Halloween Is Not Evil, You Are! (See Why Holidays Aren’t The Issue But Interpretations Are): A Plea For Christians
Let’s talk about Halloween.
Last night, I went with my wife, mother-in-law, my son, and some of my wife’s friends from her childhood who live in her mom’s neighborhood. Blah blah blah. We went trick-or-treating.
But I’m a Christian…
So many believers and their blogs I read are always harping on Halloween and I get it.
I honestly do. There’s so much dark associations with the holiday that it doesn’t have the appearance of light or godliness. That’s obvious.
Then, they’ll appeal to a Bible verse to justify their viewpoint.
BUT it’s not a strong point.
EVEN WORSE, they bring in Jesus as if He would never go to a haunted house or never go trick-or-treating. (Friends, Christ was blowing peoples’ minds back then in the 1st century). Jesus is the word so He knows all about Truth. Therefore, most Christian argument AGAINST Halloween are usually mute but their effort is commendable.
Yes…Halloween’s history isn’t pretty or perfect (but is any history great?).
So if a history is far from glamorous and perfection, does that mean we can’t partake in the holiday?
I think not.
Why?
Jesus had every reason to NOT come to earth and dwell among us.
Literally, our history was beyond evil and dark. Humanity’s track-record is heinous and remains that way. Yet, He still chose to become the God-Man.
Would the limitless God choose to be limited by a body?
Would the all-knowing God choose to be a child who had to learn, walk, and talk?
Would the all-powerful God choose to delight in such wicked people and then die a criminal’s death?
GOD IS ALWAYS BLOWING OUR MINDS.
It’s silly to think that Jesus wouldn’t have went trick-or-treating.
Even if He didn’t, the very nature of Halloween is a man made holiday that bears no weight on souls. But because we are souls, we take any holiday and can make it holier or more evil as we want. Hence, Christians can celebrate and partake in Halloween for the glory of Christ.
How are any non-believers going to see any light in a holiday known for its darkness?
The aim to please God is there by not partaking in a holiday that carries the appearance of evil and darkness. YET it is a selfish act because Christ was selfless in coming to earth and dwelling among evil and darkened people. Halloween is the call to make a stamp upon reality by partaking in it.
Plus, it’s awesome to see your kid get candy and walk all cute to each door in their costume :)
God can make good out of evil (if Halloween is even dark by nature).
You should rob your kids of their time when the activity is actually immoral.
You should not partake in something when the action itself is evil by nature.
You should not take delight in and promote things that are geared for your destruction.
So…Halloween — is immoral, evil by nature, and geared for your destruction and meant to rob you of your soul and ruin your faith?
Possibly…
But not quite.
Christlikeness is bearing the weight of the gospel in your voice, character, and attitudes as you engage in whatever activity. The darkness cannot stand the light. But the light can overwhelm the darkness.
To not celebrate Halloween is a respectable decision but it robs Christians of the gospel’s power to reflect Christ.
Sure: you don’t have to worry about the costumes, the candy, and the affiliations with the holiday.
But can’t the gospel bear weight upon all of this in that Christ didn’t choose to hide himself (like a costume), He is a better gift (in contrast to candy), and He was associated with Hanukah (which had a rough history too). The Bible isn’t a widget to pull out or a wand to make things better. The Bible is a means to make you better through the Spirit so you can be a bright light in a world of darkness.
Without the light, Halloween will eat itself like any other man made holiday.
Holidays aren’t the issue.
We are.
Humans.
We make all our little decisions and then base it on Scripture.
The real thing is that we think our interpretations ARE Scripture.
Some have used Philippians 4:8 to justify that celebrating Halloween is wrong.
The text is about thinking on good things: whatever is honorable, true, good, peaceable, etc. Their argument is that Halloween is not honorable, not right, not pure, not lovely, not of good repute, and isn’t worthy of praise. Technically, they are right.
It’s true that Halloween isn’t really worth thinking about. BUT it is right, noble, good, and lovely to think about how Christians can benefit from Halloween for the sake of the gospel.
You don’t hear that often.
You don’t hear them deal with that.
You only hear them justify (and use) Scripture for their own conclusion.
It’s an argument that self-destructs. In honest, stop using the Bible to justify your decisions. However, it is good to seek answers, wisdom, and discernment from Scripture.
But the real issue is thinking that Scripture says something which improves and justifies their interpretation.
The interpreter has become the molder of truth — not good…
In light of Scripture and Philippians 4:8, you should think of how you can be good, lovely, noble, and excellent for Halloween (and any other holiday).
Some also use 1 Thessalonians 5:2 to “abstain from every form of evil.”
Yes, Christians should abstain from every form of evil, but this text is so often taken out of context. It’s been used for every thing under the sun (beards, clothes, political parties — you name it). Everything is basically evil in contrast to God. But many miss the context of the text.
It’s about abstaining any form of evil related to prophetic speech.
If someone makes a crazy “prophetic” claim, then you are to discern it and hold fast to which is good from it. The “evil” is the essence of the claim that is not good. Get rid of it and don’t be associated with it.
Halloween is not inherently evil. It’s a man-made tradition and holiday. The essence of it cannot be considered actually “unholy.”
Is it unholy to let your kids receive candy, learn to work well with kids, and build confidence as they go from house to house?
Scripture > Interpretations of Scripture
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Christians can celebrate Halloween (or any other holiday) based upon their convictions.
However, some of those convictions can be based upon a dead wrong interpretation of truth.
It is good to seek God’s wisdom and discernment in these matters, but HALLOWEEN IS NOT EVIL.
The real evil is to remain hidden as a Christian and never seek to bear the weight and joy of the gospel on others despite in an “uncomfortable” annual holiday.
