I first published this post on the blog last year around this time. I still think it’s got some valuable points about how we can react to Halloween as Christians.
Hi, my name is Ryan, and I have a confession; I’m a Christian and I like Halloween. Let me explain.
As a kid, Halloween was one of the coolest days of the year. What other time is it socially acceptable to dress up as Batman, knock on people’s doors, demand candy, and totally pig out for the next few days?
When I gave my life to God in college, I noticed something kind of peculiar about my first Halloween. A local church held a “harvest party,” where a bunch of college kids got together to dress up in costumes, play a bunch of games, and eat lots of candy. It was pretty awesome. A few days later, I was talking with my pastor, who was in charge of the event, and he explained that there was a family in the church who had caught wind of the party, and were thoroughly considering leaving the church out of frustration that the event took place. This seemed totally foolish to me as a new Christian. What was the big deal?
Since then, I’ve noticed that a lot of Christian people treat Halloween as a taboo. Many Christians are very vocal about their distaste in the day. Many of us are on retreat on this holiday, encouraging each other to stay indoors, keep our porch lights off, and pray for our fallen world. If you fall in this camp, I understand your view of this being “the most evil day of the year,” that we are in a spiritual war, and that sin wreaks havoc a little bit more than the average day. I don’t intend to downplay the severity of demonic forces, however, I’d like to suggest a different view.
My Bible says that every day is a gift from the Lord. My God says that I have victory over sin in any context, day, or hour. My Jesus says that darkness is no match for the light that is inside of me. Thank God, that Jesus broke the chain of bondage to evil and superstition.
Despite it’s demonization, Halloween has actually been celebrated as a holy day throughout Church history. In fact, the word “halloween” means “holy evening.” It’s actually the very day that Martin Luther chose to nail his 95 Thesis to the local church doors, declaring the authority of the gospel over man’s doctrine.
So what does this all have to do with college ministry? In the life of a college student, Halloween ranks up with St. Patty’s Day as one of the nights of the year to intentionally get as wasted as you can, and make other horrible decisions. As a college minister, you have a choice to make. Will you impact and influence your campus on this day, or will you succumb to the devil’s strategy to keep you locked up in fear?
I don’t know what this influence will look like for you on your campus. On my campus, we’re teaming up with the other Christian club to host a huge dance/costume party, to provide a safe, alternative option for students to have fun. If it’s too late for you to make big plans, why not hit the streets to offer safe rides back to campus, do some reverse trick or treating, or simply pray with students in need downtown?
The point I’m trying to make is that as believers in the God of love, there is no day out of the year that we need to retreat to evil forces. As evil as Halloween may seem, God has given us authority over every day by the power of Jesus. Get out there, and lead some people to freedom in Christ!