Happy Halloween, No Really!
Happy Halloween! I know that many Christians do not celebrate this holiday because of its pagan associations . I used to be one of them. Every year my wife and I would be in the store and we would walk down the Halloween costume and decor aisles and she would ask me, "Now why don't we celebrate Halloween again?" And I would always look at her and say, "Because it's a wicked, wicked holiday." Well, maybe I was wrong.
The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a Christian holiday in the literal sense. No where in the New Testament are we commanded to celebrate the birthday of Jesus or the anniversary of His death and resurrection. In fact we aren't commanded to keep any holidays at all. That is the interesting thing about the Christian religion, it never instituted any specific holy days. Christmas and Easter are just as pagan as Halloween in their historical roots.
Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying we should stop celebrating Christmas and Easter. What I am saying is that we should celebrate Halloween. (Here is a link to help you seperate the facts from the hype.)
Why would I say such a thing when so many Christians believe that it is such a wicked, wicked holiday? It goes back to the fact that Christ never instituted any specific holidays. Why didn't He do this? Was He against celebrating holidays? No, He celebrated many holidays himself. He never instituted holidays because Christianity isn't meant to have a specific culture like Judaism. Instead it is meant to transform the culture that it finds itself in from within the culture. That means we take over already existing creational structures (like holidays) within those cultures.
Someone will object and say "But Halloween isn't like Christmas and Easter, Halloween celebrates Satan and the powers of darkness." I have two responses to that objection. First, it isn't true. Christmas and Easter have roots that are just as pagan and satanic as Halloween. The only reason we as Christians don't have the problems with Christmas and Easter, like we do with Halloween, is because we have had partial success with transforming those holidays.
My second response is... so what. Are we just going to let Satan continue having his day? Are we going to allow rebellion against our God to go unchallenged?... just look the other way, refuse trick-or-treaters by turning our porch lights off. Do you really think we will transform the world by such a feeble silent protest. This is a fortress mentality. This is how you lose a war.
Let me illustrate my point with an example from a favorite hobby of mine, astronomy. There is a star that reaches its zenith near the time of Halloween, this star is a variable star named Algol. This name comes from its Arabic name Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head. Our English word ghoul comes from this name. Algol means the Demon. It is the Demon Star. The Hebrews knew this star as Rosh ha Satan, Satan's Head. (This information is taken from the book Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Dover Books on Astronomy)
by Richard Hinckley Allen)
Someone may say, "How does this illustrate your point? It looks like it contradicts it." "After all", they may say, "it just goes to show that the powers of evil and darkness are on the rise at Halloween."
The reason this illustrates my point is because Algol is in the severed head of Medusa in the constellation Perseus, the Champion or Rescuer as he is sometimes called. The point I am trying to make is at the height of its supposed power the enemy is defeated by the Champion. The kingdom of darkness has already been destroyed. Satan's power has been severed.
So, if the world wants to celebrate the darkness then we should not just role over and let them have their day. No, we instead celebrate the light and its victory over the darkness. We announce to the world that they celebrate in defeat.
We don't do this by offering a Christian alternative to Halloween but by redeeming the holiday and declaring the antithesis. We don't need a Christian substitute for Halloween. What we need is a Christian Halloween. Many of the same elements that are used in the holiday can still be used such as trick or treat, costumes, pumpkins, and even jack-o-lanterns. Since our Champion has conquered Satan, we should use the spoils of the enemy to announce the victory of our King.
So, I say again, Happy Halloween!
The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a Christian holiday in the literal sense. No where in the New Testament are we commanded to celebrate the birthday of Jesus or the anniversary of His death and resurrection. In fact we aren't commanded to keep any holidays at all. That is the interesting thing about the Christian religion, it never instituted any specific holy days. Christmas and Easter are just as pagan as Halloween in their historical roots.
Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying we should stop celebrating Christmas and Easter. What I am saying is that we should celebrate Halloween. (Here is a link to help you seperate the facts from the hype.)
