The Enemy's Victory: Darkened Homes and Harvest Parties (another POV)

The Enemy's Victory: Darkened Homes and Harvest Parties

By Andy Freeman
Guest Contributor

CBN.com – I realize this column is going to bring down the wrath of Preacher, teacher, and parent alike. But someone has to break the illusion. Here goes.

The biggest trick played on Halloween is Christian kids and adults being bottled up inside churches or homes all night. That’s right! Hiding from the devil in the family life center and surrendering the neighborhood to little Ghouls, goblins, and witches is a victory for old Beelzebub. He’s got the church right where he wants it: inside the four walls, hunkered down behind the stained glass.

Think about it. How many chances do you get to mix with our neighbors during the year? At my house we are blessed with a 4^th of July block party. Otherwise, Halloween may be it for many of you. And what is your relationship evangelism strategy? Either hustle the kids over to church before nightfall or worse, you turn out the lights, don’t answer the children at the door, thereby demonstrating your Christian love and hospitality. But if you do encounter a child in a pink bunny costume it goes something like this:

"We don’t celebrate Halloween! There’s no candy here for you, kid! Now get out of here".

And the parents of the pink bunny waiting at the foot of your sidewalk say:

"Boy, honey. There’s something really different about that mean family that sits in the dark every Halloween. I really want what they have in their life."

Isn’t it time to turn loose a few of those little Moses and Davids into your community?

Imagine the shock when an Angel instead of a devil greets the nice lady down the block. A child who says "please", "thank you" and yes, even "Jesus loves you" and "God bless you" as they receive their mini-Snickers or Candy corn. And please, please, please you well-meaning brethren: give the kids that come to your door the best candy treat on the entire block along with that tract. Some of you give six years olds a little "be warm and filled" treatment every Halloween. Give them something sweet for the palate as well as the soul.

Never forget: Jesus came to serve the sick and broken. He loved being at the well, by the sea, and in the marketplace. He would never have said "run and hide, its Halloween!"

Don’t teach children to fear Satan. Help them understand Christ has overcome the world. He has made us victors in Him. He loves all of His creation.

Remember what He said:

" You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket (or in a dark house, or at a harvest party with church kids)! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father". Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus wants us to engage our neighbors and culture not hide from them this October 31^st.

Salvation is a Lifelong Process ~ Nancy Missler

What Is Salvation?

The word salvation actually means “to liberate, to set free or to loose.” It literally means to deliver from bonds (chains or shackles) by a payment or a ransom. 

(A “ransom” is something that is given in exchange for a life.) Matthew 20:28 tells us that Christ paid that ransom for us.⁶ 

He exchanged His Life for ours by shedding His Blood on the Cross.⁷ 
He freed us from our sins by His blood and “loosed us from the pangs of death.” 


“Salvation” then is a free gift that Christ wants everyone in the world to have.⁸ 

All that’s needed is for us to believe in what Christ did on the Cross (for the redemption of all mankind) and choose to be obedient to His commandments. By believing in Him, He promises that we will not perish, but have everlasting life.⁹ 
Romans 10: 9 says: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This simple act of belief is what makes one “declared not guilty” (or justified) before God. (Romans 3:26; 4:5-6) 


By accepting what Christ has done for us on the Cross, five things occur: 1) we are set free from our bonds of sin and reconciled to Him; 2) we are delivered from the penalty of death; 3) we are guaranteed an entrance to the Millennial Kingdom (and to heaven); 4) we are given the gift of a brand new spirit (which is like a “down payment,” a pledge or a seal that assures us His promises are true) (Ephesians 1:13-14); and finally, 5) we are given His eternal Life (His Love, wisdom and power) in our hearts. (Colossians 1:27; Romans 5:5)

Christ’s death on the Cross signified the end of the Old Covenant (old covenant with Israel) and the beginning of a new one, which provides regeneration and the forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ.¹⁰ Consequently, our salvation does not depend upon us, but rather upon Christ and His faithfulness. Our salvation, in fact, is actually guaranteed by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:4-6, 11-12)


