Halloween: Celebration of Satan or Harmless Holiday?

Celebration of Satan or Harmless Holiday?

[note: edited 11/2/15 to add and clarify some paragraphs]

Before I begin to answer this question, let me give a brief note: I don't claim that I'm certain I have the “right view” on this issue, though I do think there is an objectively right answer to this question. I do believe that God-loving, Bible-reading, Christian believers from all backgrounds can disagree on non-essential questions such as this one without having to be mean to each other, or denying each other’s faith. I know Christians within and outside our church who do and who don’t participate in Halloween activities. We should all be able to get along fine without calling each other “legalists” or “compromisers”.

Disagreements between Christians on issues like Halloween arise partly due to the fact that Scripture does not speak explicitly about these things. Obviously this is because these issues did not arise when Paul, Peter, John, etc. were writing their letters and their books. But this does not mean that we can just do what we “feel” is right. The words of God in the Bible are “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting” and it is a “lamp for [our] feet, a light on [our] path”. Therefore, this has to mean that we can always use the Bible to find principles to see whether a certain activity is encouraged or not.   

Now I’m going to briefly present both sides of this issue and then we’ll talk about how Paul handled disputes such as these.

Why Christians should not celebrate Halloween

Christians should not celebrate Halloween because of its connection with the pagan holiday of Samhain. The themes and practices of Halloween allegedly come from this festival. God clearly opposes pagan practices like witchcraft, sorcery, fortune-telling (Deut. 18:9-13). Scripture also says that we are in a war against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). Furthermore, Paul teaches Christians not to be “conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2).

Because of its pagan origin, it is said that Halloween is a celebration of witchcraft, ghosts, demons, death and ultimately, Satan. This is often shown by how Halloween has a lot of dark imagery concerning death and the occult. A participation with any aspect of Halloween, harmless the intention may be, is a participation in a celebration of these things that are opposed to God. Christians should not celebrate the practices of their greatest enemy, Satan. Therefore, Christians should not celebrate Halloween.

Why Christians can celebrate Halloween

It is not true that the modern celebration of Halloween is the successor to the pagan holiday of Samhain. After all, the holiday we are celebrating is called “Halloween” for “All Hallows Eve” or the eve of All Saints ("Hallows") Day on November 1, and not Samhain. It is true that modern celebrations of Halloween include a celebration of ghosts, demons, and death in general. But a Christian is not compelled to celebrate Halloween in the same way non-Christians celebrate Halloween. This is just like how a Christian doesn’t have to celebrate the New Year, or their 21st birthday or even Easter and Christmas in the same way their non-Christian friends celebrate them (drinking, partying, Easter bunnies, Santa Claus, etc.). Non-Christians’ abuse of a holiday should not limit the freedom of Christians to celebrate the holiday appropriately.

Furthermore, there is nothing inherently evil about days, because evil lies in people hearts (Matt. 15:9). A person can have a pure heart (intentions that are not evil) in celebrating a holiday by dressing up as a ketchup bottle. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a celebration of witchcraft or the undead.

What do we make of this

The key text when it comes to disputes between people’s consciences is Romans 14. Here Paul speaks of two questions in his time:

1. Are Christians allowed to eat meat or eat only vegetables?
2. Are some days more holy than others?

Note that both of these questions are not about Halloween but we can apply Paul’s principles from his teachings here. So here’s what Paul says (Romans 14:2-6,10):

One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. […]

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

In the first case Paul says that God is the master of all Christians, not other people. In the second case, Paul says that both persons do what they do “to the Lord”. Therefore Paul is addressing people who are "true" Christians and who live their lives for the glory of God. Then comes Paul’s principle in verses 13-23:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

The point in these passages is that with regards to certain issues (Halloween being one of them) Christians should take into account what their conscience tells them ("each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind"). Note that this “conscience principle” does not apply to everything – no Christian can claim to be greedy, commit adultery, or hate a neighbor “in good conscience” because Scripture has clear teachings on these and many other issues. 

Paul also actually says that whichever side is right doesn’t matter nearly as much as “acting in love” to one another (Rom. 14:15,19-21). And acting in love means not doing what you think is “OK” in front of your brother who doesn’t think the same way as you. This is because you would cause your brother to stumble over what they think is a sin (1 Cor. 8:12-13). 

A relevant example in 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10 is on whether Christians should eat food sacrificed to idols. Paul says that since there is no other god but God, all food sacrificed to idols are permissible to be eaten. However, one should not do it in front of a brother who doesn’t think the same way. This is because he may consider the eating of food sacrificed to idols as a participation in idol worship (1 Cor. 8:7). In general Christians should avoid actions that may seem to endorse evil things that are opposed to God (2 Cor. 6:14-18, Rom. 12:2, 1 John 2:15).