Why would I say such a thing when so many Christians believe that it is such a wicked, wicked holiday? It goes back to the fact that Christ never instituted any specific holidays. Why didn't He do this? Was He against celebrating holidays? No, He celebrated many holidays himself. He never instituted holidays because Christianity isn't meant to have a specific culture like Judaism. Instead it is meant to transform the culture that it finds itself in from within the culture. That means we take over already existing creational structures (like holidays) within those cultures.
Someone will object and say "But Halloween isn't like Christmas and Easter, Halloween celebrates Satan and the powers of darkness." I have two responses to that objection. First, it isn't true. Christmas and Easter have roots that are just as pagan and satanic as Halloween. The only reason we as Christians don't have the problems with Christmas and Easter, like we do with Halloween, is because we have had partial success with transforming those holidays.
My second response is... so what. Are we just going to let Satan continue having his day? Are we going to allow rebellion against our God to go unchallenged?... just look the other way, refuse trick-or-treaters by turning our porch lights off. Do you really think we will transform the world by such a feeble silent protest. This is a fortress mentality. This is how you lose a war.
Let me illustrate my point with an example from a favorite hobby of mine, astronomy. There is a star that reaches its zenith near the time of Halloween, this star is a variable star named Algol. This name comes from its Arabic name Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head. Our English word ghoul comes from this name. Algol means the Demon. It is the Demon Star. The Hebrews knew this star as Rosh ha Satan, Satan's Head. (This information is taken from the book Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Dover Books on Astronomy)
by Richard Hinckley Allen)Someone may say, "How does this illustrate your point? It looks like it contradicts it." "After all", they may say, "it just goes to show that the powers of evil and darkness are on the rise at Halloween."
The reason this illustrates my point is because Algol is in the severed head of Medusa in the constellation Perseus, the Champion or Rescuer as he is sometimes called. The point I am trying to make is at the height of its supposed power the enemy is defeated by the Champion. The kingdom of darkness has already been destroyed. Satan's power has been severed.
So, if the world wants to celebrate the darkness then we should not just role over and let them have their day. No, we instead celebrate the light and its victory over the darkness. We announce to the world that they celebrate in defeat.
We don't do this by offering a Christian alternative to Halloween but by redeeming the holiday and declaring the antithesis. We don't need a Christian substitute for Halloween. What we need is a Christian Halloween. Many of the same elements that are used in the holiday can still be used such as trick or treat, costumes, pumpkins, and even jack-o-lanterns. Since our Champion has conquered Satan, we should use the spoils of the enemy to announce the victory of our King.
So, I say again, Happy Halloween!
posted by James at 1:05 PM
1 Comments:
I have to agree with you on so many points you made. Personally, I think we should take Halloween and use it to reach out to the world. When else do you get the chance to reach so many children (and teenagers) with the Truth? Instead of not passing out candy or such, why not type a verse from scripture (with its reference) and attach it to the candy? A lot of them will probably get tossed in the trash, but how many of them will be read and open up questions? And if the parents don't know what we're referring to, maybe they'll have to ask someone and that will drive them to the Light.
I came from a Catholic background and when I first found out the roots of Easter, I had a lot of problems with that holiday. In fact, I still do. But instead of thinking of where we as Christians got the day, I've been trying to concentrate on what it means to us and the fact that we're celebrating Christ's resurrection and put it in that perspective.
Maybe that's what we need to do with Halloween, too. The way I see it, the world today belongs to Satan and if we just shunned everything to do with it because it's evil, we wouldn't get any where. So let's take Halloween and turn it into a celebration for Christ. If it was done for Christmas and Easter, then why can't we do it for Halloween, too?
That article you referenced was very interesting, also. It's funny how relatively "innocent" Halloween started out and to see how it's changed into what it is today. It's also interesting to note where most of the changes took place (here in America - a supposedly Christian nation). It reconfirms my theory that people will tend to do what is in their hearts (especially when it's bad) and just use anything as an excuse for their behavior. And the general public will buy into it. What ever happened to taking responsibility for your actions and not trying to put the blame on someone else, your genes or the devil? But enough of that, before I get on my own soap box.
I hope this web site stays active, as I'm finding it very interesting and a nice way to communicate thoughts and ideas especially when it's difficult to do so in person.
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