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There are various ways Christians respond to Halloween. What is a balanced response?
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I have a hunch that Halloween can bring up some legalistic triggers for people, so I wanted to make sure to give an opportunity to discuss it.
Kathi shared this on the SSB Facebook page:
Guilt and shame on you if you celebrate anything on Halloween
Meanwhile, I see these signs all over my neighborhood and I cringe with the phrase, “Tour Your Final Destination,” as if this church has determined everyone’s spiritual fate. Ugh!
Judgement Houses are done all around the nation and here is their vision:
At Judgement House, our VISION is to equip the local church and other ministries with the ability to create a walk-through gospel presentation concerning the truth of people’s choices versus the earthly and eternal consequences.
I think Judgement houses coerce young people into:
Emotional Manipulation to make a “decision” for Christ on Halloween
I know of many other Christians who take the opportunity to give out Christian tracts for Halloween trick-or-treaters because you can’t just eat candy, you must eat candy with a spiritual message attached. Here is Way of the Master’s response to use Halloween in an evangelistic way:
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Meanwhile, you can find this at an evangelism website:
Crossway.com offers 22 different Halloween tracts to hand out with candy. I hope the candy is at least the good stuff – you know – Snickers bar, Reese’s bar, not that cheap stuff.
Christianbook.com also offers Halloween tracts:
Last year, my daughter left a comment about what she liked about the Christian Halloween alternative – Harvest Festivals:
The Harvest Festival that she is referring to was a family favorite. The whole church participated and it was great fun. When we moved to Oregon, there was a family who opened up their farm to the church. Everybody brought a pie and apple cider and there were all kinds of activities. After that option was gone, our family had “family night.” We turned off all the lights upstairs and went downstairs in the basement for a night of movies/popcorn.
We don’t have Harvest Festivals at our new church. We let our kids to dress up in costumes if they like, and let them go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
We also enjoy handing candy at the front door. No, we don’t hand out tracts. What I especially like is reconnecting with people from our neighborhood that we see in the summer at the neighborhood pool. The evil Halloween festivities afford us the opportunity to connect and continue building the relationships in our neighborhood.
This year, we’re on an Angry Bird theme with our home-grown very large pumpkins. We have two done already. My 24- and 17-yr old sons did this one:
My 24- and 12-yr old sons worked on this one together. (I’ll try to get a picture of this one when it’s dark outside.)
Do you “celebrate” Halloween or participate in any festivities? Is the day difficult for you spiritually?
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related links:
- About Halloween. . . .
- Here’s an article I did on Judgement Houses last year: Judgement House and Hell House: Youth Evangelism “Halloween” Outreach Ideas
Spiritual Sounding Board 
If any Christian has a problem with Halloween, but has no problem putting up a Christmas tree, they ought to check their history. Just sayin’.
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Good point, Beth.
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We’ve fluctuated. Two of my kids are allergic to milk, so they can’t have most candies anyway – requires a lot of sorting afterwards. Oldest probably didn’t go out until she was 4. Some years they’ve all gone trick-or-treating. Other years only one or two, depending on if they were up for the scariness. The kids have requested not to do anything this year. My younger boys get nightmares from the scary costumes. My oldest doesn’t really care anymore.
We have usually handed out candies, though. And sometimes dropped a John 3:16 in with the candies (but no tracts).
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Don’t fall off your seat, but this is a fairly decent response from the Desiring God website: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/open-the-door-to-halloween
I’m seeing a much more positive response to Halloween than there was say 10-20 yrs ago.
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Oh for goodness sake!
Which is more evil? A wolf in sheep’s clothing or a plastic mask in the shape of a witch.
I know which I’d prefer to meet on a dark night…
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It seems to me that many spiritually abusive churches intentionally distract attention away from their own evil, using Halloween to instill further fear and sheep-huddling within their own congregations.
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My mom was a devout Christian, and she allowed me to go trick or treating, and we sometimes gave out candy to kids on that holiday. I turned out okay. I didn’t get into drugs, sex, alcohol, didn’t participate in Wicca.
I think some Christians really over react to this stuff, and it should be a personal choice. By the time of the New Testament, you have Paul telling believers that doing things like meat sacrificed to idols was now okay, and it was only sin for you to partake if YOU personally felt it was a sin FOR YOU. I would say things like celebrating Halloween are on the same level, and I get tired of Christians who shame other Christians out of it.
