It’s that time of year again, when certain well-meaning but misinformed Christians sin against their fellow believers by questioning their salvation and accusing them of inviting demonic activity.
One young woman told me she is ‘called’ to spend her time looking into these things, so she can warn everyone about the evil of Halloween.
The crime in question? Participating, in any way, in anything related to Halloween. Well, except for denouncing it — the well-meaning/misinformed group enthusiastically participates in things like this:
Diane Schrader
I appreciate the zeal of the people who came up with this. They want people to stop being evil and turn to Jesus.
But there are so many things wrong with this approach.
Let’s unpack some of their base philosophies on this — all of them pretty questionable.
Halloween is evil
The first false assumption is that Halloween is inherently evil.
The history of Halloween is a mash-up of Catholic and pagan traditions. All Hallows’ Eve (“hallow” means holy) was the night before All Saints’ Day, an explicitly Catholic celebration to remember dead saints, which intersected with pagan harvest time traditions related to the belief that the dead could come back as ghosts — thus the “spooky” imagery of the holiday.
Trick-or-treating seems to have emerged from a medieval British practice called “souling,” where the poor would go door-to-door on November 1 or 2, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food, often “soul cakes.”
Are some pagan roots evident here? Yep, just like a lot of things in our culture. Our names for the days of the week, for instance, reflect the names of pagan gods — like Thursday is named for the god Thor.
The key point here, though, is that nobody will be worshipping Thor this next Thursday, most likely. Because how something started is largely irrelevant. What matters is how it is today.
Halloween traditions brought to the U.S. by immigrants from Britain, Ireland, and Scotland became increasingly mischievous and destructive in the early 20th century, sometimes leading to outright vandalism or violence. To curb this behavior, in the 1930s, various community groups, civic organizations, parents, and churches began promoting organized, door-to-door treat-collecting for younger children.
Trick-or-treating exploded in popularity after World War II and, as it was heavily marketed by the candy companies, grew into a cultural staple representing good clean fun for America’s kids.
That is what changed, and for the vast majority of Americans, that is where we are today.
So no, Halloween is not inherently evil, even in its history, nor is the American tradition of trick-or-treating.
Light should have nothing to do with darkness …
We can agree on this one; it’s in the Bible, of course — “what fellowship has light with darkness?”
The problem is, as we just clarified above, that children trick-or-treating, which is 99.99% of Halloween for most American families, is not “darkness.”
Ironically, the misled are actually taking this passage out of context, because it certainly is not arguing that we can’t go out and be around “darkness” (unbelievers). On the contrary, how can we love them if we hide away from them?
The real meaning of the passage surfaces when we read the whole thing:
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? —2 Corinthians 6:14
This is prohibiting close attachments with non-Christians that might compromise the Christian’s faith — think marriage or perhaps a business partner.
It’s hardly an injunction against going outside on an October evening and chatting with trick-or-treaters.
… but we’re just fascinated with darkness
It is my observation that the misled crowd tends to be more interested in ferreting out sordid aspects of the darkness than they are in bringing light.
Some even boast of having “gone down the rabbit hole” of “research” on Halloween. But it isn’t actual research, or they would at least have some of the basics down (see above, “Halloween is evil” section).
Instead, they grab onto and fearmonger the most horrific (yet undocumented) claims. We’re talking about TikTok videos from highly questionable “pastors,” spurious claims by “ex-witches,” or paragraph after paragraph detailing pagan gods and occult practices — none of this is a good use of time for most Christians.
One young woman told me she is “called” to spend her time looking into these things, so she can warn everyone about the evil of Halloween. She might be called; I’m just not sure who’s doing the calling. Because this is what we’re told to focus on:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things. —Philippians 4:8
There’s no darkness in that (above) at all!
Anyway, here are a few of the claims repeatedly made “from the dark side.”
CLAIM: You’re worshipping the devil when you trick-or-treat, whether you want to or not! (A lot of credit is given to what satanists have allegedly said about all this.)
FACT-CHECK: You can’t be “tricked” into worshipping the devil.
CLAIM: Halloween is the worst day for human trafficking!
