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HALLOWEEN : NO ROOM FOR COMPROMISE!
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Copyright 1994 - 2010 Endtime Prophecy Net
Published On : October 31, 1998
Last Updated : January 3, 2009
The Halloween Challenge, Faith And Conviction Built On The
Word, Start While They Are Young, Nice Costumes Approach,
Give No Place To The Devil, Spirit Of Compromise, Separated
From The World, Origin Of Halloween And Other Holidays, No
Fellowship With Darkness, Kept From Evil, No Appearance Of
Evil, Glorify God, Tract Passing, Candy Or Natural Treats?,
Make Your Opposition Clear, Children As Examples, Real Faith
The following is an updated version of an article I first
wrote six years ago on October 31, 1998. I present it here
for your consideration, and trust that you will find it
both informative and enlightening.
Every year, sincere Christian parents are faced with the
challenge of having to explain to their children why they
are not allowed to follow the ways of the world, and don a
costume on the evening of October 31st, also known as "All
Hallow Eve", or Halloween. This night marks the eve of All
Saints Day, known in Spanish-speaking countries as "El Dia
De Los Muertos"; that is, "the Day of the Dead". For some
young children, particularly those who are of school age,
the act of suddenly being forced to stand out from amongst
their peers by not wearing a Halloween costume to school,
can present quite a battle for them; it can be quite
traumatic for them; particularly if they do not fully
understand why mommy and daddy will not permit them to
simply "follow the crowd" and do as the other children do.
However, such does not need to be the case, if we prepare
them properly for this eventuality.
While some Christian parents may feel that a short simple
explanation of the pagan origin of Halloween will suffice,
as a Christian parent myself, I believe that, as in any
other case, we owe it to our children to strengthen their
faith, and to establish a strong conviction in their hearts
regarding our non-acceptance of this worldly holiday, by
giving them a foundation in the Word of God; for as the
Apostle Paul wrote:
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God."
Romans 10:17, KJV
As I point out in other articles, such as "The Public School
System And School Prayer", and "The Plight Of The Children",
while our children may currently believe as we tell them to
believe, someday soon, they are going to have to stand upon
their own faith, upon their own moral convictions, and upon
their own knowledge of God's Holy Word. Thus, I believe that
it is imperative that we begin to establish that foundation
while they are still young. We should not procrastinate. We
need to start doing it right now! Satan certainly won't wait
until we have firmly established our children's faith before
he starts to destroy any concept of God that they may have,
so why should we be so foolish as to wait on building and
strengthening their faith? It is my hope that in this short
article, I will help to lay that foundation; at least as it
relates to our non-observance of Halloween, for both parents
and children alike.
In discussing Halloween with some of my online Christian
friends, one fellow asked me for my opinion concerning the
idea of reaching a compromise solution. In other words, he
was wondering if perhaps we as Christians can simply avoid
dressing up in costumes which are obviously symbolic of the
negative nature of Halloween, such as witches, goblins and
vampires, and dress up instead in what he regarded as more
"innocent" costumes, such as farmers, cowboys and Indians,
movie stars and the like. My immediate reaction to such a
question is to ask the following questions:
In coming to such a decision, what was and is your standard
of reference? What was and is your department of weights and
balances?
The world has its laws and code of ethics, and we Christians
have ours as well. As I explain in a number of my articles,
our central body of laws which defines the Christian mode of
behavior and thinking, is the Word of God; that is, the
Bible. So then, if our standard is truly the Word of God as
it should be, then according to the Scriptures, we are not
to compromise our faith in the least; or as Paul wrote, we
are to give no place to the devil; and as James wrote, we
are to submit ourselves to God and thereby resist the devil,
as we see here:
"Neither give place to the devil."
Ephesians 4:27, KJV
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you."
James 4:7, KJV
By simply choosing to wear costumes which we feel are less
offensive, or which remind us less of the evil nature of the
Halloween celebration, we are in essence compromising with
Satan instead of outright resisting him; and we are likewise
compromising with the world. We are lowering our standard.
We are clearly told throughout the Scriptures that we are a
called-out people; we are a separated people from the world.