I was just watching a Christian show Sunday morning this last week, and the guy who hosts it – who I usually agree with on other subjects – devoted the whole show to explaining that Halloween
1. diminishes the Resurrection of Christ, or causes people to question it (I don’t agree with him on that), and
2. that the Halloween glorifies Satan
(I don’t see how, unless the person celebrating is doing so primarily or exclusively to honor Satan. But I don’t see how dressing up as a pirate, Darth Vader, or cowboy to get some free candy is “glorifying Satan”)
I’ve met and known Christians who are against almost every mainstream holiday. One Baptist church I went to, the preacher was against Halloween and Christmas. He would not allow anyone to use church property to host Halloween parties, and he would not permit anyone to dress up like Santa to hand out candy canes.
There are Christians (usually IFBs) who are against Christmas, or are against certain ways of expressing that holiday, who refer to Christmas trees as “Baal bushes.” You have the types who are opposed to Easter because you have candy and the Easter bunny.
By the way, the older I get, the more and more ridiculous I find the entreaties of Christians against Halloween (or watching horror movies, or reading Harry Potter type books) to be…
You will see these blog posts and see Christians on TV using the “slippery slope” argument, that is, if you allow your kid to read Harry Potter books or go trick or treating, that it is a gate way to full blown Satanism, human or animal sacrifice, playing with tarot cards, etc.
I’ve been seeing these sorts of warnings from the time I was a kid decades ago. I don’t think most people turn to Satanism or Wicca from celebrating Halloween as a kid.
I never had a problem with Easter, Christmas, or Halloween, and am tired of Christians who are weak in the faith trying to dictate to everyone else that they should not celebrate these things (Romans Ch 14: 1- 4).
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Yea, I’d rather see a plastic witch mask than a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Chris.
The church in our neighborhood which promotes the “Judgement House” uses this as their primary evangelistic outreach. If that is their primary evangelistic outreach, imagine the sermons?
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Whoa!!! Judgement House. Now THAT’S scary! How can little girls dressed up as Disney princesses compare with that?
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Halloween is really a Christian-created celebration. November 1 was set as “all saints day” or “all hallows day” and the day before as “all hallows eve”, abbreviated to “hallowe’en” then to “halloween”. Just as Christians have Christmas eve traditions, halloween was a similar tradition created by Christians. It was set to be in the general time of year as many older harvest, beginning of winter, etc., celebrations of various pagan religions. In the Mexican communities, “Dia de los Muertos” is a celebration of remembrance of family members and ancestors who have died, and generally is associated with All Saints Day and celebrated in some places on the last day of October.
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Yeah, for the plastic witch mask, boo for the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Kids have no idea that a cult was involved centuries ago. I personally think school or church parties are safer these days, but my children are all adults so it matters not to me.
I think the whole Judgement House is over the top and perhaps is going to alienate the neighbors.
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““Dia de los Muertos” is a celebration of remembrance of family members and ancestors who have died, and generally is associated with All Saints Day and celebrated in some places on the last day of October.”
An Attorney, I almost typed something about going to see “The Book of Life” this past weekend. 🙂 I had never understood the Day of the Dead before. It’s a far cry from any occult celebration.
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I certainly hope my grandchildren will grow up to be like Harry Potter, a boy who chose good over evil at great personal cost and was willing to give his life for others.
Literature is about imagined worlds. In this one, people have magical abilities. In another (Disney), mice, fish, deer etc can talk and mermaids exist. No harm in either.
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JA, I love the Angry Birds pumpkin. Love it!
We never celebrated Halloween in our former “church.” (We weren’t allowed to have Christmas trees either. Our minister even had issues with the handmade Christmas stockings I hung. Oh, well.) My kids really want to dress up now, but we still live surrounded by those “church” folk. They wouldn’t appreciate us trick-or-treating at their doors. We could drive to another neighborhood for that, but it wouldn’t have the same community feel to it.
I’ve never had any of those cute pictures of my kids dressed up in adorable costumes. We’ll have to stage a photo op one of these days.
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Maybe Christians should stop having bride’s maids and groomsmen at weddings! After all the original intent was to fool evil spirits so they wouldn’t know who were the bride and groom to torment.
