Dear Doves,
It seems that every fall the issue of if Christians should celebrate Halloween comes up and there are varying viewpoints. I too have waffled between celebrating the "harmless" way (dressing my children in friendly or biblical costumes, passing out candy with scriptures on the wrappers, having "harvest parties" in leiu of Halloween parties) or complete non-participation. I have read many articles on the origin of Halloween (although it doesn't take much research to see the spirit of Halloween), I have even read that it is really a "Christian holiday". But above and beyond what I have read or heard, I had to ask the Lord what He thought about it and what He wanted our family to do about it. Here is what our family decided, and I stress that each person needs to seek the Lord for themselves and His word as final authority.
Isaiah 2:6
You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with
pagans.
1 Corinthians 10:20
No, but the sacrifices of
pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.
1 Peter 4:3
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what
pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry
(*I know the last scripture is extreme and we are talking about cute costumes and candy, but take it in context.)
We decided that to participate in Halloween (and that meant dressing up, trick or treating, or even Halloween parties) we were essentially "partakers" of a festival which
honors the evil and dark forces in the world (the same forces Jesus went to the cross to defeat once and for all). The bible says to "come out from among them" and "be seperate". How will the world know we are different if we do what they do, even a watered-down version? And how many children and adults are saved by having a tract plunked in a bag filled with candy? Maybe some and that is awesome! But the real issue is our witness for the Lord and keeping ourselves Holy before Him. I love to use this analogy with my children when we talk about sin: If I made some brownies and put just a little bit of dog-doo in them, just a tiny, tiny bit, would you still eat the brownies? I mean, it's just a little bit and can't hurt, right? No, you wouldn't touch those brownies because of the filth in them. I truly believe our Lord and Savior would say the same thing about celebrating or participating in a festival or
holiday which honors the devil. Would Jesus say it is OK to trick-or-treat? Isn't it the devil who has always said, "Come on, did God really say....?" If more and more Christians boycotted Halloween activities and stopped buying costumes and supplies, what kind of message would that convey? I bet it would speak louder than a tootsie roll covered tract.
Love and Peace,
Dawn