Posted on 10/31/2013 10:10:25 AM PDT by Gamecock
Halloween has become the second highest-grossing commercial holiday after Christmas. But this festive day also carries a lot of baggage. Scholars Ralph and Adelin Linton write:
Among all the festivals which we celebrate today, few have histories stranger than that of Halloween. It is the eve of All Hallows—or Hallowmas or All Saints' Day—and as such it is one of the most solemn festivals of the church. At the same time, it commemorates beings and rites with which the church has always been at war. It is the night when ghosts walk and fairies and goblins are abroad. . . . We cannot understand this curious mixture unless we go back into history and unravel the threads from which the present holiday pattern has been woven.
The brief account seeks to vindicate Halloween from its "Satanic" and barbaric origins. While the dark side of Halloween may have been overemphasized, Christians must still acknowledge that the holiday originated (at least) in pagan and mythical practices. The extent to which such practices can be categories as "Satanic" is a debate of semantics. Is Roman mythology "Satanic"? Perhaps, or perhaps not.
Regardless, the origin of Halloween is certainly in the realm of non-Christian spiritualism. As such, Christians should be careful in their approach to Halloween.
Halloween for Christians
Christians haven't always been sure what to do with this holiday of apparently pagan origins. Is it unredeemable, such that any Christian participating in the holiday will necessarily compromise their faith? Is it something Christians can participate in as a cultural celebration with no religious ramifications? Or is there the opportunity for Christians to emphasize certain aspects of our own faith within the holiday?
1. Should Christians renounce Halloween as "the Devil's day"?
One of the most famous recent examples of Christian interaction with Halloween comes from Pat Robertson, who called Halloween the "festival of the Devil." As such, he claimed that participating in Halloween is wrong for Christians.
In renouncing this holiday outright, Robertson fails to ask the following question: To what extent does something's evolution from pagan roots entail that its present practice is tainted? As Albert Mohler notes, there's been a shift from pagan ritual to merely commercial fascination with the dark side. Robertson misses that for most people in America, Halloween is about candy. A quarter of all candy sold annually in the United States is for Halloween night! Granted, dressing up as witches and goblins can be a tricky issue, but to think that putting on a scary mask or makeup opens you up to the dark side is a bit naïve.
In addition, there are two built-in problems with a blanket-rejection position. First, those who insist on rejecting certain holidays aren't being consistent. Should we reject other holidays because there's a propensity toward excess? In other words, if people are inclined toward gluttony on Thanksgiving or Christmas, shouldn't those holidays be renounced as well? After all, gluttony is a sin. Second, many times the reject position assumes the evil of the extrinsic world will taint the faith of a Christian. But Jesus says the exact opposite (Mark 7:21-23). The fruit of our lives (whether in holiness or sin) is always inextricably tied to the root of our hearts. If our hearts are prone toward sin in certain ways, we will find a way to sin. Sin indeed corrupts, but the sin is not so much "out there in the world" as is in the heart of every person. The reject position falsely assumes sin is mostly what we do rather than who we are.
2. Can Christians participate in Halloween wisely?
An informed understanding of the history of Halloween and the biblical freedom Christians have to engage cultural practices (1 Cor. 10:23-33) leads to the conclusion that we can follow our conscience in choosing how to approach this holiday.
Even so, how Christians ought to go about relating to or participating in Halloween is still a tricky subject. In order to navigate the waters successfully, one must always distinguish between the merely cultural aspects of Halloween and the religious aspects of the holiday. In the past the church has tried with varied results to subsume the religious aspects of Halloween by adding a church holiday. If we engage, care must be taken. There's a big difference between kids dressing up in cute costumes for candy and Mardi Gras-like Halloween parties, offensive costumes, and uninhibited excess. It's too simple, then, to make a blanket judgment to reject or accept Halloween as a whole. There certainly should be no pressure to participate.
For those still bothered by Halloween's historical association with evil spirits, Martin Luther has some advice on how to respond to the Devil: "The best way to drive out the Devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." Perhaps instead of fleeing the darkness in fear, we should view Halloween as an opportunity to mock the enemy whose power over us has been broken.
