Sharply divided
Christian perspectives on Halloween aresharply divided. Some feel complete freedom to observe the holiday,while others run and hide from it. Many choose to boycott or ignore it,while a number of believers celebrate it through positive and imaginative observances or Christian alternatives to Halloween.
What every Christian should know about Halloween?
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.
Why do some Christians object to Halloween?
Some Christians are wary of Halloween because it’s not explicitly Christian. And of course, there are a few people who use it an opportunity to celebrate the Satanic. Clearly, Christians should not celebrate it in that way. But understood more properly, it is a day for thinking about death, and about the myths and monsters that helped our …
What do Christians think about Halloween?
Many Christians believe that participating in Halloween is a form of involvement in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness, which is forbidden in Scripture: Ephesians 5:7-15. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.
What is Halloween and should Christians celebrate it?
Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Yes, Christians can, because the blood of Christ has redeemed Halloween. Traditionally, October 31, which is named Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve, has been considered a pagan holiday. On All Hallows’ Eve, it is said that the souls and spirits of the dead are given the ability to roam the Earth.
What does Romans 14:5-6 say?
Romans 14:5-6 says: One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.
What would happen if the origins of Halloween convict a Christian to reject the entire holiday?
At the same time, if the origins of Halloween convict a Christian to reject the entire holiday, he or she should feel the freedom to do so, while giving others the freedom to act on their own beliefs.
Why do Christians celebrate Halloween?
Christians can celebrate Halloween to the extent that they feel the freedom to do so and to the degree that the particular practices do not celebrate the occult. With this in mind, the various pieces of Halloween can be analyzed individually for their current cultural and personal significance.
Is Halloween a biblical holiday?
Although our modern celebration of Halloween has religious influences, there is nothing biblical about the holiday. It is affiliated with "All Saints’ Day," but even this holiday is not supported by Scripture. The Bible does not tell us to pray for the dead. There is no purgatory the dead need to escape from. …
Does the Bible say to pray for the dead?
The Bible does not tell us to pray for the dead. There is no purgatory the dead need to escape from. The spirits of the dead do not come back to visit us on earth.
Is there an injunction against making lanterns out of gourds?
It is not biblical to endorse or represent demons, evil, sin, or anything that would lead another to sin. But there is no injunction in the Bible against making lanterns out of gourds, wearing superhero and princess costumes, and asking neighbors for candy.
Why do people celebrate Halloween?
Those who are interested in the right or wrong of the celebration may look at the holiday’s origin in the occult and believe it should not be celebrated at all; they are aware that some groups celebrate Halloween as a tribute to Satan.
What are some alternatives to Halloween?
These alternatives may include fall festival parties where children are encouraged to dress in a particular theme such as positive cartoon or book characters, famous historical characters, or Bible heroes.
Is Halloween a dark day?
It’s not uncommon for people to struggle with whether to celebrate Halloween. Some see it as a dark day full of evil influence while others deem it a harmless time for fun costumes and candy.
Do you have to do all the work for Halloween?
If you decide to make a major change in the way your family celebrates Halloween, you may not need to do all the work yourself. We would encourage you to contact churches in your area to determine what activities are being planned.
Can Christians Celebrate Halloween?
So, can Christians celebrate Halloween? The answer is a bit more complex than maybe you originally thought.
What is the best time to visit the supernatural realm?
In other words, Halloween is the best time to try and interact with the supernatural realm, according to Wiccans.
Where did Halloween originate?
In fact, Halloween originated under the title of Samhain. This ancient festival was a three-day created by the Celts in Northern Europe. Translated in modern Irish, “Samhain” means “summer’s end.” So, the festival literally signaled the conclusion of summer and beginning of a new season. Originally, Samhain stemmed from pagan and supernatural roots, through sacrifice and offerings.
What does Deuteronomy 18:10-12 say about the Israelites?
In Deuteronomy 18:10-12, the Lord establishes rules for the Israelites concerning a wide variety of practices. These include human sacrifice to conjuring spirits to telling fortunes and even those who practice sorcery. These verses provide clarity for what Christians should not do. Yet some might ask: how many Christians are making human sacrifices or telling fortunes on Halloween?
What is Simon’s belief in Halloween?
However, a relevant observation involving Halloween is Simon’s belief about supernatural power.