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I post the 95 Theses every Halloween just for kicks. I don’t think anybody has ever gotten the joke, and this in Lutheran-heavy Minnesota. Bummer.
I would agree that most celebration of Halloween has gotten to be simply a dress up day, at least among kids for the most part, and that we’d have to take the meat cleaver to our culture to get all vestiges of pagan religion out. Would be ugly.
That said, probably good to have some wisdom about the matter, especially among adults. If one might judge from the costumes that are advertised (newspaper, internet), it would seem that some of the parties are a touch on the wild side, if ya catch my drift. And I remember seeing a huge list of absences on Halloween about 12 years back–when I lived near Boulder, something of a Wiccan center, I’m told. I had to wonder if some of them were taking the day off for a similar reason to why I take Easter off.
There probably is some real paganism in some sectors for the day, in other words.
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Halloween is right up there with Yoga or Easter Egg hunts as far as I’m concerned. If you aren’t practicing the pagan rituals that started the whole thing then is it really a big concern. I have been told that doing yoga exercises is a pagan ritual and I will wind up with Eastern pagan worship. I didn’t get the connection. I go to church, read the Bible, pray to Father God, but I also exercise with a yoga dvd. I don’t see how all of that can be counter acted by exercise.
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We have done different things over the years. Some years we just didn’t feel like participating because our baby’s “angel” date is the same week as Halloween and too much of a reminder. Other times we were convinced participation was evil, and went out to a mall to hang out with other like-minded Christians. But I love, love dressing up too, so…the past couple of years we have gone trick-or-treating with the kids.
I think it boils down to this, “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.” Romans 14:5.
This is not an issue to either condemn or make fun of, or cause division over since yes, Halloween is celebrated by Pagans, but most people are just having fun. Let everyone be convinced in their own mind.
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The most horrifying thing to me that has come out of the Christian community are the so-called Hell Houses that are suppose to scare the devil out of you. Bloody car wreaks, suicides and abortions are depicted then after the so-called tour, a “guest” can “make a decision for Christ”. Now that tactic is really scary!
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There is an odd thing about the “Hell House” sign telling someone to tour their final destination at….a church. OK, are we saying that church is Hell?
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Back in the Eighties, talk-show host Rich Buhler used to say he could tell when October began because that’s when all the “Christians and Halloween” and “Devil’s Holiday” phone calls started coming in.
And we have only three more days before “All Christians Mobilize Against The Devil’s Holiday!” gives way to “All Christians Mobilize for the War on Christmas!” Just like “Oceania has always been at peace with Eurasia” gives way to “Oceania has always been at peace with Eastasia”.
And there’s this bit of wisdom from a forgotten snark blog, about giving out Jack Chick tracts for Halloween:
“If anyone tries to give you a Chick Tract for trick-or-treat, you have my permission and blessing to punch them in the junk.”
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@Ann:
It’s high-pressure guilt/fear manipulation.
SELL THAT FIRE INSURANCE!
Internet Monk had one of the best essays on the subject:
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/thoughts-on-hell-house-an-evangelicalism-eager-to-leave
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@JulieAnne:
Maybe Mike Warnke and the Satanic Panic are passing out of living memory?
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are we saying that church is Hell?
Sounds like it to me.
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We like to have a campfire, roast hot dogs, make s’mores and read the story of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses. We’ve also watched a couple different movie versions of the story. We also do costumes sometimes at youth group and the kids trade candy. We also carve pumpkins at the assisted living home and leave a couple to help them decorate for Halloween.
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When I saw the above picture this morning, I thought it was a fantastic way to set yourself apart from your neighbors and you would certainly isolate yourself. If you don’t want to pass out candy, don’t turn on your light or answer the door if someone does knock. But if you really want your neighbors to stay away forever, then for sure post that sign!
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We also have friends that have a fall festival every year complete with games, a meal and dancing to live music. I have children a variety of ages and they all love it. So all in all, we have no shortage of celebrating this time of year. There is much to be thankful for – the first being a loving triune God.
