"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I'll start out by saying that dressing up your kids like Sponge Bob, Spiderman, or a princess isn't a sin on October 31 or any other day of the year. I'll also add that walking door-to-door and asking for candy isn't a sin. If you're a believer, and you feel that you can celebrate October 31 in that way, then by all means knock yourself out and have fun.
The reason my family and I choose to not celebrate Halloween is simply because we believe, at least for us, it's not the best choice. As I've said before, I don't see how the celebration of fear, death, and horror would be anything that the average Christian would want to be involved with. (I know there are a lot of people out there who don't celebrate the holiday in that way, and that's great.)
One thing that's curious to me is that it seems that every time I read a defense of Christians celebrating Halloween, the author seems to be working off of a checklist:
- Did I set up a straw man by claiming that Christians who don't celebrate Halloween think it's sinful to dress up like a princess? CHECK!
- Did I set up another straw man by claiming that Christians who don't celebrate Halloween think eating candy on October 31 is a sin? CHECK!
- Did I mention how Halloween is fun and, therefore, by implication, innocuous? CHECK!
- Did I make sure to at least imply that Christians who don't celebrate Halloween can take my Halloween from me when they pry it from my cold, dead hands? CHECK!
- Did I mention the word “fundamentalism” at least one time? CHECK!
The list goes on.
The sad thing is, I think pro-Halloween Christians react to a lack of grace and humility on the part of the anti-Halloween Christians, but I think often times those reactions turn into vicious cycles of hollow points and hollower counterpoints.
If you and your family like to dress up on Halloween and go door-to-door, or participate in a party, or whatever, then by all means do so, and I can only hope that you don't feel judged by people like me who choose not to celebrate the day in that way.
On the other hand, If you have faith to dress up like a vampire and watch horror movies all night, then go for it, but don't bother trying to convince me that doing so is the best way (or even an acceptable way) to glorify God on October 31, even if it's loads of “fun.”
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Comments on "Thoughts On Halloween":
2. Bird
- 10/26/2008 1:35 pm CDT
Are you denying these people exist?
Not at all. Fringe weirdos exist, that's for certain.
The straw man exists when some Christian Halloween defenders throw a blanket of generalization over any believer who doesn't celebrate the holiday.
I'm not going to say that all Halloween supporters go that way, because they don't, but I think the attitude is more ubiquitous than the attitude that thinks that celebrating the holiday in any way is sinful.
Of course, there's no way to prove that empirically. It's just the feeling I get. :-)
3. joyce
- 10/26/2008 2:26 pm CDT
We tried to srike a happy medium, which for our family worked. The kids could dress up, but only as "good guys", not anything occultic or otherwise evil. We didn't make too big a deal out of Halloween; for instance, no yard decorations, parties, etc. They helped make homemade costumes, which could not cost much, and then they went out to get the candy, accompanied by an adult. We were clear, once they were about school aged, that we didn't want to do the "spooky" stuff, and that we weren't going to be watching the scary movies, etc. We did carve jack-o-lanterns together, but, again, with friendly faces. It was family fun, but did not consume the entire month of October.
We took the same path with Santa. We didn't visit Santa in the store, we didn't write him letters, and he brought only small things for their stockings. We emphasized the Biblical Christmas story.
I think every family has to pray about this and make their own choice. It's possible to be a "fun-stealing" parent and turn your children off. We chose to have some fun, but make clear what was fun and imaginative, and what was un-Biblical, so that the kids could learn that living in the world involves making those kinds of distictions every day for Christians. It seems to have worked well for us, but might not be the choice for everyone.
4. Jared
- 10/26/2008 2:47 pm CDT
Bird, I guess the difference is that I don't think they are "fringe weirdos."
I didn't grow up in a hellfire/brimstone fundamentalist stream of the SBC. The main current of evangelicalism (Southern evangelicalism, at least) bought into the Warnke stuff (as well as all the 80s spiritual warfare, Turmoil in the Toybox, etc. stuff) and decided Christians who did Halloween were supporting Satan and satanism.
