Daily Devotion for October 31, 2006
I know I will get emails in response to today’s devotion – and there will be many who will disagree with me on what I have to say. That’s OK. At the end of this devotion I will be posting a history of Halloween for you to read and I will also be posting several web sites that will give you different views. I have no intent to “die in this ditch” but I felt compelled to share with you my thoughts. Keep your eyes on Jesus!
Tim Hetzner
Heavenly Father, we ask that you prepare our hearts and minds to know the truth, and to avoid deception by the enemy. We give you praise, honor and glory, for guiding us in these last days. We pray for your protection over us today and every day because we know that the Power within us (YOU) is greater then the power in this world! In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Halloween is nothing but a secular time of fun and games -- an excuse for the kids to dress up and overload on sugar!
These are only two of the comments Christians hear during October. Certainly there are many things about celebrating Halloween with which Christians are uncomfortable, such as images of ghosts, devils, and witches; and rumors of satanic rituals involving criminal and anti-Christian activities. However, most adults also have fond memories of childhood trick-or-treating and dressing up as a princess or super hero. So many traditions, myths, and unfounded rumors have developed about Halloween that it is a complex issue Christians should consider carefully.
Origin
“Halloween” is a contracted form of “Holy Evening” and refers to the evening before All Saints Day (November 1), when Christians traditionally remember believers of other times who are especially good role models of faith, and many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ. The Christian Church long kept the Jewish custom of marking a holiday (contracted form of “holy day”) for the twenty-four hours beginning with sundown and ending with sundown the following day. That is why even today Christmas Eve is almost as special as Christmas Day; and in eastern orthodox churches, the resurrection (Easter) is first celebrated on Easter Saturday at sundown. Another tradition the Church inherited from its first century Jewish roots was to divide each year into commemorative events, doctrinal remembrances, holidays or seasons so that, throughout the calendar year, the history of God’s blessings would be recounted. This is called the “Church year” or “Church calendar.” It took many centuries before most of the dates were standardized throughout most of the Church. Some Protestant churches today do not follow a church calendar except for Christmas, Easter, and perhaps Pentecost (which is also a Jewish holiday, with a different significance).
Frequently the Christian Church in an area deviated from a standard church calendar in order to directly challenge the popularity of a local pagan custom, event, or idol. For example, the Church in the Roman Empire chose December 25 to celebrate the birth of Christ in direct opposition to the Pagan Roman holiday, Saturnalia, which celebrated the sun god. Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, corresponds not only to the historical time of the crucifixion and resurrection, but also to the end of the Jewish festival of Passover, in which God prefigured the coming sacrifice of Christ, the “Lamb” who was slain for the sins of the world. Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after the Jewish Passover, was a Jewish holiday commemorating the beginning of the harvest (the “firstfruits”) and thanking God for blessing His people. When the Holy Spirit came on the disciples in Jerusalem on Pentecost in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 (cf. Acts 2:1-41), it marked the “firstfruits harvest” of Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles who were brought into the kingdom of God by the gospel preaching of the disciples (Matt. 28:19).
One of the biblical inspirations for honoring believers of past times and thanking God for their service in His Name comes from Hebrews 11:1-40. The writer of Hebrews encourages us that our faith is completely trustworthy because it is faith in God, who has proven His character and power so many times in the past in the lives of others that we can be confident that He will accomplish whatever He has promised for the future. From this grew the idea of picking a special day during the church year on which to honor believers who were good role models of faith. This became known as All Saints Day.”
Although most outposts of the Church agreed that it was spiritually edifying to mark a special day to honor believers of the past, there was no consistency in the dating of All Saints Day until Christianity began to flourish in northern Europe and the British Isles. There Christians found a well-entrenched pagan holiday called Samhain. They determined that All Saints Day should be celebrated at the same time as a direct challenge to the sentiments of pagan Samhain.
Fire became associated with the pagan holiday not only to symbolize the power of the sun, but also to ward off the trick-bent spirits. The spirits were believed to assume grotesque appearances, and some traditions developed that if one could costume himself to look like a spirit (or at least not to look like the guilty relative who had neglected his departed loved one), then the spirits would not be able plague him. Some traditions said the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it.
Samhain was also the customary time for the pagans to use the occult practice of divination to determine the weather for the coming year, the crop expectations, and even who in the community would marry whom and in what order. “Bobbing for apples” is one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world’s “blessings” on a couple’s romance.
As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festival of Samhain was still a lure for Christians to compromise their faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31 the “Holy Evening” preceding All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the gospel over pagan superstition. There was no need to “placate” the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife - eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, who shed his blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the “tricks” of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own walks with the Lord; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution, and for giving grace to endure life’s tribulations.
In 1530, a monk named Martin Luther honored the faithful saints of the past by choosing all Saints Day (November 1) as the day to publicly charge the Church hierarchy with abandoning biblical faith. This became known as “Reformation Day,” a fitting celebration of the restoration the same biblical faith held by the saints throughout church history.
