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Thread: It's OK for Christians to Enjoy Halloween

  1. #1

    It's OK for Christians to Enjoy Halloween

    -We've all done it. Your kids have scored about 12 pounds of candy over Halloween and they think they've hidden it well. But at some point you, as an adult who can very easily go to the store and buy your own candy, sneak into their room while they're sleeping and pull out your favorites.

    When they notice the next day (and believe me, they'll notice) you try to tell them you only took candy you knew they wouldn't like. It doesn't work. But you don't care. Because this time of year means everyone becomes a candy obsessed kid again.

    Let me just begin by saying that I realize that some people feel a strong conviction to not celebrate Halloween. That's cool. I respect your convictions.

    But quite often I hear of Christians who have no such convictions feeling pressure to do the same. And I wanted to write this to show that there may be another viewpoint for Halloween that is not only valid, but may be even biblical. We don't need any more faith bullies.
    We do need people who can love each other even when they disagree. And while I have a feeling a lot of people are going to disagree with me, I'll try my best to explain why I believe it's OK for Christians to enjoy Halloween.

    When I was growing up, my family didn't celebrate Halloween.

    My parents reluctantly allowed me to go to a friend's house across town to trick-or-treat because I was a kid and candy was my love language, but when I got home I distinctly remember the porch light being turned off and the door locked. It was our way of saying that we were Christians and we did not support this, the devil's holiday. And I didn't really care because I was a kid and I had my candy. But as I grew older, I began to see that this day is a tough one for a lot of Christians to reconcile.

    There are really two ways to view Halloween if you're a Christian.

    1. It's a night dedicated to glorifying the devil and all things evil. Witches, ghosts, and frightening things are the antithesis of God's kingdom, therefore we should stay as far away from them as possible. But because it's a holiday (and we Americans really like our holidays) and the kids are begging for candy, we'll throw a "harvest party" instead. That way we can still celebrate Halloween without celebrating Halloween.

    2. It's a holiday and as long as you're not celebrating the demonic but just having fun, it's not a big deal. I can enjoy dressing up and getting/giving candy without being a Satan worshiper. Everyone just needs to chill out.

    Obviously these are oversimplifications and people fall along all different aspects of these spectrums, but hopefully you get my point. But I would contend that there are two other ways to view Halloween that hardly anyone talks about, and how you approach these viewpoints will in many ways color your take on Halloween entirely.

    It has to do with whether or not you believe Halloween is a predominantly spiritual or cultural holiday.

    If you hate Halloween, chances are you view it almost entirely through the lens of a spiritual holiday. To you, the witches and goblins and spiders and ghosts represent a deeper spiritual reality—that darkness in the world is real and the demonic is not something to be made into plastic and silicone.

    You reject the day because you don't want to associate with something that is, below the surface, celebrating evil. You have issues with the origins of the day, the spirit of the day, or whatever, and you figure it's just best to ignore it completely. And you probably see fellow Christians who like it as "playing with fire" in a sense because they don't understand what they're dealing with.

    If you enjoy Halloween, chances are you view it almost entirely as a...

    http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/...njoy-halloween

  2. #2
    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    That's a great article especially in light of Darren Wilson showing his documentaries for free right now... there are two still available one today and one tomorrow... He's very good at what he does!

    Today is "Father of Lights" for the next 12 hours and starting at midnight tonight, "Holy Ghost" for 24 hours. He's leading up to the release of his new film, "Holy Ghost REBORN."


    http://store.wpfilm.com/fol-holyshareathon?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_mediu m=email&utm_content=[WATCH]+Is+God+Really+Good%3F&utm_campaign=%23HS+FLV+MIDN IGHT

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    I get a "what does it all matter, it's not that bad" feeling from that article. I'd suggest that people do at least explain these things in more depth to their kids before letting them "indulge" in the celebrations, so to speak. That way it is more likely to be just cultural or silly rather than spiritually fascinating. Children can be very impressionable.

  4. #4
    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    I raised my kids NOT celebrating Halloween. They are all adults now and are choosing to take part.

    I couldn't participate, coming out of the occult and new age when my kids were little, but I made sure they had candy in their lunches for a couple weeks after and I always had full size chocolate bars for any neighbor kids who came to the door Halloween night. (country living = MAYBE 8-10 kids on a busy night)

    No matter how we raise our kids, our convictions don't automatically become theirs.

  5. #5
    That's very true.. Although, one thing they did take was that the holidays are "play pretend"

    That's for all of them. We did some vampire stuff, but it was more jokey. We never did any of the ghoulish, really awful stuff. Then again, neither did most of the other folks around back then.

    We love the "dress up" part of Halloween, and it's a time to have fun with family.

  6. #6
    Senior Member wheeze's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Femme* View Post
    That's very true.. Although, one thing they did take was that the holidays are "play pretend"

    That's for all of them. We did some vampire stuff, but it was more jokey. We never did any of the ghoulish, really awful stuff. Then again, neither did most of the other folks around back then.

    We love the "dress up" part of Halloween, and it's a time to have fun with family.
    yeah growing up i always like to put the bite on people 4 candy...

  7. #7
    There are enough devils in the world today without Christians pretending to be devils at Halloween .....

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  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Ari View Post
    There are enough devils in the world today without Christians pretending to be devils at Halloween .....
    That's a good point..

    I don't think anyone here advocates for pretending to be devils.

    Donna Reed, yes, devils, no.

  10. #9
    Do not agree with celebrating halloween although I have no problem with churches celebrating "Hallelujah" night and giving the kids candy, games, and cartoon movies.

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  12. #10
    * Toxic Troll - Negative Nancy Farm Truck's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by victoryword View Post
    Do not agree with celebrating halloween although I have no problem with churches celebrating "Hallelujah" night and giving the kids candy, games, and cartoon movies.
    Yep, whatever the world does... we have to compete with it.

    Otherwise, if churches don't provide entertainment the people will not come.

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