The short answer is no. Actually, quite frankly, the demon decorations and zombie balls around here scare me. Not because I am afraid (I'm not), but because I am worried for people's souls. Our culture accepts blood and murder, evil and witchcraft as harmless fun. But that's not what worries the most. What breaks my heart is that my brothers and sisters in Christ see blood and murder, evil and witchcraft as harmless fun.
I remember when the zombie movie "Word War Z" came out a couple months ago, and my friends went to go see it. I remember shaking my head sadly as I thought of what they were filling their minds with, and I wondered if they truly knew how much it hurt God's heart for them to be watching that kind of entertainment.
Zombies, monsters, witches, spirit-things, all of it. Some might argue that it's just harmless fun that isn't affecting anyone and that God wants us to enjoy ourselves. What makes us think that God is pleased when He sees us finding entertainment in things that are against His very nature? If we think that God is pleased with murder and evil spirits, we do not truly know God. If we think He doesn't care, we are deceiving ourselves because God cares so much about every aspect of our lives. God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and He desires us to love and follow His example. How can we do that if we are filling our minds with and participating in evil? How can I claim to truly love God if I willingly place myself in a situation where his enemy is celebrated?
Because in truth, finding entertainment in things that are contrary to my faith means I am concentrating on the devil and alternate powers instead of God. Zombies murdering people, vampires sucking blood, monsters attacking people, witches casting spells. All of it is the work of the enemy, so there should be no reason to support it. Oh wait, maybe because it's "fun" ;) Bad excuse.
Honestly, you can do whatever you want with the free will you've been given. But I'd like to invite all of you to seriously consider the material you watch, listen to, and participate in, and judge whether or not you are fully living for Christ. "For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love." Galatians 5:13
I don't know about you, but I want to go against the tolerance of evil in our culture. For too long, I have been afraid to speak out for my beliefs because of what people would think. I have watered-down my convictions to fit in, neglected to give my reasons for why I wouldn't do certain things. But how can I be a light if I myself am in darkness? The more I fill myself with sin, the more of God I push out in the process. I know God will never leave me, but there have been times when I put Christ on the back burner so I could pursue my own way. Didn't work out too well, fyi.
I realize that the only way to overcome evil is through Christ. The battle I fight is a losing one unless the Spirit of God is on my side. I sort of feel like a spiritual Joan of Arc, ready fight for battle but fearing that fellow Christians are ready to burn me at the stake. But God equips those He calls. "Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from His mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with the flesh, but with principalities, with powers, with world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God that you may be able to resist on the evil day and having done everything to hold your ground." Ephesians 6:10-13
So this Halloween, I encourage you to really think about what you participate in. Let us glorify God with what we say and do, not just on Halloween, but every day of our lives.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me [Paul]. Then the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4: 8-9
Dani- I totally agree that we need to, as Christians, discern what we celebrate and be knowledgable about these things. I don't agree with the morbid "celebrations" of Halloween at all. I do think it is important to recognize that Halloween is the eve of All Saints day. Look in any dictionary and it defines Halloween as such. I don't engage in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or the gross parts added to Halloween, but rather recognize the Christian meaning in them- celebrating Christs birth, Christs resurrection, and remembering the Saints who have gone before us. That's all :)
ReplyDeleteYes, but this post wasn't really arguing for/against whether we should celebrate Halloween. My point in writing this was to bring attention to the growing tolerance of the occult, specifically around Halloween. My intent in writing this was actually to encourage a friend who couldn't decided whether it was wrong to go the haunted forest. And the roots of Halloween are closely connected to evil and the occult. The tradition of dressing up started so that on the day of the dead, the evil spirits wouldn't recognize you and you would live. I think that us Christians all too often support our celebrations by covering them with a "Christian theme". Halloween is not celebrating all saints day. It's celebrating evil spirits. All saints is to combat Halloween, so if someone wants to dress up as St. Francis, that's fine. But anything else, I think needs to be avoided.
ReplyDeleteI totally see your point! Halloween is a Church tradition. Translated it means Holy Evening. Some scholars believe that Halloween came about as a replacement for the pagan holiday of the dead, Parentalia, thus celebrating the Church's beloved dead, or the Celtic celebration Samhein, which took plac at the end of harvest, which may have to do with why is is around this season. The practice of trick or treating can also be related to the Christian practice of "souling", which was a practice in which poor children would go from house to house and people would give them "soul cakes", cakes that would be eaten when praying for a soul in purgatory.
DeleteIt is really, really sad to see the corruption of this beautiful holiday. Satan has twisted the amazing truths this holiday represents. One thing I figured out when I was researching was that Christians would put skulls around their houses to remind them of Golgotha (place of the skull). For many, many years there has been this corruption of All Hallows' Eve and I will not celebrate the satanic so-called "Halloween", but I will celebrate the real Halloween and continue searching for the holy traditions of this holiday.