Happy Hallowe'en? I don't think so...

This is actually something I posted up on Facebook last year, but I came across it again today, and it seems relevant to repost it here:

"I like bats and pumpkins (they make great pies - well, the pumpkins anyway)...but I will not be celebrating Hallowe'en. Not because I'm a party pooper (far from it - I shall, all being well, be enjoying a friend's 30th celebrations this weekend)...but why celebrate darkness and death when you can have LIGHT and LIFE?

Hallowe'en has everything to do with FEAR and DEATH - ghosts, witches, skulls, tombstones, graveyards, Druid sacrifices, menacing faces etc. - and nothing to do with the goodness of life. Jesus said, "I come to give you life..." and then He overcame death. The 'Trick or treat' game scares the living daylights out of the vulnerable. Fear is not of God.

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

1 John 4:18 

Hallowe'en has its roots in witchcraft, the occult and everything related to Satan. As Christians we should shun any involvement in it. We are called to be "holy" ("separate" from the world and from evil), and have no part in such things.

The Bible (i.e. God) has a few choice words to say about it. These are 'old' words...but they are the Word of God...and their relevance is still for today.

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Galatians 5:19 

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD..."

Deuteronomy 18:10-12

Still not convinced? The satanic bible recognises Hallowe'en as a major 'holiday'! You only have to do a Google search on the history of it to realise it's roots in the occult, whatever your beliefs.

There is nothing 'fun' about being involved in something that celebrates fear and darkness, whatever the marketing people say...and to justify otherwise is to literally be playing with fire.

I know which I'd rather choose!"

With Jesus in your life, you don't have to be scared of anything anymore!

While the history of Hallowe'en is more complex than I've shown, in the research I did before writing the note, it's being rooted in witchcraft is really what it does come down to. It's also been twisted into something different from intended (though its roots are definitely dubious). My point is that, in measuring the festival against the light of Christ, it really is something dark and distasteful and Christians should be wary of 'celebrating' it...if it's about the fun of dressing up, there are plenty of other themes. The devil is subtle in his deception. Sometimes by letting in something we deem 'harmless', we're actually letting in a lot more, spiritually speaking (I'm talking to myself here too).