Justification

When we first come to Christ and are “born again,” we are declared righteous and holy just like Romans 10:9 tells us. This is called justification, which is a judicial term meaning, “to be declared not guilty before God.” The word “justification” (Strong’s #1344, dikaioo) means to be acquitted, to render just, innocent or righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21) In other words, Christ has already paid the penalty for us and there is nothing more we can do to add to it. (Romans 3:24) It’s a free gift! (Titus 3:5) The price has already been paid. God uses the instrument of “grace” to accomplish this justification.¹¹


Being “justified” also means that we are guaranteed an entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven on the basis of what Christ has already done. He is the righteous and holy One, and He has imputed that righteousness and that holiness to us. The “down payment,” or the pledge or seal of this future redemption is the gift of His Spirit indwelling our own. (Ephesians 1:13) In other words, at our new birth, our “spirit” is saved. (Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8)

Even though at our new birth, we are “positionally” (an approved fact) reconciled to God, justified and declared not guilty before God, “experientially” (in our life actions), our character, our disposition and our temperament really haven’t changed a bit! Mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we are still the same! Christ has simply imputed (or accredited) His righteousness to us by means of a new spirit. It’s at this point that we true “life transformation” and this process is called “sanctification.”step to¬wards our total salvation. Because the completed work of “justification” is what introduces the complimentary work of “sanctification,” and eventually, “glorification.” must begin the long road toward Therefore, being justified before God is really just the first

It works something like this:

Our spirit (which is the energy source or power source of our lives) is saved at our new birth. (Ephesians 2:8-9) This, as we said, is called “justification.”¹² Our soul (which is made up our own natural thoughts, emotions and desires) is in the process of being saved through the “sanctification process” that we are all in now. (James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:8-9)13 And our bodies will be saved in the future at the resurrection which is called “glorification.”¹⁴ In other words, “complete salvation” is really a life-long process. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Help a Wiccan, Dress up Halloween to look Christian

HALLOWEEN

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

By Elliott Watson 

CBN.com – What about Halloween?

Should you and I be involved in the celebration of Halloween?

Finding the answer to this question has been an interesting journey in itself. I interviewed several people and then researched what many leading Christian writers, authors and spokesmen have written about the subject. I also searched various websites like www.christianitytoday.com,www.focusonthefamily.org, and www.cbn.com to read what others might be saying. What I found was an agreement on the origins of Halloween, but a mixture of recommendations about allowing our children to participate in this super-charged media driven holiday.

The origins of Halloween are Celtic in tradition and have to do with observing the end of summer sacrifices to gods in Druidic tradition. In what is now Britain and France, it was the beginning of the Celtic year, and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves. The waning of the sun and the approach of dark winter made the evil spirits rejoice and play nasty tricks. Believe it or not, most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to these old pagan rites and superstitions.

But what about today? Perhaps we can still learn from history. In the fourth century, Christians attempted to co-opt the holiday by celebrating the lives of faithful Christian saints the day before Halloween. This was a conscious attempt to provide an alternative and re-focus the day away from ghouls, goblins, ghosts, witches and other “haunted” experiences. Since that time many Christians have decided to allow their children to dress in more “innocent” costumes of pumpkins, princesses, Superman or as a cowboy. Part of this is due to the simple reality that in today’s Western culture it is nearly impossible to “avoid” Halloween.

Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, I was struck with the thought that I ought to further my search and find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they viewed the day as a simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity?

“Shock” is the only word to describe what I found. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question in my mind that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.

So after discovering this, what is a reasonable conclusion? As Christians you and I are placed in this world to be a light in a world of darkness. There is no lasting benefit to ignore a holiday that exists around us, but it also does harm to celebrate Halloween as it has originated and grown over the centuries.

My suggestion? Christians should be teaching their children (age appropriately) that:

• there is a spiritual world filled with goodness from God and evil from Satan (Eph. 2:1-10);
• life with Christ has power over darkness (I John 4:4); and
• those who celebrate Halloween either are unaware of its roots, or are intentionally promoting a world where evil is lauded and viewed as an ultimate power.

To counter the evil influence of Halloween, we need to join together and celebrate the reality of the heroic efforts of Christian saints over the evil in their day. Many leaders in the past -- and present -- have fulfilled the mandate of destroying the works of the devil through their sacrificial commitment to Christ and His Kingdom.

