Halloween: Do You Celebrate?
Hey Friends,
This is a question that I have been asked for years: “Can I celebrate Halloween?” I have watched many serious theological battles fought over this issue. It is amazing how we as Christ-followers can differ on this topic.
What are we doing here at FPC? We are going on the offensive. This weekend we are going to have a drama about spiritual warfare. It will be a drama somewhat like our past Sacred Storms. This one is set in a modern home with a modern-day family. It will be a depiction of how our homes are invaded by the enemy of God and his people.
It is a hard-driving and very serious look at how families fall apart in the midst of the warfare that surrounds us. I hope and pray you will make it to one of our 5 services:
Tonight – 7:00 pm
Saturday – 4:00 pm & 6:00 pm
Sunday – 9:45 am & 11:45 am
We will follow up the drama with a four-week series on the warfare depicted in the drama. This is a very important issue that affects us all. I hope and pray you will catch one of the services. Pray about who you should bring. To be blinded to the warfare that is all around us is to be an easy target for the enemy. Jesus believed in the devil, do you?
See ya there,
Pastor
P.S. No matter how you feel about Halloween, this is something we can all participate in with our families. The drama is not suitable for kids up through 5th grade so we have planned a huge event for them in all five services called Pirates and Princesses. They will love it!
9 Comments
I’ll go on record that we do celebrate halloween – because it is just about having fun as a family for us and eating a bunch of candy – It wears me out when people argue about such things – if everyone would just pray about whatever issue is bothering them instead of arguing it would be a much better life – looking forward to the Sacred Storm and new series – thanks for all you do!
Oh I’ll fire the first shot on this one (maybe). If we are spiritually honest with ourselves, we *can’t* celebrate Halloween. Sorry, it has nothing to do with Jesus, it’s a Pagan holiday and a gateway to lessen the reality of Jesus and God. If we are intectually honest with ourselves….there’s CANDY involved! Come on, free candy! CANDY, CANDY, CANDY! CAN-DEEEEEE! The children do all the work and then we get the goods!
If we are serious about being Christ followers, then we need to grow up spiritually and emotionally. If the House of the Lord is open for all to come and enjoy fellowship and we *choose* to do Halloween instead, then we willingly choose to ignore God’s open hand of protection. As for me….I’m an adult man, I’ll pass on Halloween. I’d rather go with His protection than go without it, but that’s just me. It’s your soul, you make your own call.
Pastor, I think that the Sacred Storm series for this weekend (although I haven’t seen it yet, of course) is a very fitting way for the Church (as in the collective Church)to handle Halloween. If you think about it, candy and costumes in and of themselves are of no harm. What is alarming is what I notice in the world today- that evil had been painted up to look cute and attractive. For example, the Walgreens and Wal-Mart commercials that have been running for the past few weeks…by the end of the commercial, it’s designed to give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, ending with the slogan “There’s a way to add a little spirit” and telling you that their products will reduce your stress.
This kind of moral and spiritual blurring in an open door of attack for the enemy. I believe the enemy’s greatest tools are deception and distraction. If he can get us to believe he’s not all that bad or to distract us about Scripture’s clear indications of the supernatural war of the ages…then he can effectively hook countless people.
As Christians, I think we need to deal with Halloween delicately. Children should be taught that it’s not cute to dress up as witches or demons…but there’s also nothing wrong with eating candy.
I am looking forward to the drama and subsequent series on this issue!
I read an article a few years back about a family that took the chance to spread the gospel on halloween. They made the statement, “what other time of year do you have hundreds of people knocking on your door.” I think they even decorated their yard biblically and dressed up biblicly, so it was obvious what they were about before you ever started up their walkway. Those that didn’t want Christ didn’t have to go to their door, but they stood as a beacon and decided not to judge but to try to change some hearts if possible.
Personally, I think that this depends on the Christian. If it’s sin to you, don’t do it. If it’s not sin to you, feel free to do it. We each have our spiritual weaknesses. Some things are sin for me (such as certain TV shows, music, hobbies), but aren’t sins to others. There’s nothing wrong with differing in standing against what is sin for us. I don’t think that we should be a stumbling block to others… avoid demonic decorations or costumes, for example.
I don’t agree with a blanket Christian statement against Halloween, because such opposition does not have has a strong Biblical foundation. It’s a weak tie at best.
We don’t celebrate holidays called “Old Holocaust Days” or “Old Lynching Days” do we? No, because there is nothing funny about them. Doing so would obvioulsy be vulgar and terribly hurtful to those who have loved ones that experienced those events.
How then must God feel then when we celebrate a holiday dedicated to making light of His sworn enemy, dressing our children up as devils, witches, zombies, etc. Satan is God’s sworn enemy and our enemy. God’s Son died for us that we might be saved from the “wiles of the devil” eph 6:11. There is nothing silly or funny about Satan. He is the ruination of God’s creation that has required the blood of God’s own son to redeem.
I would think that if our heart’s desire is to please God in all that we do, it would be hard to celebrate Halloween in any tradiitonal sense. Howver, I am a great fan of co-opting the holiday for God’s glory through alternative parties that expose Satan for the enemy he is and lift up Christ as the savior He is!
Can’t wait for the drama at FPC this weekend. Regarding Halloween, I consider it like many other issues we face as Christians. To turn our backs on it potentially builds even greater barriers between Christians and non-believers. To go on the offensive and use Halloween as a ministry tool is a way in which Christians can reach out — in many different ways. Just my opinion.
Thanks gang it is obvious this is a touchy subjest. Sacred Storm was awesome Friday night.
Truth is never determined with our opinion in mind.