So with regards to Halloween (and other similar issues): if all things are done for the glory of God, and with a clear conscience, without causing any fellow Christian to stumble, and without looking like one is endorsing evil, I believe that Christians have the free choice to participate or not to participate. 

Lastly, there are pastors who prefer that Christians use trick-or-treating as an opportunity to develop relationships with neighbors and friends rather than to be isolated from them. This may be a way to form close relationships that can be an avenue for the gospel. Halloween is also the only day in the year when you meet a great number of people at the door, providing an opportunity for handing out gospel tracts along with the candy given. Numerous churches also use the holiday to hold trunk-or-treats at a church parking lot where evangelism can happen. So perhaps this is an opportunity for Christians to redeem this holiday rather than to completely surrender it to the world. 

2. Doctrine of God, part I - Incommunicable Attributes

Doctrine of God, part I - Incommunicable Attributes

Important Passages

Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Isaiah 55:9: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Most important attributes of God

These are often called “incommunicable” because only God alone possesses them: 

1. Holy – Holiness is God's perfection of character and without flaw and without sin but with complete goodness, justice, mercy, love, etc. (Psalm 71:22, Isaiah 6:3, 1 Peter 1:16).
    
2. Immutable (Unchanging)– God’s nature does not change in any way. His essence has always been and will always be exactly the same (Psalm 90:2, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8).
    
3. Infinite – God is without measure or limit in scope or duration. There are no constraints upon Him from outside of Himself that would restrict Him in His scope or duration (Genesis 21:33, Deuteronomy 33:27, Isaiah 40:28, Psalm 90:2).
    
4. Omnipotent – God is capable of performing anything He desires. (Psalm 33:9, Isaiah 40:28, 46:10).
    
5. Omnipresent – God is in all places and in all dimensions simultaneously. Nothing in the universe exists outside the presence of God (Psalm 139:7-12, Jeremiah 23:24).
    
6. Omniscient – God has perfect, complete knowledge. He never learns, nor does He forget. He knows all things that exist and all things that could have existed. God cannot grow in knowledge, understanding, or wisdom (Romans 16:27,Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20).
    
7. Sovereign – God is the supreme being who answers to no one and who has the absolute right to do with His creation as He desires (1 Timothy 6:15, Isaiah 46:10).

Source: https://carm.org/communicable-incommunicable-attributes-of-god

gods of love | Week 3

1 John 4:16 – “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

C.S. Lewis – “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

Psalm 139:13-14 – “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn – “We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.”

INITIAL QUESTIONS

Name some of today’s popular songs with the word “love” in it [Taylor Swift, anyone?]:

Possible response: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, etc.

SUMMARY OF VIDEO

Kyle begins by repeating the Greatest Command in Matthew 22:27, which is to love the Lord with all of your being. If we love anything more than God, we commit idolatry and one consequence is that all other loves will be disordered. Today's culture is obsessed with romantic love, and thus love is a "god" that is often worshiped apart from its true God-given meaning. 

Shannon Rants tells her story. She experienced sexual abuse as a little girl. As a consequence, she grew up rejecting her gender and wanted to be a boy. She grew up believing that she was a mistake and that she was not valuable. She desired to be loved and so she would sexualize herself to get attention from guys. She also wanted to be accepted by other girls but in doing so she began to be attracted to the same sex. She describes falling into pornography, where she thought she can get love that can satisfy but she realizes that the fantasies "never satisfy". She felt that guys would merely use her, without really caring for her. This only made her feel worse about herself. 

Kyle teaches that there is an emptiness that only God can fill. If we try to fill this emptiness with anything other God, we end up seeking "cheap substitutes" that will only leave us even more empty. We see that "love" is worshiped in modern culture by alluding to a movie where the guy says to the girl, "you complete me". This is a lie because were made for God and only he can complete us. Whenever we give ourselves to be loved by other things before God, we betray God's love for us. But he does not walk away from us; he fights for us and he died on the cross to save us. 

The turning point in Shannon's life happened when she met a teacher who introduced her to the love of Christ. She realized her need for a Savior that can save her from her mistakes. For the first time, she felt a reason to live and she started to care what God thinks of her. She started to pursue God in her college years. She felt God healing the wounds for her past and her mistakes. 

Kyle says that when our relationship with God is right, all other relationships will find its proper place. Nothing is more destructive to our love lives than to love others more than God - no one can take God's place in our hearts. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Genesis 1:27 – “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

1. What does it mean to be created “in the image of God”? What does this mean for the value of every person?
   
   Possible response: This means that unlike other animals, man has a special relationship with his Creator in that some characteristics of God are present in man also: intellect, emotions, morality, ability to form relationships, etc. Because of these God-given qualities and a special relationship with the Creator, every person has special value in the eyes of God. 
   