Too, rather than “hide” in the face of evil, we should unabashedly and boldly create an alternative that is positive and uplifting; that celebrates good over evil and the triumph of God over Satan. We need to provide an environment that also makes room for heaps of fun while using the day as a “teachable moment” to celebrate God’s protection, provision and purpose for our lives.

The Facts on Halloween ~ John Ankerberg, John Weldon and Dillon Burroughs

HALLOWEEN

The Facts on Halloween

By John Ankerberg, John Weldon and Dillon Burroughs
Guest Writers

CBN.com – (Excerpt from The Facts on Halloween by Harvest House Publishers)

In ad 835, Pope Gregory IV designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day (the term hallow refers to saints). The night before November 1, October 31, was known as All Hallows’ Evening. How did we get the termHalloween? Look at the name “All Hallows’ Evening.” If we drop the word “all,” the “s” on Hallows’, and the “v” and “ing” on evening, the result spells Halloween.

Long before the church gave this name to the evening before All Saints’ Day (a celebration in remembrance of saints and martyred saints), it had been celebrated in various ways in many places around the world. The book Every Day’s a Holiday accurately observes that Halloween “probably combines more folk customs the world around than will ever be sorted out, catalogued and traced to their sources.”

The Druids

It is generally agreed by historians that Halloween came to take the place of a special day celebrated by the ancient Druids. The Druids were the educated or priestly class of the Celtic religion. The Celts themselves were the first Aryan people who came from Asia to settle in Europe. In fact, we can see certain similarities between Druidism and the religion of India:

Celtic religion, presided over by the Druids (the priestly order) presents beliefs in various nature deities and certain ceremonies and practices that are similar to those in Indian religion. The insular Celts and the people of India also shared certain similarities of language and culture, thus indicating a common heritage.

For example, the Indian pagan gods Siva Pasupati (“lord of the animals”) and Savitr (“god of the sun”) are similar to the Celtic gods Cernunnos, a horned god who appears in the yoga position, and the god Lug, or Lugus (perhaps originally a sun god). “As in Hinduism, the Druids also believed in reincarnation, specifically in the transmigration of the soul, which teaches that people may be reborn as animals.”

The Celtic peoples lived in northern France, throughout the United Kingdom, and in Ireland. They engaged in occult arts, worshiped nature, and gave nature supernatural, animistic qualities. Certain trees or plants, such as oak trees and mistletoe, were given great spiritual significance. (According to Celtic authority Lewis Spence, the original meaning of the term Druid implies a priest of the oak cult.) Interestingly, it has been claimed that 90 percent of the world’s sometimes mysterious “crop circles” lie within the geographical proximity of the ancient and possibly Druidic ruins of Stonehenge. At least some of these phenomena may be considered supernatural.

What is the Occult?

Religious writers often use the word occult, but what does it mean? According to theOxford American Dictionary, occult can be defined as:

1.    secret, hidden except from those with more than ordinary knowledge. 
2.    involving the supernatural, occult powers. The occult [involves] the world of  the supernatural, mystical or magical.

In everyday usage, occult usually is used to refer to spiritual practices that focus on secret knowledge gained through personal experience or attempts to communicate with spirits. The term is used in reference to everything from ancient earth religions to modern conversations about ghosts and hauntings.

The Celts worshiped the sun god Belenus, especially on Beltane, May 1, and they worshiped another god, apparently the lord of death, or the lord of the dead, onSamhain (pronounced “SOW-wen” by Wiccans), October 31. Beltane (“Fire of Bel”) was the time of the summer festival, while Samhain was the time of the winter festival. Human sacrifice was offered during both occasions. According to Julius Caesar in his Commentaries and other sources, the Celts believed they were descended from the god Dis, a tradition handed down from the Druids. Dis was the Roman name for the god of the dead.

Of the 400 names of Celtic gods known, Belenus is mentioned most often. Samhainas the specific name of the lord of death is uncertain, but it is possible that the lord of death was the chief Druid deity. We’ll follow the common practice of other authors on this issue and refer to this deity by the name Samhain.

Druidic festivals

The Celts and their Druid priests began their New Year on November 1, which marked the beginning of winter. They apparently believed that on October 31, the night before their New Year and the last day of the old year, Samhain gathered the souls of the evil dead who had been condemned to enter the bodies of animals. He then decided what animal form they would take for the next year. (The souls of the good dead were reincarnated as humans.) The Druids also believed that the punishment of the evil dead could be lightened by sacrifices, prayers, and gifts to Samhain.