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I was raised Roman Catholuc and attended Catholic school. We always had a costume party at school. We aso went trick or treating when we were young. When we were Tweens we went trick or treating for UNICEF and then had a party. The next dat, All Saints Day was a holy day of obligation,, so we all went to Mass.being so young I didn’t realize any spiritual war going on, but now that I think of it I can maybe see some symbolism. If Halloween is pagan , then all Saints Day shows God overcomes and s more powerful. Just a thought. I left the catholic church at age 16, so what do I know.
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A long long time ago in a state far away, I grew up in a Christian family that had strange strange Halloween traditions.
We never got trick-or-treaters, that was a town thing. As early as I remember, my mom would make treats and we would take them to local school teachers and Sunday School teachers in the area.
When I got older, I used to join with some other country kids and we would go “Trick or Treat for U.N.I.C.E.F.”
Needless to say for most of my childhood, Halloween was about giving rather than taking.
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It was never a huge thing here in Oz for a long time, but these days it’s pretty rampant; most kids will get dressed up as skeletons, zombies, all that kind of stuff. I don’t think the pumpkin thing takes off because they cost about $30 each. We’re not letting our daughter do it though; we take her to the lolly shop instead and get her heaps of chocolates. Neither my wife nor i did trick or treating when growing up, and because of how kids do it here I don’t really want her to either.
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I researched this when I first became a Christian and found about 50 different answers. A couple of years I handed out messages about how being Christian is like being a pumpkin on Halloween — cleaned out and lit up! (hangs head)
I have never heard of or seen the Hell Houses, though. That is just creepy beyond belief.
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There seems to be different “histories” of Halloween. I’ve heard that it is a satanic holiday, a Christian holiday, a celebration of the defeat of evil spirits (which is why we say “boo”, because demons cannot harm us due to Christ’s resurrection, thus we mock them), and on and on. Everybody’s got their “sources” for what they believe.
It seems that Halloween as a cultural fun day is so far removed from any of that, that it is relatively harmless.
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Well I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to a Halloween party dressed as Mark Driscoll. I already went to the used book store and grabbed up a dozen copies of his books to hand out. I got a great deal and paid an average of 25 cents a book. A buddy of mine is going as Tony Milano complete with bullhorn. Lastly a redhead friend of mine is going as Julie Anne and will spend the night chasing us around with a laptop. We will of course be hiding from her as we are scare of her, and NOT just on Halloween.
I was going to go as RC Sproul but it’s an alcohol free party.
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LOL – the tears are rolling. Hilarious, Scott! I can’t stop laughing.
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@ Marsha:
I know. That was my first thought too. God forbid your children grow up to be like that! 😉
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Scott,
lol That idea is hilarious, but could you burn the books instead of handing them out.
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My family doesn’t celebrate Halloween, but really that’s only out of habit. When I was little my parents made that decision based somewhat on the fact that there were some covens in our area, but nowadays it’s mostly just a reflex and we were never legalistic about it. We were never real big into Halloween in the first place so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice. We replaced it with a night where we make food from various countries in our genealogical background. This is way more fun for me anyway because I like cooking a lot better than dressing up. So on Friday I get to make Irish food. 🙂
I went to harvest parties at AWANA growing up, and to Reformation Day parties when I was dabbling in the PCA. I don’t care nowadays if somebody celebrates Halloween and don’t think it’s an issue, at least from a pagan roots standpoint. Maybe it could be a problem in some very specific circumstances (like, everyone in your town is pagan/Wiccan), but for most people I think it’s a secular holiday about eating candy, dressing up and scaring yourself. So if I was invited to a Halloween party and had a suitable costume, I’d go.
I think the bigger issue with Halloween nowadays is that so many of the costumes seem to have become unnecessarily sexualized. But that’s hardly a problem only with Halloween (Santa Baby, anybody? – hate that song SOOOOO much).
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Scott, don’t forget your kilt, a copy of A Defence of Virginia and the South, grape juice in a baby bottle, [and perhaps a paddle (if you believe the whispers)].
Chris (for the wolf comment) and Scott (for the New Calv costumes) get my applause. I must be in a super serious mood, because all I did was smile. (But I want the Julie Anne costume.)
The problem is that most people, even Christians, will have no clue who any of the Driscolls, Mianos, or Sprouls are, and I doubt that they know much about Julie Anne, either. We’re a population that is too close to the epicenter of pain and destruction that we don’t see the whole landscape. A few atheists who take delight in watching crazy Christians get into trouble might recognize Driscoll, and people who used to go to Mars Hill might give you a travel size packet of K-Y instead of candy.