   
2. A parent loves their child who is in their “image”. How does our creation in God’s image mean about God’s love for us?
   
   Possible response:  If human parents are able to love their children, plan the best for them, and even give their life for them, God our heavenly father is even more so loving towards his children, created in his image. Imperfect, human parents cannot "out-love" God.
   
   
3. How is love “hijacked” in modern society? Think about movies, music, etc.
   
   Possible response: Today's music, movies, etc. say a lot about love and romantic relationships. A quick glance at pop hits show that today's culture views love in predominantly sexual and physical terms (e.g. visual attraction). Culture often views "finding true love" in another person as the ultimate human experience, with the lover as the ultimate source of happiness for the person. 
   
   
4. Read Genesis 1:27-28 and 2:24 – who “invented” marriage and sex?
   
   Possible response: God invented marriage and sex. He is thus the only one with the right to define their meaning and boundaries. 
   
   Read Ephesians 5:22-32 – what is marriage a reflection of?
   
   Possible response: Marriage between a husband and his wife is a reflection of the loving relationship between Christ and his Church. The husband is the head of the wife because Christ is the head of the Church. Wives ought to submit to their husbands because the Church submits to Christ. Finally, husbands ought to love their wives because Christ loves the Church. Marriage is thus a metaphor that points to God's love for his people. 
   
   From the above two passages, and from Matthew 5:27-28 – what are the proper boundaries for sexual relations?
   
   Possible response: From these passages we can learn important points about marriage and sexual relations: a.) Marriage is a God-ordained union of two people of the opposite sex with a purpose for companionship and procreation, b.) Marriage reflects the relationship between Christ and the Church, c.) Lust outside of marriage is equal to adultery.
   
   Thus we can conclude that all sexual activities are to be enjoyed only within the confines of marriage. Any deviation from this ideal is not God's ideal. 
   
   
5. In John 4, Jesus says to the woman at the well who has had 5 husbands, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” What is Jesus saying here?
   
   Possible response: Jesus uses man's physical need and thirst for water to illustrate how God alone can satisfy the greatest needs and thirsts of humanity. Only Jesus can give water that can forever satisfy and give eternal life. 

READ ROMANS 8:35-39: MEDITATE (AND MEMORIZE)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Summary: In God we find the purest love (”God is love”) and so all kinds of “love” (in its true meaning) are a reflection of God’s love. God expressed his love for us by creating us in his image, and by sending his Son to free us from our mistakes and our sin, so that we may live with him satisfied. Because of this, we find our truest value from God and God alone, and our truest joy and satisfaction from God and God alone.

gods of pleasure | Week 2

St. Augustine – “I was in misery. And misery is the state of every soul overcome by friendship with mortal things.”

St. Augustine – “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

INITIAL QUESTION

Give three things, places, people, etc. that gave you comfort as a child or even now, during hard times:

Possible responses: blanket, food, videogames, sleep, mom, friends, etc.

SUMMARY OF VIDEO

Paul Jones' father left him as a child. He and his mother lived together and they were each other's world. His mother would feed him without regard to his health. Food was where he found comfort growing up, and whenever he feels depressed he would eat.

His eating habits got worse after he got divorced from his wife. After many years of struggling with eating, he finally said "I give up" to God and he felt like God said "finally". He found that God was waiting for Paul to finally let go of his life and surrender all of himself to God.

Soon enough, God changed Paul's life by breaking the chains of food addiction. Paul no longer had as much pleasure coming from food. He became physically active, even to the point of running multiple marathons.

During this video, Kyle Idleman also talks about the high incidence of pornography and the popularity of fast food in American culture and how they have caused the destruction of multiple families and lives. These point to pleasure as being a problem (a counterfeit "god") in modern society that seeks to fill-in an empty desire that is left by not having God as our greatest pleasure.

The solution to these problems of pleasure, Kyle says, is not to simply put all our focus on removing the false god; rather we should seek to replace these gods with the One True God who alone can give full and satisfying pleasure and happiness.

DISCUSSION

1. Paul Jones referred to his painful childhood experiences and their effect on his drive for comfort. How is this true for many people? Does anything about his story resonate with you?
   
   Possible response: Childhood experiences often influence the gods that we worship when we grow older. Ex: a person growing up in a family that is obsessed with wealth and status will result in a person growing up to put money as the center of their life; growing up with friends that value popularity, will result in one putting popularity as their "god"

2. “If it feels good, do it. If you have an itch, scratch it. If you have an appetite, feed it. If you have a passion, fulfill it.” How might this mantra be a good / bad thing?
   
   Possible response: YOLO! This can be good if you can direct your efforts at good things, bad if you direct your efforts at bad things (sins, illegal activities, etc.)

3. Is it wrong to find comfort in things like food, drink, sleep, and other pleasures?
   
   Possible response: Not necessarily, because God himself created pleasurable things and activities in the Garden of Eden, Jesus miracles, etc. Sin arises only when you place the pleasure above God.

