How should Christians think of Halloween and how should they celebrate it? Here are the opinions and insights of a fellow Christian.
Last week, in this post, I shared the history of Halloween, reminded you of what the holiday is all about, and shared what the Bible has to say about the subject of evil. Today, I’m going to go in the opposite direction and share my own personal thoughts. I don’t expect everyone to share these same convictions. But I do hope to get fellow Christians thinking more deeply about the holiday and why they celebrate it if they do. So, if you haven’t already, go back and read about the history of Halloween. Then come back here to read my reasons why Christians should think differently than the world does about Halloween.
my opinions & thoughts of halloween
spiritual warfare & our children
It’s no secret that there is a spiritual war going on. And it’s also no secret that the devil is after the family unit, our kids in particular. That may sound harsh, but that’s half the problem. Christians are too worried about being nice and not harsh in today’s political climate that they don’t speak the truth. Evil and worldliness are making their way into the Church. Christians are becoming desensitized to things that God says are evil. As they become more and more desensitized, they start to accept, and even celebrate those things. On a cultural sense, these are things like abortion, homosexuality, sexual immorality, feminism, liberalism, and dishonoring marriage and the family unit. If you don’t fight those things with the Word of God, you will begin to accept them.
I think we can (and should) look at Halloween in the same way. Halloween is full of things that God outright says are evil: witchcraft, spirits, magic, and demons. You can’t pretend that it isn’t. Even if we celebrate Halloween without the witchcraft and gore, we are still permitting ourselves to be around those things. The more you are around something, the more desensitized you get to that thing. If we accept Halloween as it is, and choose to participate in its festivities, we are becoming desensitized to the things it celebrates.
This is obvious in the way Christians talk about Halloween. So many of them see no problem with the holiday because it’s “not a big deal because it’s all make-believe.” But the reality is, the evil things Halloween celebrates are not fake things. Witchcraft, sorcery, magic, and devil-worship are all very real things. Remember the quote from Anton La Vey, the founder of the church of Satan: “I’m glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year.” Even though we don’t see them often, those evil things exist. And the people who practice those evil things see Halloween as their holiday. As a Christ follower, that’s something I want no part of.
As Christians we should know and believe that our God is greater than evil, but we shouldn’t make that our reason to celebrate it. Satan’s goal is to desensitize us to things to the point that we accept them with no second thought. He will desensitize us to everything God says is evil, so that we accept them and start to see God as the evil one. The only way to avoid that is by putting up the armor of God and not allowing Satan to tempt us.
children don’t know what’s real & what’s make-believe
It’s easy for adults to say and know that the majority of people who celebrate Halloween are making it up. The people who are dressed up aren’t real witches and monsters, and we obviously know that. But children don’t. I think this would be reason enough not to have your small children participate in Halloween. Of course you can make sure your family has nothing to do with the witches and monsters, but you can’t guarantee the other houses on your street will. I remember a few houses on my street that decorated with scary decorations and costumes. I wasn’t super young, but I remember that it still scared me quite a bit, so I couldn’t imagine what it did to the kids who were even younger than me.
In my opinion, we should keep our kids away from the evils of the world as long as we possibly can. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t tell them about evil and sin. But I don’t think we need to shove it in their faces and make them used to it. Like I said earlier, the more we see something, the more desensitized we become. I think that’s especially true if we become used to seeing something at a very young age. That’s especially the case if parents seem to accept it. If parents allow their children to participate in Halloween, it sends the kids the message that their parents condone that type of stuff. And then the kids will be more likely to accept it as well.
trunk-or-treat at church & other alternatives
While I personally feel convicted to stay away from costumes and trick-or-treating, I think Halloween presents a great opportunity to spread the Gospel. Hundreds of kids may be coming to your door that night. That’s hundreds of families that you could present the Gospel to. This year, I ordered a box of these Gospel tracts to hand out with candy at my parent’s house. They’re titled “The Best Treat of All” and it goes through the basics of the Gospel with them in a way that relates it to their Halloween candy. Even if the kids don’t read it, their parents might when they’re looking at or going through all their candy.
As for Trunk-or-Treat festivities at churches, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about them. On one hand I feel as though we should stay away from costumes and Halloween all together in Church. But on the other hand, I think that this type of celebration is a great opportunity for fellowship. However, you could just do a Harvest dinner or something similar in its place which would provide the same opportunity for fellowship without bringing the gore of Halloween into it at all. I think I’ll become more aware of what my convictions are surrounding church Trunk-or-Treats once I have kids to participate.
Remember, we can’t force our own convictions onto other Christians. The Bible says that if we take part in something we are personally convicted about, then we are sinning. But we have to remember that those things are personal convictions. If someone else isn’t convicted by it, then they can partake in it without sinning. I think it’s clear that Christians shouldn’t celebrate witchcraft, gore, and monsters during Halloween. But I think that how involved they get in the other aspects of Halloween comes down to their own personal convictions. Let me know your thoughts and convictions on Halloween, and thanks for reading!
Thanks for the great article!