What are the three responses to Halloween?
For many Christian communities, there are three main responses to Halloween. The rejection, acceptance, or redemption of Halloween. Approaching difficult circumstances surrounding the celebration of Halloween requires communication within your family about expectations and boundaries.
What is the month of October?
Also, October means the arrival of an often-celebrated day: Halloween. While the celebration provides an outlet for costume creations and candy consumption, for many Christian families the question remains: Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
What is the Celtic festival of Halloween?
Halloween began as a Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The festival marked the end of summer and the beginning of the cold winter which was often a time associated with death. The belief was that the night before the new year the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred and the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
What are some examples of a culture combining?
Throughout history when two or more cultures merged it was common for the festivals or celebrations of one culture to be adopted and homogenised into another. Halloween, like Easter and Christmas are both examples of this. While sometimes there were already existing festivals at the same time of year, others brought these traditions together. Halloween was one of those. During the Roman empire we see that the Romans incorporated their own traditions and worship into Samhain.
What was the Celtic festival?
The festival was a time of worship to the Celtic deities which were often identified as specific plants or animals in nature.
Is Halloween a spiritual event?
For some, Halloween remains a spiritual time, for others they see it as a bit of fun, dress-ups and lollies.
Do Christians celebrate Halloween?
We don’t do that by being proud or arrogant; we do it as Jesus did, lovingly with a servant heart. As Christians we don’t celebrate Halloween, we celebrate Christmas and Easter. The present and promise of our redemption and the living example of our complete and perfect resurrection.
Is Bowen Baptist Church celebrating Halloween?
As Bowen Baptist Church we stand on our convictions of faith which are firmly rooted in scripture. When it comes to celebrating Halloween, simply we don’t and we don’t encourage our church family to celebrate it either. However, there is a little more to it than just that. To understand our reasoning, please read on.
What was the purpose of the All Saints Eve ritual?
The intent was to counter pagan influences and provide a Christian alternative. But most often the church only succeeded in "Christianizing" a pagan ritual—the ritual was still pagan, but mixed with Christian symbolism. That’s what happened to All Saints Eve—it was the original Halloween alternative!
How much money will Halloween bring in?
Halloween will bring in approximately $8 billion this year. It’s a good bet retailers won’t entertain high expectations of getting $79.82 per household from the Christian market. Many Christians refuse to participate in Halloween.
How can Christians protect their children?
Christian parents can protect their children by keeping them well-supervised and restricting treat consumption to those goodies received from trusted sources. Third, Christians should respond to Halloween with gospel compassion. The unbelieving, Christ-rejecting world lives in perpetual fear of death.
Why were pagan holidays so entrenched?
Pagan holidays and festivals were so entrenched that new converts found them to be a stumbling block to their faith. To deal with the problem, the organized church would commonly move a distinctively Christian holiday to a spot on the calendar that would directly challenge a pagan holiday.
Why is Halloween called "Halloween"?
The name "Halloween" comes from the All Saints Day celebration of the early Christian church, a day set aside for the solemn remembrance of the martyrs. All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day, began the time of remembrance. "All Hallows Eve" was eventually contracted to "Hallow-e’en," which became "Halloween.".
What did the occultists believe about spirits?
They believed spirits were earthbound until they received a proper sendoff with treats—possessions, wealth, food, and drink.
What does Deuteronomy 18 say about spirits?
In fact, they denounced their former pagan spiritism in accord with Deuteronomy 18: There shall not be found among you anyone…who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
What does the story of Simon in Acts 8:9-24 mean?
Acts 8:9-24, the story of Simon, shows that occultism and Christianity don’t mix. The account of Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11 reveals that sorcery is violently opposed to Christianity. Paul called Elymas a child of the devil, an enemy of righteousness and a perverter of the ways of God.
What does Acts 19:19 mean?
Acts 19 shows new converts who have abruptly broken with their former occultism by confessing, showing their evil deeds, bringing their magic paraphernalia, and burning it before everyone ( Acts 19:19 ).
Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
Answer. Whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween can be a very controversial topic. Some Christians celebrate Halloween simply by dressing up in a costume and having fun, seeing it as innocent and harmless. Other Christians are equally convinced that Halloween is a satanic holiday established to worship evil spirits …
Do Christians have to dress for Halloween?
