I used to have a love affair with Halloween. In fact, you
might have called it an obsession. Even several years after I gave my heart to
Jesus, I still harbored a pretty decent crush on costume shops, individually
wrapped miniature candies, and “good” spookiness, all in the name of fun.
Even when I started to feel a little uncomfortable with it,
I purposed that I would simply tone it down a little and not let it consume too
big a part of my heart. Just a little flirting once a year, because surely my
one true Love knew my heart belonged to Him. Just like my husband wouldn’t mind
at all if I spent a little time with old boyfriends once a year — you know,
just for old times’ sake. After all, he wants me to be happy and would never
want me to miss out on any fun.
You know I’m kidding, of course. My husband would have
nothing to do with that sort of thinking. And neither did the Holy Spirit.
After a few years of ignoring His gentle tugging on my heart, I finally decided
to prayerfully consider giving up Halloween.
The more I learned, the more I became convinced that this
“holiday” (a word that means “holy day,” by the way) was not honoring to God in
any way. I began to see that my refusal to give up Halloween was evidence of a
divided heart — but Jesus wants my whole heart.
Ever since deciding to “just say no” to Halloween, I can
honestly tell you that the blessings and joy of obedience are far greater than
any fun I ever had “celebrating.”
And since many people, even Christians, think my decision is
odd or even legalistic, I finally decided to put together a list of the top ten
reasons I kissed Halloween goodbye.
1. Halloween
glorifies evil, not God.
It’s no secret that Halloween is all about witches and
ghosts and fear and death. Haunted houses, Hollywood movies, even neighborhood
patios are graced with blood and dead bodies and ax murderers … giant replicas
of poisonous spider and cobwebs … scary organ music, skeletons, and
gravestones. Can anyone deny that this holiday glorifies Satan and every evil
thing?
“Oh, but our family only dresses in good costumes,” we are
quick to point out, as if somehow sugarcoating the evil with smiling pumpkins
and sparkly Disney princess costumes somehow changes the meaning of the
celebration.
I too continued to dress up for several years, but no matter
what creative spin I put on it, eventually I could no longer justify that
anything I was doing in respect to this holiday was honoring to God. Sure, my
costumes were cute. Sometimes they were even sophisticated, clever, funny, or
smart. But none of those things changed the fact that the holiday itself
glorified evil, and I could no longer lend my talents and attention to remain
part of it.
Most of us know that Halloween is one of the highest, most
holy days for witches and Satanists. Even though we ourselves may not be
involved in the practice of witchcraft, we give credence to the holiday by
celebrating it. If we abhor evil, should we not also abhor any day designated
to celebrate it? The Bible says to avoid even the appearance of evil.
“Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from all
appearance of evil.” —1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
It also doesn't take a rocket scientist to discern that the
Halloween is all about fear. Scary costumes, haunted houses, and horror movies
are designed for no other purpose than to frighten us. Seeking out
opportunities to be scared is, on this day at least, the highest form of
entertainment. If we do not have a spirit of fear, should we even acknowledge a
day whose purpose is to invoke a spirit of fear in us?
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and
of power, and of a sound mind.” —2 Timothy 1:7
2. If the seed is
bad, the fruit will be bad.
Halloween has never been a Christian holiday. The
foundations of Halloween are occultic, and the symbols and traditions we
continue today all have roots in pagan practices. God tells His people over and
over again to avoid all pagan rituals and traditions.
Halloween derives in part from the occult traditions of the
Druids, the pagan priests of the Celts, whose fall festival was the precursor
to Halloween as we know it. “To ancient Druids, the end of October commemorated
the festival of the waning year, when the sun began his downward course and
ripened grain was garnered from the fields. Samhain … was celebrated with human
sacrifice, augury and prayers; for at this season spirits walked, and evil had
power over souls of men.”1
When the first Christians came to America , they knew of Halloween’s
occult beginnings and banned its celebration.2
“Because of Christianity among so many of the settlers,
Halloween celebrations were not celebrated until the 1800’s when several
immigrants from Ireland and Scotland
introduced their Halloween customs. They brought various beliefs about ghosts
and witches with them. Other groups added their own cultural influences to
Halloween customs. German immigrants brought a vivid witchcraft lore, and
Haitian and African peoples brought their native voodoo beliefs about black
cats, fire, and witchcraft.”3
Today, we have become so accustomed to the traditions of men
that we refuse to question them. Even Christian families have been honoring
this holiday for generations. But doing so ignores the fact that this festival
in no way honors God, and in fact celebrates the very practices God abhors:
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is
giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter
pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one
who interprets omens, or a sorcerer [pharmakeia], or one who conjures spells,
or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.” —Deuteronomy
18:9-11
Putting a Christian label over the top of a pagan practice
does not make it pleasing to God. In fact, we are to get rid of all pagan
practices and have no part of them:
“These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be
careful to observe in the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you
to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy
all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods,
on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you
shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden
images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and
destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God
with such things.” —Deuteronomy 12:1-4
God doesn't want us to keep the ways of the world and
sprinkle Christianity on top. He wants us to elevate Him alone: His ways, His
philosophies, His deliverance, His celebrations. Any other practice is sin and
eventually bears bad fruit.
