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Can Christians Celebrate Halloween? Part III


Table of Contents

Part Three

Argument #3: Christians should not celebrate Halloween because it is wrong to participate in something that is used for evil or has evil connected to it.

There is no question that there are many aspects of the contemporary celebration of Halloween that Christians will find offensive. In addition to the pagan and satanic practices described in part two, there are a variety of other things that "ordinary" people do as a matter of course on Halloween that Christians regard as objectionable.

What other things? Anything that glorifies the devil, death, violence, or the occult (which includes, among other things, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, contacting the spirits of the dead/ghosts, and fortune telling). Unfortunately these things occur all the time through costumes and decorations, even among Christians. But Biblically literate Christians object, not only to any costume, decoration, or event (e.g. a haunted house), that glorifies devil, death, or the occult, but also those things that glorify violence. Specifically, Christians find children dressed up as slashers and murderers just as evil as children costuming as the devil, demons, ghosts, skeletons, ghouls, and witches!

Why do Christians consider these practices to be evil? Because of the testimony of the Scriptures, the Word of God, some of which are listed here.

The Occult

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 — When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 "For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you (see also Leviticus 19:31).

Isaiah 8:19 — And when they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

Acts 19:18-20 — Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

The Devil

John 8:44 — You are of [your] father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [nature;] for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

1 Peter 5:8-9 — Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith . . .

Revelation 12:9-11 -- And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.

Violence

Exodus 20: — You shall not kill.

Psalm 5:6 — Thou dost destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

Psalm 11:5 — The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

Proverbs 3:31 — Do not envy a man of violence, and do not choose any of his ways.

Death

Romans 5:12 — Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Romans 6:23 — For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:23-26 — But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 — But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:14-15 — Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

These passages clearly show that the occult, devil, violence, and death are enemies of God, i.e., persons, realities, and behaviors that God detests. Therefore the Christian wants to do nothing that would glorify such things, that would promote such things as fun, cool, or positive. Isn't it obvious that dressing and decorating one's body, home, and lawn with such themes is glorifying and promoting the evil that God opposes?

Does glorifying such things mean that the person agrees with such persons and behaviors. Very unlikely, but possible, I suppose. The vast majority of Halloweeners who dress and decorate with the themes of the occult, devil, violence, or death either think that such things are unreal or consider them to be harmless fun. Yet by participating in such things they glorify it, nonetheless.

So it is obvious that the contemporary celebration of Halloween has many customs and practices that the Scriptures regard as evil. But does argument # 3 hold? It argues that "Christians should not celebrate Halloween because it is wrong to participate in something that is used for evil or has evil connected to it." Is it wrong to participate in Halloween in any way because of the evil customs that some engage in?

Perhaps it would be helpful to broaden the question. Is it wrong to participate in anything because some other people are abusing it with evil practices? If we held this principle consistently in all of life, we would have to leave the world. Almost everything we participate in in this life is abused or used in an evil way. Does that stop us from participating? Not unless the thing is evil to begin with.

For example, the Ku Klux Klan, according to its central principles, is racist, and thus evil. It is not a matter of some members engaging in evil practices. The substance itself is flawed. But is this true of Halloween? I've tried to demonstrate above that there is no scholarly proof that Halloween is a direct descendant of pagan, Druidic rituals and that what we have here is an American phenomenon that has drawn from several, including Christian (!), sources. If it were true that Halloween was essentially a pagan, anti-Christian festival, then a case could be made that it is wrong for a Christian to participate in something that is intrinsically evil. But such is not true. Though many have attached customs and practices which are sinful from a Biblical perspective, these do not have to be practiced. It is very possible to celebrate Halloween without any of these things. It is very possible to dress in costumes and decorate one's home in themes that avoid anything offensive God.

Furthermore, to refuse to participate in Halloween is to miss golden opportunities for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. How often during the year do we have countless children and adults coming to our door ready to receive from us? Yet on Halloween such is the case! What a marvelous opportunity for Christians to pass out Gospel tracts, invitations to Sunday School, or some other message of God's love, as they pass out the treats. And what a grand opportunity our Christian children have as we take them from door to door to exchange the Gospel for the candy they receive.

Thus, argument #3 is not sound. Though it is true that many people celebrate Halloween with accretions that are evil in God's sight, their abuse of the holiday need not cause us to avoid it. Rather, the opportunities for celebrating Halloween in God-pleasing ways are limitless!


 

Turn to Halloween Argument #1

Turn to Halloween Argument #2

Turn to Halloween Argument #3

Guidelines

© Dr. Richard P. Bucher 1998, 1999

© Dr. Richard P. Bucher 1998, 1999