In other words, we are not to think like them; we are not to
act like them; we are not to talk like them; we are not to
follow their latest fashion of dress simply to fit in with
them; and we are most certainly not to follow their pagan
customs, traditions and rituals. In short, as I have shared
many times before, and as James and Paul both wrote, we are
not to be friends of the world; because this is committing
spiritual adultery against our true spiritual Husband; Jesus
Christ. Please consider these verses:
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that
we should bring forth fruit unto God."
Romans 7:4, KJV
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of
God."
James 4:4, KJV
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but
because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
John 15:19, KJV
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the
world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
John 17:14-16, KJV
As a sincere Christian, surely you the reader will agree
that the Word of God is the only Standard that we should
follow; and that all of the verses I have shared thus far
are a part of that Standard. That being the case, there is
absolutely no room for celebrating Halloween, or any other
pagan worldly holiday for that matter. Even if we do away
with the evil nature of the occasion, it still does not
dismiss the fact that Halloween is steeped in the occult,
and does not promote the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
More specifically, Halloween finds its origin in an ancient
Celtic, (that is, Irish, Scottish, Gaelic, Welsh and Breton),
festival known as Samhain. More or less pronounced "so-win",
this festival occurred at the time of the harvest and marked
the arrival of Winter. This observance, like some others, was
actually borrowed from the Druids during the pre-Christian
era. In a spiritual sense, this period was a very dark time,
when people were extremely superstitious, and believed that
the spirits of the dead roamed about the earth.
As I point out in other articles, such as in my series "Our
Pagan World: The Easter Myth Exposed", in order to expand
their sphere of power and influence, the original founders
of the Roman Catholic Church, that is, Emperor Constantine
and those bishops who associated themselves with him, chose
to compromise our faith, by adopting many pagan beliefs and
practices. In other words, these men "Christianized" some of
them, in order to attract the pagan masses into the Catholic
fold. Rather than risk offending the masses, by telling them
that they had to forsake their ungodly pagan ways, the Roman
Catholic Church preached a socially-acceptable Gospel; that
is, a Gospel which would be popular, and which would thus be
embraced by many people, because it didn't involve personal
sacrifice, or the forsaking of one's erroneous beliefs. It
was a non-offensive, feel-good religion, just like we see
being preached and practiced in the so-called "Christian"
United States of America today.
As a result of these tactics by the early RCC, holidays such
as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas came into existence. In
the case of Halloween, the Roman Catholic Church declared
that the first day of November would be celebrated as "All
Saints Day". This edict was then followed by November the
2nd being declared "All Soul's Day".�It should be noted,
however, that "All Saints Day" actually began at sundown on
the evening of October the 31st. Thus, the night of October
the 31st became known as the "Eve of All Saints Day", or the
"Eve of All Hallows". The word "hallows" is actually derived
from the Greek "hagiazo", which means "sanctify", or "to be
holy". Similarly, the Greek word "hagios" means "saints", or
"most holy thing". This is why when teaching us how to pray
to our Heavenly Father, Jesus said "hallowed be thy name".
Thus, "Eve of All Hallows" became "Hallow Even", "Hallow
E'en, and ultimately today, "Halloween.
Not only did the pagans believe that the dead roamed about
on this night, but they also made offerings of food and
drink to them as well; which is something that I also saw
being practiced by Shintoists, during my almost three-year
stay in Japan. It was also on "All Hallows Eve" that the
pagans donned masks and costumes, lit bonfires, etc.; and
these are practices which have remained with us to this day.
Sadly, with the rise in popularity of satanism, Wicca, etc.,
Halloween has become an even more demonic celebration.
Considering the history of this day, perhaps you can now
begin to understand why I, as well as many other Christians,
strongly object to allowing our children to participate in
this holiday. Just because one chooses to wear a Cinderella
dress or a cowboy outfit, instead of a witch's costume, does
not change a thing. It is still participating in a worldly
event which is not condoned by God, and which most certainly
does not glorify Him in the least. Halloween only glorifies
the forces and works of darkness. It is a cheap compromise;
and as I have already pointed out, compromise and political
correctness is one of the chief sins of so-called modern
Christianity.