Halloween didn’t become a commonly celebrated American holiday until the immigration of the working classes from the British Isles in the late nineteenth century. The mischievous aspects of the holiday were attractive to many American young people, and they borrowed or adapted many customs without reference to their pagan origins.
Today Halloween is almost exclusively an American secular holiday. Most people who celebrate Halloween have no conception of its religious origins or its heritage of paganism. Most people who celebrate Halloween perceive it as a fun time to party, dress up in outlandish costumes, and eat and drink. Small children enjoy the costumed role playing (an important part of learning, as any preschool or kindergarten teacher can testify) and enjoy the games and refreshments.
Unfounded Rumors
It is not true that Halloween is the most important celebration for most contemporary satanists. Most contemporary satanists celebrate their own birthdays as their most important “unholi”-day, which is to be expected from adherents of a religion that is focused on self-worship, self-indulgence, and self-gratification. The actual incidence level of satanic-associated crime is very low, and on Halloween consists mostly of petty vandalism and desecration of graveyards and churches; satanic graffiti; raucous rituals including drug and/or alcohol use and sexual promiscuity; and very rarely sexual violence or animal killing. The most well-known documented criminal activity associated with Halloween are the “Devil’s Night” fires that were rampant in the Detroit area for several years. These destructive bonfires were not, however, religiously inspired, but were instead a convenient excuse for out-of-control juveniles to act destructively, often in their own communities.
It is not true that satanists look for “Christian virgins” to rape during Halloween rituals. A young Christian is much more likely to be in danger of a drunk driver, or a party that gets out of hand with drug or alcohol use than of satanic abduction. Occasional anti-social, criminally committed individuals or small groups that also practice self-styled satanism commit crimes on Halloween, but they invariably betray a pattern of sociopathy at other times as well.
It is not true that poisoning or sabotaging of Halloween treats is a significant risk if parents take sensible precautions. Most of the horror stories are unsubstantiated rumors that quickly cross the country, gaining embellishments, and unnecessarily frightening parents. If parents are careful about restricting their children’s treats to ones from people they know and trust, or from a formal program run by a church, community group, or merchant association, they should be fairly safe. In many communities, local hospitals and/or police stations will screen treats free of charge.
Christian Response
Christians can carefully evaluate Halloween and determine for themselves and their own families what their appropriate response should be. A good general principle should be to refrain from any participation that would either compromise one’s faith or bring dishonor to the Lord Jesus Christ. Another good principle is to look for ways to become a positive, Christ honoring voice in the midst of secularism and paganism. Each Christian must be persuaded in his own conscience about how he approaches Halloween.
Some Christians decide to have absolutely no contact with Halloween. They have the legally protected right to keep their children from participating in any potentially spiritually compromising activity, such as listening to ghost stories, or coloring pictures of witches. They may decide to completely ignore the holiday, not answer their door to trick-or-treaters, and instead have a family evening watching Bible story videos or playing family games. Parents who choose this course need to explain to their children why they have taken this stand, and give them strong encouragement, since their children will undoubtedly experience some teasing or ridicule from their friends and schoolmates.
Some Christians decide to have a limited, non-compromising participation in Halloween. Sometimes their activities can be creative and help to promote the gospel. One mother was planning to keep her son home from his public school’s Halloween parade but he convinced her to let him go dressed as his favorite Bible character, David. He stood on the stage before his entire public school and told the story of how David trusted God and saved God’s people from Goliath. Other families respond to trick or treaters by including a salvation tract with each treat. Many families restrict their children’s trick or treating (this seems consistent with our continuing parental admonition “Don’t take candy from a stranger!”) and instead let them attend a community party or a party in the home of friends. Most Christian families restrict their children’s costumes to exclude evil, pagan, or demonic costumes. Some insist on biblical characters.
Some Christians decide to “overcome” the pagan and secular trappings of Halloween in a manner similar to the way the Church “overcame” Samhain with All Saints Day. Many churches have “Harvest Festivals,” where children may dress as farm animals or farmers. Others host “Reformation Festivals,” where children may dress as their favorite Bible character or as a figure from church history. Some churches sponsor “Hell Houses” for older children and teenagers where the gospel is preached as the way to avoid the horrors of eternal punishment. One church youth group has a costume party (no evil characters allowed) where participants play games and have contests as part of preparing food baskets for the needy. Then they ring the doorbells of needy people in their community and “treat” them with the anonymous food baskets (each of which includes a personal message with the plan of salvation and an invitation to church).
Regardless of the position you take regarding your family’s response to Halloween, all Christians can rejoice that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4); that we can “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7); and that through the cross Christ has “disarmed principalities and powers,” and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them” (Col. 2:15).
Answers In Action
P.O. Box 2067
Costa Mesa, CA 92628
(714) 646-9042
http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm
https://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2179
http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm
http://www.equip.org/free/JAH010.htm
http://www.equip.org/free/DH010.htm
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