WHAT ABOUT HALLOWEEN?
Rev. Darrell D. Ramey
Next Friday, October 31, many people the world
over will "celebrate" the holiday called Halloween. Is
this day of ghosts and demons, witches and warlocks anything that should
interest or concern Christians? Is there anything wrong with
the costuming and trick-or-treating associated with this day? How about going along "just for the fun of it?"
In her book, Exposing
Satan's Devices, author Betty Miller
reminds us of the clear and present danger of Halloween. Using this text
from the Song of Solomon, Chapter 2, verse 15: "Take us the foxes, the
little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender
grapes," Miller points out that "Foxes
sometime in search of food would enter into the grape orchards and devour the
grapes and spoil the crop. However, the little foxes were too small to reach
the grape bunches so they would chew on the vines and it would kill the whole
vine. Instead of the farmer just losing his crop, he would lose his vine which
was more disastrous."
Spiritually some things we do or allow, that we
might think is little or insignificant, can also be disastrous for us. There are those who consider celebrating
Halloween as only a little compromise. However, it is, as the Scripture
admonishes, the "little foxes" that spoil the vines and this
little compromise can open the door to other evils.
It is a sad commentary on modern-day Christian
life, but many Christians do not realize that certain traditions that are
celebrated in the world have evil origins. Just because our society partakes in
certain activities does not make them acceptable for Christians. We must
look to Jesus Christ and His Word to see if the traditions of this world are
good or evil.
One of those evil traditions is the celebration
of Halloween. No Christian should partake in the activities of this holiday,
nor should they allow their children to do so. We can discern the evil
of this day by taking a look at the festivities that are associated with its
celebration.
Children, and even some adults, are dressed as
witches, goblins, ghosts, little devils and fortune tellers. All these are
representatives of Satan's kingdom. Games played at carnivals promote fear
in children as they are ushered through spook houses and horror rooms.
Some church groups have even sponsored such as fund raisers!
Skeletons, black cats and bats represent death
and darkness. No carnival is complete without the gypsy who tells fortunes. In
a grand trick, Satan has gained man's approval to celebrate his day by simply
making it a tradition that seems like a fun day. The opposite is true, however,
as more damage and harm are done on this day each year than any other
holiday.
Children are taught to go door to door chanting "trick or treat." It
is not a christian virtue to demand a gift under
threat of playing some trick.
Because so many in our society, and in the
church, have grown up celebrating Halloween, and seemingly did not experience
any negative effects, some feel that not celebrating Halloween at all is an
extreme measure. However, I would encourage you to pray about this.
Is any holiday that glorifies death and darkness (even in fun) a proper thing
for a Christian to do since we have been called out of darkness into His
marvelous light?
Whether we feel that we have been really
hurt by celebrating Halloween or not, is only part of
the issue. How does God feel to see His people making light of
demons and witchcraft? Shouldn't we be thinking about how
to honor Him and show our love to Him? Where do our
loyalties lie?
We know that most Satanists celebrate Halloween
as their high holy day and even offer human sacrifices to the devil. Until
recently, most Christians have not questioned this traditional celebration, but
rather have gone along with it by even bringing Halloween parties into the
church. The earliest Halloween celebrations were not held by the early church,
but the Druids in honor of Samhain, the "lord of the dead", and his
demons, whose festival fell on November 1. Halloween
actually means "holy or hallowed evening."
Historically, we know that according to the
Roman calendar in which days began at
During the time of Emperor Constantine (Roman
Emperor for about 35 years) these two holidays were merged in an attempt
to Christianize the heathen. The church could not prevent these heathen
practices, so they thought "taming'" them would be the answer. The
pagans were, of course, not to worship their gods on the church's "All
Saint's day." However, as it is with all compromises, soon the
evil overrode the good, and, as a result, we still honor these heathen
practices by celebrating Halloween.
Parents have a responsibility not to allow
their children to be exposed to these evil celebrations. What might seem to
some as innocent children's games is a "little fox" that can
open the door to satanic influence and even demon possession in some cases.
6"Let
no man deceive you with vain words:
for because of these things cometh the wrath of God
upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord:
walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness
and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness,
but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those
things
which are done of them in secret."
--- Ephesians 5:6-12 (KJV)