Celebrating Halloween, is it wrong or not a big deal?

[tourist]

Some of my best childhood memories are of the times I went trick-or-treating. It is just a harmless night of fun for kids fortunate enough to participate.

 

[eph610]

Does this mean the halloween party is cancelled??? What am I supposed to do with a 5x Large size power ranger costume??

Go fishing, you would look like a really awesome spinning lure.....

 

[tourist]

Soon it will be time for the anti-Christmas threads. I will probably get a lump of coal in my stocking (again).

 

[blue_ladybug]

I will never renounce my eating of peanut butter pumpkins on Halloween!! NEVER, I tell you!

 

[eph610]

Indeed the heart of a servant is one I truly cherish and want very deeply, I mean when I saw how Jesus who is the king of all kings who is royalty who God almighty and could have smashed all of existence with a single word humbly lower himself lower than us knowing who he was yet serving the least and the most undeserving of people I saw what real love is I saw what true humility was and I wanted to be just like that.
The thing is a pastor or a preacher or a deacon anyone with power and authority in the church to teach and lead his flock cannot be just anyone, and if one is in such a position I would encourage them to consider the words and the teaching they preach and how they effect the hearts of his children because they being in such a position of power will be held all the more accountable for the heart the preach.

I have been told by some people in church that I would be a fantastic preacher because they said I show such wisdom and understanding and that my words encourage and uplift people and that I seem to make this spark in peoples hearts. While I don't think I am good enough to be a preacher if I was to look for a true preacher I would look for those qualities

There is a big difference between power and authority, leading and lording and direction and management....

Those that lead and provide direction operate in Authority.....those that Lord and manage operate in power...

A servant leader operates in authority and has power.....Just as Jesus did.

 

[HisHolly]

I think it wise to raise no fuss.. Each has a conscience and we aren't acting in love to say this or that. Not everyone is equal in understanding or knowledge. Just as Paul said, we know their god's are not god's at all, but someone may be hindered by this thread.. Unless God specifically gives someone a message to give to the body for edification, we are right in our own minds and with good intentions only cause problems..

 

[eph610]

That is serious error you are in. Everyone knows that Mars bars are out of this world!..one could even call it being in the"heavenlies"...

Get thee behind me devil....lol

 

[AbigailZeke]

So, people in my hometown are decorating the streets for halloween.

There's floating ladies (giant stuff toys) in white, smeared with blood. There's coffin with a (fake) dead person and (fake) bloodied bodies hanged by the road side. This is halloween where I grew up. xD As much as I love candies, I wouldn't dare.

 

[eph610]

The word 'Halloween' comes from 'All Hallowed's Eve', I think it is, the evening before All Saints' Day. But it falls on the night of an old Druid celebration. The Druid religion was a pagan religion that had great influence before Christianity entered Britain. A number of the customs, came from pagan customs, like carving a face on vegetables, which was supposed to scare away spirits. These pagans believed that ghosts roamed around on those nights. So going around begging for food on that night, the obsession with ghosts and spirit beings, etc., on that night have to do with the pagan holiday.

I don't celebrate Halloween. I don't want to dress my kids up like ghosts or whatever on that day. I wish our forbearers had done a better job at stamping out pagan practices and references from our culture, like the names of months and days of the week and holidays like this.

In the Old Testament, we can see that the appeal of pagan holidays and customs influenced Israel. Apparently, some Israelites were weeping for Tamuz. Israel came under judgment when some Midianites and Moabite women invited them over for barbecue and sex. This must have had a great appeal. It could have happened at some holiday, some Baal of Peor day. We don't know. But the meat offered to Baal probably tasted good. And I'm sure a lot of those men enjoyed the fornication. But lots of Israelites died over it.