FACT-CHECK: There is zero supporting evidence; there is no “worst day” for human trafficking, according to law enforcement.
CLAIM: Also human sacrifice.
FACT-CHECK: Again, zero supporting evidence for this.
CLAIM: Witches are out casting spells on Halloween; being outside risks having a demon attach to you.
FACT-CHECK: You can’t accidentally pick up a demon; you have to willfully sin to invite that kind of activity.
CLAIM: If your neighbor is a witch or a satanist, the neighbor curses the candy, and that demonic presence comes into your home!
FACT-CHECK: Your neighbors are most likely not witches or satanists. And if they are? “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” —1 John 4:4
RELATED: The last ethnic Halloween costume nobody apologizes for
NBC/Getty Images
All demons, all the time
There is a flavor of Christianity that tends to fall into this obsession with darkness, and it reaches its pinnacle in so-called “deliverance ministry.”
Deliverance ministry focuses on casting out demons and tearing down spiritual strongholds and uses language about curses, “soul ties,” and the “legal rights” of demons. Much of this is not biblical. There are people who claim “deliverance” is their gift, and they dig deep into the darkness because of that.
The problem is that there is no such gift in the Bible. Only Jesus and the apostles were able to cast out demons. No instruction about that is given to us, and there is not even the suggestion that we should try to interact with demons in any way. On the contrary, actually, as we’ll see below.
Instead, every believer is given everything we need to win at spiritual warfare, in the fight against the demonic:
- We are to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
- We are to resist the devil (James 4:7).
- We are not to give him room in our life at all (Ephesians 4:27).
- We are to seek God, who tells us we can overcome the world, by simple faith (1 John 5:4).
- We are to be alert and of sober mind (1 Peter 5:8-10). A magnificent passage, and not a word in there about ordering demons around.
The things I have heard some Christians say about “opening a door to demons” are truly troubling. Touching a crystal opens the door. Stretching your body in a way that yoga teaches opens the door. A pumpkin on your porch opens the door — and the person wasn’t even talking about a carved pumpkin — just a pumpkin. Or my very (least) favorite: Using alternative medicine opens the door.
Some of the most outspoken purveyors of this kind of thinking are people who were formerly involved in the occult. I respect their desire to stay far from anything that reminds them of their old lives. But they overstep when they blindly condemn others for a pumpkin, a stretch, or a trip to a functional medicine provider.
Believers, of course, cannot “accidentally dance with the devil.” We are sealed in Christ, who never lets us go, as multiple Scriptures attest. We have nothing to fear from demons while we walk in His light. We can walk outside on Halloween night, and we can even bring home a Hershey bar and not fret that it’s “cursed.”
However, Christians can certainly make choices that open them to satanic influence. Mindfully disobeying God puts you in a dangerous place. But we are bought and paid for by the blood of Christ, and obeying the Scriptures above is our ticket to spiritual safety.
The bad attitude of the demon-obsessed
It shouldn’t be too surprising that people who get caught up in demon obsession are going to respond very negatively to being told they’re on the wrong track.
But they prove they’re wrong with how they interact with the rest of us. Because it is wrong to demonize (pun intended) fellow believers who participate in neighborhood trick-or-treating. The spiritual pride of those who think they have it right leads to them saying some pretty appalling things.
This guy on the right below is a prime example, and Red Pen Logic does an excellent job of explaining how he’s wrong in this brief video.
The ‘Halloween Halters’
As for the “Halloween Halt” event advertised in the graphic at the beginning of this article, I think it’s pretty obvious that accosting families with children to tell them that their Halloween celebration is satanic is highly unlikely to win anyone to the cause of Christ, but it will certainly embitter, anger, and antagonize moms and dads just trying to enjoy this cultural tradition with their little ones.
Two truths the Halloween halters and haters are missing:
- God put you in your neighborhood for a reason.
- One night a year, God literally brings your neighbors to your door.
This is called a gospel opportunity, and next week I’ll share some ideas on how to make it truly a night of light.
This essay previously appeared at the She Speaks Truth Substack.
Read the full article here
