Should Christians Halloween?

Why I sit out of Halloween and believe you should too.

Should Christians Halloween? 

Boo! 

My grandma has a black cat named Boo. I was never scared of it. But there were many things in my childhood that I was scared of. Whenever I was fearful or anxious my mom would quote to me 2 Timothy 1:7. You may know this verse, as I do from the famous Donut Man song. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Does anyone remember the Donut Man? He was a singing plumber who taught bible stories with a donut puppet. Peak early 2000’s kids church content. Honestly, kids ministry content has never been so good. I sang this song in my head whenever I was afraid. Not to get to niche, but there is another wonderful song about not being afraid sung by Jr Asparagus. Perhaps you’ve heard, “God is bigger than the Boogeyman. He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on T.V.” Truer words have rarely been sung. 

In all seriousness, these songs do speak truth. God has not given us a spirit of fear. God doesn’t find fear funny or cute or entertaining. In fact 1 John 4:18 says, “perfect love (God) casts out fear.” Fear is the enemy of faith. Why play with it? Why entertain it? Why would we subject our children to fearful imagery? God offers us peace and joy and we prefer jump-scares and macabre decorations. Why? 

The topic of Halloween is surrounded by much debate within the Church in America. You probably have some strong opinions about whether or not Christians should participate in the festivities. I want to share my thoughts on this topic. But to begin, let's go back in time to the early 2000s.

In my early 2000’s Assemblies of God church, Halloween was a word that represented all things evil. If you participated in this holiday you might as well have been laying your children on the fiery hands of Molec. There was no negotiation. Halloween was a day of evil. We didn’t trick-or-treat. We were instead given an opportunity to trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot. I remember one particular Halloween, my dad took me to Burger King while all the other kids were trick-or-treating. I ate Chicken Fries and played in the play land. I don’t regret a thing. As time went on our feelings toward Halloween grew less fanatical and more tolerant. The narrative shifted from “holiness” to “involvement”. There arose questions such as, “Shouldn’t we be in culture so we can influence it?” And within a decade, Halloween was no longer taboo within the Church. 

I have been in children’s and youth ministry for over a decade. I’ve had about every perspective you can think of when it comes to Halloween. I’ve tried to do my best to navigate the tension the best I can. I want to offer a few thoughts to those of you who, like me, are wrestling with the question of whether or not Christians should participate in Halloween. 

My main concern with Halloween is that is exposes the reluctance of Christians to be separate from the culture in any way. We have an opportunity to live differently than everyone else and make a statement of faith. And we can’t bring ourselves to do it. The fear of missing out is leading the Church away from holiness. We want to be a part of everything happening in our culture, without asking the question, “Should we?”. Why not stand out? If there is ever a time for Christians to take an easy, non-controversial stance it’s by sitting out of Halloween! 

Sitting out of Halloween offers Christians two opportunities. 

1. We have the opportunity to share the Gospel.

2. We have the opportunity to teach children the importance of temperance. 

We have an opportunity to share the Gospel when asked why we don’t participate in Halloween. We don’t need to be condescending or come across as “holier-than-thou”. I respect each person’s conviction and ability to discern for his or herself whether or not to participate. I also see the value in living separately from culture. Imagine the conversation. 

“Why don’t you guys celebrate Halloween?”

“As believers in Jesus, we want to be people who celebrate peace and life. And we feel that Halloween celebrates fear and death. So we don’t want to celebrate those things. This world needs more of the peace that Jesus offers not more fear.” 

“Oh that makes perfect sense. I would love to experience the peace you’re talking about”

Ok maybe it won’t be that easy. Or perhaps that conversation sounds too sterile for you. Feel free to rewrite the script. The point is, we have a wonderful opportunity on Halloween to stand out and share the peace and life that only comes through Jesus! 

Temperance is an old virtue that has lost its value in our FOMO culture. Imagine raising your children to know that they don’t get everything they want… Imagine your kids learning that some fun things are not appropriate or beneficial… Or do we want to raise entitled children addicted to temporal pleasures? I won’t be participating in that style of parenting. We have an opportunity to teach our children that Christians don’t get to participate in every cultural thing the world sees as good and fun. Use Halloween as an opportunity to talk to your kids about fear and anxiety and the faith and courage that comes through knowing Jesus. Use Halloween as an opportunity to teach your children that it is ok to miss out on what all the other kids are doing. We are Christians. Which means we live by a different set of convictions and values than the rest of the world. We are asked to be holy, which means to live differently. This means we abstain from certain things. We don’t get to do everything we want. I see sitting out of Halloween as an opportunity to be distinct and an opportunity to teach our children the importance of living in a uniquely godly way. 

This Halloween, I encourage you to be different! Shine a light. Share the peace and life of Jesus to your neighbors! Hand out treats to your neighbors with a smile on your face! Teach your kids to do the same! This is a great opportunity to love your neighbors. Will your child be upset that they don’t get to go out trick-or-treating? Maybe, but it is a wonderful opportunity to teach them Acts 20:35, “It is better to give than receive.” 

I sat out of halloween. I’m fine. 

In fact, I’m better off for it. I learned that my dedication to Christ actually requires something of me. There is a sacrifice that I need to offer to the Lord. Offering Halloween as a sacrifice is an easy choice for me. I’ve abstained from far greater pleasures and fun opportunities than filling up a plastic bag full of candy. These little sacrifices teach kids the importance of temperance. 

Paul says that we are to respect each other's convictions when it comes to these cultural issues. I wanted to share my heart on the topic because I want to share the opportunity I see in sitting out Halloween. I know many of my friends and family members see it differently. You are welcome to disagree. All I ask is that for those who choose to abstain, that you lovingly respect their conviction. You don’t have to agree to see the benefit of sitting out. 

So, Halloween night, I encourage you to follow the conviction of the Spirit. I, for one, will be sitting on my front porch waving at my neighbors and passing out fun little toys. I’ll be praying for peace and life over each child that steps foot on my lawn. I’ll smile and share the love of Jesus with everyone I see. I will not be setting up scary decorations. I will not be going out trick-or-treating with my baby girl. I will not be acting spooky. I will not watch a scary movie. And that’s what I intend to do for future Halloweens. I will not feel obligated to celebrate death and fear. I’ll kindly abstain and choose to celebrate life and peace that is only found in Jesus! That’s why I sit out of Halloween and believe you should too.