The October 31st Dilemma
By: Jon Rendall
Every year, in late September or early October, as that contentious day approaches, the questions for Christians start to arise. Should we celebrate? Should we abstain? How could we use this opportunity as an outreach to our broader community? How will I navigate the inevitable conversations with Christians in my Church who disagree? What does celebrating mean for the global Church? We never seem to be able to land on a consensus, and like a shadow, ‘that day’ looms over the fall season. We both know the contentious day I’m talking about, October 31st. Reformation Day!
I’m just kidding, it’s Halloween, but I might have to blog about Reformation Day later. Why no one calls their Church ‘Harvest’ Party a Reformation Celebration is beyond me, but that’s a different issue.
The Halloween season is upon us and with it all the excess, candy, silliness, celebrations of death and dark spiritual imagery. I don’t know if there is a clear answer for how Christians should respond or interact, but here are a few things we should consider.
1. Halloween Is A Big Deal
The Halloween holiday is growing. Supermarket displays come out a little earlier each year, decorations are more pervasive, and the gigantic lawn inflatables are ever more elaborate. The data shows this growth is more than a feeling. Halloween is already the second-biggest shopping season of the year, and despite inflation and recession, this year promises to be bigger than ever. Bloomberg predicts new records will be created in 2022. In the US, an estimated $10.6 billion dollars will be spent on everything from costumes to candy. Halloween is more popular than ever and its broad cross-cultural appeal seems to span a wide range of demographics. If spending money is linked to our priorities, Halloween raises some interesting questions. Why does it resonate so strongly with every culture? Why is it embraced across religious and cultural backgrounds? Why do Canadians make such a big deal out of Halloween?
2. Naturalism, Superstition & Worldview
Strangely, many Canadians who celebrate Halloween hold a naturalist worldview. They celebrate Halloween with demons, ghosts, reanimated skeletons, and witches, but they don’t believe any of it. The naturalist worldview excludes anything that can be considered supernatural. In their eyes, Halloween is nothing more than fairy tales and fantasy.
On the flip side, millions of former naturalists are returning to ancient religions and witchcraft. Some approach this sincerely, believing there is a supernatural world or a spiritual world of the unseen. Others approach it from a naturalist perspective seeing these ancient traditions as metaphors for individualism, environmental, or political movements.
Therefore, Halloween is a great time to talk to our neighbours about their worldviews, and the contradictory beliefs that our culture holds. For example, you might ask what kind of plausibility structure allows them to deny that the spiritual world exists while in the act of celebrating it. Christians might also reflect on our own beliefs and if those views fit within a biblical worldview.
3. The Bible & Supernatural Evil
Speaking of biblical plausibility structures, the Bible mentions demons, spirits, witchcraft, divination, necromancy and other supernatural activities multiple times. Consider the story of Saul and the Witch of Endor. Or think of the time when the disciples thought Jesus walking on water was a ghost (Mat. 14:26). Consider the commandments against witchcraft given to the Israelites in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as well as to Christians in the epistles. These activities were common across the ancient world and strictly forbidden to God’s people.
Interpretations as to what happened with the Witch of Endor differ among scholars. Regardless, Scripture is clear that witchcraft is evil and God forbids His people to participate. On the other hand, our culture has created a sanitized Disney version of witches and wizards who turn into bunnies and use magic to clean the kitchen. The reality is that witchcraft is still practiced across our world. You can read all about modern Witch Doctors murdering and maiming young children, cutting off their genitals and removing other body parts. Even in our own Canadian cities witchcraft is practiced and people are fleeced for money and gifts by fortune tellers and mediums.
4. Pagan Religious History
If you’ve ever ventured down the rabbit hole of researching the history of Halloween you will understand it’s a daunting task. Our modern celebration of Halloween was developed in America, particularly among Irish and Scottish immigrants. However, it clearly has some pagan and religious origins. When Christianity became the dominant religion of the ancient Roman Empire, alternative religious practices moved outside of the urban centers and were practiced in rural communities. “Pagan” is Latin for rural, and ultimately became the word in the western Empire associated with those who remained outside, or against Christianity. As the Roman empire grew, Germans and Celts intermingled with Latins and were eventually “converted” en masse to Christianity. And while we can’t know for certain what happened, it can be shown that late in the first millennium of Christianity the Catholic All Saints Day was moved from the Sunday after Pentecost (late Spring) to November 1st, the day after Halloween.
There is a place for Christians to remember the dead. To tell the stories of those who were martyred or faithfully served before us. However, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses to address the corruption and false teaching that had infected the Catholic Church. The Bible never tells us to pray or speak to the dead, quite the opposite, in fact. These practices are forbidden. Martin Luther taught believers we could pray straight to Jesus; we didn’t need the dead or the living to intercede for us. His teaching was simply a return to early Christianity and Scripture.
There is a fascinating history behind Halloween, both Pagan and Christian that can once again act as a great conversation starter with Christians and Non-Christians alike. Halloween is a prime example of syncretism, the practice of amalgamating different religions. We must also acknowledge that Christians have a long history of redeeming pagan symbols, music, rituals and practices. Everything from Christmas trees to Easter eggs can be traced back to paganism. In my opinion, we’ve rightly reclaimed those symbols and used them to celebrate what Christ has done. For Halloween, perhaps we could carve the stone being rolled away into our pumpkins, or have an inflatable lawn display of Christ calling Lazarus out of the tomb. I admit I’m being somewhat facetious, but I do it to show there are many opportunities for Christians to celebrate something different from the world.
5. What Should We Do?
With all this considered, I think it’s clear what we as Christians should not celebrate. If we want to represent Christ on Halloween and think of creative ways to positively impact our communities, that’s fine. However, be mindful that some Christians may see it as a violation of their consciences, especially if they were delivered from certain cultural or religious backgrounds.
And when all is said and done, I can see no justification for Christians to celebrate evil, even if it’s a culturally sanitized cartoon version of evil. We shouldn’t celebrate or delight in death. Death is a curse on humanity, a cosmic tragedy. Christ died to deliver us from that curse. We must not fear death or evil in their proper biblical contexts, but at the same time, we must not worship it.
My greatest recommendation would be that we approach Halloween as Christians, with much thought and prayer. God may be calling you and your Church to something special on Halloween. If we think creatively, there are so many ways to serve during this time of year. Instead of going to bed early and turning the lights out, consider ways you could bless your community and be in the world but not of it.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
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