Not my favorite holiday, but I don’t have anything against trick-or-treat fun. It’s fun for the kids, and some adults are still kids at heart. No one I know is out to promote evil on this day. Those who do, do it on any day of the year, I would imagine. So I’m not up for a rant on the evil nature of Halloween.
Halloween or All Hallows Eve comes from the old English word holy, so there’s that.
But I do think some Christians latch on to what could be described as a spiritual downside of the celebration. And that has led to some misunderstandings. I believe you have to try to understand the ancient people who held the beliefs some Christians are opposing today surrounding Halloween.
Yes, the holiday comes from pagan beliefs. So do many other traditions we don’t seem to object to on other holidays such as Christmas and Easter. The fact is paganism predated Christianity, and the pagans had no knowledge of Christ, although I don’t believe that is entirely true. They were attuned to nature because their lives depended on understanding and respecting (or fearing) the natural world. God can be found in nature, which is something we tend to forget as we spend our days and nights inside of buildings. The word pagan does not mean “evil Satan worshippers.” I just want to make sure we’re clear about that. The word means “country people.”
For more about of the Celtic roots of Halloween, click here.
There is true evil in the world, and I do believe we are fighting a spiritual battle. I do believe we should dwell on things that are “true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” ~Philippians 4:8. So in my view I try to do that and not spend time telling people Halloween is evil. The Celts believed that on that night the veil between the worlds was very thin. The veil between heaven and earth was thin, so I’ll dwell on that and try to see God, especially on Halloween.
These views are my own. I won’t be debating them. But, tell me, do you see God here?
Easy, right?
Sometimes it’s harder, but God created all of us, so look hard.
