Halloween - Its Pagan Origin and Connection with Ireland

This is a re-post of a previous article on this Blog regarding Halloween which appeared in 2012. 

This is the outline of a sermon preached on the Pagan Origin of Halloween on 30th October 2005 in Newtownabbey Free Presbyterian Church. 

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, 
Deuteronomy 18:9. 

We are all aware of the type of celebration that goes on at this time of the year. People dress up in the most hideous clothes and masks, they have their lanterns, they go tricking and treating, they talk of ghosts, haunted houses and supernatural happenings and all things spooky.

Have we ever asked ourselves the question: where did this all come from?

An insight in the origin of halloween can easily be discovered when we remember that this festival is one of foremost important to the old pagan religion that sadly is still practised in society today. The Druids and those involved in witchcraft look upon the festival of Halloween as being of great importance.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics #5 Insurgence Part 1

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

#5. Insurgence - To counter the Protestant Reformation Rome turned to the use of political and military force. Where natives in new lands in South America or people in European nations needed "convincing" to become Catholic or to return to Catholicism, Catholic rulers such as Phillip II of Spain and later the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, used political and even military coercion, either to enforce Catholicism on all in a given area or to force those who wanted to remain Protestant to leave altogether. 

There were the religious wars in Europe, including what was known as The Thirty Years war. There were numerous Catholic Conspiracies against Protestant nations including England and particularly Queen Elizabeth I, 1558–1580. 

Across Europe from 1560-1715 there was the Age of Religious Wars. It is reckoned that between 1560 and 1715, Europe witnessed only thirty years of any semblance of peace. Romanism was being threatened on every hand, not only by the doctrines of Lutheranism but also by those of Calvinism. Biblical truth was spreading even into Catholic nations and Rome was not happy. Her answer was to wage war to the death upon Protestants, in Germany, Bohemia, France, Netherlands, England and Scotland.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics #4 Invention - The Index of Forbidden Books

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

#4. Invention - In seeking to combat the spread of Reformation teaching the Papacy created the ‘Index of Prohibited Books’, known in Latin as the ‘Index Librorum Prohibitorum’.  This index listed the books which Romanism would not allow to be read or circulated, wherever she had any influence. Included on this list of forbidden books, as you can imagine, was the Bible in the common language of the people.

The aim of the list of forbidden books was to protect the faith and morals of the faithful by preventing the reading of theologically, culturally, and politically disruptive books.

The Index of Prohibited Books existed for over four hundred years. The index was only cancelled by Pope Paul VI as recently as 14th June 1966.

In addition to the Inquisition, the Catholic Church tried to find other ways to stop the spread of the Protestant movement. Much to the dismay of the Church, Gutenberg’s printing press had made Luther’s criticism and so-called heretical statements more readily available. 

To a great extent it was due to the fact that Luther’s 95 Thesis, having been initially written in Latin, were taken down and translated into German and then printed and circulated widely that made the Protestant ideas so very difficult to contain. Rome greatly feared the outcome if the circulation of the Truth continued.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics #3 Intransigence - The Council of Trent

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

#3. Intransigence

Pope Paul III initiated The Council of Trent as an act of intransigence and defiance to the teaching of the Reformers. The Council of Trent [depicted] has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. It met over the years 1545 - 1563. It actually sat in session during the years 1545-1547, 1551-1552, 1562-1563.

Its purpose was to reaffirm Catholic teaching. In doing so the Council of Trent issued condemnations of what it defined to be ‘heresies’ committed by Protestantism. In addition key statements and clarifications were issued stating the Church's position on various doctrines including that of Scripture, the Canon of Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Original Sin, Justification, Salvation, The Sacraments, The Mass and the Veneration of Saints.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics #2 Inquisition

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

#2. Inquisition - The office of the Inquisition was re-established in 1542. Its purpose was to persecute, even unto death, those who disagreed with the doctrines and traditions of the Roman Church. The Inquisition was a bloody attempt to crush the faith of Protestants. Ten of thousands of Protestants were put to death as a result of the Inquisition.

The use of the Inquisition is one of the more infamous methods used to stop the spread of Protestantism. The Inquisition was a tribunal, or court hearing, designed to suppress heresy. These heresy trials had begun in Spain in 1479, under Ferdinand V and Isabella.

Pope Paul III established the Roman Inquisition in 1542 at the suggestion of Cardinal Caraffa, who had witnessed the effectiveness of the Spanish Inquisition in suppressing dissent. Thus a new agency of obedience was created, namely the Roman Inquisition.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics #1 Institution - The Jesuits

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

#1 Institution - The Jesuits
The Order of the Jesuits was instituted in 1540 to counter the teachings and influence of Protestantism. The Jesuits were the Gestapo of Rome. They form the secret army of the Papacy. Their purpose is quite simple. The Jesuits seek to convert the world to Roman Catholicism. And in order to achieve this goal, they have not hesitated to use every means, both fair and foul. They have not hesitated to lie, cheat, commit murder, or use revolution, if need be, to further their aims. At the very top of their priorities has always been the destruction of Protestantism.

The Jesuits were founded by a Basque nobleman called Ignatius of Loyola. He was a soldier who turned to be a priest after a French cannonball mangled his leg in Pamplona in 1521. They were first known as ‘the Company of Jesus’ from 1534. It was not until 1540 that the society secured papal approval. Ignatius of Loyola and six of his students took vows of poverty and chastity. They wanted to travel to the Holy Land but as this was not possible because of the Turkish wars, they travelled to Rome and offered their services to the pope for apostolic work. At Rome Ignatius [pictured] knelt at the feet of the Pope in September 1540 and received from Pope Paul III the charter of the Jesuits. The Jesuits would combine the ideas of traditional monastic discipline with a dedication to teaching, preaching and proselyting.

The Jesuit order went on to play an infamous role in the Counter-Reformation and eventually succeeded in converting millions around the world to Catholicism.

Rome's Counter-Reformation Tactics

Rome’s response to the Protestant Reformation was swift, brutal and lasting. Instead of acknowledging the truth of what Luther and others were saying about the corruptions and false teaching prevalent in the Roman Church, the Church hierarchy responded with what has become known in history as ‘The Counter-Reformation’. ‘The Counter-Reformation’ was a long and bloody war waged against the truths rediscovered by the Reformers and against those who received and taught these truths.

This Counter-Reformation is usually understood to have begun during the papal reign of Pope Paul III, who held the office of the Papal See from 1534-1549. This Counter-Reformation continued on for years, and in truth is still continuing at the present time in various guises. Romanism, to this day, is still working to counter the effects of the Protestant Reformation.

Over the centuries, since 1517, Rome has employed many different tactics and strategies. Sometimes she has been like a ravenous wild beast devouring all before her. At other times she has been as subtle as the devil himself in administering the wine of her fornication to deceive gullible Protestants. All with the aim of destroying and reversing the Protestant Reformation.

The tactics and strategies which Rome has employed over the centuries are:

Rome's false teaching on Justification

The Catechism of the Catholic Church was revised and reprinted in March 2000. This gives an up-to-date record of Rome's teaching on various doctrines.

This Catechism of the Catholic Church has much to say about the doctrine of Justification. There are at least 40 references to the term 'Justification' in this Catechism of the Catholic Church. These 40 references demonstrate that Rome's view of 'Justification' is still the same as at the Council of Trent and is still contrary to the teaching of the Bible and the truth held by orthodox Protestantism.

Apology for the Reformation by Church of England Archbishops

It was only a matter of time before it happened, but early in this Reformation commemorative year the apostate Church of England, in the form of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are apologising for the Reformation.

In a message released to coincide with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu are saddened by the "legacy of mistrust and competition" that came about through the Reformation. They further called on 'Christians' to repent for those things that had divided the faithful.

In their statement they lament the "lasting damage" done over the past 500 years to the unity of the Church. This they claim is "in defiance of the clear command of Jesus Christ to unity in love".

The Church Fathers didn't even all believe that Peter was the 'rock', but The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible does!