To simply wear a nicer costume instead of an evil-looking
one, is akin to the Biblical practice of trying to switch
light for darkness, and darkness for light; and the Prophet
Isaiah had some very serious words to say about this. The
Apostle Paul likewise warns us of the serious nature of
fellowshipping with the works of darkness. Consider these
verses:
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
Isaiah 5:20, KJV
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness?"
2 Corinthians 6:14, KJV
"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils:
ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table
of devils."
1 Corinthians 10:21, KJV
For those of you Christians who may still disagree with me
in spite of the many Scriptures I have presented thus far,
allow me to ask you a question: Are you a part of the Kingdom
of God, or are you a child of the world who follows the god
of this world, the prince of the power of the air? Have you
been blinded to the truth due to the hardness, or blindness,
of your own heart? Again, please carefully consider the truth
found in the following verses:
"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"
Ephesians 2:2, KJV
"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV
As I clearly explained earlier, and as I also point out in
some of my politically-oriented articles, Jesus said that
while we are in the world, we are most certainly not a part
of it. The Apostle Paul viewed our Heavenly Citizenship in
the very same manner. In writing to Timothy concerning our
war of the spirit, Paul wrote in part:
"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of
this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be
a soldier."
2 Timothy 2:4, KJV
So allow me to ask you: Are you entangled in the affairs of
this life? Have you compromised your faith so much, that you
have hidden your light under a bushel? Have you blended in
so well with the world that people can no longer even tell
that you are a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of
your faith, and of your Lord and Savior? As Jesus also said:
"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall
the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of
his Father with the holy angels."
Mark 8:38, KJV
In the previous verses I shared with you from the Gospel of
John, in addition to saying that His followers were not a
part of the world, Jesus also prayed that His Father would
not take the Apostles out of the world, that is, He would
not take them to be with Him through physical martyrdom, but
rather that He would allow them to remain in the world for
the time being, so that they could be a witness for Him. But
notice what else Jesus prayed. He asked His Father to keep
His followers from the evil of the world. That word "keep"
is derived from the Greek "tereo", which actually means to
guard, or to preserve. The Apostle Paul takes it even a step
further and says that we must also avoid the appearance of
evil. In his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote:
"Abstain from all appearance of evil."
1 Thessalonians 5:22, KJV
So this leads us to another question: If you as a Christian
participate in the Halloween celebration in any way, shape
or form, are you truly being kept from evil? Are you really
guarding yourself from evil? Are you avoiding the appearance
of evil? Most certainly not! You are going right along with
the rest of the pagan world in a subtle way; even if your
costume may be a little nicer. It is still a compromise. It
is like trying to have one foot in the Kingdom of God, while
the other is planted in the dark kingdom of Satan; and you
simply cannot serve two masters as Jesus plainly taught us:
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24, KJV
As we saw earlier in this article, the Apostle Paul also
taught that we Christians should not mix ourselves with the
people of the world. Yes, we must be faithful emissaries to
them of the message of God's Love and Salvation, but we must
also continue to remain a separate and holy people unto the
Lord, by not engaging in their worldly ways and conduct. In
his second Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul continued by
saying:
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you,"
2 Corinthians 6:17, KJV
While Paul was referring to pagan idol worshippers in the
previous verse, the principle still applies to Halloween;
because it too is a form of pagan idol worship, being as it
worships and glorifies the forces of darkness; and we are
not to fellowship with such things. Halloween is just as
much an unclean thing, and it is even celebrated after dark.
It does not glorify God, the Father of Lights, in any way
whatsoever. Here again are a few verses for your personal
consideration:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning."
James 1:17, KJV
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV
In his Epistle to the congregation at Rome, Paul also said
something which relates to the idea of being separated from
the world. In the second chapter of that Epistle, Paul
wrote:
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Romans 12:2, KJV
In the previous verse, the word "conformed" is derived from
the Greek word "suschematizo", the pronunciation of which is
soos-khay-mat-id'-zo. The Greek lexicon defines this word as
meaning to conform or to fashion one's self; that is, one's
mind and one's character, to another's pattern. Following
this definition, we can say then that by participating in
the Halloween celebration, we are conforming ourselves to
the ways of the world, and demonstrating to worldly people
that we are their friends, and just like them. We are not
standing out as Christian witnesses who uphold Biblical
truth. On the other hand, if we have the mind of Christ, we
will not do this. We will not make ourselves the enemies of
God by committing spiritual adultery with the world. This
rule really applies to any other worldly holiday as well, as
most of them have pagan origins; or else they worship some
human figure, which is also strictly forbidden in the Bible.
