We didn't do any trick or treating last night. In fact, no one in our neighborhood did, as it was postponed until tonight because of the weather. But we won't be trick-or-treating tonight, either, and while I wasn't going to post about Halloween this year, as I have in years past, I've read a couple of blogs and articles this year that have raised a rather irksome issue concerning Christians and Halloween. They share a theme that takes the issue from merely discussing the question of whether Christians can or can't participate in Halloween activities to insinuating - and in one case, more overtly declaring - that it's actually unChristian to abstain completely from such activities. And that, to me, is both disturbing and incredibly frustrating.
Now, if you are a friend of mine who has shared an article or blog that you think probably broached this topic, please know that I never for a second thought that you were judging me. I assumed that what you shared was something that touched on an aspect of how your Christian family approaches Halloween, and I didn't assume that you embraced everything in the article, or that, if you did, you were making a pointed attack at my family. Goodness, I've shared plenty of "controversial" articles as food for thought, and I've had to respond to people who were offended by one isolated point the author made, or who were offended by the whole thing and wanted to know why I ascribed to such ideas - and I never intended for anyone to think I took the author's word as gospel. So I wouldn't and didn't assume the same of you, I promise.
That said, I did find this theme disturbing, as I've mentioned. Our family doesn't celebrate Halloween at all. Some people know this about us, and other don't, because we don't make a big deal about it (I don't think). Each year, we have to explain our reasons to the kids, and emphasize that we have good friends who do celebrate, to varying degrees, and that's not our business. If they can do so in faith, then it's perfectly fine. But we can't, and so we won't. We respect the rights of others to do what they are permitted to do within their faith (we're talking about issues not directly addressed in Scripture, of course), and others surely respect our right simply to abstain from something we can't do with a clear conscience, right?
Wrong.
Many of our close friends and family do respect our choices, of course, but a good number of people, including fellow believers, have expressed everything from incredulity to contempt over those choices. We're accustomed to the usual objections that we're robbing the kids of a fun childhood experience. One would hope that at least other believers, given enough time to think through it, would acknowledge that the "fun" factor of any activity is far from a good enough reason to do it. That we're putting the kids in a very small minority of Western children, by keeping them from participating in a popular holiday, is also not even worth defending. And we've heard that Christians don't have to participate in the scary stuff, but that there's no harm in dressing up and collecting candy. Fine. If there's "no harm" in it, then there's no harm in us not participating. It shouldn't really be an issue. But now apparently there's a new argument - although perhaps it isn't new, and I'm only just hearing it. Now, we're hiding our light if we don't trick-or-treat, or at least hand out candy.
What? We don't say a word about the involvement of anyone else, Christian or not. We don't shun our neighbors or friends during the month of October, go door-to-door decrying the evils of the holiday, or even respond at all when people decorate or talk about it. We go out of our way not to make an issue of it. If we did talk about our position, with gentleness and respect, it would just be to explain what we believe, not to condemn anyone else. But we don't do that unless asked. That doesn't seem to be enough, however. It's really too much for us to be "weird" about things and just not do them, and in fact, we're missing an opportunity to be missional.
Dear friends, I don't know if any of you actually believe this, but if you do, I implore you to reconsider. This is a matter of personal conscience, of a desire not to quench the Holy Spirit in our own hearts, about one particular day in the year. It isn't about YOU. If you feel threatened or defensive, then that's something you need to take up with the Lord personally. If you feel Halloween is an opportunity for YOU to "shine your light" in ways you can't at any other time, then great. But condemning (oh, the irony!) those of us in the teeny tiny minority of people who simply stay home and keep their lights off - who simply don't participate in something - is unnecessary and - dare I say it? - wrong. You are insisting that we sin by doing something that we can't do in faith. It might be harmless to you, but unless we can say that we are doing it from a place of faith, from a place of believing that it is truly a good thing that would please God, then it would be sin for us to do it.
We'll remain in that teeny tiny minority, as usual. That's fine. We're in it in almost every other area in life, too, so we're used to it by now! It's usually fine. But this rubbed me just a bit the wrong way.
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