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Playing with fire

Is Halloween harmless fun or is the devil waiting to pounce?

The truth lies somewhere inbetween.

The stuff about ghouls, ghosts and demons may not be accurate in detail but it is right in this respect: the supernatural is real and there is indeed life after death. Here’s what Halloween gets wrong: dead people live on, but they don’t become ghosts. Instead there really are demonic powers in the spiritual realm that can have physical effects - which people think are ghosts or ‘spirit guides’. As fallen angels, they mimic angels of light, able to appear as if gentle, good and helpful.

Halloween actually dates back to All Hallows’ Eve, an honouring of the faithful Christians who have died and now live in heaven.

Halloween today focuses only on one side of the supernatural - the evil side.

Mediums control spirits but eventually, as many find out, evil spirits control them. ‘Good’ spirits and ‘evil’ spirits are the same.

Halloween trivialises evil and the supernatural world. Take witchcraft as one example. Many assume it doesn’t work; it’s actually very powerful. The wicked don’t invest time, energy and money into something that fails to produce results.

It should be a celebration of the love that God can give us through Christ but instead it is a celebration of death, ugliness and evil.

For many it’s just dressing up and an excuse for a party. But such a celebration of evil attracts real demonic powers, especially when misguided people ‘play’ occultic games like Ouija. Whoever plays with evil plays with fire.

Children are particularly vulnerable to fear, so on that level alone today’s Halloween is not something to be celebrated.

The Holy Bible warns us not to dabble in witchcraft, spiritism (mediums etc) and the occult because they are so dangerous.

Jeff Adams, Bloomsbury, Swindon

Plain poppycock

A housing association in Bradford, Yorkshire, has ordered its staff to remove Remembrance Day poppies from their cars. Well let me put in no uncertain terms my opinion on this one: If I was an employee of theirs I would refuse point blank. If they then sacked me I would take them to the highest court in the land to fight my case. I would do this on principle for the memory of the fallen.

After my case was dealt with, and I cannot see even the most liberal elite judge in the land not dismissing this outrage, I would then tell them to put their job where the moon doesn’t shine. I have had a Remembrance Day poppy on the front of my cars for the last 40 years.

If it ever came to the crunch regarding this issue and it became a criminal offence, I would rather go to prison for the first time in my life before I would take my Remembrance Day poppy from my windscreen.

If they get away with this one, what next if good men do nothing?

Bill Williams, Merlin Way, Covingham, Swindon

Fracking fears

Since fracking was resumed in Lancashire, the Blackpool area has now been hit a number of tremors. There can be no doubt now that fracking does cause tremors and earthquakes as well as damaging the environment.

The Conservative government will continue to do things their own narrow-minded way, ignore the evidence, allow fracking to continue, and it’s the people who live in Lancashire and elsewhere who will suffer poor health, shortened life expectancy. They were warned by scientists, as well as environmental groups about the dangers, but appear to think they know better than the experts who are qualified.

Renewable energy sources can more than meet Britain’s energy requirements and still be profitable. Blackpool has two million visitors a year, but now thanks to Conservative recklessness the livelihoods of local people working in the tourist industry there could be ruined.

Since they insist on burying their heads in the sand like ostriches and stay in denial I’d like to suggest every Conservative MP who voted for fracking visit Preston End Road and go to meet and talk to local people there. However I’ll not be holding my breath.

Peter Bates, Swindon