Halloween - but you're a Christian, Dessa!

Non negotiable, yes. I am a firm believer that Jesus is God. 

He is my Lord and Savior. I am a sinner and my punishment for sin is death! But God, Jesus, being rich in merciful love, stepped down from His throne above to put my sin to death - dying a death I deserved - to give me grace. There is nothing I can do to save myself. All my good works are filthy rags in comparison to the immeasurable love Jesus displayed while hanging on that cross, laying down His life for my sake! I am hidden behind the cross so when the wrath of God rains down on sin, I will be clothed in God's grace and redeemed. (John 1:1/ John 1:14/ John 3:16/ Romans 10:9 and so many more! I love to talk about Jesus and my faith so please don't even hesitate to bring it up!)

You could assume that Halloween is my favorite holiday; we've decorated our house to it's entirety, our costumes were chosen almost a year in advance, we budget for a new animatronic every year and talk often of our yearly Halloween traditions including outdoor movies, pumpkin carving parties and neighborhood get togethers. It really is the most fun holiday in my opinion - and if you know my family - we love fun!! 

  

Recently, my daughter had a little outdoor movie night for Halloween. She originally chose Hocus Pocus. I told her to choose a backup in case anyone objected, which a few did, so she landed on Nightmare Before Christmas. (This movie makes me laugh because occasionally I want to yell at the early Christmas decorators to 'Stay in their lane!' Let Halloween and Thanksgiving have their own holidays.) Hahahaha! 

In the decline response from a few was "We don't celebrate witches or demonic culture because we are Christian."  I thank them for letting me know they won't be attending and let Arrow adjust her head count accordingly. I don't feel judged. I don't criticize their convictions. Until, someone said "You celebrate Halloween? But Dessa, you're a Christian!" 

So I repeated, "Yes, I am a firm believer that Jesus is God. I do not share in your conviction, but I respect your choice to reject."

This prompted a bigger conversation as a family. It's a conversation that we have every season in to regards to how we approach Halloween from the Christian perspective. We always discuss that we never engage in necromancy. We do not believe in ghosts or in any way communicating with the dead. This comment brought it close to home when I expressed that even though my mom & brother have recently died, I do not talk to them. They do not guide me. They are not here. We know that the devil can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) so we must always be awake and aware. We only worship God and we pray that He will expose any idols we have in our hearts regarding Halloween. 

Matt and I give our children permission to change their minds if they choose Halloween is not longer a permissible tradition in their walk with the Lord too. Especially as they get married and have families of their own. But neither Matt or I have found for ourselves that Halloween has any more power over our lives than the God we serve that created our days. 

Of course there will always be rebuttals and disagreements surrounding the topic but when faced with a situation such as this, we always ask "What does the Bible say?" 

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Since we believe the Bible to be relevant today, not just thousands of years ago, we trust that we can go to the Word of God for answers to questions - from big questions like "Who is God?" (John 1:1) and even simple ones like "Should Christians engage in Halloween?" And our conclusion goes to:

• Romans 14:5: "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."
• Romans 14:13: "Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother."
• Romans 14:22: "The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves."
• Another examples was that "the early church faced a massive cultural dilemma: should they buy meat in the marketplace that had previously been used in pagan temple rituals? Paul's advice directly maps to how modern Christians view the pagan roots of cultural holidays.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:8: "Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do."
  • 1 Corinthians 10:23: "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up."
  • 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Pastor Josh Howerton has a great podcast short that gives great bullet points in how to view the Halloween season....

The Three-Fold Approach

When deciding how to handle Halloween, Howerton suggests using three guiding responses:

Receive: Enjoy innocent aspects like community connection, getting candy, and wearing non-dark costumes (such as a firefighter).
Reject: Strictly avoid anything explicitly evil, demonic, or associated with witchcraft, vampires, or the occult (like dressing as warlocks or witches).
Redeem: Treat neighborhood gatherings as a positive opportunity to love others and be a light.

Biblical Principles (Romans 14 & 1 Corinthians 8)

Conscience: Never violate your personal conscience; if participating feels wrong to you, do not do it.
Grace: Do not judge other believers who make a different choice, and do not try to bind other people's consciences to your own.
Maturity: Mature Christians should be able to disagree on disputable matters without causing division in the church.

I'm not in the business to convince others that I'm right and I completely understand the other side of rejecting Halloween all together. It's a gray area or a minor issue that we can disagree on. 

I will never bend on the majors - that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. He is sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent! He loves all of us and desires us to know Him.