Though complementarianism has *affected* about 27 million people in this country, the truth is that most people don’t know who these wing nuts are. I would bet that only a third of those affected feign to accept it, and fewer still follow it. Heck, the people who preach it don’t follow it either. In a few neighborhoods in Louisville, Seattle, and maybe some places in the Bible Belt, the costumes might be recognized. But honestly, most people wouldn’t get the references, even if someone carried Driscoll’s books. They are self-marginalized jokes that people might have read something about on the Daily Kos once or twice in their lifetime. And for Christians outside of the comp bubble, if they even read Christianity Today or World, they don’t remember who these folks are.
Like Russell Moore once said at a Different by Design conference, all Christians should strive to look like “a kingdom of freaks.” Many in this weird little subculture have taken his advice, but there are so many examples of judgmental, pompous, shock-jock, discipline-driven pastors around today that most regular people just don’t even take notice of them. Instead, they just feel more disdain for religion. These guys are so busy trying to prove to themselves and their cadre that they are more special to God than everyone else that they don’t even realize that they have isolated themselves and have made engaging the world as evangelists nearly impossible. But that’s how spiritual abuse works.
Click to access spiritualabuseprofile.pdf
–Authoritarianism (hierarchy anywhere you can exploit it, in family, church or society; Al Mohler and 9 Marks business about when you can change churches)
–Perfectionism (piety and paradigms)
–Image Consciousness (elitism that shows that you’re more special than others; culture wars and kingdom of freaks)
–Suppressing of Criticism (discipline; think of Tullian T, TGC, and SGM)
–Unbalanced (majoring on minor, hobby horse doctrines in place of the main and plain messages of Chrsitianity)
I need some chocolate. I just so happen to have a bottle of mocha Grumppuchino (TM) in the fridge. I need some theobromide, magnesium, and caffeine in that order. If I feel naughty enough after that, I might get my old slide rule out of my desk, print some maps with “The Way Home” written on them with a Sharpie to carry around (I’m not spending a dime on that book that’s half full of screed), get some voter registration applications/birth certificates, and tape one of my husband’s spare glass eyes upside down over one of my lids to dress up. I’ll send a bottle of Grumppuchino to the first person who can guess who I am.
(Boy, I am really in a bad mood, despite the most excellent costume references from Chris and Scott.)
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@Hester:
“Santa Baby” routinely gets voted “Worst Xmas Song of All Time” in poll after poll.
Morning drive-time talk-show host where I am (AKA mouthy Brazilian Jew) has two teenage daughters and lately goes on rants about Halloween costumes available for their age group and parties — “Nurse-Whore, Cop-Whore, Little Red Riding Whore..” The latest is “Sexy Ebola Nurse Hazmat Suit, AKA ‘E-BOOB-la’.”
In the words of the prophet Frank Zappa:
“Stupidity is like hydrogen; it’s the basic building block of the universe.”
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@ HUG:
Thank God. Glad I’m not the only one who thought Santa-as-Marilyn-Monroe’s-sugar-daddy was more than a little bit pervy.
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Scott that was really funny.
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Julie Anne I was really struggling with something the whole wolf / sheep theme. In the wild wolves are very noble creatures breath taking and fiercely loyal to their clan, they are monogamous. Wolves are highly intelligent mammals, and they play a key role in the ecosystem they inhabit. Sheep, not so much. I think it does wolves a dishonor being compared to some of the clowns we talk about here who could learn a few things from real wolves in the wild. Just a thought.
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Very true, Brian. And they are beautiful, too.
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@brian:
I’ve said similar on other blogs. Instead of calling these guys “wolves”, call them “feral dog packs”. Wolves have more class than that.
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The only problem I see with not calling them wolves is that the Bible does call them wolves, ravenous at that.
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Hey, I liked Eartha Kitt. 😉
Looks like I’m keeping my Grumppuchino!
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When I was a little girl, my best friend was a Jehovah’s Witness. I saw how she was not permitted to do anything fun…no birthday parties, no Christmas, no holiday celebrations, etc, etc. It really bothered me. Then I came to know Jesus as a young adult and I had people around me that were basically like JW’s and I swore my children would never go through what my friend in a cult went through. I had found life and freedom in Christ!! In our family we celebrated, we partied, we had fun and that fun never detracted from the truth of who Jesus is. Today all my adult children love the Lord and are continuing the “party,” the celebration of life, with their children!