These weren't fringe weirdos. They were well-meaning people who wanted to protect their children and who trusted their pastors and spokespeople. My parents, for instance. And pretty much every church I grew up in.
I don't think Halloween is a must for anybody, and I think it's awesome that while you don't do it, you believe in Christian liberty for families who do.
But in my experience, your reasoned, charitable take is the fringe. (But not weird. :-)
Honest question: If there's nothing wrong with it, , why isn't trick or treating dressed as innocent, innocuous, or "fun" characters the "best choice" for your family?
Just not something you're interested in? Or do you see it as participation in something sinful or worldly?
5. Bird
- 10/26/2008 4:00 pm CDT
why isn't trick or treating dressed as innocent, innocuous, or "fun" characters the "best choice" for your family?
Because, around here at least, every decorated house looks like something from a horror movie. I'm also not keen on exposing my kids to a bunch of other little kids dressed like that dude on Hell Raiser.
I'm not 100 percent certain, but I'm pretty sure my kids have never been afraid, in the numinous sense of the word. While they're still children, I'd like to keep it that way.
6. gretchen from lifenut
- 10/26/2008 7:37 pm CDT
Oh, but I do feel judged by Christians who don't do Halloween. Just today, at church, we learned that Halloween isn't in the Bible! It isn't a good thing for nice people to acknowledge. A woman told my son we are celebrating the devil's birthday a few years ago. But come to the party in the gym instead---it just so happens to be on October 31st (why have it on THAT night if it has nothing to do with the H-word?). Wear costumes and get candy. We'll wink and call it a "Harvest Festival".
Having cake. Eating it too. Being righteous about it.
I guess the devil only shows up to celebrate his "birthday" when people knock on their neighbor's doors, but not in church gyms?
7. Bird
- 10/26/2008 7:41 pm CDT
Oh, but I do feel judged by Christians who don't do Halloween.
I'm sorry that's been your experience.
:-(
8. Milly
- 10/27/2008 4:54 am CDT
Big T Bird
MoonPiest let folks decide for themselves.
I celebrate it. Then again folks should celebrate Milly's birthday.
Folk sit on both sides on this and those of us who do get slammed and those who don’t get slammed and at times with the same home school don’t home school stay at home mom work outside the home mom passion. It’s sad that we can’t just get along
10. Eloquorius
- 10/27/2008 6:58 am CDT
Ah yes, the hit-n-miss world of Christians attempting to ferret out paganism, or at least substitute it. My favorite is the church youth gathering to hunt EasterResurrection eggs. Yes, that's the way to avoid all appearance of evil, just like the aformentioned HalloweenHarvest festivals. Does ANYONE still celebrate it as Reformation Day. It's like 4th of July for Protestants :-)
11. TheCalvinator
- 10/27/2008 7:21 am CDT
Does ANYONE still celebrate it as Reformation Day.
My former PCA church had a Reformation Day celebration.
It was pretty similar to the typical "Fall/Harvest Festival" at other churches.
12. Raindream
- 10/27/2008 7:56 am CDT
We celebrate it as Reformation Day, though I think many in my church also perform traditional Halloween rituals. We burn at least one heretic a year (just teasing, just messing with ya, just joshing). And we're celebrating Reformation Day on Brandywine Books all week.
But I came here to go on record: I will not under any circumstances dress up like a princess.
Let me also say that my wife doesn't like Halloween as is, but one of her big complaints is her belief that kids get too much candy and throw half of it away. Her little motherly friends have told her that. I suggested last night we engage in a bit of Obamaconomics by redistributing some of the candy among the treaters at the door--maybe even taxing the kids now to give to kids later. (She liked that ideas, but I'm too chicken to do it. Not dressing like a chicken either!)
13. Quaid
- 10/27/2008 8:11 am CDT
" I suggested last night we engage in a bit of Obamaconomics by redistributing some of the candy among the treaters at the door--maybe even taxing the kids now to give to kids later."
That's hilarious. I see a huge post coming on - you should go for it.
I don't know if some people realize how dire the situation is, but maybe a simple illustration would help. If Johnny comes to the front door and has more candy than Larry (even though Johnny has been to more houses and has been out for an hour while Larry's only been to one house) Johnny still will have to give up 1/3 of his candy so it can even out more.