3. Don’t dine with
demons.
Samhain was the one day of the year when the dead were
allowed to come back into the world and commune with the living. People
traditionally set a spot for the dead at their table, inviting them in. Since
there was also the possibility that evil spirits would come looking for them,
people took to “guising” themselves for protection. In other words, it’s okay
to dine with demons — as long as you wear a costume to protect yourself.
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” —1
Corinthians 10:21
So are we really supping with demons? Sharing food with
someone represents a sacred connection. Adam and Eve first ate with God in the
garden, but then chose to share an apple without God in the presence of Satan.
Jesus spent much of his time on earth dining with sinners, because that is who
He came to save. The last thing Jesus did before He was crucified was to share
a meal with His disciples, and He commands us to continue remembering Him in
that way until He comes again. When we see Him in heaven, it will be at the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ” — Revelation 3:20
Satan is the world’s greatest counterfeiter, so he tempts us
to sit at his table and join his feast (festival, festivity) by making it as
attractive as he can. He knows we won’t say no if his festival looks like pure
evil, so he’s let us create our own G-rated version that we aren’t as likely to
resist.
But God says, “For what fellowship has righteousness with
lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? … And what agreement
has the temple of
God
4. Halloween is an
excuse to flaunt sexuality.
It’s true. Halloween is becoming more risqué every year. In
fact, sometimes I think its real name is “Dress Like a Porn Star” Day. Girls
dress more provocatively, and at much younger ages, on this day than any other.
There seems to be an unwritten competition to have the raciest costume. For
those passing on ghoul or gore, the only other worthy goals seem to be shock
and immodesty.
“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it
not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving
of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous
man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
I can vouch from personal experience that when we put on a
costume, we often detach ourselves, sometimes ever so slightly, from our
inhibitions. After all, it is much easier to act a tad bit naughty when our
real identity is hidden. It’s almost as if bad behavior is somehow excused when
we are in costume — and it’s much easier to explain in the morning: “I wasn’t
actually sinning; I was just staying in character.”
Even though we are not to have fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, we prefer to emulate them and parade them on our
Facebook pages as if they are somehow deserving of honor.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those
things which are done by them in secret.” —Ephesians 5:11-12
5. We play how we
practice.
This is one of my husband’s favorite sayings. He is usually
referring to table manners with our sons: If you use a knife and fork correctly
at the kitchen table, then you won’t have any problems when it counts — when
you’re at a nice restaurant with your employer or meeting your future wife’s
parents for the first time. How we practice spills over into real life.
The same applies to Halloween. We think we can entertain the
macabre, erect gravestones in our front yards, and prop dead “bodies” on our
front porches. “Oh, but they’re not real,” we demur. Then we are appalled when
a 17-year-old has a fascination with dead bodies and decides to act on his
morbid desires.
Do we really have any right to be shocked or even surprised
when some among us decide to act out in real life the fascination with evil we
insist on holding dear? We can't have it both ways: if we choose to be
entertained by evil, we should be prepared for the time when it becomes
reality.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this
work, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” —Ephesians 6:12
Let us not drop our guard for a moment, or even camp out one
night a year “for fun” on the side of the enemy.
6. Are we causing
others to stumble?
Even if we don’t believe it’s dangerous to dabble in the
ancient pagan practices of Druid priests, have we given any thought to the
impact our actions might have on others?
The Bible tells us just how important it is that we not lead
His children astray (Matthew 18:6) or cause them to stumble (Mark 9:42). If we
present witchcraft, promiscuity, and the occult in a fun and seductive manner
now, are we opening the door to involvement in those practices in the future?
Will our children learn values we want them to learn by
participating in this “holy day,” or would they learn better values, perhaps
even courage, from seeing us stand up against evil even when our culture says
it’s fine? It probably goes without saying, but what values are we impressing
on our children when we send them trick-or-treating? Is the lie “give me your
candy or I’ll play a trick” really becoming of anyone?
If we forego Halloween but give our children a substitute
celebration instead, are we sending the message that “I am trying to compensate
because I think you’re missing out on something really amazing”? I want my
children to believe what I myself believe: that we have been given something so
much better than this! No more bobbing for apples in the church basement (a
pagan fertility ritual, by the way) when I have true joy in knowing God’s true
Son!
7. Be faithful in the
small things.
For many Christians, the thought of whether to celebrate
Halloween is a small issue, maybe even a non-issue. After all, it’s only one
day a year. And what harm is there really in a handful of Snickers miniatures
and a pillowy pumpkin costume?
Let me answer that this way:
First, our character, integrity, and devotion to God is
evident in the small things. If we can't be faithful in the small things, how
will our hearts be faithful in the big things?
“He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in
much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.”
—Luke 16:10
So, yes, even something as seemingly small as how we handle
Halloween is important.
Second, God has told us to focus on what is pure, noble,
right, lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8). Is Halloween any of these
things? No, and therefore it is unworthy of any of our time or thoughts.
