Many Christians express concern, year after year, about the dangers of Halloween and its history to Christian values. Now, I am very much aware of the cultic implications of Halloween and have struggled with whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween. More specifically, I've been conflicted as to whether Christian groups should plan Halloween-themed activities within the Church. I've prayed about this and read scripture and I have come to the conclusion that Halloween can be used as a tool to reach people for Christ. I know that many Christians disagree with me on this and I certainly don't want to offend anyone's convictions, but I do believe that Halloween provides an opportunity to spread the gospel.
Halloween is such a strong part of our culture that disassociation from it may lead to the perception that we are culturally irrelevant but even more so, it can lead to a missed opportunity. Most people in this country celebrate Halloween including most Christians. Therefore Oct. 31, provides an opportunity for us to bring people into the church and engage them in spiritual conversations at a time where they are not only open to the subject, but often expect it.
Let me be clear; we should never embrace the demonic side of Halloween. We should certainly use discretion when picking costumes for our children and ourselves. Nevertheless, we can celebrate Halloween in a way that does not compromise our beliefs and still allows us to engage our neighbors in spiritual conversations that expose them to the Gospel.
In Acts 17, Paul engaged the people of Athens by taking something from their own culture (the altar to an Unknown God) and using it to get them to consider the true God of the universe. I don't think Paul was truly saying that these people were worshiping Yahweh through this arbitrary temple (that would be blasphemous). It was simply an opening for Paul to present the true God. For me Halloween is an opening to present people with the truth about spiritual things. Halloween already makes people think more about the spiritual world so let's use Halloween as an opening to point them to Spiritual Truth.
Martin Luther stated that “the best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.” If Halloween be a demonic holiday in celebration of demonic values, what better way to mock Satan than to use Oct. 31 to further God's kingdom through Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Apocalypse Has Been Postponed (For the Time Being)!
There has been so much buzz in recent years concerning what many believe will be with the ending of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. As people gear up to face the apocalypse, there have been at least 2 reactions: fear and/or determination.
Fear: Faced with their impending death, many begin to fear what's beyond the grave. There's the burning question: is this all there is or what should I expect when I die? People are naturally fearful of the unknown and even more so when that unknown is death.
Determination: Faced with their impending death, many realize that there is so much they hoped to do and accomplish before they died. They wanted to skydive, get married, move out of their parents' basement or just make something of themselves. Some people just naturally work better with a deadline (no pun intended). December 21, 2012 provided that deadline.
As for me, I liked the idea of people thinking that the world was going to end in 2012 (even if I don't believe). For one, fearful people were turning to Jesus for answers concerning life after death. When people seriously question the supernatural, Jesus and the Bible begin to make sense. The frailty of humanity becomes apparent and people begin to see their need for a savior. Jesus is the only third party savior in any religion; everyone else is left to save themselves. Secondly, thinking that the time was running short, Christians were more determined to share their faith with a friend or neighbor. You can't believe the Bible and also believe that everyone will end up in heaven; the Bible talks way too much about "H" "E" double hockey sticks. Christians can't help but recognize that all those who die apart from Christ have no pearly gates of which to look forward. And, naturally, it should be hard for Christians to so willingly allow their loved ones to perish without hearing the gospel. 2012 provided us with this extra motivation.
But now things have been messed up. A recent book "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010) argues that early conversions of the Mayan calendar (which have been accepted without question for so long) may actually be as many as 50 to 100 years off in either direction. Sadly, the Mayan apocalypse may have already happened with the entire world being, "Left Behind." In actuality, we're back to square one not knowing at all when the end will come. But wait...didn't Jesus say that would be the case anyway? Jesus told His disciples, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Act 1:7 NASB). Then He went into a rant about the disciples receiving power and being witnesses around the world. Interesting...
Ok....fear and determination are good, but the fact that we don't know should make us even more fearful and determined. If I know I'm going to die tomorrow, yes, it will motivate me a little, but if I don't know I'm going to die tomorrow that should make me even more motivated by the very fact that it may happen or it may not. It's that fear of the unknown kicking in. Honestly, each of us should live every day as though it's December 20, 2012. Fear of death should point us toward Jesus and knowing the end could come at any moment should make us all the more determined that none should go down without hearing the gospel.
I like a good deadline because it allows me to pace myself or even procrastinate until the last minute and then work overtime to get it done. But Jesus doesn't want us to wait until the last minute. He wants us to face each day with a faithful attitude that today may be our last and we'll give an account for how we lived each day. There will be no excuses accepted containing the words, "I didn't know!" or "I thought I had more time!" You were warned. So live each day with fear and determination. You never know when tomorrow won't come.
Fear: Faced with their impending death, many begin to fear what's beyond the grave. There's the burning question: is this all there is or what should I expect when I die? People are naturally fearful of the unknown and even more so when that unknown is death.
Determination: Faced with their impending death, many realize that there is so much they hoped to do and accomplish before they died. They wanted to skydive, get married, move out of their parents' basement or just make something of themselves. Some people just naturally work better with a deadline (no pun intended). December 21, 2012 provided that deadline.
As for me, I liked the idea of people thinking that the world was going to end in 2012 (even if I don't believe). For one, fearful people were turning to Jesus for answers concerning life after death. When people seriously question the supernatural, Jesus and the Bible begin to make sense. The frailty of humanity becomes apparent and people begin to see their need for a savior. Jesus is the only third party savior in any religion; everyone else is left to save themselves. Secondly, thinking that the time was running short, Christians were more determined to share their faith with a friend or neighbor. You can't believe the Bible and also believe that everyone will end up in heaven; the Bible talks way too much about "H" "E" double hockey sticks. Christians can't help but recognize that all those who die apart from Christ have no pearly gates of which to look forward. And, naturally, it should be hard for Christians to so willingly allow their loved ones to perish without hearing the gospel. 2012 provided us with this extra motivation.
But now things have been messed up. A recent book "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010) argues that early conversions of the Mayan calendar (which have been accepted without question for so long) may actually be as many as 50 to 100 years off in either direction. Sadly, the Mayan apocalypse may have already happened with the entire world being, "Left Behind." In actuality, we're back to square one not knowing at all when the end will come. But wait...didn't Jesus say that would be the case anyway? Jesus told His disciples, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Act 1:7 NASB). Then He went into a rant about the disciples receiving power and being witnesses around the world. Interesting...
Ok....fear and determination are good, but the fact that we don't know should make us even more fearful and determined. If I know I'm going to die tomorrow, yes, it will motivate me a little, but if I don't know I'm going to die tomorrow that should make me even more motivated by the very fact that it may happen or it may not. It's that fear of the unknown kicking in. Honestly, each of us should live every day as though it's December 20, 2012. Fear of death should point us toward Jesus and knowing the end could come at any moment should make us all the more determined that none should go down without hearing the gospel.
I like a good deadline because it allows me to pace myself or even procrastinate until the last minute and then work overtime to get it done. But Jesus doesn't want us to wait until the last minute. He wants us to face each day with a faithful attitude that today may be our last and we'll give an account for how we lived each day. There will be no excuses accepted containing the words, "I didn't know!" or "I thought I had more time!" You were warned. So live each day with fear and determination. You never know when tomorrow won't come.
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