Druid worshipers attempted to satisfy and please this deity because of his power over the souls of the dead, whether these souls were good or evil. For those who had died during the preceding 12 months, Samhain allowed their spirits to return to earth to their former places of habitation for a few hours to associate once again with their families.

As a result of this belief, the Celts taught that on their New Year’s Eve (our Halloween) ghosts, evil spirits, and witches roamed the earth. In order to honor the sun god (Belenus) and to frighten away evil spirits who allegedly feared fire, large bonfires were lit on hilltops. In Lewis Spence’s The History and Origins of Druidismwe read,

The outstanding feature of Samhain was the burning of a great fire.…Samhain was also a festival of the dead, whose spirits at this season were thought of as scouring the countryside, causing dread to the folk at large. To expel them from the fields and the precincts of villages, lighted brands from the bonfire were carried around the district…Divinations for the fate of the individual throughout the new year were engaged in.

For several days before New Year’s Eve (October 31), young boys would travel the neighborhood begging for material to build these massive bonfires. The fires were believed to not only banish evil spirits but rejuvenate the sun. Until fairly recent times, the hilltop Halloween fires of the Scots were called Samhnagan, indicating the lingering influence of the ancient Celtic festival.

On this night, evil or frustrated ghosts were also believed to play tricks on humans and cause supernatural manifestations, just like poltergeists today. As part of the celebration, people dressed in grotesque masks and danced around the great bonfires, often pretending they were being pursued by evil spirits. In addition, food was put out to make the ghosts or souls of the good dead Samhain had released feel welcomed and at home. Because Samhain marked the beginning of a new year, an interest in divination (the magic art of interpreting the unknown by interpreting random patterns or symbols) and fortune-telling became an important part of this holiday.

For example, the Druids believed that the particular shape of various fruits and vegetables could help predict, or divine, the future. Victims of human sacrifice were used for the same purpose. When the Romans conquered Britain, some of their customs were added to the traditions of the Druids, while others, such as human sacrifice, were banned.

The Samhain celebration was not unique to the Druids. Many festivals worldwide celebrate a time when the dead return to mingle with the living. The Hindus call it a night of Holi. The Iroquois Native Americans celebrate a feast of the dead every 12 years, when all those who have died during the preceding 12 years are honored with prayers. A national holiday in Mexico, the Day of the Dead, begins on November 2 and lasts several days. In this gruesome festival, death becomes a kind of neighborly figure, appearing on candy, jewelry, toys, bread, cakes, and so on. This is the time when the souls of the dead return and when the living are to honor them. For example, doors are decorated with flowers to welcome the angelitos, the souls of dead children.

For the most part, then, our modern Halloween appears to trace its initial origin to the practices of the ancient Druids at their winter festival on October 31.

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I Don't Do Halloween: What about Halloween? ~ Bob and Gretchen Passantino

What about Halloween?

By Bob and Gretchen Passantino

Copyright 1995, 1999 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino

Halloween is the most dangerous day of the year -- when satanists and witches snatch children off the streets and sacrifice them in Satan's name!

Halloween is nothing but a secular time of fun and games -- an excuse for the kids to dress up and overload on sugar!

These are only two of the comments Christians hear during October. There are many things about celebrating Halloween with which Christians are uncomfortable, such as images of ghosts, devils, and witches; and rumors of satanic rituals involving criminal and anti-Christian activities.

However, most adults also have fond memories of childhood trick-or-treating and dressing up as a princess or super hero. So many traditions, myths, and unfounded rumors have developed about Halloween that it is a complex issue Christians should consider carefully.

Origin

"Halloween" is a contracted form of "Holy Evening" and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1), when Christians traditionally remember believers of other times who are especially good role models of faith; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ. 

The Christian Church kept the Jewish custom of marking a holiday (contracted form of "holy day") for the twenty-four hours beginning with sundown and ending with sundown the following day. Even today Christmas Eve is almost as special as Christmas Day; and in Eastern Orthodox churches, the resurrection (Easter) is first celebrated on Easter Saturday at sundown. Another tradition the Church inherited from its first century Jewish roots was to divide each year into commemorative events, doctrinal remembrances, holidays or seasons so that, throughout the calendar year, the God’s redemptive history would be recounted. This is called the "Church year" or "Church calendar."