Third, “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might
destroy the works of the devil.” —1 John 3:8
If God came for the purpose of destroying the works of
Satan, why do we then try remember, imitate, and even elevate those very
things?
How do we expect we will be able to keep ourselves faithful
when the big temptations come alone when we can't even say no to glorifying
evil in what we do for fun?
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.” —James 1:27
But we've joined forces with the world. In fact, instead of
keeping ourselves unspotted, we have become one giant spot with it — we are so
much alike no one can tell where the world ends and the Church begins.
We need to start keeping ourselves pure in the small things,
so that we will be able to stay pure and undefiled in the big things.
8. God wants to bless
us — but not in the way the world blesses.
For those of us who love Jesus, why is it so important to
entertain the macabre and flirt with the dark side for one day, one week, or
one month out of the year, instead of delighting in the joy the Lord Himself
has set before us?
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at
them. For the customs of the peoples are futile....’” —Jeremiah 10:2
We often say we don't want to deprive our children of candy,
of dressing up, of the "fun" they have by participating in this
holiday. But God has already told us the customs of the world are futile!
Is this is the kind of happiness we want for our children,
we are clearly setting our standards too low. Seek first God's kingdom and His
righteousness, and He will provide all of the other things we need.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed
on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you
the desires of your heart.” —Psalm 37:3-4
God in His divine sovereignty did not give us Halloween for
our entertainment. Instead, we thought we were missing something and we
hijacked it! Just like Eve in the garden, we believed Satan’s lie that God was
withholding something good from us. God, however, has far better things in
store for us than candy corn and parlor games. Why do we continue to grovel in
the plastic sandbox when God has given us the entire beach?4
We continue pouring time and money into what is overall
something that has no lasting fruit and does not in any way glorify God. Would
our time be better spent in prayer, teaching our children about the real
dangers their friends face by dabbling in the occult? As a Christian, I don't
want to spend even a penny of my money on a $7-billion-a-year event that is so
dishonoring to God. As a nation, it is painfully evident where our hearts are.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—Luke 12:34
9. There is sin in
the camp.
Even if we think our costumes are not sinful (as if it’s the
costume that’s the problem and not the fact that we are still giving reverence
to the holiday itself), what about others who have decided that there is
nothing wrong with their costumes either? After all, they aren’t really
practicing witchcraft, just dressing up as witches. So do we excuse the
dressing up but draw the line at Ouija boards? What about pretending to cast
spells? We have made ourselves the judges of what is good and evil instead of
following God’s command to avoid even the spoils of the enemy.
I have two words to say to that kind of thinking: Remember
Achan.
In Joshua 7, Israel
was accursed and could not even stand before its enemies because just one man,
Achan, had taken the spoils of Jericho ,
when God had said no one was to touch them. By the sin of one man, the entire
nation was judged.
“Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has
sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They
have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they
have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelite's cannot
stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have
been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you
destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” —Joshua 7:8-12
It's just a holiday — what’s the big deal? The darkness of
Halloween is devoted to destruction and is in no way honoring to our Father of
lights (James 1:17) — and no orange and black sugar coating will make it so.
God is a jealous God, and all pagan beliefs are sinful in God’s eyes. We can’t
choose how much or even how nicely we want to celebrate.
And we need to help hold each other accountable because we
may all bear the judgment for sin in the camp.
At this time in history more than ever, we are in great need
of God’s mercy on our land:
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” —2
Chronicles 7:14
Yet how many of us are truly humbling ourselves and turning
from wickedness? We say we are followers of Christ, but we refuse to surrender
in complete obedience to His Word in even the simple act of turning from a
holiday that glorifies evil.
If still we refuse to repent and seek God’s wisdom in every
aspect of our lives, we should not be surprised when God further removes His
hand of blessing and protection from this great land.
10. Come out from
them and be separate.
Perhaps the reason I finally let go of Halloween was
precisely because I didn’t want to.
If that sounds like a contradiction, let me explain. You
see, the very fact that I kept coming up with reasons and excuses so I could
continue celebrating eventually led me to question my motives. Why was I hanging
on so tightly? Was it possible that my celebration of Halloween had become an
idol to me? Certainly it appeared so, because still I embraced the traditions
of men even when I knew God’s heart on the matter.
“Therefore come out from them and be separate from them,
says the Lord.” —2 Corinthians 6:17
God wants His people to be holy, which means to be set
apart. If everyone else is doing something, and I’m doing it too, that is a
good time to examine myself to see if I’m really in the faith. If people don’t
look at me and think I am peculiar (1 Peter 2:9) — if I fit right in with our
culture and no one can tell I am any different — then I am probably doing
something wrong.
The Bible doesn’t say that we should have less up do with
darkness than other people do; it says have nothing to do with evil. By even
acknowledging and associating with the holiday, I was giving credence to it in
my life and opening myself to deception.
It is my prayer that everyone who follows Christ will be
open to prayerfully seeking God’s wisdom about the traditions of man.
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of
these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do
not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the spirit is in all
goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the
Lord.” —Ephesians 5:6-10
Here are additional Bible verses you can review as you
prayerfully seek God’s wisdom regarding whether your family should continue to
celebrate Halloween:
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