Witches, ghouls and ghosts? Or an opportunity to open your door to your neighbor? The holiday with a bad rep is almost here. Eleven pastors answer the question: Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? Can there be such a thing as a Christian Halloween?
1. Craig Groeschel on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
2. Matt Chandler on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
“Jesus created joy. Jesus created celebratory events. Jesus created laughter. Those things should be redeemed and used for Jesus. Now, there are obvious things you don’t want to take part in or that are sinfully beyond redemption. Dressing up inappropriately, taking part in anything demonic (Ouija boards, séances, etc.) and sexual, drunken debauchery would all be wrong.
But to simply laugh with friends, dress up and eat candy is not wrong. However, don’t violate your conscience. If you are uncomfortable with taking part in Halloween, then feel free to abstain. God doesn’t want you to do something you cannot do in faith (Rom. 14:23), but don’t judge those who do participate out of a good conscience. Although you “can” celebrate Halloween, it doesn’t mean that you necessarily ‘should’ or ‘have to.’ Allow the Lord to lead Christians in their own consciences regarding this holiday.”
Read more about “Redeeming Halloween” here.
3. Jamie Morgan on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
“Setting aside a day to celebrate evil, darkness, witchcraft, fear, death and the demonic brings disdain to God. Period. A Christian celebrating Halloween would be like a Satan worshiper putting up a nativity scene at Christmas while singing, “Happy Birthday, Jesus!” The two just don’t go together. Jesus has nothing in common with Satan (2 Cor. 6:14), and neither should we.
So, what did we do instead? Hide in the basement with the lights off? Hustle the family out of the house? No, darkened homes are the enemy’s victory! Where does your light shine the brightest … in the darkness!”
4. Bianca Juarez Olthoff on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
5. Albert Mohler on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
“Christian parents should make careful decisions based on a biblically-informed Christian conscience. Some Halloween practices are clearly out of bounds, others may be strategically transformed, but this takes hard work and may meet with mixed success.
The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.”
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God’s Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ’s church on earth. Let’s put the dark side on the defensive.”
6. Kirk Cameron on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
“You should have the biggest party on your block, and you should have the reason for everyone to come to your house and before anyone else’s house because yours is the most fun,” he told CP. “Halloween gives you a great opportunity to show how Christians celebrate the day that death was defeated, and you can give them Gospel tracts and tell the story of how every ghost, goblin, witch and demon was trounced the day Jesus rose from the grave. Clearly no Christians ought to be glorifying death, because death was defeated, and that was the point of All Hallows Eve.” This is one way to have a Christian Halloween.
7. Ben Witherington III on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
8. Mike Gendron on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
“The reason Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis on a church door on Oct. 31, 1517 was because the very next day, All Saints Day, Catholics would be coming to the church to venerate the bones and relics of dead ‘saints’. The Castle Church of Wittenberg had over 1900 relics of dead ‘saints’ on display. Catholics were granted indulgences for the remission of sins if they venerated the relics and made confession of their sins. This practice of necromancy is strictly forbidden by God who commands us ‘Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them’ (Leviticus 19:31). ‘Whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord’ (Deut. 18:9-12) … Furthermore, the celebration of Halloween obscures and overshadows the anniversary of the Reformation, one of the great dates of the Christian calendar,”
9. John Piper on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
10. David Mathis on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Halloween is almost here. And so is their final defeat. Jesus haunts their Halloween.
Those who are in Christ have no need to fear the night. This is now our day. He has won it for us, and will not leave us to fend for ourselves in the devil’s domain. God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we pour in the extra energy and creativity to capitalize on this opportunity to meet new neighbors and go deep with the old — whether we’re ushering our kids from house to house or leaving our lights on and giving out the best candy.
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we look on the cheekiest carousers with compassion — as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). On this night, as much as any, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” and so we “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38). And we walk in faith to be those workers.
And when Jesus haunts our Halloween, we fight not only Satan, but fear in our souls. We see that our Halloween horrors reveal our lack of faith in who Jesus is, what he has accomplished, and that he has commissioned us so clearly.
When Jesus haunts our Halloween, we do not flee, but go on the offensive. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). We don’t retreat, but resist — with level heads and open eyes. “Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8–9). We engage, with care and with courage.
Read more here.
11. Jeff Vanderstelt on Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Read more on Christians and Halloween.