It took many centuries before most of the dates were standardized throughout the Church. Some Protestant churches today do not follow a church calendar except for Christmas, Easter, and perhaps Pentecost.

Frequently the Christian Church in an area deviated from a standard church calendar in order to directly challenge the popularity of a local pagan custom, event, or idol. For example, the Church in the Roman Empire chose December 25 to celebrate the birth of Christ in direct opposition to pagan Roman holiday activities of the season, including the worship of Saturnalia, which celebrated the sun god. Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, corresponds to the historical time of the crucifixion and resurrection and to the end of the Jewish festival of Passover, in which God prefigured the coming sacrifice of Christ, the "Lamb" who was slain for the sins of the world.

Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after the Jewish Passover, was a Jewish holiday commemorating the beginning of the harvest (the "first fruits"), thanking God for His blessings. When the Holy Spirit came on the disciples in Jerusalem on Pentecost in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 (cf. Acts 2:1-41), it marked the "first fruits harvest" of Jews, (and later, Samaritans and Gentiles) brought into the kingdom of God by the gospel preaching of the disciples (Matt. 28:19).

One of the biblical inspirations for honoring believers of past times and thanking God for their service in His Name comes from Hebrews 11:1-40. The writer of Hebrews encourages us that our faith is completely trustworthy because it is faith in God, who has proven His character and power so many times in the past in the lives of others that we can be confident that He will accomplish whatever He has promised for the future. From this grew the idea of picking a special day during the church year on which to honor believers who were good role models of faith. This became known as "All Saints Day."

Although marked a special day to honor believers of the past, there was no consistency in the dating of All Saints Day until Christianity began to flourish in northern Europe and the British Isles. There Christians found well-entrenched pagan harvest/winter festivals. One of the best known was called Samhain. They determined that All Saints Day should be celebrated at the same time to directly challenge the sentiments of pagan festivals of the season, including Samhain.

These harvest/end of the year holidays generally celebrated the end of the harvest, the beginning of winter, and death. Just as crops live and then die, just as the sun rules for a long time and then "dies" until it shines for only a short time during the day, so all humans and animals eventually die. One of the common pagan beliefs was that the spirits of those who died during the previous year could not go to their "final resting place" until they were properly prepared with possessions, wealth, food, and drink (either for themselves or to pay the god who ruled the next world). Until then, their spirits wandered where they had lived and died. A common pagan tradition was to placate the spirits and send them off on a one-way trip to the nether world by "treating" them. If a spirit was not "treated" well, it would "trick," or haunt, those who had neglected preparing it for leaving this world.

Fire became associated with the pagan holiday and often symbolized the power of the sun or as a defense against trick-bent spirits. Spirits were believed to assume grotesque appearances, and some traditions developed that if one could costume himself to look like a spirit (or at least not to look like the guilty relative who had neglected his departed loved one), then the spirits would not plague him. Some said the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it.

This was also the customary time for the pagans to use the occult practice of divination to determine the weather for the coming year, the crop expectations, and even who in the community would marry whom and in what order. "Bobbing for apples" is one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world's "blessings" on a couple's romance.

As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31 and November 1 as the "Holy Evening" and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the gospel over pagan superstition. There was no need to "placate" the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, who shed his blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the "tricks" of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own walks with the Lord; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution.

In 1517, a monk named Martin Luther honored the faithful saints of the past by choosing All Saints Day (November 1) as the day to publicly charge the Church heirarchy with abandoning biblical faith. This became known as "Reformation Day," a fitting celebration of the restoration the same biblical faith held by the saints throughout church history.

Halloween didn't become an American holiday until the immigration of the working classes from the British Isles in the late nineteenth century. The mischievous aspects of the holiday attracted many American young people, who borrowed or adapted many customs without reference to their pagan origins.

Today Halloween is almost exclusively an American secular holiday. Most people who celebrate Halloween have no conception of its religious origins or its heritage of paganism. Most people perceive Halloween as a fun time to party, dress up in outlandish costumes, and eat and drink. Small children enjoy the costumed role playing (an important part of learning, as any preschool or kindergarten teacher can testify), games, and refreshments.