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We will have all our unbelieving neighbours, with their children, coming to our house tomorrow night. I’m dressing up like (a granny equivalent to) Amy Winehouse and hubby is (old man) Elvis. We are going to laugh and love on those little kids and give them as much candy as their little hands can hold, and tell them “God bless you” as they leave.
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I love it, Anita!!
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In some areas, if you do not give out candy, your house will be egged or worse. Last year, my husband had died about a week and a half before Halloween. I turned off my porch light and nobody came. What I normally do is give out candy, when we run out, I turn off the light.
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Enjoying the conversation here!
Would I get a pitch fork tossed my way if I stated that we do not care to celebrate or give any honor to the day of hallow ‘een in any way, shape or form? We have an antique fork in the barn, surrounded by cobwebs that lost it tines long ago. It pitched volumes of dairy cow manure……throw that one my way please! Smile intended!
Would it bother some if I said that we can have joyful, active and faithful Christian lives if we considered it another day that our LORD hath made?
Would it generate hostility in the hearts of men if I said that in not giving any acknowledgement to this day conjures up judgment even from who profess Christ. The hurtful comments, the whispering and tale bearing, the slander and lies, and the false accusations made against those who choose not to honor this day is absolutely breathtaking.
We address the “peer pressure” amongst our youth, however, adult peer pressure can be absolutely wicked in the sight of our LORD! Unbelievably wicked…..and from the churched no less……could the phrase “hate bombing” as opposed to “love bombing” be applicable here? Psalm 1 gives us a good Word concerning the spirit of this age. Our family chooses not to make a big deal about this particular day and we do not sit around and brag and boast about how “great” we are in not celebrating this particular festival, aka, self righteousness in the raw. It is just not a big deal to us and our Bibles do not command us to celebrate special days so we are not “sinning”…..every day is a gift from our LORD as long as He allows us to breathe upon this land. Jesus is LORD of the Sabbath and every day too-boot!
However, other people take notice of the way in which we choose to live our lives, and it bothers them to no end when you don’t succumb to their ways and their desires. There is a police force roaming the high ways and bi-ways, and yes, even those rural gravel roads….we choose to call those people “god’s (Not the LORD of our Scriptures here) police force, who desire to lord over those they deem are the lesser in their eyes. So indeed, the lesser we shall be and the profound joy we shall have in knowing that the ways of this world act in opposition to the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My comments are not intended to rain on anyone’s parade here, for our freedom in Christ give us great joy in knowing that He is our King, and not that of any man. Psalm 118:8.
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JA, that first Angry Birds jack o’lantern rocks. My own kids are trying out one of those kits that are kind of like Lite Brites, but for a pumpkin.
Our former PCA church used to have Reformation Day parties as a deliberate alternative to Halloween for those parents who wished to take advantage of it. I’m all for kids knowing church history, but we always chose to take ours trick or treating. I have some good memories of doing that myself back before every neighborhood had established these rigid hours and rules for doing it.
Regarding sexy costumes, that is why I had to get the man’s version of a ninja costume for my older daughter.
Now if I really wanted to do something scary, I would take everyone trick or treating in the west side of Cincinnati while dressed in a giant bedbug costume.
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Katy said:
“Would it generate hostility in the hearts of men if I said that in not giving any acknowledgement to this day conjures up judgment even from who profess Christ. The hurtful comments, the whispering and tale bearing, the slander and lies, and the false accusations made against those who choose not to honor this day is absolutely breathtaking.”
Seriously? You have been slandered and lied about, whispered and gossiped and lied about because you don’t “celebrate” Halloween? Wow. I’m glad I don’t run in your circles.
Katy, I fully respect your decision not to “celebrate” Halloween. No hate here.
I do it for the kids. Harvest party, Trunk or Treat, whatever you want to call it. We are an “older” couple and we are dressing up for our neighbor kids that will be coming around. We look at it as a way to “connect” with folks we rarely see.
I completely understand your point of view to not “celebrate” it. Blessings!
