9 of 23

Should Christians celebrate Halloween

by Reva Niner

Some may wonder what is Halloween? It's a time for children to dress up and go out trick-or treating for candy and other goodies. Time for games and pranks (mostly the older kids). Its a time for witches, ghosts, punkins and black cats, and black magic. In most cases Halloween is a holiday for the dead.I learned in one country they leave food on the grave sites for the dead on, ( I think ) Halloween night. They use this night to scare the spirits of the dead ones away, that they think will come back to do them harm. Only when someone dies the Bible states that the dead are conscious of nothing at all....Ecclesiastes 9:5. So, if the dead are consscious of nothing, they can't come back to harm you or scare you in any way.

Is it alright to celebrate Halloween? The Bible says in Ephesians 5:10,11 "Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord; and quit sharing with them in the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness, but rather, even be reproving them;. So Halloween belongs to the darkness and we could not be celebrating it.

The 1910 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica states, "All Souls day....the day set apart in the Roman Catholic Church for the commemoration of the faithful, departed. The celebration is based on the doctrine that the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from Venal Sins, or have not atoned for past transgression's cannot attain the Beatific Vision, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the mass...certain popular beliefs connected with all souls day are pagan origin and immemorial antequity. Thus, the dead are believed by the peasantry of many Catholic countries to return to their former homes on All Souls night and partake of the food of the living."-vol I Pg. 709.

So, in hoildays which honoring "spirits of the dead" as if they were alive in another realm are contrary to the Bible's description of the dead. For in Psalms 146:4 says "His spirit goes out, he goes back into the ground. In that day his thoughts do perish." So, of the great concernest to Christians, however, is the fact that Halloween and celebrations like that are steeped in paganism.

The apostle Paul wrote: "I do not want you to be participants with the demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20-22). There is more in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. The Bible thus comdemns the whole idea at putting a Christian mask on a pagan practice.

While it is true that the vast of those who celebrate Halloween would claim to spurn Satanic pratices, we should nevertheless be aware that historically this holiday has close connections with the occult. Thus, it can serve as a door leading to spiritism especially for impressionable youths. Pagan rites and traditions tainted by spiritism simply have no place in Christian worship, they are far from harmless. The Bible warns us against the practice of spiritism. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Halloween is marked as celebrating the dead. So we should not be celebrating something that is detestieble to God. God wants us to get to know him, his son and the truth about bible teaching. As for myself, I am still a Bible student. "This mean everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you the only true God and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ." John 17:3. And another one is John 3:16 which says "For god loved the world so much that he gave his only begooten son, in order, that everyone exercising faith, in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

If you want more information on teachings of the Bible truths. Contact one of Jehovah's Witness in you area. They will set up a Bible study with you if you are really interested and its free. They don't charge you. You can also check out www.watchtower.org for more information.

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA