My sister helped stop a Bushie from distributing voting leaflets at church

[Paragon]

She's one of the directors at the local Jesuit college, and this particular Bushie (nicknamed "The Pumpkin Lady" because she complained about a "Satanic object" being placed on the altar -- a pumpkin, on/around Halloween -- out loud in the middle of a mass) has been trying to pass out disgusting pro-Bush leaflets on campus and before/after masses.

The head of the university (the guy who placed said pumpkin on the altar during a homily) made policy to stop such solicitation on campus, with instructions to call Campus Security if The Pumpkin Lady tried it again.

Naturally, she tried again today - my sister was notified, and she had security haul The Pumpkin Lady off campus. Yay!

[MrScorpio]

1. Your sister is dah bomb

Booyah!!

[RebelYell]

2. Uneducated imbecile

History of the Jack-o-Lantern

People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o’lanterns.

Source: The History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/pumpkin.html

[Nevernose]

4. That's the history of the NAME...

...not of the tradition. It goes back to a Celtic tradtion of putting up scary faces on All Hallow's Eve (when the dead could walk the Earth) in order to scare away evil spirits, and has nothing to so with an Irish drinking game (God bless the Irish :)).

The early Christian church were masters at taking pagan traditions and converting them to Christianity, e.g. Easter, Christmas, et al.

BTW, I've got a couple of books from the Histiry Channel about subjects like this (one based on the TimeLab 2000 series), and I personally find them guilty of telling only part of the story, usually the most salacious and/or knee-jerking.

The point of jack 'o lanterns is not, by the way, what they represented 500 years ago. It's what they represent today, which is the largely secular and fun holiday of Halloween and harvest season.

[RebelYell]

9. Halloween is my favorite Holiday

I agree with your assessment of the History Channel

Isn't it strange how the holidays are still Pagan? Like Christmas, the festival of lights.

Easter is determined every year by the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, I think.

[Nevernose]

13. The bible on Christmas trees:

"The customs of the people are worthless, they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel, they adore it with silver and gold, they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter" (Jeremiah 10-3,4).

Or th KJV version:
" 2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
...
22 Behold, the noise of the brute is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons."

I've wondered if verse 22 is a reference to the Celtic invasion of Turkey. Ever read "Galations?" The Galations were not Hebrews or even Romans -- they were Celts.

http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel7.htm

[kokomo]

14. Paul possibly plagiarized his writings from Mithraism

St. Paul was from Tarsus, in Asia Minor, a hotbed of the Mithra cult of Zoroastrianism from Persia. The god Mithra was born on December 25th but several centuries BEFORE Jesus. He was born in a cave of a virgin mother called the "Mother of God" and as a newborn, was first visited by shepherds. Mithra was called "the Light of the World." Zorasterian holy men were called Magi, their priests, "father". Mithra was also associated with the sun, and his followers marked Sunday as his day of worship, they called it the Lord's Day. A few of the extra-biblical traditions seem to have found their way to Christianity through Roman Mithraism, very popular within the Roman legions.

Among the ceremonies of the followers of Mithra were baptism in holy water and a partaking of a sacred meal of bread and wine to commemorate the body and blood of the bull that Mithra once slayed. After passing several ordeals converts were "reborn" as a new man in Mithra. Though Mithra had ascended into heaven he had promised to return and bring life everlasting to his loyal followers.
One reason that Mithraism died out and Christianity eventually prospered was that only males were able to practice religious rites. The practice of shaking the right hand, to show friendship (no weapon) is thought to have originated with this cult.

[LittleClarkie]

18. Amen

Or we would not now be listening to organ music, as that was considered the devils music also/.

I'll have to get away rigth after Israiel

[Maple]

6. Weird

In Canada they're a symbol of the harvest season and Thanksgiving, which we celebrate in October.

I have several of the tiny ones on my table right now with a 'horn of plenty' for a seasonal ornament.

They also serve as jack o lanterns for Halloween, and as pies with whipped cream for Christmas.

[RebelYell]

10. Nothing Satanic about it

Suspicion is a strange emotion.

[napi21]

3. OK, I give up! Why is a pumpkin a satanic object?

BTW, congrats to your sister!!!

I guess I must still be really stupid at age 61, but how did a vegetable become a satanic object?

[Paragon]

7. Ask the crazy Pumpkin Lady.

Far as I know, it's a vegetable that God, in His infinite wisdom, put on the Earth. If I were to guess, I would say it's their association with Halloween - which, as we all know, is Satan's Holiday, where the Prince of Darkness uses children to get the candy and treats he apparently needs. :silly:

Fundies can make just about anything "evil" -- but I prefer to think of them and the causes they support to be truly twisted and nasty.

[DemBones DemBones]

5. Good for your sister! Be sure to tell her about

http://www.votingcatholic.org

There's a great quiz there which tells you how close your views are to the US Catholic bishops, to Bush* and to Kerry. I need to go look up who the DUer was who posted about it earlier since I've just suggested it in two threads.

[The Doctor.]

8. way to go sis'...

So the moral of the story is that if you play one side against the other - you get caught between destinies?

[RebelYell]

11. I remember this kid I went to school with, a fundie

He wasn't allowed to celebrate any Holidays. He went home before our Holiday parties. Sad.

[cheshire]

12. The only thing that would have made that sweeter would have been film.

[K8-EEE]

15. Your Sister ROCKS!!!! Hello, The Pope Said NO IRAQ WAR!

Unless totally unavoidable, tell her to take her leaflettes to the Pope!

[Habibi]

16. Props to sis!

and btw, your sig graphic is really disturbing.

edit: typo

[Princess Turandot]

17. A few years ago, I asked a sister with whom I was working..

abt the Halloween decorations in the lobby of the building they owned.She looked at me like I was nuts and said something like "oh, Puleeze..no one worries about that stupidity anymore".

Good for your sister.

[DeadHead67]

19. I wore my Kerry/Edwards button to a church dinner this evening. . . .

. . .expecting to get a lot of flack from what I thought was a majority of republicans. This is a somewhat 'upper-middle' Episcopal parish. I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of far more people than I expected. The chow was exceptional as well!