Halloween

Each of us was born with the light of Christ and an innate desire to know God.  The most fundamental questions asked by all people, "What is the purpose of life?"  "Why are we here?" 
"Is there life after death?"   We have an innate desire to seek for truth and to come to understand the meaning of life and to know God. 

As we progress on our journey through life, it is not a clear and easy path that leads us directly to truth and correct knowledge.  Satan, the enemy of our souls, is clever, cunning, and deceitful. He masterfully designs counterfeits to all real truth.  He mixes in just enough truth with falsehood in order to deceive.  He continually strives to make it difficult for us to recognize and find truth.

Throughout history Satan has introduced false belief systems and counterfeits to God's truth.

 

 What does this have to do with Halloween?   

I am sure you are thinking, I dress my little guy in a Superman costume and send him out in the neighborhood collecting candy.  What is the harm in that?   Aside from the sugar induced hyperactivity of course.    It isn't so much about dressing up like superman or eating massive quantities of junk food.  Let's reflect back on what I mentioned before...if Satan presented evil as just straight out evil we would never fall for it.   There are always seemingly harmless aspects, or even things we enjoy or possibly truths intermixed with evil.  A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down so to speak.

Aside from the harmless aspects of Halloween, children are bombarded by houses ornately decorated with skeletons, witches, ghosts, zombies, blood, and gore....it is at this point that the innocent aspects are intertwined with the evil and occult.   You may dress your child up in an innocent costume and decorate your house with smiling witches and ghosts but what message are you sending your child?

You are very subtly sending a message that it is okay to accept the occult and evil because this holiday is "just for fun."  As we teach our children that occult and Satanistic symbols are 'just for fun' on Halloween we are dulling their ability to discern between right and wrong, between that which is good and that which is evil.

As we come to accept the celebration of Halloween as our children get older they go to 'haunted houses' and are exposed to blood, skulls, zombies and violent symbols....it is all just fun right?   They watch a few scary movies on Halloween but it is just all in fun.   We are slowly teaching our children to accept evil, to accept violence, to accept occult symbolism because it is just a fun holiday.

Where does the 'all in fun' end?  When your teenager comes home from a Halloween party where they were playing with a ouija board?   But Halloween is all about dabbling in the occult and evil just for fun, right?   Even if your child never dabbles in occult practices such as Tarot cards or ouija boards, the reality remains that your child has been exposed to the acceptance of evil and the occult and the resulting confusion between right and wrong is unavoidable.

Where does the blurring of the line between light and truth and darkness and evil take us?  Is it experimenting with occult practices, accepting violence and gore as a normal form of entertainment, dressing in all black and celebrating dark thoughts, expressing dark thoughts through drawings and art.... does this obscure the lines in other aspects of life where it is 'just for fun.'

As friends, neighbors and fellow Christians are making preparations for their Halloween celebrations filled with goblins, ghosts, witches, zombies, black cats, demons, skeletons, the grim reaper and the like....I find myself asking the question, "Are we following in the wicked traditions of our fathers?"

It is important to understand that in early American culture Halloween was not celebrated due to the strong Christian roots and beliefs of early Americans.  As I reflect on what this holiday symbolizes I find it hard to understand how it has become so widely accepted.

Demons, witches, zombies and other symbols of Halloween are not something to be celebrated or taken lightly.    Consider the reality of what a zombie actually is....it is an evil spirit that possesses the body of a deceased person or a body that is 'reanimated' through the use of 'magic'.  This idea of evil possessing a human body and using that body for evil purposes or to eat living human beings is the epitome of evil. 

If we believe that our body was created in the image of God and that the body is a temple where the Holy Spirit can dwell...how can we then accept this idea of zombies into our culture.  It is a mockery of the sacred gift that God has given us and should not be celebrated in any fashion.  It breaks my heart when I see minivans driving down the road with zombie stickers on the back representing every member of their family.   This idea of zombie's is a mockery of the sacred gift our our bodies that were created in the image of God.

I could go through all the common symbols of Halloween from witches, cauldrons, spells, demons, skulls...and on and on but the reality is, ALL of it is a celebration of evil.

The Reasons I Choose Not to Participate in or Celebrate Halloween:

• I do not underestimate the influence of Satan
• I will not in any form celebrate or condone occult symbols, violence, death, or evil in any of its forms.  I will not use symbols  of death such as  skeletons, skulls or parts of dead bodies as celebration of any holiday.
• I do not want to set an example to my children that anything that involves evil is okay even if it is 'just for fun.'
• I want my children to desire the light of truth and to have the spirit of God with them at all times, not to desire darkness and evil.
• I want my children to stand strong for light and truth, even if they stand alone!
• I want my children to recognize evil in all its forms and to stand against it
• I do not want my children to fall prey to 'tradition' as a guise for misguided celebrations.