My dear readers,

Halloween – To Shun or Not to Shun?

Halloween is a contraction of “All Hallow’s Eve”. “All Hallow’s” means “All Saints’”. The eve of All Saints’ Day is 31 October.

The Origin – “Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain ... The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. ... Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. ... By A.D. 43, the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the 400 years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

“The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of bobbing for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. ... On May 13, A.D. 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1. ... By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older Celtic rites. In A.D. 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday. ... All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.” [https://www.history.com/ topics/halloween/history-of-halloween]

Halloween began as purely paganistic, but evolved through the centuries into something “Christian” like.

The Biblical Evaluation – It is true that every culture on earth, other than Israel’s, has its origin in idolatry or some form of superstition. The Christian’s biblical guideline in evaluating all cultural practices is whether superstition or residual idolatrous practices remain, and not their origins only. If there is none, they are permitted to be observed, but always as unto the Lord. Romans 14:5-8: “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. 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.” The phrase “as unto the Lord” means that fellow believers’ faith and unbelievers’ salvation must always be considered before any culture practices are observed. In this way, all things will be done to God's glory. 1 Corinthians 10:32-33: “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”

Is the observance of Halloween devoid of superstition or any unbiblical teaching? If it is not, then it must be shunned by all believers. Based upon the grotesque manner it is observed today, with its themes of witches, wizards, gory masks and devilish depictions of ghosts and skeletons commemorating death and the dead, all Christians must shun the observance of Halloween and warn others of its harmful practices.

The instruction from God's Word is clear on such occult practices. It protected Israel. It saves sinners. Deuteronomy 18:9-14: “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”

These occult practices and superstitions belong to the worship of idols engineered by the god of this world who blinded the minds of the ones who do not have the truth of God in Christ.

Israel was the people of God. They became a holy nation when the LORD gave her the Promised Land. Israel was the light to a world in darkness and in sin. By her holy witness, she pointed sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. From the clothes the Israelites wore, the food they were and were not permitted to eat, to their holy Feast days and worship of the LORD, Israel was to point sinners to the reality of the one living and true God and His great love for them in Christ! Women like Rahab and Ruth came to know the LORD through the Word of God and what God did in and through Israel. If Israel were to observe or embrace any of these occult practices of the Canaanites that they conquered and destroyed, they would compromise and neutralise their holy witness. The world would plunge into spiritual darkness without a nation of spiritual light. The cost is to spend eternity in hell.

Any sinner who believes in Christ through the holy gospel will be saved from hell. Without Christ, sinners will die in sin as they were born with sin in them.

When Israel rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, i.e. Christ, God replaced Israel, His national witness, with the church witness from the time of Pentecost in Acts 2. The principle of keeping the church holy is the same as that of the nation. Preaching and defending the Word of God and the honour of Christ demands that all believers shun Halloween and everything it stands for. But some may say that Halloween is fun and seems harmless! Therein lies the seductive nature of deception. The gory, grotesque and devilish portrayal of the powers of darkness in light-hearted banter, mixed with fun and laughter, is the best way to promote the devil’s narcissistic personality. Jesus warns every discerning believer that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

If the believer or the church is holy in Christ, Halloween and all similar practices must be shunned and warned against. Protecting the holy Name of Christ in the believer and the church is every believer’s duty. To compromise in the slightest is a grievous transgression against God, an offence to God’s children, and a great stumbling to sinners.