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Welcome (back) to “read the Bible – expand your mind:”

The Book of Common Prayer says that by taking part in Holy Communion, Christians become “very members incorporate in the mystical body” of Jesus. The words “corporate” and “mystical” are key. They show that a healthy church has two sides, with the often-overlooked “mystic” side asking the question, “How do I experience God?” This blog tries to answer that.

It has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37.) The second is that God wants us to live lives of abundance.(John 10:10.) The third is that Jesus wants us to read the Bible with an open mind. (As Luke 24:45 says: “Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”) The fourth theme – another one often overlooked – is that Jesus wants us to do even greater miracles than He did. (John 14:12.) 

And this thought ties them together:

The best way to live abundantly and do greater miracles than Jesus is: Read, study and apply the Bible with an open mind. For more see the notes or – to expand your mind – see the Intro.

In the meantime:

October 27, 2026 – I apologize, again. Specifically, I apologize for this blog being out of circulation since last July, mostly due to a techno-error on my part. I tried to add a “Donations” plug-in, but it cut off reader access and left only a “fatal error” message in its wake. Which means I still have a lot of catching up to do. But first, when I bring up “Dorscribe” I get dorscribe@aol.com, Author at DOR Scribe – Page 2 of 49, which talks about “Happy Quasimodo Sunday – 2026,” from last April, about “the Second Sunday of Easter.” So I added this:

As noted in the top post at right, this blog has been out of circulation since last July, mostly due to a techno-error on my part. I tried to add a “Donations” plug-in, and it cut me off, leaving only a “fatal error” message in its wake. And for now clicking on “Dorscribe” brings up to past posts like this. I hope to fix the situation in the future, but in the meantime check “Recent Posts” for all the latest…

But now, back to the subject at hand, the “Halloween Triduum.” It starts next Saturday night, October 31st. We call that night “Halloween,” but few know it’s just the first of three days called the Halloween “Triduum.” (A word meaning three days.) It’s also called Allhallowtide:

The word Allhallowtide was first used in 1471, and is derived from three words: the Old English word hallow, meaning ‘holy’, the word tide, meaning ‘time’ or ‘season’ [see Eastertide or Christmastide] and all (from Old English eall) meaning “every.” The latter part of the word Hallowmas is derived from the word Mass. The words hallow and saint are synonyms.

And speaking of Old English, its word for “saint” was halig, an adjective meaning holy or sacred. It eventually became “hallow” – as easier to say? – which led to the main triduum event, All Hallows’ Day, November 1. (What we now call “All Saints’ Day.”) And since the night before a big day is often called its evening or “eve” – think Christmas Eve – the full old-timey name for the night before November 1 was All Hallows’ Evening. (Or “Eve.”) In time that got shortened to All Hallows’ E’en, then to Hallows’ E’en – dropping the “all” – and finally just “Halloween.”

So much for etymology, but what about all those weird things people do on All Hallows’ E’en? And what’s it all about anyway? Is it just an excuse for wearing crazy costumes, getting lots of candy or watching really creepy movies, as so many seem to think? For starters, Wikipedia said the three days are times “to remember the dead, including martyrs, saints, and all faithful departed Christians.” The main day of the three is November 1st. We now call it All Saints Day, but way-earlier generations called it Hallowmas. It was established sometime between 731 and 741 – over 1,300 years ago – “perhaps by Pope Gregory III.”

Put another way, November 1 honors “all the saints and martyrs, both known and unknown.” In other words, special people in the Church. (A saint is defined as one “having an exceptional degree of holiness,” while a martyr is someone “killed because of their testimony of Jesus.”) On the other hand, November 2 – All Souls’ Day – was designed to honor “all faithful Christians … unknown in the wider fellowship of the church, especially family members and friends.’” In other words, the rest of us poor schmucks. (That is, those who have gone on before.) Also, consider this:

Given that many Christian cemeteries are interdenominational in nature, All Souls Day observances often have an ecumenical dimension, with believers from various Christian denominations praying together and cooperating to adorn graves.

Another note: The word ecumenism means even Christians in far different denominations “should work together to develop closer relationships” and promote Christian unity. (A crazy idea that would be a very nice change of pace for this year’s November 2.)

But again, what about all those strange “Eve of All Hallow’s” customs? It seems they started with the old-time idea that evil spirits were strongest during the long nights of winter. And that on the night of October 31 the “barriers between our world and the spirit world” were at their most permeable; the barrier between this world and the next was at is lowest point. Which brings up the masks and costumes that are a big part of Halloween. In the old days people wore masks or costumes to disguise their identities. The idea was to keep the ghosts or spirits – coming from the netherworld – “from recognizing live people in this ‘material world.’”

