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.
When I was teaching fifth grade, we used to do an object lesson every year on Jack O' Lanterns. It's a great metaphor for the light that shines out from us: it does not originate from whom we are but rather is a result of what we contain.
ReplyDeleteI think Paul would agree with this blog... judging from what he wrote the Corinthians.
Keep up the good thoughts!