If Christians are going to take part in Halloween, their attitude, dress, and most importantly, their behavior should still reflect a redeemed life ( Philippians 1:27 ). There are many churches that hold "harvest festivals" and incorporate costumes, but in a godly environment.
Is Halloween a pagan holiday?
Halloween, no matter how commercialized, has almost completely pagan origins. As innocent as it may seem to some, it is not something to be taken lightly. Christians tend to have various ways to celebrate or not to celebrate Halloween. For some, it means having an “alternative” Harvest Party.
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How can we explain Halloween to our children?
It is quite likely, however, that in drawing up Halloween boundaries for our families, we will have to say ‘no’ to something. Even if we say ‘yes’ to trick-or-treating, we may draw the line at scary costumes, or we may impose other limits, such as whose houses they can visit.
What does Halloween teach us?
Halloween is a great opportunity for Christians to remember that, like it or not, we’re in a year-round, long-term spiritual battle, which won’t end until Jesus comes again.
What is the most important commandment of Jesus?
When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, he replied, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”.
What to say to your children when you don’t mind what you tell them?
I don’t mind what you tell your children – just be real and be you. Question everything you read and hear, pass it by the Bible, then report this to your family. It’s OK to change your mind, and it’s OK for your children to see that there are grey areas of faith which are tricky to work out.
Is Halloween a Christian holiday?
The roots of Halloween appear to have both pagan and Christian elements – rather like our modern Christmas. Traditionally, when pagans started celebrating something Christians didn’t agree with, Christians would ‘reclaim’ the festivities for something which celebrated God.
Can Christians redeem Christmas?
Modern Christians know that they can ‘redeem’ Christmas from its secular festivities, and make sure our worship of Jesus comes first ( see my book for more on this !). Is it possible that we could do the same with Halloween?
Is Christmas a pagan festival?
Christmas is another example of a festival with both Christian and pagan roots. In fact, it originated as a pagan winter festival, and it was only when Christians took it over as an opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ (who likely wasn’t born anywhere near December 25th), that we started to get all tetchy about how others weren’t celebrating Jesus like we were.
Why is Halloween considered a pagan festival?
According to historian Nicholas Rogers, “the pagan origins of Halloween” arise not from rumors of human sacrifice but from “the notion of Samhain as a festival of the dead and as a time of supernatural intensity heralding the onset of winter.”
Why did the Protestants attack the rituals of Hallowtide?
After the Reformation in the sixteenth century, the rituals of Hallowtide in England came under attack from Protestants because of its association with the doctrines of purgatory, saints, and prayers for the dead. Reformers “denounced purgatory as a popish doctrine” and “deplored the idea that the living could influence the condition of the dead through their prayers and rejected the belief that the saints could function as intermediaries between humans and Christ.” A back-and-forth ensued for decades as Protestant leaders such as Thomas Cranmer tried to abolish Hallowtide rituals and Catholic leaders attempted to revive them.
What is the significance of Halloween?
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.
Where did Halloween originate?
Generally, it is agreed upon that Halloween has its origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer. Typical popular folklore suggests that Samhain was a festival based on human sacrifice. Recent scholarship, however, suggests that this is a caricature, based on Roman writers who had little evidence of actual Celtic practices and were more interested in decrying them as “barbarians” who needed to be “civilized” by the Romans.
Is Halloween a Christian holiday?
The Christian church has tried to deal with Halloween in many ways throughout the centuries. It has been renounced as demonic and pagan, subsumed into (medieval) Christian ritual, and accepted unthinkingly as harmless fun.
Can Christians participate in Halloween?
Just 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 to subsume the religious aspects of Halloween by adding a church holiday. But again, this is a questionable area. It seems that Christians can easily participate in (with wisdom) some cultural aspects of the holiday, and there is some potential for the pagan cultural practices to be enjoyed—but care must be taken. There is a big difference between kids dressing up in cute costumes for candy and Mardi-Gras-like Halloween parties, offensive costumes, and uninhibited excess. Therefore it’s naïve to make a blanket judgment to reject or accept Halloween as a whole. There should be no pressure to participate, but for those Christians whose conscience permits we should view it as an opportunity to engage wisely with our culture.
Who called Halloween the festival of the devil?
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 was a mistake for Christians and therefore wrong.