The Church of Rome has a major problem with the claim that the words of Matthew 16:18, teach Peter to be the rock upon which the Church is built: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is a fundamental tenet of Roman Catholic Bible interpretation that you cannot interpret any passage of Scripture but by the "unanimous consent of the Church Fathers". That Roman Catholic principle of Bible interpretation immediately creates a dilemma for Romanism and leaves Romanism totally unable to substantiate her own interpretation of this passage of Scripture. 

As someone once said: the only thing that the Church Fathers were unanimous about, was that they continually disagreed. The "unanimous consent of the Church Fathers" is a myth. It is impossible to find any difficult passage to explain where they were in complete agreement with one another. It is most certainly a myth in respect to Peter being the rock upon which the church is built.

The Blasphemy of the Pope

Here is a reminder, with the election of a new Pope, of the blasphemous beliefs of Romanism about the Pope

History is replete with the statements made by different Popes or else made by other Romanists about the Papacy. They have never been shy in stating their claims. Rome might be a little embarrassed in modern times about the antics of her priests, bishops and Popes but these claims have never been denied or disowned.

For example:
Cardinal Manning in a sermon in the Pro Cathedral, Kensington, and reported in the Tablet [weekly Catholic newspaper] 9th October 1864 said: [speaking in the name of the Pope]
I acknowledge no civil superior, I am the subject of no prince, and I claim more than this, I claim to be the supreme judge on earth and director of the consciences of men, I am the last supreme judge of what is right and wrong.

Peter's message to the new Pope

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, 1 Peter 1:18,19. 

The Church of Rome falsely claims that Peter was the first Pope. She has built the whole system of the Papacy supposedly upon certain words that the Saviour spoke to Peter making him the head of the Apostles and giving him special authority on earth over the Church of Christ.

Peter is not the rock upon which the Church is built. Neither was he given any special place above the other apostles in the Church. Furthermore there is no evidence in the Bible that Peter was ever bishop of Rome as Popery claims. The only time that Peter was ever in Rome is the claim from Church history that he was taken there and martyred for the faith.

Pillars of the Reformation - 5. Sola Deo Gloria.

The fifth pillar of the Protestant Reformation was Sola Deo Gloria - to the glory of God alone. 

All of these pillars were defined and articulated by the Reformers in opposition to the errors of Romanism. This fifth pillar likewise stands in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

Rome looks upon the Church as the mystical body of Christ. 

The term ‘Corpus Christi’ is Latin for the 'body of Christ'. In viewing the church as the body of Christ Rome goes on to argue that to honour the Church is to honour Jesus Christ Himself.

Pillars of the Reformation - 4. Sola Fide

 The fourth pillar of the Protestant Reformation was 'Sola Fide' - by faith alone.

According to Martin Luther, justification by faith alone is the article on which any church stands or falls. In order for a sinner to be declared to be righteous before God the sinner needs the merit of Christ reckoned to their account. This fourth pillar deals with how this is done. How does the righteousness of Christ be reckoned to a sinner’s account, thus removing their guilt and condemnation and declaring them to be righteous before a holy God?

The Reformers at the time of the Reformation went back to primitive New Testament Christianity and said that this is done solely by faith alone, without any works on the part of the sinner who is being declared righteous.

Pillars of the Reformation - 3. Sola Christo

This third pillar of the Protestant Reformation emphasies the meritorious basis upon which God’s grace flows toward an undeserving sinner. The favour of God has to be purchased. The Reformers in holding this position sought to remove the claim of anything and anyone other than Christ as being the meritorious cause of salvation.

I. It is through Christ alone that salvation is purchased for the sinner. 

There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5. As John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion said: Christ stepped in, took the punishment upon himself and bore the judgment due to sinners. With his own blood he expiated the sins which made them enemies of God and thereby satisfied him...we look to Christ alone for divine favour and fatherly love!

