There is a lot of controversy on whether Christians should or should not participate in halloween.  As always we should never follow anything without doing research into its history as well as looking to the Bible for confirmation.  So let’s look into the history of halloween, why some Christians say it’s okay and then what the Bible has to say about it.

The History of Halloween

Check out this video from The History Channel to get a better idea of how halloween started and spread worldwide.  Today Halloween is the second biggest holiday next to Christmas and brings in millions of dollars a year from the sale of costumes, candy and decorations.

What should stick out to you when you look into halloween’s history is the strong occultic and witchcraft practices.

When talking about the history of halloween we see it was created through:

- Fear of the dead
- Blood sacrifices
- Fortune-telling and other divination methods
- Worship of nature
- The summoning of spirits.

God tells us in the Bible that all of the above are an abomination to Him…but we’ll talk about that later.

What the Other Side Says

To do my due diligence I looked into why some Christians say it’s okay to participate in halloween.  In a nutshell, all of them say the same thing which is you can pick and choose what you want to do.  You can dress up along as it’s appropriate, like a bunny, and you can treat-or-treat as long as you’re not trying to scare people etc.

These are my thoughts to that mindset:

1) What Are You Teaching Your Kids?

You can’t have your kids dip their toes into the water and never expect them to jump in.  And it’s the same with halloween – you can’t tell your kids you can dress up like this but not like that.  You can do this but not that and expect them to follow that into in their teenage years.  It confuses them and it’s almost like a double standard.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching some kind of talent show on TV and I was shocked by some of the acts.  There was a zombie act and there was a possessed sister act.  I even saw an act like that on America’s Got Talent.  And when they were asked why they chose their acts their replies were all similar: I love zombies, I love horror flicks, or I love vampires.  I love to be scared.

So let’s not lie to ourselves, kids are easily seduced to dark things like vampires and zombies.  Our media has romanced and glorified darkness.  I was watching some previews of the upcoming new fall shows, that are for the most part targeted to a younger audience, and they ALL revolve around the occult.

We need to set a clear example for our children- draw a straight line in the ground.  God calls us to be holy.  God tells us what is right and wrong, black and white.  We are not suppose to create and play in a grey area!  There is no grey area!!

There is also the fact that God clearly tells us that we are not to participate in anything that is not godly and because of this we need to set an example for our children.

Do you think God is glorified when people claiming to be Christians dress up as vampires, zombies, witches, dead people, hookers, ghosts, Freddy Kruger, Jason and the list goes on and on?

Are you on God’s side or satan’s when you promote pagan anti-Christian holidays?

1 Corinthians 10:20-21
And I don’t want any of you to be partners with demons.  You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too.  You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

2) You Can’t Separate The Origins of Halloween

It’s dangerous to think you can participate in something that is clearly against God but paste on a new meaning to the act.  It doesn’t change the roots of the holiday nor how the traditions like treat or tricking got started.

James 1:14-16
Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires.  These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.  So don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.

Be honest with yourself – why do you love halloween?

What Does the Bible Have to Say About Halloween?

The Bible doesn’t specifically talk about halloween but it does talk about living a holy life, not participating in other cultures/religions and not being a part of this world.  So let’s break it down.

Called To A Holy Life

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives.  Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Romans 12:1-2
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will accept.  When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.

2 Peter 11
Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!

Galatians 6:5
We are responsible for our own conduct.

Called to be Separate

As followers of Jesus we are called to live in this world but apart from it.

James 4:4
You adulterers!  Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God?  I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God.

Leviticus 21:23
Do not live by the customs of the people whom I will expel before you.  It is because they do these terrible things that I detest them so much.

Isaiah 2:6
The LORD has rejected the people of Israel because they have made alliances with foreigners from the East who practice magic and divination.

Witchcraft and the Occult

There’s no way around the fact that halloween is steeped with the occult and witchcraft.  One of the most dangerous doors that have been opened to our children is depicting magic aka witchcraft as being safe and fun; that there is actually a difference between good and bad magic.  Indoctrination begins as soon as possible with shows like Little Charmers and movies like Harry Potter.

Halloween, TV shows and movies invite and tempt kids and teens to experiment.   It indoctrinates with witchcraft and normalizes it to the point where kids believe it’s not only safe but empowers them.  Instead of turning to Jesus when they have problems they try using supernatural means where they believe they hold the power.   It’s for this reason that God is so clear about how we are to deal with the occult.

Deuteronomy 18: 9-14 states
When you arrive in the land of the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nation’s living there.  For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.  And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft or cast spells or function as mediums or psychics, or call for the spirits of the dead.  Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD.  It is because the other nations have done these things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.  You must be blameless before the LORD your God.  The people you are about to displace consult with sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.

Galatians 5:19-21
Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In Acts chapter 9 we come across the story of the seven sons of Sceva.  Verse 18 and 19 says:

Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.  A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.

Their response to hearing the Good News was to destroy what they had that was occultic.  If that was their response, as Christians, should we participate in anything, including books and movies, that are occultic in nature or even have the elements of it?

God says in His Word that witchcraft and anything related to it is an object of horror and disgust.  If our God says He forbids us from participating in such activities should we be okay with halloween?

The Alternative to Halloween

There are some Churches that participate in halloween believing it’s an opportunity to reach out to the community.  But again there are problems with that…

1) You’re going against what the Bible says
2) You’re confusing your own congregation about participating in halloween and
3) If our Churches look the same as the outside world and these other religions why would anyone think Jesus and Christianity is anything different or special.

I want to be clear that satan cannot create anything, therefore, every day is God’s day!

So how my family celebrates October 31^st is with a fall party.  The kids do a candy hunt in the house, we get some pizza and stay up late watching a movie.  We play some worship music before the movie and give God thanks for all He has done for us.

I also HIGHLY encourage parents to get involved in their school.  Being part of the school council is invaluable!  I’m happy to say this year instead of our school doing a halloween event we’re doing a fall festival event.  Schools need to be inclusive so having a halloween party where not all students can participate isn’t being inclusive so having a fall festival opens it up for all kids to enjoy without having “halloween” involved in it.  The schools can’t say “no” to it! 🙂

Your Sister in Christ,

Angela

1 Peter 2:9
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.  You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, His very own possession.  This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.