Does fasting only have to do with giving up eating; can it also be giving up something you enjoy doing?

Sincerely,
Rumbly Tummy

Dear Rumbly Tummy,

The Greek word for ‘fasting’ is ‘naystaya’, and it simply means ‘to abstain from food’, and this is the only way the word is used in the Bible.  In fact, we get our word ‘breakfast’ from this idea.  Breakfast is when you “break” the “fast” of the night.  Although many religions have used the term ‘fast’ to include abstaining from anything, the word means simply to abstain from food.

Is it wrong to celebrate Halloween?  By celebrating, I mean taking our children trick-or-treating or handing out candy, not worshipping the holiday.

Sincerely,
Sweet Tooth

Dear Sweet Tooth,

Good and faithful people debate this issue all the time, but, yes, you can celebrate Halloween without sinning.  Halloween does have its roots in pagan rituals.  All Hallow’s Eve is often associated with evil spirits, demon worship, voodoo, and witchcraft.  It is, however, also associated with happy scampering children whose most wicked intent is the desire to glut themselves on candy. New Year’s Eve could be viewed the same way.  New Year’s Eve is often associated with inappropriate male and female interaction and drunkenness.  It is also associated with fresh starts, reflective new beginnings, and an evening of friendship and brotherly kindness.  These holidays can be a good thing or a bad thing.  How you participate and your reasons for participating will make the difference.

1. God soundly condemns witchcraft and any magical arts (1 Sam 15:23, Acts 19:19).  Anyone participating in Halloween in an occult way is sinning.
2. Christians are supposed to focus on pure and holy things (Php 4:8).  Many of the costumes that are worn during Halloween are macabre, violent, or ghoulish.  Christians should think very carefully before placing too much emphasis upon dark things.
3. Christians should dress modestly (1 Tim 2:9).  Many costumes, especially those worn by adults, are immodest.  A holiday is not an excuse for dressing in an ungodly way.
4. Don’t participate if it will bother your conscience.  God tells us that we should always keep a pure conscience (1 Tim 1:5).  If you can’t do something in faith, it is sin (Rom 14:23).

After considering these principles – go get some candy corn!

I now believe as you do regarding miracles and why they ceased to exist when they did.  Also, you enlightened me on why God today uses unseen influences to make good things happen for us when we pray as if we're asking for a miracle.

My question: what is happening in these charismatic meetings when people report blind people seeing again, limbs growing, all the things you read about in their literature?  I hadn't given it much thought, not seeing it myself, until a neighbor told me she went to Oklahoma to a huge meeting some years ago, and a preacher, who has since died, would just walk by a portion of the congregation, and everyone would fall out on the floor, start speaking in tongues, people in wheelchairs getting up and running, etc.

Then you hear about some of the people 'losing their healing' some time later.  Are they actually receiving something, or is it all in their minds because they've been 'ramped up' during these meetings?

I'd like to know your opinion and what the Bible has to say about these groups because it seems like they're just going for all the right reasons, believing that they'll get healed.

Sincerely,
Caring For The Sick

Dear Caring For The Sick,

Charismatic preachers are false teachers that take advantage of the vulnerable.  People in their darkest hours of sickness seek hope from any source.  Faith healers prey upon this.

The meetings that you are talking about where people fall over, start randomly speaking gibberish, and supposedly are healed are infamous for being rigged.  Many journalists have investigated these tent meetings and found that they are specifically designed to work people into a frenzy.  During that frenzy, the evangelists will tell people they are healed, and the adrenaline of the moment gives some the momentary feeling of being healed.  There are documented cases of patients going to these meetings and being told that they had been cured of their cancer only to have the doctors diagnose them as terminally ill days later.  Other “healed” people are deceivers planted within the audience that pretend to be sick and throw their crutches away to add to the charade.

Those who go to these meetings are vulnerable to false teaching and are consequently deceived.  They are seeking a cure, and the false teachers know what to say to raise their hopes (2 Tim 4:3).  The faith healers are false teachers, and they will be judged by God for their wicked deceptions (2 Pet 2:1-2).  A teacher is more strictly judged (Jas 3:1), and therefore, these preachers will be held accountable for their lies.  It is our duty to try and undo their deception by bringing the truth to those who have been deceived.

I am wanting to know what you think of "Bible Codes".  I have heard some things about them, and they seem to be very good at predicting events.  I can’t help but think that we are not supposed to be doing stuff like the “Bible code” and that we should just read the Bible the way it was written.  What do you think?

Sincerely,
Cracking The Code

Dear Cracking The Code,

Yup, you got it right on the money.  When people try and decipher “secret” codes and hidden messages from the Bible, they are missing the point (as well as creating some ludicrous false prophecies!).  Paul said that the Bible was written, so that all could understand it, not just the intellectuals.  God wrote the Bible to be so straightforward that it almost seems foolishly simple (1 Cor 1:18-19).  Peter said that the Bible isn’t a matter of private interpretation (2 Pet 1:20).  There is no trick or fancy mathematical algorithm needed to decipher God’s Word.  God isn’t trying to confuse us (1 Cor 14:33).  When we read the Bible the way it was written, paying attention to context, and accepting it at face value, we are doing what God intended.  God wrote the Bible, so we might understand His will and have hope (Rom 15:4).

(This question is a follow-up to a series of questions – “Not Nice Nicene” and “Creedy-Cruds”)

It seems the Apostles’ Creed you refer to is The Apostles' Creed, Ecumenical Version.  The Apostles’ Creed our church recites each Sunday is The Apostles’ Creed, Traditional Version which states:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He descended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

We do not state that Jesus "descended into Hell".  This version of The Apostles’ Creed seems to me to be completely in line with what the Bible teaches us.  That is why I have no problem with it.  Would you say the same?  I have never recited or paid any attention to any creed but The Apostles’ Creed before now.   I am at the present time studying to become a Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, and the subject of creeds is one item of discussion I am preparing for.  I appreciate your help on this subject.  Please let me know if you find anything wrong with The Apostles’ Creed stated above.  I do realize it does not state exactly what the Bible says, but it does state all that is necessary, and I see no where that it is deceiving.  I continue to appreciate your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Almost Certified Lay Speaker

Dear Almost Certified Lay Speaker,

The problem with creeds is in their very nature.  A creed is an extra-Biblical document that is treated as an essential element of faith.  It doesn’t matter whether it agrees with the Scriptures or not – the wording is man-made and, therefore, not exactly as God intended.  A creed draws the lines of fellowship around a human writing.  A creed is a statement of faith that superimposes itself over the Scriptures.  Now, instead of using the Scriptures as the guide for what makes a congregation and a christian faithful – we use a creed to decide what verses and concepts are (and are not) important.  We have no right to do that!  If God wanted mankind to use creeds as measures of faith and fellowship – He would have given us one.

A great example of what happens when we use extra-Biblical documents to guide us is seen in many religions today.  We do not desire to offend, but the title “United Methodist Church” shows that your particular church’s foundation is its ‘methods’.  It is unified by its methods and practices… instead of by the Bible’s teachings.  If we all simply took the Bible and nothing else, there wouldn’t be Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc.; there would only be christians (not “Certified Lay Speakers”, which is a title completely foreign to the Bible) and Christ’s church.  It is the various methods, practices, and creeds that people add to the Scriptures that create division and religious confusion.  Jesus intended there to be one church and one faith (Eph 4:4-5).  We are called to unity… a unity that can only be found in the Bible the Holy Spirit gave us (Eph 4:3).  If we throw off all creeds, names, and practices and use only the Bible, then we will find unity, and we can confidently say we are God’s people.