Where’s the ‘Aw, Geez’ guy when you need him. Yep, it’s a sin to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Ridiculous. How in the world could I be worshipping two mythical beings I have never heard of? Who cares if it is not the right date? It is a day set aside a long time ago to recognize and celebrate the birth of our Savior. Which is what we do.
Today it’s “Liberalism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
This is not about me. I felt called to give a word of warning. Heed it or not. Free will is fundamental to Christianity.
And no, I don’t feel that way about Christmas. The admonition that Jehovah’s Witnesses take so seriously was meant to warn people about festivals and pageants when they ignore the word of God in their daily life. It’s the second part of that that is important. If you show kindness to others as your rule of life, then when you celebrate the birth of the Messiah it is from the heart, and goes with the rest of your life. It is not just about the fun of the celebration itself.
My thoughts on this, anyway.
Yeah. I would add “and free” to that quote when it comes to liberalism
It’s Samhain, appropriated and renamed.
It’s the Celtic new year and the night when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.
It’s a LOT older than the church.
It begins at sunset tonight and ends at sunset tomorrow, hence November 1 getting thrown into the mix.
The only thing anybody really needs to know about Halloween is that it can be a lot of fun and people shouldn’t get so uptight about things. Especially not anybody that puts up a Christmas Tree (pagan roots) or decorates Easter Eggs (pagan roots).
It’s a superstitious folk-corruption of a religious day. Mostly harmless, but the fixation on death, blood, and gore says there is something gravely wrong with some people.
Because this is the time of year when the dead can hear you through the veil.
It’s all pagan.
The demons themselves are real. As in the Gospel. Why give them a free day pass, even if that day is arbitrary?
The correlations in dates probably stem from the fact that getting pagans to understand and believe in Christ and even a Triune God was relatively easy compared with getting them to abandon their cherished holiday practices. So the Church accommodated and altered the associated holiday stories into Christian themes. Nobody is actually forced to celebrate these or any holidays, whatever their origins, and if they believe doing so is bowing to the Devil then they are certainly welcome to not partake.
We were discussing origins not doctrine.
Yep.
:)
All Saint’s Day started in the Christian Church, I believe that was before Christianity spread to the Celts.
Samhain is older, and Halloween today may carry traditions from Samhain, but I do not believe All Saint’s Day started with Samhain. I understand their origins to be separate.
>> “Yep, it’s a sin to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Ridiculous.” <<
.
Great strawman!
Dercember 25 is NOT the birth date of our savior, even the past two popes admit that.
If you wish to celebrate Yeshua’s birth, His Father provided a way to do that; its called the Feast of Tabernacles, or more properly, Sukkot.
It occurs in the Biblical seventh month, which generally coincides with the latter part of September, and the early part of October. This year it was Sept 22-28.
>> “Who cares if it is not the right date?” <<
Yehova said that he cares, and if you are one of his, then you care. Simple, huh?
>> “Which is what we do” <<
.
Its not what Yeshua’s sheep do! (its what the lost do)
I’m pecking replies on an iPhone so we’ll have to wait but my history is correct.
I tried to explain that the sunset to sunset observance of time accounts for “halloween” ending up two days for us and one day for them so All Saints got tacked on to take up the slack, as it were.
I ignore Hallowe’en, Christmas and Easter...in the process, I save a LOT of money; which I’m going to need to pay for ObamaCare. :-)
>> “It begins at sunset tonight and ends at sunset tomorrow, hence November 1 getting thrown into the mix” <<
.
Biblically, all days begin at sunset
If Byzantine Christians started a celebratory feast of in rememberance of saints that had died, before they contacted the Celts, how did that happen?
I know I can be wrong on this, I’m not a great historian with lots of detailed reference. I’m looking to learn.
1. It’s fun.
2. It’s innocent.
3. Kids love it.
4. Adults love it.
5. Anyone who thinks religion is so weak as to be harmed by such a fun day is a fool.
:D
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