Unfounded Rumors

It is not true that Halloween is the most important celebration for most contemporary satanists. Most contemporary satanists celebrate their own birthdays as their most important "unholi"-day, which is to be expected from adherents of a religion that is focused on self-worship, self-indulgence, and self-gratification. The actual incidence level of satanic-associated crime is very low, and on Halloween consists mostly of petty vandalism and desecration of graveyards and churches; satanic graffiti; raucous rituals including drug and/or alcohol use and sexual promiscuity; and very rarely sexual violence or animal killing. The most well-known documented criminal activity associated with Halloween are the "Devil's Night" fires that were rampant in the Detroit area. These destructive bonfires were not religiously inspired, but were a convenient excuse for out-of-control juveniles to act destructively, often in their own communities.

It is not true that satanists look for "Christian virgins" to rape during Halloween rituals. A young Christian is much more likely to be in danger of a drunk driver, or a party that gets out of hand with drug or alcohol use than of satanic abduction. Occasional anti-social, criminally committed individuals or small groups that also practice self-styled satanism commit crimes on Halloween, but they invariably betray a pattern of sociopathy at other times as well.

It is not true that poisoning or sabotaging of Halloween treats is a significant risk if parents take sensible precautions. Most horror stories are unsubstantiated rumors that quickly cross the country, gaining embellishments, and unnecessarily frightening parents. If parents are careful about restricting their children's treats to ones from people they know and trust, or from a formal program run by a church, community group, or merchant association, they should be fairly safe. In many communities, local hospitals and/or police stations will screen treats free of charge.

Christian Response

Christians should evaluate Halloween and determine an appropriate response for themselves and their own families. Christians should refrain from any participation that would compromise one's faith or bring dishonor to the Lord Jesus Christ. A good principle is to look for ways to become a positive, Christ-honoring voice in the midst of secularism and paganism. Each Christian must be persuaded in his own conscience about how he approaches Halloween.

Some Christians decide to have absolutely no contact with Halloween. They have the legally protected right to keep their public school children from participating in any potentially spiritually compromising activity, such as listening to ghost stories, or coloring pictures of witches. They may decide to completely ignore the holiday, not answer their door to trick-or-treaters, and instead have a family evening watching Bible story videos or playing family games. Parents who choose this course need to explain to their children why they have taken this stand, and give them strong encouragement, since their children will undoubtedly experience some teasing or ridicule from their friends and schoolmates.

Some Christians decide to have a limited, non-compromising participation in Halloween. Sometimes their activities can be creative and help to promote the gospel. One mother was planning to keep her son home from his public school's Halloween parade but he convinced her to let him go dressed as his favorite Bible character, David. He stood on the stage before his entire public school and told the story of how David trusted God and saved God's people from Goliath. Other families respond to trick or treaters by including a salvation tract with each treat. Many families restrict their children's trick or treating (this seems consistent with our continuing parental admonition "Don't take candy from a stranger!") and instead let them attend a community party or a party in the home of friends. Most Christian families restrict their children's costumes to exclude evil, pagan, or demonic costumes. Some insist on a biblical character’s costume.

Some Christians decide to "overcome" the pagan and secular trappings of Halloween in a manner similar to the way the Church "overcame" pagan festivals with All Saints Day. Many churches have "Harvest Festivals," where children may dress as farm animals or farmers. Others host "Reformation Festivals," where children may dress as their favorite Bible character or as a figure from church history.

Some churches sponsor "Hell Houses" for older children and teenagers where the gospel is preached as the way to avoid the horrors of eternal punishment. One church youth group has a costume party (no evil characters allowed) where participants play games and have contests as part of preparing food baskets for the needy. They ring the doorbells of needy people in their community and "treat" them with the anonymous food baskets (including a personal message with the plan of salvation and an invitation to church). (Good ideas are available in Halloween Alternatives by Louis Merryman, 627 N. Guadalupe Ave. #5, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.)

Regardless of the position you take regarding your family's response to Halloween, all Christians can rejoice that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4); that we can "resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7); and that through the cross Christ has "disarmed principalities and powers," and "made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them" (Col. 2:15).