READ PSALM 106:20 and PSALM 37:3-4

1. "They exchanged the glory of God for an image of an ox which eats grass." Kyle calls that a bad trade. What do you think about it?
   
   Possible response: It is stupid to exchange the Creator of constellations, the Earth, water, etc. for an ox which eats grass. However, sin is exactly that! We constantly exchange God for a lesser thing whenever we sin.

2. What would be the “desires of the heart” for the people of that time? How do we reconcile this with the fact that many dedicated Christians from the earliest disciples have suffered horribly in life and often met miserable deaths? (See Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:14-15)
   
   Possible response: The desires of one's heart includes peace, livelihood, not getting killed, etc. However, the earliest disciples willing gave up their peace, livelihood, and lives because their desires were changed when they accepted God. God changes the hearts of his followers so that their desires is no longer for their own selves but for the greater glory of God. If God calls a disciple to give his life, then they give it as a matter of desire and "willing obligation".

HYMN: "SHALL MEN PRETEND TO PLEASURE" BY JOHN NEWTON

Note: Final stanza is the most important.

Shall men pretend to pleasure
Who never knew the Lord?
Can all the worldling’s treasure
True peace of mind afford?
They shall obtain this jewel
In what their hearts desire,
When they by adding fuel
Can quench the flame of fire.

Till you can bid the ocean,
When furious tempests roar,
Forget its wonted motion,
And rage, and swell, no more:
In vain your expectation
To find content in sin;
Or freedom from vexation,
While passions reign within.

Come, turn your thoughts to Jesus,
If you would good possess;
‘Tis he alone that frees us
From guilt, and from distress:
While he, by faith, is present,
The sinner’s troubles cease;
His ways are truly pleasant,
And all his paths are peace.

Our pleasure and our duty,
Though opposite before;
Since we have seen his beauty,
Are joined to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure,
No less than duty’s call;
To love him beyond measure,
And serve him with our all.

gods at war | Week 1

A.B. Simpson – “As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol.”

John Calvin – “Every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, a master craftsman of idols.”

Exodus 20 – “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.”

Matthew 22:36-37 – “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

ARE YOU READY FOR WAR

The gods at war video series challenges us with the thought that perhaps all sin springs from the same source – IDOLATRY. While we may not see many “graven images” in our world today, there are still countless gods passionately at war for the throne of our heart. If we put the wrong god on the throne, our lives will be thrown into chaos, and all our efforts at sin management will be futile. Only by recognizing our misplaced worship and by enthroning Jesus can we experience freedom and life.

While there are many gods at war for our hearts, we have chosen to focus on five in particular: gods of pleasure, gods of love, gods of money, gods of power, and the god of me. (…) In these compelling stories, we will see some reflection of ourselves, and recognize the true battle that lies at the heart of all our sin struggles. These stories also point the way to victory as we see the kind of life transforming power that Christ is ready to pour out in our lives as well. (excerpt from Leader’s guide)

BEGINNING QUESTIONS

1. As we start this series called gods at war, what are your thoughts or feelings? Any initial reactions / expectations?
   
   (Answers may vary considerably)
    
2. What is your experience with war, whether it comes primarily from watching movies or documentary footage, from hearing the stories of relatives or friends who have been in combat?
   
   Possible responses:
    
   War involves a conflict between different sides. One must choose between one side against the other, like Jesus saying that those who are not for him are against him.
   
   War involves death and sacrifice to achieve one's goals.

READ JOSHUA 24:1-28

Read at biblegateway.com

• Renewal of Israel's covenant upon entering the promised land
• Important verses: 14-15 – "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve".

Importance:
One must choose for himself whether or not to follow God or some other "god". This decision is not "inherited" from one's parents, friends, or culture but is a decision one has to make for one's self. This decision is not a one time decision but is an every-day decision to follow God over some other sin that seeks to separate us from Him.

Furthermore, Joshua doesn't mention the possibility of not choosing any god at all. This could mean that not worshiping a god is not an option. If one chooses not to worship the One True God, they will inevitably worship a counterfeit god – pleasure, love, money, power and even one's self, etc. This counterfeit god will never satisfy the emptiness left by not putting the True God at the center of one's life.

DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS

Sometimes it is difficult to accept that a counterfeit "god" is waging a war for our hearts. These questions can allow us to search our hearts to discover these "gods":

1. What has left you most disappointed?
2. For what do you sacrifice time and money?
3. What do you worry about?
4. Where do you go for comfort?
5. What makes you mad?
6. What do you dream of?
7. Whose encouragement means the most to you?

These questions may help us think about what we prioritize or consider important in our lives, thereby revealing if God is truly at the center of our hearts, "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".