To reiterate then, in my view, trying to sanitize Halloween
by dressing up in less offensive costumes which don't remind
people of the evil nature of the celebration, is still a
complete compromise. Even if your children don't wear such
outfits, it is most certain that other children will; so
what has really been gained? Those Christian parents who do
allow their young children to wear nicer costumes, are still
demonstrating that they support a heathen holiday steeped in
paganistic rites and beliefs; at least that is how it will
most likely be interpreted by the children of the world. As
such, I remain convinced that the most appropriate Christian
response which we can give in order to demonstrate our clear
disapproval of this pagan celebration, is to completely stop
participating in the practice of going door-to-door in order
to obtain sweets.
Having now established through Scriptural support, that we
Christians should not participate in the Halloween event in
any way which might be interpreted as showing our support
for the same, we need to ask ourselves another question; and
that is this: Being as Halloween will be celebrated by some
worldly people despite all that we may say or do, is there
any way that we can use the event to our advantage in order
to glorify God?
Actually, there is, if you feel so led of the Lord. What I
suggest, is that you have prepared a stack of Gospel tracts
which contain a simple easy-to-read Salvation message which
you can freely pass out if and when trick-or-treaters come
to your door. In other words, it should be specifically
geared towards the intelligence level of young children who
will comprise the majority of the trick-or-treating crowd.
It would be wise to prepare your pamphlets either that same
morning, or possibly even the night before, so that you are
not caught unprepared when the first crowd arrives that
evening.
One person had suggested to me that such tracts could be
passed out along with the traditional piece of candy. As a
parent myself who is greatly concerned about my child's
health, I have to disagree with this idea. Quite frankly, I
feel that it is not an act of love when parents and school
teachers give the poor children piles and piles of candy
which may eventually lead to tooth decay. As I point out in
other articles, our bodies are the temples of God's Holy
Spirit, and we are to take good care of them as such. In his
first Epistle to the Corinthian brethren, Paul writes:
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, KJV
My initial thought was that perhaps it would be alright to
pass out healthy snacks with the tracts, such as fruit, or
perhaps little boxes of raisins, bags of peanuts and such,
etc.; but you see, in my view, and you may not necessarily
agree with me, distributing snacks to the children is still
a compromise solution. By doing this, you are still making
it appear as if you are in support of Halloween. Some people
may just think that you are more health conscious than other
parents, and they may miss the main message that you are
really trying to convey to them; and that is that, because
you are a Bible-believing Christian, you really don't accept
Halloween at all. By passing out tracts only, you really
serve to drive this point home with them. But, the choice is
really up to you. You must make your own decisions based
upon your own knowledge and understanding of God's Word, and
what you personally believe is His Will for you. As the
Apostle Paul also wrote:
". . . Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."
Romans 14:5b, KJV
Allow me to share a final thought on this topic. If you do
happen to have small children of your own, my suggestion is
that you share at least parts of this article with them;
even if you have to paraphrase it for them. Let them know,
through the Word, why we Christians frown upon the Halloween
celebration. To drive the lesson home with them, you may even
want to allow them to be the ones who stand at the door when
the children arrive for their snacks. By passing out Gospel
tracts themselves, they will learn to boldly stand up for
their Christian convictions, as well as be living examples
of their faith to the other children; perhaps even to some
who attend their same school. They will learn that if their
faith is genuine, it will be accompanied by works as well.
It will be a living faith, and not a dead one. They will
learn at a young age to place their spiritual light where
others can see it, and not hide it under a bushel like under
cover Christians. Consider the following verses:
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16, KJV
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also."
James 2:26, KJV
With these remarks, I am going to bring this article to a
close. May the Lord give us more Christians who are willing
to stand up for their Christian heritage in a visible way. I
pray that this article will be a blessing to many.
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