The same is true of bonfires; literally bonefires, fires where bones were burned. One idea? Evil spirits could be driven away with fire and noise. Also, old-timers thought the fires brought comfort to “souls in purgatory and people prayed for them as they held burning straw up high.”

Then there are those pumpkins. Some other old-time people set out carved pumpkins on their windowsills to keep “harmful spirits” out of their home. But yet another tradition said  jack-o’-lanterns “represented Christian souls in purgatory.” And while today jack-o’-lanterns are made from pumpkins, they were originally carved from large turnips.

In turn, both the jack-o’-lantern and Will-o’-the-wisp – the link has a weird Japanese interpretation – are tied in with the strange ghostly light known as ignis fatuus. (Medieval Latin for “foolish fire.”) That refers to the “atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached:”

Tradition had it that this ghostly light – seen by travelers at night and “especially over bogs, swamps or marshes – resembled a flickering lamp. The flickering lamp then receded if you approached it, and so it “drew travelers from their safe paths,” to their doom…

And about traveling on All Hallows E’en. (Holding a candle.) If you hiked from 11:00 p.m. until midnight, your had to be careful. If your candle kept burning, that was a good omen. (The traveler would be safe in the upcoming “season of darkness.”) But if the candle went out, “the omen was bad indeed.” (The thought was that the candle had been blown out by witches…)

But once again, the Halloween Triduum officially ends on November 2, All Souls’ Day. The idea iss to remember the souls of the dear departed, illustrated by the painting below. Good Christians remember deceased relatives on the day, and – in many churches – the following Sunday includes a memorial service for those who died in the past year. Which should make for the Good News of Halloween. Accordingly, here’s wishing you:

A Happy “All Hallow’s Triduum!”

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The upper image is courtesy of Allhallowtide – Wikipedia, with the caption:  “A graveyard outside a Lutheran church in Röke, Sweden on the feast of All Hallows. Flowers and lighted candles are placed by relatives on the graves of their deceased loved ones.”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

The lower image is courtesy of All Souls’ Day – Wikipedia. The caption: “All Souls’ Day by William Bouguereau.”  See also Allhallowtide, and All Saints’ Day – Wikipedia. My original caption, from Triduum – 2019, was “The ‘Three Days of Halloween‘ end November 2, with All Souls’ Day.”

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As noted in the opening blurb, this blog has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (See John 6:37, with the added, “Anyone who comes to Him.”) This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, Psalm 9:10, “You never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.” (In the Book of Common Prayer version.) The second is that God wants us to live abundantly.  (John 10:10.) The third is that we should do greater miracles than Jesus. (John 14:12). A fourth theme: The only way to do all that is read the Bible with an open mind:

…closed-mindedness, or an unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity and evidence contradictory to people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable… Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency…

See also Splitting (psychology) – Wikipedia, on the phenomenon also called black-and-white thinking, “the failure in a person’s thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism. The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., an individual’s actions and motivations are all good or all bad with no middle ground).

So in plain words, I take issue with what I call “Christian first graders.” Those who choose to stay in a kind of elementary-school first grade. See John the Baptist, ’24 – and “Christian First Graders,” for more. But the key point: “The Bible was designed to expand your mind,” not make it narrow. Also, there’s the idea that “Jesus was anything but negative. His goal was for you to grow and develop into all that you can be.” (For more on that see ABOUT THE BLOG, above.)

I’ve written on boot-camp Christians, the Literalists who never go “beyond the fundamentals.” But the Bible offers so much more than a narrow reading gives… (Unless you want to stay a buck private all your life…) Now, about “Boot-camp Christians” see Conservative Christian – “Career buck private?” The gist of that post: Starting the Bible is like Army Basic Training. You begin by“learning the fundamentals.” But after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training.”

And as noted in “Buck private,” one of this blog’s themes is that if you want to be all that you can be, you need to go on and explore the “mystical side of Bible reading.*” In other words, exploring the mystical side of the Bible helps you “be all that you can be.” See Slogans of the U.S. Army – Wikipedia, re: the recruiting slogan from 1980 to 2001.

Re: “mystical.” Originally the “liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity.” Mysticism – Wikipedia, and the post On originalism.  (“What the Bible was originally about!”) See also Christian mysticism – Wikipedia, “In early Christianity the term ‘mystikos’ referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative… The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.” As to that “experiential” aspect, see also Wesleyan Quadrilateral – Wikipedia, on the theological reflection method using four sources of spiritual development: scripture, tradition, reason, and “Christian experience.”

For an explanation of the Daily Office – where “Dorscribe” came from – see What’s a DOR?

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