"Halloween - Is it okay?" - Why most Christians will avoid this question. Don't be one of them.

I love this question!  When this time of year rolls around, I always get asked this question.  “As Christians, should we celebrate Halloween?”  I think that is a fair question.  “what SHOULD we believe about Halloween?  Is it an innocent holiday for kids, candy, costumes or should Christians avoid it all together?”

Let me first give you a little (emphasis on ‘little’ meaning ‘short’) history of Halloween.  This will be the short-version.   It actually traces back to the ancient Celts wherein, every year they would celebrate “Samhain”  (pronounced “sow-en”) or  “Lord of the dead and evil spirits.”  They believed that on October 31^st, dead spirits would rise and look for their homes.  If they couldn’t find homes, they would possess innocent people.  The Druids (like the priests) convinced the people to give an offering to appease the gods.  They would offer sacrificed horses, cats, black sheep, and sometimes, human beings.  In order to protect themselves, the townspeople would leave fruits or nuts on porches (trying to appease the spirits)

 

No question in my mind … the origin of Halloween is nothing short of DEMONIC.  But many of us know that.  We don't want to know if it is demonic or not, here's what we are really asking:  “Can my friends and family dress up, go to friends and neighbors and still go to heaven?”  Absolutely.  But, let’s not stop there … let’s review the mission of Satan.  John 10:10 says that, “The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy.  He is a deceiver, the father of lies, there is no truth in him.  He will often takes what is EVIL and tries to make it look GOOD.

Try this little experiment:

Let’s try to be objective about this holiday.  Walk into any store (Party City, etc.) and pretend that you don’t know anything about the holiday at all.  Look at the costumes and ask yourself:  “Would you categorize it as “glorifying God, neutral or does it draw you to darkness, fear, evil and death?

My personal response is that it leads toward things that are not of God.  So, based on its HISTORY and based on what a view as an OBSERVER, we as a family (this goes against 95% of culture … I know) have chosen to NOT participate in Halloween.

You Have to See the Bigger Picture:

Can you trick or treat and still have a great Christian family?  ABSOLUTELY!  But here are our three reasons WHY we do not participate:

 

#1 - We are trying to teach our kids that we are different from the world.

1 Peter 1:14,15 – “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

This is a line in the sand for our family.  You may choose this, you may not choose this …the important question you have to answer is … ARE YOU CHOOSING SOMETHING?  Is there some place where you are saying, “We are different from the world.”

Bottom Line is this, : if you are not teaching your kids when they are little that they are different from the world, how can you expect them to be different as teens?  They’ll say, “All of our friends are doing this.”  All the while, we have not planted into them the fact that sometimes, we are different. 

No longer is it about Halloween, it is now about a PRINCIPLE.

#2 - We are teaching our kids that they will be persecuted.

2 Tim. 3:12 – “In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 

People are going to make fun of you.  We don’t let it crush us, we endure it.  It’s tough when you’re young, but it intensifies as you get older.  Here’s what I know, don’t worry if you’re being persecuted for Christ, worry if you’re not.  Because if you’re not be persecuted (AT SOME LEVEL) … should probably ask yourself, am I truly different?

 #3 - We are teaching our kids how to be different without judging.

Majority of our friends trick or treat … really it’s no big deal.  You need to understand, this is OUR FAMILY DECISION  Romans 14:1 – "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.”

You might still be wondering:

1. What do we do?

My advice to you is, pray and make a decision according to the PRINCIPLES of the Word of God that YOU want to raise your family by.  And don’t be swayed.

 2. What do we do on Halloween?

I think you should go in your house, shut off the lights and hid.  I Am Kidding!  Here’s a thought, the Bible says that you are the “Light of the World.” (Matt, 5:15)  Look for ways to LIGHT THE NIGHT.  We sit on our front porch and make it welcoming.  We have found it is a great way to get to know our neighbors.  EVERY YEAR, they ask us about our church and we get the opportunity to share about the community at Victory Church.  Many of them have visited, some have accepted Christ and we have even baptized some.  Pretty cool, huh? 

Stand for right principles.  It’s always right to do what’s right.

 

We’re not afraid to tackle some of those TABOO topics that most churches avoid.  You can purchase “Cow Tippin’: Tippin the Sacred Cows of Lancaster County” by contacting jturek@victorychurch.ws We tackle things like, drinking, white lies, dinosaurs, tattoos, etc. 

 

Comments

[Diane Lapp]

Thanks for posting this PC. I agree wholeheartedly. When our three girls were little we celebrated Halloween without really thinking about it until our older daughter Christina ask us "If Halloween is the devil's holiday, why do we celebrate it?" From the mouth of babes! After that we found alternative fun things to do with them.