Stop crying Johnny, you're being patriotic. Spasiba.
14. Bill
- 10/27/2008 8:18 am CDT
Stop crying Johnny, you're being patriotic. Spasiba.
Is that "spasiba" as in the Russian "Spasiba", meaning "Thank you"?
Haven't heard that since Ukraine. Didn't know you were savvy to the lingo.
Either that or it's another pop-culture reference that went over my increasingly aged head.
16. nhe
- 10/27/2008 9:08 am CDT
Maybe I speak for those of us Christians who "JUST DON'T CARE" either way about Halloween.
If the kid's wanted a pumpkin, we carved a pumpkin. If the kids had a ballgame that night, we just missed it.
Now, if we're home, we'll turn on the porch light and have some candy available. This Friday, we have plans, and the kids will be at the HS football game, so there won't be Halloween at our house.
We've always seen it as a nice opportunity to have fun with our family and friends when it was convenient to do so. If we had other plans, then we just missed it.
I just don't see the need to be on a "side" of the issue.
17. Karl
- 10/27/2008 9:41 am CDT
As for not making kids feel afraid - I'm not in favor of scaring kids or intentionally giving them more than they can handle, perhaps leading to disabling, debilitating fears that last beyond the moment. But at the same time, this from C.S. Lewis came to mind when I read Bird's comment:
"Nor do most of us find that violence and bloodshed, in a story, produce any haunting dread in the minds of children. As far as that goes, I side impenitently with the human race against the modern reformer . . . Nothing will persuade me that this causes an ordinary child any kind or degree of fear beyond what it wants, and needs, to feel. For, of course, it wants to be a little frightened.”
For me anyway, the scariness of Halloween fell in that Lewisian category - not in the category of disabling, pathological, haunting numinous fear. If anything, some of the stuff that I heard in church about Hell, the rapture, demons etc. caused more such fear than Halloween ever did.
18. The Ancient Mariner
- 10/27/2008 10:00 am CDT
When he was talking about violence and bloodshed in stories, remember, C. S. Lewis had never seen a horror movie. (Not what the genre means today, anyway.)
20. Karl
- 10/27/2008 10:15 am CDT
Also I'm not necessarily trying to argue that Lewis would be ok with the modern horror genre or even the American celebration of Halloween (though I have a hard time imagining him being strongly against the latter).
My main point was that the end of that Lewis quote reminds me of my experience of Halloween trick-or-treating with flashlights in a neighborhood with spooky decorations: "Nothing will persuade me that this causes an ordinary child any kind or degree of fear beyond what it wants, and needs, to feel. For, of course, it wants to be a little frightened."
I knew good won (will win) in the end. So seeing spooky stuff or even imagery based in death or evil didn't really phase me or lure me away from the truth. But it was a heck of a lot of fun.
21. The Ancient Mariner
- 10/27/2008 10:24 am CDT
Oh, Williams would be deeply unsettling, no question (and probably a big hit). I think, though, that we've crossed some lines these days that would make Lewis step back and say, "That isn't what I was talking about."
On another note, the arguments over Halloween, like the arguments over so many things, definitely don't make people say, "Look at those Christians--how they love each other!"
23. Raindream
- 10/27/2008 5:02 pm CDT
In other news, I'm working on my arguments against Talk Like a Pirate Day. Christians of the world, unite to reform this day into . . .
Talk Like a Puritan Day!
What sayth thee?
Leave a Comment:
It's not a straw man if people who think participating in Halloween in any way is a sin exist. There are people who say if you dress up in costumes ("nice" ones or not) and trick or treat, you are participating in an occultic ritual that honors Satan.
Are you denying these people exist?
When the hysteria hit, and Halloween got taken away from a generation of conservative Christian families, there were no allowances for princesses (or Jedi knights or Incredible Hulks, both of which I dressed up as before my stream of the Church decided it was dangerous). It was wrong period.
If this actually happened (and happens), it's not a straw man to reference it and respond to it.