Halloween is here. I have been engaged in an interesting discussion with Keith, an old childhood friend. The dialogue has prompted me to think about how I should commemorate the Halloween festival. My boys will don superhero costumes and get more candy than I will ever let them eat. Aside from the normal kids stuff, how should we, as followers of Jesus, observe this time of the year?
Halloween began as a pagan festival that invoked a fear of dead spirits who were thought to roam the world. In modern America, the pagan roots are lost to our collective memory, but still the focus upon death, fear, and suffering dominate this holiday. In stark contrast, the Scripture says we need not fear death because, through Jesus, we have conquered it.
So I ask again, how should followers of the Way of Life memorialize a very popular holiday that encourages a fear of death? The answer is to turn our attention toward those who, in the name of Jesus Christ, have conquered the fear of death.
According to the Voice of the Martyrs “Around the world today Christians are being persecuted for their faith. More than 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith since 33 AD. This year an estimated 160,000 believers will die at the hands of their oppressors and over 200 million will be persecuted, arrested, tortured, beaten or jailed. In many nations it is illegal to own a Bible, share your faith, change your faith or allow children under 18 to attend a religious service.”
As Al Hallows Eve draws near, let us then put a name and face to the thousands upon thousands who have conquered fear through hope in eternal life.
M
igsti Haile, 33, died September 5, 2007 and is the fourth Christian known to have been killed in Eritrea which is a country in northern East Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast.
Migsti Haile was tortured to death in a military facility for refusing to renounce her faith in Jesus Christ, Open Doors, a Christian persecution and human rights watchdog, said Haile was tortured for refusing to “sign a letter recanting her faith”. It is believed she spent 18 months in prison “under severe pressure” since she and nine other single Christian women were arrested at a church gathering in Keren.
Migsti Haile suffered death because she beloved in the God of life. So this Halloween, I choose to remind my family, my Church, and the world that we need not fear death. Instead, let us celebrate the faith of those who have conquered death and entered into everlasting life.
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Amen! The connection between Halloween and All Saints can be and ought to be emphasized. I look forward each year to Halloween, and I also look forward to its “sister holiday”.
Pretty cool idea, but I’m sticking with the candy and fun angel
Oh, and Power Rangers are NOT superheroes, just bad incoherent Japanese inspired television.
I like your blog and the interesting questions and discussions you propose. I know I’m commenting on this very late in the game and am not sure if you’ll see my comment (I’m new to the world of blogs). You said “how should followers of the Way of Life memorialize a very popular holiday that encourages a fear of death” and that has its roots in paganism. You propose the Voice of the Matyrs way. But here’s the deeper question, if Halloween is so steeped in paganism and God repeatedly told the Israelites to not follow other Gods, customs, etc. Why do Christians such as yourself allow your children to dress up, trick or treat and follow customs that all originated in paganism? I understand there are many quasi-Christians who don’t understand or care about the origins of the holiday and simply want their children to enjoy a tradition. Some do know and choose to ignore it, because they don’t want their children to miss out on some fun or they send their kids to a church festival and hope that it’s ok because its church sponsored. But even my kids when they were quite young told me that that they felt they were still celebrating Halloween because they were dressing up and getting candy all on the same day and the real reason everyone did it was because it was Halloween. Bottomline, they reasoned, if it wasn’t Halloween night, churches wouldn’t be having “Harvest festivals.” So Pastor Joe, because I am searching for an answer for myself and my family and because you seem to enjoy discussing issues, I am asking why do you as a pastor who understands that this holiday, which has all pagan origins and no biblical connections, except for a made up All Saints Day-why do you allow you children to participate?
Hi Nat, first let me say that no matter how old a post is, you are always welcome to comment. It is never to late to engage in meaningful discussion.
You asked, “Why do Christians such as yourself allow your children to dress up, trick or treat and follow customs that all originated in paganism? “
First let me say that the point of my post was not so much to defend the dressing up or participation in Halloween. It was more about how can we, as Christians, use this time to help turn people away from a culture of death toward a culture of life in Jesus. That, to me, is a far more important issue.
However, since you asked a sincere question, I can give you a few reasons off the top of my head.
1. God’s concerns over Israel are not directly related to Halloween. Israel, as they came out of Egypt, was a mixed group of people who were descended both from Abraham and Egyptians. All of them were highly steeped in the idolatry and worship of the age. That is not a concern for us here in America where Halloween is rarely seen as “religious” in nature. If the situation were different, I would respond differently.
2. We do not live in a Theocracy, we do not live under Law, and so the Law of Christ is our only constraint. Dressing up and candy-shopping does not compromise anything given to us by the Apostles in the New Testament. I am leading our church through a discussion of Galatians right now. Listen on-line to get a clearer picture of how I see grace working in issues like this one.
3. Just like the pagan celebration of Christmas, I think we can engage our culture, without compromising our Faith.
4. Preparing my sons to live in the world, but not get consumed with it is a big deal to me. Halloween is a teaching opportunity as as I walk and talk with my kids.
Finally, I would say that I hold this loosely. If I lived in a community or with neighbors where participation did compromise my witness, I would drip it in a hot second, but I just don’t see that concern in my community. I also hope this is a topic where faithful can have good discussion and, if need by, disagree in love.
I hope that helps you Nat.