We’re going to start right out of the gate with Scripture since it is through Scripture that we have a lamp to our feet and light to our path. God’s Word is how we know and understand His desire for us. If we make decisions without God’s Word, or in opposition to it, we are in essence placing ourselves in His role, deciding for ourselves what is good and right. Therefore, we should read His Word before approaching the topic of Halloween.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”.
1 Corinthians 10:20-22:
“No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
1 Thessalonians 5:22
“Abstain from every form of evil.” NIV
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” KJV
Romans 12:9
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
3 John 1:11
“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good”.
Proverbs 4:14-15:
“Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by”.
Leviticus 19:31:
“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them”.
Ephesians 5:8:
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”.
1 Peter 5:8:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.
Romans 12:1-2
“I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Galatians 5:13
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.”
It is not difficult to see what’s going on during Halloween. You really don’t need to delve into its history to comprehend what it is all about. It is clearly and openly centered around the demonic, and that specific aspect of it is advertised to you everywhere.
You just have to walk into your local Walmart or Sam’s Club to find yourself bombarded with blood-soaked costumes, daggers, skeletons, and tombstones that glorify and make light of death and pain. Sure, you can dig through it all to find a cute or silly costume somewhere—but do not be deceived: finding that does not somehow magically change the purpose or focus of that day.
We decided not to celebrate Halloween after years of seeing how dark everything related to that day had become. My kids were very young at the time and noticed everything about them, commenting on the decorations and expressing their innate, God-given fear and repulsion at what they were seeing. It was seeing for ourselves what Halloween actually was that changed our minds as a family.
I remember delivering a meal to a woman whose baby had just died while we were living in Tennessee many years ago. The house two doors down from hers had put tombstones and dead bodies all around their yard. Little did they know that a stone’s throw away, a woman was weeping and screaming out to God because her child was dead and now she had to get one of those gravestones. It made my stomach turn then, and it still does to this day. And that’s the point.
Making a joke of death, pain, fear, and suffering is absolutely demonic; there are no two ways about it.
Halloween comes at one of my favorite times of the year, which is a real bummer. I absolutely love fall: the crisp, cool mornings, the cozy sweaters, the switch from shorts to pants, the fall leaves, the cute autumn decorations, the cloudy skies, and the new menus popping up in coffee shops and restaurants. All of these things have a way of rejuvenating the soul. It’s nice to enjoy the changing seasons and to celebrate that change. But these days, Halloween is so synonymous with fall that it’s almost like cojoined twins. Halloween was in the fall before, but now it is the focal point of the entire season. The dried corn, leaf garlands, and scarecrows are displayed alongside decapitated heads, weapons, and fake blood.
Where did Halloween originate? It began as a Celtic festival called Samhain (or Samain), which was first documented in the 9th century. It took place from sunset on October 31 to sunset on November 1, and people believed that during this time, the gods would become visible and could play tricks on them. Sacrifices to the gods were made during the festival, and communicating with the dead is a significant part of Halloween’s history and tradition. People back then would wear costumes of demons and scary evil spirits to confuse the demons, whom they (correctly) believed were roaming freely at the time. It was a period marked by “danger, charged with fear, and full of supernatural episodes.”[1]
What do Christians really have to do with this? Should Christians take part in any cultural ritual, holiday, or practice, no matter how demonic? Is that truly what Christian freedom means?
I think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They didn’t go along with their culture. They could have said, “But we know this statue isn’t a real god! We don’t believe in what everyone is doing! We’ll participate but believe in our hearts that this is false! We’ll participate, but not in the way everyone else is participating because we know the truth!”
That would have solved all their problems and been so incredibly easy. They would have blended right in with the thousands around them. After all, it was just a knee bend. But they didn’t do it. They refused to go along with the culture because they knew the behavior was wrong. Bending the knee, even if their hearts believed otherwise, would have been wrong. What you do matters, even if you claim your heart believes something else.
What can you do in place of Halloween? So many things! Our family has turned Oct 31 into what we call “Fall Festival.” We spend the entire day doing all sorts of fall crafts, we put on Christmas music, sip hot apple cider, and end the day with homemade caramel popcorn and an old family movie. The kids look forward to it all year. We have a total blast. It is a day filled with joy, laughter, and bonding.
You can develop your own tradition, too. You can do something special that brings your family together.
This Oct 31, lead your family, don’t just follow the culture.
