I read an article recently that centered around the following quote from a Christian: “I see no evil in seeing children in costumes saying ‘trick or treat’.”

As a Biblical Christian, ponder what you saw in your neighborhood (if you even had any action) by taking a hard look at the costumes of those over the age of 12. Consider your neighbors who spend an inordinate amount of time decorating for Halloween. Which side of the fence do they appear to be on as far as Christianity?

Two points…

First, the term “habituation” has a strong application in the case of active participation in Halloween. If one decorates with ghosts and goblins, demons and witches, (imagery intended to scare kids on the subject of the supernatural) doesn’t that make all participants more comfortable that the evil side of the unseen world is fun and games?

Second, there is no question that love and respect should predominate the Biblical Christian as we live in the world around us. So teaching your children to “turn off the lights and so folks don’t think we are home” is also not the answer. To that point, every Halloween my daughter’s family goes on a vacation somewhere special that is often Christian-based and intentionally not a venue for reinforcing this holiday. This year they visited a Martin Luther (Protestant Reformation) event, out of town.

Summary

God calls us to be in the world, but not of the world (John 17:16-21). If we make an effort, we can be loving toward our neighbors AND follow God’s commands as relates to satanic events such as Halloween. Christians passing out candy and saying a creepy costume is “scary” or, worse yet, “cute” is not a good witness for “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13), even when it appears benign on the surface.