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I wonder if the “Judgement House” mentioned above are anything like the “Hallelujah House” shown in this classic cartoon. I know it’s satire, but what with Poe’s Law and all… for all I know the writers have come close to the mark.
(Sorry about the lousy quality, this is the only place I could find it online. If you want to see the other two parts for the whole story, they’re right there on YouTube.)
P.S. Happy Halloween / Harvest / Reformation Day / Whatever! To everyone! 🙂
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True confession.
We had only one small batch of trick or treaters so there was a lot of candy left over.
….Was.
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I sure hope we get a lot of trick-or-treaters at our door. I have no self control when it comes to Reese’s.
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Stick those Reese’s in the fridge or freezer. They’ll keep for a long time. (Some people think they’re better that way.)
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Howdy people!
Been a while, but today is a HOLIDAY! Yesterday I asked our foreman if we were working on Friday (today). He said, “No, we never work on Halloween!” He was only kidding, of course. Our 4 tens were done for the week.
Well, for those who do not celebrate ANYTHING for religious reasons, it’s up to you. There is no guilt trip EITHER WAY. If you celebrate, great! If you don’t, great. But, to those who PUT a guilt trip on anyone who does, or does not, THAT IS WRONG according to the Bible.
Paul, the Apostle, states these kinds of things about our freedom in the lack of faith section of the Bible.
For example, in regards to eating meat offered to pagan gods, EAT THE MEAT. For you know that the god that it was sacrificed to is no god at all. But if it is going to CAUSE another to stumble in their faith, then DON’T EAT THE MEAT.
From the King James language, Paul states in another spot, “Conscience, not thine own, but of the other, why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience.
Finally,
Romans 14:5-6King James Version (KJV)
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
I take this opportunity to scare those who oppose other peoples God Given Freedom to live their lives the way that they see fit, including eating meat offered to idols.
BOO to those who wish to shove your bondage down other peoples throats!
Remember, Paul said to EAT THE MEAT. Paul was NOT weak in his faith, as those who refuse to eat the meat are, because religion tells you to not eat the meat. Religion tells you to not celebrate Halloween. God didn’t.
Eat the candy!
Ed
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Hey Ed. Great to see you. I’m going to raid my kids’ stash right now.
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I put all of my chocolate in the freezer. It doesn’t make me eat it any slower, but oh so much flavor that way. No chocolate in my freezer though for 6 weeks. Dr. says I have to behave myself. : (
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Ed,
So very glad to see you here, so to speak. I’ve been thinking about you and thought you had disappeared.
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I have no self control when it comes to Reese’s.
Julie Anne, you and me both. And of course that’s what I bought.
The other half thinks I bought my favorite on purpose so I could eat it.
I deny all charges, whether or not they might be true! 🙂
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I just ignore Halloween. But its easy when you live somewhere that tricker-treaters don’t frequent, like apartments with a security gate. I’m glad I don’t get tricker-treaters, because I don’t want to open the door to some Calvinist in a John Calvin costume for “Reformation Day.” I think I’d die of a heart-attack; it would be much scarier than someone in an Ebola suit.
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Scott,
I’ve been laughing/chuckling most of the day regarding your 10/28 comment, too funny.
I always tell people to look for a church in their community that has a Harvest/Fall Festival; have some wonderful memories thanks to Ann for inviting me and my family. Plus, I think of the safety factor of cars vs. tricker treaters and visibility.
Having gotten radio teaching believe in 70’s of why Christians should never celebrate Halloween; speaker did total History Lesson. Unfortunately read lot’s of books on subject (which would help later in exposing child abuse). Being a stupid self-righteous brainwashed Christian for many years living under such guilt, condemnation, criticism. A neighborhood church reached out to their community that had wonderful Harvest Festival, carnival, items for children and adults alike.
Appreciated the fellowship/food/refreshments and it was open to anyone. Thank goodness for the heart/vision of this staff Church of Nazarene to always reach out, they had Voting Polls, affordable child daycare, Holiday music etc., to attend and enjoy. What was wonderful, was within walking distance. It was FUN, FUN, FUN.
Being Christian in an event without being religious. You never know who you are going to reach or impact.
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P.S. You are ALL so wonderful to share..make me laugh and share your candy stories. Reminiscing of being a former candy junkie. Also, wished I had paid more attention to the neighborhood church, there were three within walking distance.
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