Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.~Halloween is not merely a non-Christian holiday, it’s an anti-Christian holiday, when people celebrate the occult and evil. If Satan has any annual party, this is it, right?
~Children dressed as demons and devils.
~Children dressed as evil characters like Darth Vader.
~Teenage (or younger) girls dressed provocatively.
~It doesn’t glorify God. When a child asks how it serves Jesus, you can’t say.
~How can you reconcile skeletons, zombies, witches, and scary stuff with the idea that we should focus only on the pure and noble things?
~Apple-bobbing was a fortune-telling exercise.
~We’re supposed to take a stand against Satan, not stand with him.
~Humans have been tricked by Satan before, all the way back to Eden
~Some things we think are fine, God may dislike.
~God hates witchcraft.
~We are enthralled with supernatural things, and this is a tendency we must rein in and control.
~We are supposed to be different from the world. To come out from among them.
~We must be willing to say no to popular but wrong things.
~There’s nothing wrong with teaching our children that some things the world does, we don’t do.
~Children will watch you taking a righteous stand.Satan is a master of disguise, and ignorance of how he operates is our downfall.
Post-show thoughts: We participate in Halloween. Our kids dress up. We go around and give great joy to lots of other people. At our home, we give out candy with inoffensive, age-appropriate information about Christ on it. Our goal is to be a blessing and to redeem something which does not inherently glorify God. Since Jesus loves little children and dressing up is fun, it's hard to comprehend why so many Christians oppose this event. Whatever murky origins it may have, and no one knows for sure, the reality of it today is entirely benign. If we hide in our houses, we have either no influence or anti-influence for Christ. If we participate, we have postitive influence both in relationships and in bringing joy to others. I think most Christians opposed to Halloween are terribly inconsistent about their opposition. Hiding inside your home is not loving if this thing is evil. Explaining that evil to others while they are doing it would be the correct course of action. But the reluctance to do so is exactly from the recognition that it's not nearly as bad as you make out. If we are supposed to be salt and light in this world, it's hard to see how that is accomplished by turning out our porch lights and hiding behind dark windows. Nonetheless, if your own personal conscience is troubled by participation in this, I would never tell you to participate. My concern is that Christians eager to find another reason to be hostile to the culture have propagated the notion that this is a key identifier of true Christian holiness. With as much respect as I can muster, I disagree vehemently. If we're going to take a stand and look like weirdos and expend our social capital on something, we'd better be really sure it's worth doing. Halloween as it exists and is practiced in 2008 in the United States is not that something.
Bible References: Deut 18:9-14, Ezek 44:23, Hosea 4:6, Matt 18:6, Acts 15:19-20, Acts 19:18-20, Rom 12:9, 1 Cor 8:4-13, 1 Cor 10:21-30, 2 Cor 6:14-17, Gal 5:19-23, Eph 5:1-21, 1 Thess 5:14-22, 1 Tim 4:1, James 1:27, 3 John 11, Rev 21:5-8
Links:
Misc: Halloween and Christian views of Halloween by Wikipedia.org
For: Can Christians celebrate Halloween by Richard Bucher
For: What to do about Halloween? by James Dobson
For: Hallowing Halloween by Christianity Today
For: Is Halloween a witches brew? by Chrsitianity Today
For: Why I let my kids go trick-or-treating Today's Christian Woman
For: The inevitable Halloween discussion by Tim Challies
For: Halloween.com
Against: Should Christians participate in Halloween? at ChristianAnswers.net
Against: Halloween at JeremiahProject.com
Misc: Halloween on Heels by Allison Glock at New York Times
Misc: Halloween and Christmas by Hank Hanegraaff
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