So how should we respond to Halloween? There are those who say it doesn't matter, since a lot of people don't associate the things they do with the old pagan practices and religious observances they grew out of. Then there is the approach that we can use it for outreach, don't encourage dressing up like monsters, but give out candy at church and put on a play about Jesus while the kids come in in their costumes, or whatever. We could also satisfy the children's desire to dress up by celebrating Reformation Day (Oct. 31, 1517 when Luther nailed the 95 theses on the church door at Whittenburg) or all saints day. So all the girls get to dress up like one of a dozen or so Biblical and historical figures. Boys can put on fake tent pegs that look like they go through their skulls and be Sisera, or wear a tunic and carry a stuffed lion and pretend to be Samson. Or they could dress like a monk or knight (Sir George) and be Martin Luther. This would be more fun for the boys and most kids would wear bathrobes and towels.

We could also just not dress up as a kind of protest, almost, or just ignore the holiday. Let the kids whine about not getting candy if they must. We could dress up for Purim like the Jews do, and wear costumes to a puppet show about Esther and Haman.

I don't know the perfect solution. Conscience has a lot to do it. We don't celebrate Halloween. I'm not against outreach. I've taken my kids to church events where they give out candy.

Correction here, It was not druid at all, but Sahmain, which is Celtic/Gaelic....

 

[AbigailZeke]

Here's a photo from how Halloween's celebrated in the Philippines (and that's a real cemetery):

Here in Singapore, it's vampires. This is a helpful link: https://mholloway63.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/how-is-halloween-celebrated-around-the-world/

 

[Yeraza_Bats]

So I been to an AG Pentecostal church all my life. They always taught me "Halloween is the devils Holiday". My church was 100% against celebrating Halloween and "forbade and prohibited" us young children from ever participating in it. I honestly never had a problem with it, I watch scary movies and would of always have wanted to go trick or treating. However I know some Christians celebrate it because like me they don't see it as that big of a deal and they don't do it with the intent of "celebrating the devil". Seriously you're dressing up in silly costumes asking for candy. So I just want to ask, which side is right or wrong. Or is there a line in the middle? I understand other Christians have slightly different beliefs then my church, but I never celebrated it because I was told since a young age never to do so, but I do see Christians here who say they have. I's fine just confused as to what the real answer is to this Halloween thing.

I dont believe that celebrating Halloween is wrong. You can celebrate it without the celebration of violence and gore, and just have spooky themed stuff : p (black cats and dead trees and jackolanterns)

I think its all about how you celebrate it, dressing up and eating candy on a spooky themed holiday is a really cool way to celebrate autumn : p In fact I wish I had people to celebrate it with where we could like go out into the woods or find an abandoned building to explore or something : p Would be fun.

Though, if a Christian feels that celebrating is bad on their own conscious, then I support that too. As long as they dont go parading their own righteousness, telling other Christians they need to be like them : p I dont believe that Halloween itself is inherently evil, so I dont believe that its right to treat it in such a way.

 

[missy2014]

Here's a photo from how Halloween's celebrated in the Philippines (and that's a real cemetery):

Here in Singapore, it's vampires. This is a helpful link: https://mholloway63.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/how-is-halloween-celebrated-around-the-world/

creeepy freaky town ughhhh!

 

[Yeraza_Bats]

That's how the enemy comes into the picture. "It's only this, it won't really matter, it doesn't mean anything."

While I strongly agree with that, its also entirely possible to apply it to anything.

In order for that to be in any way true, you have to actually prove how dressing up as your favorite character or whatever is sinful.
I mean really, I even see hardcore, confused "osas" people say things like "the devil tricks us to obey the law", you can use this to put down anything you dont agree with.

 

[Socreta93]

I dont believe that celebrating Halloween is wrong. You can celebrate it without the celebration of violence and gore, and just have spooky themed stuff : p (black cats and dead trees and jackolanterns)

I think its all about how you celebrate it, dressing up and eating candy on a spooky themed holiday is a really cool way to celebrate autumn : p In fact I wish I had people to celebrate it with where we could like go out into the woods or find an abandoned building to explore or something : p Would be fun.

