and alongside sexual sins, underscoring their shared character as covenant-breaking idolatry. Ephesians 5:8-13 commands believers, who once walked in darkness, to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but instead to expose them, because God's truth reveals their shameful and destructive nature. Spiritism therefore functions as a lure that draws participants away from God, undermines their relationship with Him, and ultimately invites His wrath, which is why the material presents it as one of the central reasons Christians must reject Halloween entirely.
The Occult
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsSpiritism appears in Deuteronomy 18 as one of nine occult practices that God labels an abomination. The term denotes a wizard who claims secret knowledge derived from the Hebrew root meaning "to know," a designation that consistently pairs with references to witchcraft. This practice involves consulting evil spirits for guidance or information, a method grouped with the work of mediums and necromancers as three expressions of the same forbidden activity. The text links spiritism to ancient Gnosticism, noting that the Greek word gnostic carries the identical sense of possessing hidden knowledge, and it observes that modern manifestations of such secret-knowledge systems continue the same pattern. Spiritism is presented as part of the broader system of Babylonian and New Age religion that seeks power apart from the one true God. It is condemned because it substitutes reliance on spirits for obedience to divine revelation, thereby constituting idolatry and rebellion. The passage places this warning between instructions on discerning God's will, underscoring that spiritism offers a counterfeit means of obtaining direction. All who engage in it are said to become detestable to God and subject to the same judgment that removed the Canaanite nations. The material connects spiritism to the larger theme that any attempt to place created powers or secret knowledge above the Creator leads to deception, moral corruption, and ultimate separation from God's truth.
What Happened at En Dor?
Article by Richard T. RitenbaughSpiritism encompasses practices such as consulting mediums, necromancy, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and other forms of occultism, all of which God condemns as abominations that defile His people and invite His judgment. Scripture repeatedly forbids turning to mediums and familiar spirits, with penalties including being cut off from the community, and it lists such activities among the works of the flesh that lead to exclusion from the Kingdom. The New Testament likewise portrays these pursuits as demonic, with Jesus and the apostles confronting sorcerers and expelling spirits of divination, while Revelation declares that sorcerers will be cast into the Lake of Fire. These warnings frame the account of King Saul's visit to the medium at En Dor. After God refused to answer Saul through approved channels, the desperate king sought forbidden counsel to contact the deceased prophet Samuel. The medium, initially fearful of the law Saul himself had enforced against her trade, agreed to summon the prophet. What appeared was not Samuel but a demon impersonating him, rising from the earth in the company of other spirits and delivering a truthful yet cruel message of Saul's impending defeat and death. This event illustrates that demons can present themselves attractively as ministers of righteousness to deceive the vulnerable, exploiting emotional instability and isolation from God. The narrative connects spiritism to the broader teaching on human mortality. Because the dead know nothing and remain unconscious until resurrection, any apparent contact with departed spirits must originate with demons rather than with the souls of the deceased. Saul's tragic end demonstrates the peril of forsaking divine guidance for demonic sources: it produces fear, despair, and ultimate ruin. Thus spiritism stands as a direct contradiction to reliance on God's Word and a pathway that severs the practitioner from the only true source of life and hope.
Halloween
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughTrue Christians do not celebrate Halloween. It is pagan in origin and practice and will destroy one's relationship with God. Light and darkness cannot mix.
The Glorification of Evil
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeEvil is not spoken of much these days, except perhaps in movie titles and video games. Yet it exists, and Christians should have nothing to do with it.
Hating Evil, Fearing God
'Ready Answer' by David C. GrabbePaul warns against mixing good and evil, as the fruit is wickedness. The proper fear of the Lord plays a significant role in ridding evil from our lives.
Satan's Pagan Holy Days
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Kim MyersNew Years, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and birthdays all originate in paganism. Satan entices many into accepting these pagan practices through emotional appeals.
Balaam and the End-Time Church (Part 1)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughBalaam illustrates the paradox of someone who knows God's will, but willfully and deliberately disobeys, presumptuously thinking he could manipulate or bribe God.
Magic Doesn't Work (Part One)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWhile God is consistently depicted as working, magic seemingly provides a shortcut that bypasses overcoming and growth, attaining something for nothing.
Manasseh
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEven though Manasseh was absolutely the worst king ever to lead Judah, Manasseh finally got the message that God only is God, and sincerely repented.
Prophets and Prophecy (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAlthough by no means a wild man, John the Baptist experienced alienation from people, especially the entrenched religious and political leaders.
Who Do You Trust? (Part Three)
Sermon by Mark SchindlerThe corruption of sin was brought on the world through the rebellion of Satan and his fallen angels, an event which took place between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
Cultural Paradigms in Scripture
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughPaul had the capability of seeing the truth from several different cultural paradigms, namely from honor-shame, power-fear, and innocence-guilt continuums.
If the Lord Wills
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeDo we prefer to take matters into our own hands, make our own plans, and look to God for a blessing only after we have decided what needs to be done?
Elijah and John the Baptist
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughJesus declares that none was greater than His cousin, John, known as 'the Baptist.' Jesus clearly says that John fulfilled the prophesied role of Elijah to come.
Balaam and the End-Time Church (Part 2)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughBalaam, motivated by self-interest, believing that the ends justify the means, willing to do anything to get his way, is spiritually inferior to a donkey.
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJoash, Amaziah, and Uzziah are kept out of Christ's genealogy. Although they started out well, their hearts were turned away by the end of their lives.
Acts (Part Thirteen)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughIn Acts 13, the false prophet Elymas is cursed with blindness, providing the witness prompting the Proconsul Sergius Paulus to become converted.
John (Part Twenty-Four)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThough Christ knows that we will inevitably fail, as all of the disciples stumbled, He knows He can pull us through as long as we yield to Him.