IS IT OK TO CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN?
INTRO: Some years ago when the Harry Potter books were being made into movies, people wanted me to address the subject from the Pulpit. In so doing, I addressed Halloween and Harry Potter. In order to keep this relatively short, this column only addresses Halloween. If you’d like the sermon (#2038), email darleen@gcccpray.com or call 856-582-0222.
Every year at Halloween people ask me, “Is it alright to celebrate Halloween?” And every year I tell people the same thing: “To the pure all things are pure.” What I mean by that is, if you have a problem with it, “Don’t,” if you don’t have a problem with it, “Do it and have fun.” Personally I have no problem with Halloween. Here’s why:
ILLUSTRATION: Now that I look back on it, this is somewhat surprising. Remember I grew up “Pilgrim Holiness.” As “Holiness,” practically everything was wrong except going to church – yet we were allowed to celebrate Halloween. And celebrate it we did! We’d go out with pillowcases, fill them up, come home, empty them, and go out again. Afterwards, those of us who went out together would compare our goodies and even trade for our favorite candies. Never once, not for a moment, did any of us think we were honoring Satan by going “trick or treat.” Why? We never even thought of it as Satan’s day, it was a time for us to have good clean fun and get all kinds of goodies.
I still remember the Halloween parties where we would get prizes for the best costume. The person who remained unidentified for the longest time won the ultimate prize. How clearly I recall Bob Westcott – we were all night trying to figure out who was under that outfit. Finally, somebody recognized the boots – Bobby boy won first place.
When Sheryl and I directed the Youth group at Mt Pleasant Church we would run a Scare Mare at Halloween. Hundreds of kids came through. The last room was a funeral parlor. By then they’d be scared to death. We’d give the plan of salvation. We had hundred’s of “decisions.” How many “disciples” was another story. We would say afterwards, “Just because you scare the hell out of people doesn’t mean you put them in heaven.”
WHAT AM I SAYING? If you want Halloween to be an evil holiday, then most likely for you it will be. If you want Halloween to be a time of clean, wholesome fun – it will be. “To the pure all things are pure.”
1 Cor. 8:4-6 tells us:
[4] So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. [5] For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), [6] yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
[4] So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. [5] For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), [6] yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
IN OTHER WORDS Paul is saying, “I could eat food offered to idols and it would never bother me, because I know idols are nothing. Only God is God.” Again, “to the pure all things are pure.”