Though, if a Christian feels that celebrating is bad on their own conscious, then I support that too. As long as they dont go parading their own righteousness, telling other Christians they need to be like them : p I dont believe that Halloween itself is inherently evil, so I dont believe that its right to treat it in such a way.

I respect your opinion. Even though in my question I said it never looked like a big deal, I always decided like they say "don't play with fire" Which is why I never did it. I say however God knows our hearts and he'll judge us individually accordingly to it.

 

[laura_charlotte]

The word 'Halloween' comes from 'All Hallowed's Eve', I think it is, the evening before All Saints' Day. But it falls on the night of an old Druid celebration. The Druid religion was a pagan religion that had great influence before Christianity entered Britain. A number of the customs, came from pagan customs, like carving a face on vegetables, which was supposed to scare away spirits. These pagans believed that ghosts roamed around on those nights. So going around begging for food on that night, the obsession with ghosts and spirit beings, etc., on that night have to do with the pagan holiday.

I don't celebrate Halloween. I don't want to dress my kids up like ghosts or whatever on that day. I wish our forbearers had done a better job at stamping out pagan practices and references from our culture, like the names of months and days of the week and holidays like this.

It's not a grey area for christians. It's wrong and shouldn't be indulged in. The problem is either ignorance and or a half heartedness with really making their every way in life committed to the Lord.. If people are more passionate about eating sugar, watching garbage and believing 'it's just dressing up' (an attitude which is an open door and a welcome sign to the enemy) then I pray that God reaches and teaches them otherwise.

 

[NarrowRoadDisciple]

I think that God gives us a great exhortation in the bible against many of these practices.

Ephesians 5:8-12 NKJV
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

It would be foolish for Christians to do anything without first seeking what the Lord says about it. Are we not supposed to be ambassadors of Christ? By the very definition of an ambassador of Christ, how can we be ambassadors when we are doing the very same things we are trying to help the world to come out of?

Many people will justify behavior by saying that the Lord understands the intent and "we're not trying to do these practices which the Lord hates for the sake of doing them as Satanic practices." If we're called to seek the things which are pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, would partaking in such things be considered acceptable to Him? We don't seek to justify our actions through the Lord, but we ask Him and seek to do the things which are acceptable to Him and not to ourselves. If we know the Lord is displeased with any and all forms of pagan worship, then why do we do things which resemble the very practices that He doesn't want us to do? It really doesn't matter what things mean to us.... We simply need to find out what they mean to God.

 

[KohenMatt]

My family and I don't have anything to do with it. Nothing but pagan roots focused on death. It's masked up to seem like an innocent day, but God has very specific instructions on what to do with pagan traditions, and darkness in general.

 

[melita916]

i'm A/G, too, and we never celebrated halloween. we didn't do an alternative either. to be honest, i never felt left out seeing other kids celebrate with trick or treating.

 

[KohenMatt]

In our sunday school they are. Anytime a pagan day is coming up and society will be infiltrated with the enemy on display in every shop window and essentially everywhere they turn, the church takes steps to educate their youth on what the meaning is and how it should be responded too. If the parents are christians, they should make it their business to know the origins of that day and attempt to follow Christ instead, their children are only going to follow their example. Further still, if their school or parents don't care enough to teach them about the true meaning of that day, it doesn't justify them following it.

My wife and I have used days like this to teach our kids about the difference between light and dark, and how God tells us the 2 should have nothing to do with each other.

It is also a good opportunity to teach them how to respond to others who differ in their own beliefs. So when someone asks them what are they dressing up for on halloween, they have a good and godly response they can say with boldness and confidence.

 

[laura_charlotte]

My wife and I have used days like this to teach our kids about the difference between light and dark, and how God tells us the 2 should have nothing to do with each other.

It is also a good opportunity to teach them how to respond to others who differ in their own beliefs. So when someone asks them what are they dressing up for on halloween, they have a good and godly response they can say with boldness and confidence.

Absolutely fantastic!!! We need more of this!!