What is it about Halloween that gets Christians all weird? Each year, as this one little holiday comes up, some American Christians feel it necessary to drag out their baggage and fuss. This doesn’t apply to all Christians, just some that feel it necessary to bounce up and down and burn some steam. These people fall into two groups.
Group Number One includes all those that insist that this holiday Satanic and it has no redeeming value. They get all worked up about not letting their kids trick-or-treat and make sure to let everyone else know about it. They get angry when a church wants to hold an outreach event like a fall festival. I don’t want to post another history explaining all about the roots of Halloween, but suffice it to say there are certainly some questionable roots. I agree. But there are also Christian roots including All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day. The problem with looking at all the historical roots from Ireland, Ancient Europe, Mexico, etc., is that no one in the U.S.A. really cares or even knows about that. When the average American mom buys her kid a Buzz Lightyear costume, she is not thinking about scaring off spirits, celebrating the dead, or worshiping some obscure Celtic god. This holiday no longer has any connection to those times and is just another secular holiday on the calendar. What these people forget is that God was in control on October 30th and will be again on November 1st. Why don’t they believe that He is in control on October 31? Why not use it as a teachable moment for their kids and let them have the joy of dressing up and eating too much candy? Relax. Set some ground rules if you want, but ultimately, the American holiday of Halloween is no more or less in Satan’s control than the American holiday of Christmas.
Group Number Two includes the really weird ones. Each year, some church holds a ‘Hell House’, an alternative haunted house that purportedly shows all the bad stuff in the world. A church in Chandler just did one this year called Final Destination http://www.hell101.com/. There, they show an abortion, teen girls raped, drug dealers murdered, and the sancho of a cheating wife have his head sawn off as punishment. The idea behind this is to ‘Scare the Hell’ out of non-believers by showing them all the most gruesome results of their bad choices in life. It never seems to occur to them that people make bad decisions daily even though they see this stuff on the news, in movies, and on T.V. In theory, this has an outreach purpose in order to save people’s souls. I’m not entirely sure how effective this is, but I’m pretty sure that it’s not. This type of in-your-face evangelism is a far cry from the way Jesus treated non-believers. A quick read through any of the gospels shows that he was firm but gentle with those who were hurting, sinners, and those who needed God. He only got in-your-face with loudmouth religious types who were using religiosity to beat people down. My biggest issue with these types of things is the incredible money spent on fancy special effects, sound equipment and decorations. Surely this money could be used more effectively to feed the needy, clothe the naked, treat the AIDs patient, care for the orphan, house the widow, etc., etc., etc. You know… Those things that Jesus called us to do.
My message to both groups is to get back to your Bible. Spend some time there. When you are done, spend some more time. Then, when you are ready, step out into the real world and share the message of hope, the Gospel of our Lord. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Remember the power of grace. Understand that the only offense you should give is that all sinners are welcome at the foot of the cross. Relax.
As for me, I’m going to go take my costume off and raid my daughter’s candy bag. I think I saw some Bottlecaps and Reeses Cups in there. Now THAT'S what Halloween is all about.
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