Halloween

Halloween

“Should Christians celebrate Halloween?”

This is a question that I get asked every year around this time. And to be honest, I usually cringe when I hear it.

I need to begin by stating that my feelings about this question don’t mean that it is not important—it is. In fact, I believe that Christians need to ask these types of questions and wrestle through them as much as possible so as to become more mature and confident in their faith. But we also need to ask these questions with a genuine desire to learn and grow as Christians.

I cringe at this question because, usually, it is not asked for the sake of learning; but rather it is asked in order to test whether or not I agree with the person asking. Please don’t do this—I’m going to upset you if you do.

On the first Sunday of every month, at 10AM, I lead “Test All Things.” This hour and half is dedicated to discussing questions such as this one. Actually, its dedicated to discussing any topic or question that we might have from a Christian perspective. On October 6^th, we had an AMAZING hour and forty-five-minute conversation about Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos. The reason the conversation took so long is because—like most real-life topics—it is complicated.

Sadly, our world of haste and instant gratification has conditioned us to reject any explanation that takes time or consideration. We want a simple “yes” or “no” so that we can quickly decide our position and we tend to reject any answer that takes too much time or investment. But this is the real world, and nothing is simple—the Bible teaches us as much. We need to be willing to invest time and consideration into every question we have for the sake of better serving God with our lives. So, before I go any further into the topic of Halloween, I encourage you to attend these studies and become a part of the conversation so that we can grow together into Christ likeness.

Back to the subject:

The roots and history of Halloween are some of the most disputed of any modern celebration in our world. We know that there are connections to All Saints Day where we honor the saints who have died before us. We suspect that there are pagan influences—but there is no consensus as to which ones. And we know that there is a great deal of superstition that affects what people have believed in the past as well as what people believe today about Halloween.

As Christians, it is important that we do not get caught up in superstitions. A superstition is a belief or practice that is not based on reality. I was raised to believe that if I cried, La Llorona would come get me; and if I played with frogs, I would get warts—both are superstitions because they are not based in reality. That is to say: they are not true—they are false! Christians are to deal in reality and truth. Jesus is real and true. God is real and true. If we believe or teach things that are not real and true, then we give a false witness to the world. Christians need to be mindful of engaging in superstitions.

Here are a few superstitions that we might hear or believe about Halloween.

• It is the devil’s birthday.
  • The devil does not have a birthday, and Halloween is certainly not it.
• It is a satanic night.
  • There is nothing about October 31 that is any more satanic than any other day of the year. The connection of Halloween to satanism (as a religion or practice) is almost entirely the creation of movies and fictional books.
• The realm between the living and dead thins on Halloween.
  • No Christian can believe this without rejecting the Bible.
  • Even the earliest ideas that the night thins the realm between the living and the dead is nothing more than the result of medieval superstitions.
• More people practice satanic rituals on Halloween.
  • No, they don’t. No self-respecting satanist considers Halloween especially sacred to their faith. This false idea really took hold when Pat Robinson claimed that children who celebrate Hallowing were “worshipping Satan.” Our fear of “worldly” things, ignorance of scripture, and worship of leaders such as Robinson, allowed Christians to give his words as much authority as the words of Christ. And because it is so patently false, when Christians claim this, they let non-Christians (who can easily test and prove that this belief is false) know that being a Christian means being superstitious—and that false testimony is of the devil (John 8:44-45).

There are many superstitions that we associate with almost every celebration we hold. As Christians, we are commanded to be of sober mind and to test all things in order to learn what is true and good according to God’s will. So, I pray that regardless of how we feel personally about Halloween, we would choose to reject these superstitions in exchange for truth.

Here are some truths about Halloween.

• Most people who celebrate it only do so because it is fun to dress up, get candy, and have parties.
• Halloween emphasizes scary things such as death, darkness, ghouls, and ghosts.
  • That’s why superstitions about these things are so easily accepted—even embraced.
• Halloween is almost exclusively a secular celebration.
  • That is to say that the overwhelming majority of those who participate have no religious or spiritual inclinations about it at all.
• It does have roots in Christianity.
  • But if those roots are gone, then the Christian aspect is as well. (I personally believe that they are gone and there is nothing Christian about Halloween. But that is my opinion.)
• It does have roots in paganism.
  • So do birthday celebrations. Traditions from having cake to lighting and blowing out the candles, all have roots in pagan acts of worship.
    • Just because something has pagan roots, doesn’t mean that it is pagan—just like something having Christian roots doesn’t make it Chrisitan. Only the intention at the time matters. If blowing out candles and having cake is nothing more than a fun tradition, then there is nothing sinful about it. The same holds true for any celebration or tradition with pagan roots.

So, should Chrisitan celebrate Halloween?

I would answer by quoting scripture:

“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God” (NRSV, Ro 14:1–6).

If you choose to celebrate Halloween, then I encourage you to do so in a way that honors the Lord.

If you choose to abstain from Halloween, then I encourage you to do so in a way that honors the Lord.

Either way, do not judge one another.

Our Doctrine on Halloween

The Nazarene Church does not have a doctrine concerning Halloween because it is a secular holiday such as New Year’s Day or Independence Day.

Personally, I don’t like the way Halloween portrays death—it is a false portrayal that is fed from cultural superstition and entertainment media. As a Christian, I feel it is important to not be afraid of physical death and to even find the holiness within it (after all it means the resurrection!).

As a pastor, I am more concerned with the way Christians embrace and defend superstitions in the name of Jesus. We must be a people of truth and love.

Find the good in something and use it to express your faith in Christ, to glorify God, and be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Blessings

Pastor Raul Granillo