Pillars of the Reformation - 2. Sola Gratia

The second pillar of the Protestant Reformation was 'Sola Gratia' - By Grace Alone. This pillar emphasies the origin of God’s redemptive plan and purpose. On what basis did God purpose to redeem sinners and save them from eternal wrath?  He did so freely by His sovereign grace. Nothing else and no one else moved God to redeem guilty, undeserving sinners. Grace has often been described as God's unmerited favour or taking the five letters of the word 'grace' - Great Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Pillars of the Reformation - 1. Sola Scriptura

The last Lord's day of October is usually commemorated as Reformation Sunday. It was on 31st October 1517, the evening prior to the feast of All Saints, that Martin Luther nailed up his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences on the door of his Church in Wittenburg. To mark Luther's act it is important to refresh our memories on the five great pillars of the Reformation.

For what saith the scripture? Romans 4:3 

The Protestant Reformation was simply a going back to New Testament Christianity. It was not a new thing in that regard. The Reformers desired to purify the church from the trappings of false religion that had crept in over the centuries. They opposed the false doctrines and ecclesiastical malpractice which was so prevalent in Romanism, especially the false teaching on and the sale of indulgences, and the selling and buying of clerical offices or Simony, as it as called after Simon Magus in Acts 8 who sought to buy the gift of dispensing the Holy Ghost.

While the beginning of the Reformation is usually marked by the action of Martin Luther in nailing up his 95 Theses against the selling of indulgences on the door of the Wittenburg Church, the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation stretch back much further than that.

More opposition to attending the Mass

Five other Free Presbyterian ministers have spoken out against attending the Mass.

Rev Ivan Foster, retired minister:
Burning Bush website - The true nature of the Mass

Rev David Creane, minister in Lurgan FPC:
Lurgan Mail -

Rev John Greer, minister in Ballymena FPC:
Sermonaudio - Attendance at the Mass forbidden by Scripture

Rev Thomas Martin, minister in Lisburn FPC:
Newsletter: Robinson ought to rethink Mass views

Dr Stephen Pollock, minister in Kilskeery FPC:
Sermonaudio - Why Christians should not attend the Roman Catholic Mass

Update Tuesday 19th April - The Newsletter this morning reports on the opposition of Revs Creane & Greer click here

Update Saturday 23rd April

Other Free Presbyterian ministers who have preached against the Mass in the past:

Office bearers of Presbytery:
Rev Ron Johnstone, minister in Newtownards FPC:
Sermonaudio - The Roman Catholic Mass - What it Means Preached 29th August 2010

Rev Ian Brown, minister in Londonderry FPC:
Sermonaudio - Should A Protestant Attend The Mass? Preached - 1st May 2005

Others:
Rev Paul Fitton, minister in Dungannon FPC:
Sermonaudio - The Mass - A Blasphemous Fable and a Dangerous Deceit- Preached 12th September 2010

Rev Thomas Martin, minister in Lisburn FPC:

Sermonaudio - Reformation: Why we should reject the Mass - Preached 28th October 2007

Dr Alan Cairns, Retired minister:
Sermonaudio - Repudiating the Blasphemous Idolatry of the Roman Mass Preached 7th October 2007

Sermonaudio - The Mass Vs. the Finished Work of Christ - Preached October 1982

Sermonaudio Let the Bible Speak - In Latin or English the Mass Is a Blasphemy - Preached 18th August 2007


Rev William McCrea, minister in Magherafelt FPC

Sermonaudio - The blasphemy of the mass Preached - 30th April 2006


Dr Mark Allison, minister in Malvern FPC, Pa, USA: - Preached - 31st October 2004
Sermonaudio - Lord's Supper Vs. Rome's Mass

Rev Reggie Cranston, minister in Port Hope FPC, Canada:

Sermonaudio - The Mass in the Light of Scripture - Preached 28th July 2002

Reasons for opposing a papal visit

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward has re-issued the invitation for the Pope to visit Northern Ireland.

Every Bible believer ought to oppose a papal visit.

The reasons for doing so are:

1. The claims of the Pope -
i. He is a sovereign;
ii. He is the supreme Judge;
iii. He is the director of men's consciences;
iv. He is the successor of the Apostles, the vicar of Christ and the way to God;
v. The British Monarch is an usurper.

2. The Act of Settlement.

3. The memory of the Reformers.

4. The past and present deeds of Roman Catholicism.