The Word Christian Radio in Rochester, NY

Happy Halloween. Treat, Or Trick?

Well it’s about that time again. Time for all good little ghouls and boys to dress up like “harmless” little creatures, superheroes and yes, even Bible characters. What are we to do about this pagan holiday or is it Christian? Should we be celebrating it? What do you tell your children when they ask you if they can partake of the festivities? Is it really just harmless fun?

Let’s deal with the latter question first, because if we can determine whether or not Halloween is harmless then the other questions are pretty much moot. If it really is harmless then we should celebrate it, no? If it is not, well we’ll discuss that later. I am hoping that you will have a few things to add to this post and we can dialogue.

It  did not take me long, thanks to the Internet, to determine that the roots of this festive holiday were deep, long and anything but harmless. My first stop was History.com. One of the beliefs of this celebration is that the ghosts of the dead return to Earth and wreak havoc on the living. Hmmmm sounds like fun. Not. I’m sorry but since when did it become fun to have the dead come back, not to life as Jesus would do, but still dead? That doesn’t sound like a celebration to me. Now, the business of the costumes are all part of placating the evil spirits by making oneself look like them. After all, what could make the dead even angrier then to see a bunch of healthy living human beings walking around enjoying themselves? The Druids, or Celtic priests were the ones to really kick this thing off. They would have the children dress up in costumes and perform what was known as “souling.” That is the poor people would go door to door begging for “soul cake,” or food in exchange for prayers to the dead on All Souls Day. Once Rome conquered the World, to include much of the Celtic territory, it was only a matter of time till the some of the festivals naturally blended together. Eventually, All Souls Day came to be known as All Saints Day. On the surface it sounds good, after all it is  the celebration of the departing of the faithful saints. The purpose for this post is not to give a history lesson because, frankly, I don’t have the knowledge to do that. What I do have, and you do too, is the Word of God. And so I would like to hear what you think about Halloween. Are you going to take little Johnny out dressed as Moses or little Susie adorned as Ruth? Will your neighbors recognize your children dressed as Bible Characters or as little Al- Qaeda operatives? What does the Bible say? Do we know what God’s Word tells us? Better yet, do we believe it and are we willing to obey? I’ll be honest, as a father, the pressure is great from my children and sometimes I don’t have the answer as to why we don’t or why we do certain things. So let’s talk, honestly, kindly and lets see what the Lord would have us do as we look into the Word. If you tune in to WZXV for the month of October you are sure to hear some teachings on this subject. There is also a great resource available at the Chapel Store called The Facts On Halloween by John Ankerberg and John Weldon. I would encourage you to get a copy for your library. I look forward to growing with you as we “rightly divide, faithfully abide.”