Lovers of the light

I’m sure if you are interested you will find lots of articles written by Christians on the topic of Halloween, most of them written by people much cleverer, more articulate and theologically minded than me! - So in the words of my favourite band Switchfoot, ‘If I’m adding to the noise, turn off this song!’. That said, after a few conversations this week I did feel it appropriate to jot down some thoughts so here we go! 

 

Whether we like it or not, as Christians we can’t ignore the fact that Halloween is happening around us. It has grown into a bit of a phenomenon, is now the UK’s third highest spending holiday (behind Christmas and Easter) with an estimated £1.16 Billion planned to be spent this year, working out at around £21 per person! The shops are full of Halloween, the adverts are on the TV and more and more houses are being decorated to celebrate this season… let’s not get started on the pumpkin-picking scheme cons either (parents you know!). 

 

As Christians we have a few options when it comes to Halloween. Do we avoid it completely and pretend it isn’t happening or do we get out our scary costumes and join in? Do we vocally oppose it with angry social media posts and signs on our doors warning trick or treaters to stay away? Or do we try to take it as an opportunity to bring some light into the darkness? I’m sure we all have opinions. I certainly have personal convictions, and we will probably all sit at various points on the scale. My aim isn’t to give a definitive response (I think that is something we all need to think about, research and pray into), but rather to get you thinking.

What does the Bible say? 

 

Let me start by giving you some Biblical perspectives on why we may not want to engage with Halloween.

 

We need to remember that for a lot of people Halloween is viewed as harmless fun, carving up pumpkins and eating way too many sweets. A lot of people won’t be thinking about the darker meaning of Halloween. However, we also need to be aware though that there is a deeper, darker and more spiritual side to this. It would be unwise for us to suggest anything on the contrary. In Scripture we read in 1 Peter 5:8 that we are to ‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. Yes, for many people Halloween is just harmless fun, but we need to be aware and alert that it is something which could be used to glorify the devil and other dark things. 

 

Bearing that In mind, with Halloween and certain aspects of it, you are in danger of moving into glorifying the occult. The Bible is clear about the occult, witchcraft and any form of trying to communicate with the dead, (Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Leviticus 19:31 to name a couple). We also need to be clear about what we believe in that regard and avoid that. Although it is worth saying that many people celebrating Halloween probably wouldn’t be making the link between the celebration and the occult, as Christians we need to be extremely careful here, this is probably one of the strongest arguments for avoiding Halloween altogether. 

 

Other people would argue that it is good to engage with culture, surely everyone is taking part in Halloween so we should too? Otherwise, Christians are seen as those spoiling the fun. Well Ephesians 5:8 says, ‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light’. - We are called to stand out and look different, if that means avoiding Halloween altogether, so be it. 

 

It could be argued that Halloween actually gives us the best opportunity as Christians to speak to the world. We read in John 1:5 ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’. We are also encouraged by Jesus in Matthew 5:14 that ‘you are the light of the world. A town on a hill that cannot be hidden’. Halloween really does give us a chance to shine light in the darkness. 

 

We don't have to endorse everything our culture celebrates in order to engage with the people around us. Equally, choosing not to participate in Halloween doesn't mean we have to withdraw from our neighbours. The question is how we can remain faithful to Jesus while continuing to love the people he has placed around us.

What do we do?! 

 

The whole period of Halloween can just feel dark, spiritually. It is important as Christians that we don’t feel overcome by this darkness and have the sense of fear. The words of Aslan the lion in C.S Lewis’ famous chronicles of Narnia reminds us, ‘Though the witch knew the deep magic, there is a magic deeper still she did not know’. Yes the devil can have influence, but the ultimate victory belongs to Jesus! The perspective that I would like to remind us to keep during the season of Halloween is that we shouldn’t be scared of the devil but rather we should remember just how great God is! Christ conquers all! Colossians 2:15 says ‘And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle out of them, triumphing over them by the cross’

 

So, with all of that in mind, what do we do about Halloween? 

 

Last week we received a phone call from my daughter’s school. It was her teacher, and she said something like, ‘Tomorrow we are learning about Halloween. Eden is so open about her faith in school and talks a lot about it. Are you ok with her learning about Halloween or should we take her out of that lesson?’. I found it an interesting call, on one hand I was thankful that the school were so mindful of our daughter’s beliefs, on the other hand I’m not sure how I feel about the idea that Christians can just remove themselves from the realities of the world around us. There may be occasions when we decide something isn't appropriate for them to take part in, and that's absolutely fine. But I also want our children to understand the world they are growing up in, to know why we believe what we believe, and to be confident in following Jesus when their convictions differ from those around them. 

 

Like it or not Halloween is happening - so how do we respond? 

 

Well here are a few ideas; 

 

1)     Stand firm in what we believe 

 

As I have highlighted above, we are to avoid anything of the occult. We are to remember that as Christians our job is to glorify God and to be lights into the darkness, so anything that would compromise this is a big no from us. For example, there are certain events that maybe wouldn’t be wise for you to attend. As parents, there are some events we simply won’t send our children to. We are open with them about why, and we explain that there are certain things that we shouldn’t do if we are Christians. There are other occasions when standing firm in what we believe in looks different. On occasions we have let our children attend Halloween parties, stopping short of letting them dress up as anything scary - I remember a very cute looking bumble bee a few years ago. This year we have also carved some pumpkins with Jesus on them, again trying to showcase our beliefs in the midst of Halloween. Standing firm doesn’t always mean withdrawing completely - it’s about using wisdom. 

 

2) Tell a better story 

 

One of the things about Halloween is that it brings certain things into the open - death, evil, fear of the supernatural. These are all potential conversation starters that we can use to tell a better story. As Christians we do have a better story to tell people at this time of year, a story about a light greater than the darkness, of a hope and a future, about a God who is supernatural and about life after death. Rather than speak out negatively against this season, can we be careful how we word our responses to ensure that we are telling a positive Christ-like story? 

 

A lot of churches do things like ‘light parties’ to offer something positive in this season (maybe someone in Jubilee would like to run one next year?!). Others sometimes hand out little notes to trick or treaters saying, ‘God loves you’. There are lots of ways that we can keep telling the better story in this season. 

 

3) Look for Gospel moments 

 

Like it or not, Halloween is one of the times in the year that neighbours are more likely to come and knock on your door - are there gospel moments in that? Could you share your faith in these moments? A popular response that Christians have at Halloween is to lock the doors and pretend that they aren’t at home so as to avoid the trick or treaters, (if you want to do that, then it is totally your decision of course). But what if you actually took the opportunity to open the door and say hello - it could be the start of an ongoing evangelistic opportunity! 

 

If you turn down an invitation to a Halloween party could that be done in a way which could lead to a gospel conversation? Like my daughter in her school, sometimes being open about our faith will lead to people having no choice but ask the question about our faith and our response to Halloween. If we can be ready to approach those conversations with love, kindness and grace then there could be amazing opportunities for the Gospel! 

 

4) Don’t lose track of the big picture 

 

Finally, as I alluded to above, there can be a risk sometimes that we get a little bit too ‘religious’ with these things. Halloween is dark, it can be unpleasant, it has obvious risks - but we know who has the victory! The big picture as believers is that we know the outcome, we know that light overcomes darkness, we know that Jesus wins. Keeping that in mind when it comes to the topic of Halloween will be a massive help.

 

So those are my thoughts. 

Although, the real celebration this week isn’t Halloween at all, I turn 36 years old this week, that is a lot scarier than any Halloween party!