Honoring Christ During Halloween
The Christian worldview can be summed up in a single phrase, "Jesus is Lord"―which is the first creed of Christianity.
The Christian worldview can be summed up in a single phrase, "Jesus is Lord"―which is the first creed of Christianity.
Understanding Christ's lordship over all of life is no easy task. Yet, once we begin to understand that all of life―not just "church" life―is of intense interest to God, we are able to bring a renewed sense of purpose to our lives and faith. The Lordship of Christ does not allow us to ignore art, politics, or literature, any more than it allows us to ignore the lost, hungry, sick, or the poor. Only by seeing the world through God's eyes, or what we call "thinking Christianly," will we understand our mandate to redeem the fullness of our culture and reach out to a dying world. Bottom line: our interests can be no smaller than God’s.”
Excerpt is quoted from CitizenLink’s Focus on Social Issues. More from CitizenLink: "What's a Worldview?"
Dr. Dobson Weighs In
Q. Is it wrong for Christian families to celebrate Halloween?
A. Whereas it can be argued that Christmas is a Christian holiday with Christian origins that has suffered the effects of growing secularism, Halloween can be traced to distinctly pagan sources. It is reasonable, then, that many believers would find some aspects of its celebration disturbing. I agree with them in that regard. The traditional emphasis upon the occult, witches, devils, death, and evil sends messages to our kids that godly parents can only regard with alarm. There is clearly no place in the Christian community for this “darker side” of Halloween.
Dr. Dobson Weighs In
Q. Is it wrong for Christian families to celebrate Halloween?
A. Whereas it can be argued that Christmas is a Christian holiday with Christian origins that has suffered the effects of growing secularism, Halloween can be traced to distinctly pagan sources. It is reasonable, then, that many believers would find some aspects of its celebration disturbing. I agree with them in that regard. The traditional emphasis upon the occult, witches, devils, death, and evil sends messages to our kids that godly parents can only regard with alarm. There is clearly no place in the Christian community for this “darker side” of Halloween. There is clearly no place in the Christian community for this “darker side” of Halloween.
Even here, however, there is a place for some harmless fun. Kids love to dress up and pretend. If the Halloween experience is focused on fantasy rather than the occult, I see no harm in it. Make costumes for your children that represent fun characters, such as Mickey Mouse or an elderly grandmother, and then let them go door-to-door asking for treats. This side of Halloween can be thoroughly enjoyable for the little ones.
Let me add, again, that I’ve given you my personal opinion. I realize that the topic is controversial among committed Christians, and I’m sensitive to the reasons for their misgivings. My final word to parents on the subject would be “Stay true to your own convictions.”
This excerpt is quoted from “What to do About Halloween” by Dr. James Dobson at Focus on Your Child.
Cool Creative Alternatives
• Discover how you can transform a jack-o’-lantern into a faith lesson with your children by simply carving a happy-faced pumpkin. Instructions for creating a unique pumpkin and sharing the “Pumpkin Gospel” with your kids are here.
• Dress your children in costumes that focus on history, pretend or fantasy, rather than on the macabre or occult— Bible heroes, Abraham Lincoln, the American flag, sailors, cowboys, Indians, ballerinas, princesses, doctors, firefighters.
• Keep safety in mind if you allow your children to trick-or-treat. Be sure to accompany them and go only to houses of familiar neighbors and friends.
• Find out which churches in your area are planning harvest parties. (Or plan one yourself.) Kids can go to these celebrations dressed in fun costumes, have their treat bags filled with goodies and enjoy playing organized games. Some churches even provide inflatable slides, petting zoos, cotton candy and kids’ movies.
• Celebrate Reformation Sunday like the Lutherans. Be sure to check out Jennifer’s interesting post, “Martin Luther Rings A Bell” at Gathering Grace. Watch this short historical YouTube video clip about Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.
Let me add, again, that I’ve given you my personal opinion. I realize that the topic is controversial among committed Christians, and I’m sensitive to the reasons for their misgivings. My final word to parents on the subject would be “Stay true to your own convictions.”
This excerpt is quoted from “What to do About Halloween” by Dr. James Dobson at Focus on Your Child.
Cool Creative Alternatives
• Discover how you can transform a jack-o’-lantern into a faith lesson with your children by simply carving a happy-faced pumpkin. Instructions for creating a unique pumpkin and sharing the “Pumpkin Gospel” with your kids are here.• Dress your children in costumes that focus on history, pretend or fantasy, rather than on the macabre or occult— Bible heroes, Abraham Lincoln, the American flag, sailors, cowboys, Indians, ballerinas, princesses, doctors, firefighters.
• Keep safety in mind if you allow your children to trick-or-treat. Be sure to accompany them and go only to houses of familiar neighbors and friends.
• Find out which churches in your area are planning harvest parties. (Or plan one yourself.) Kids can go to these celebrations dressed in fun costumes, have their treat bags filled with goodies and enjoy playing organized games. Some churches even provide inflatable slides, petting zoos, cotton candy and kids’ movies.
• Celebrate Reformation Sunday like the Lutherans. Be sure to check out Jennifer’s interesting post, “Martin Luther Rings A Bell” at Gathering Grace. Watch this short historical YouTube video clip about Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.
This excerpts above are quoted from “What to do About Halloween” by Dianne LaBorie at Focus on Your Child.
Related
1. “How To Turn ‘Harry Potter’ Buzz into Jesus Talks”
2. “Harry Potter and the Teachable Moment”
Related
1. “How To Turn ‘Harry Potter’ Buzz into Jesus Talks”
2. “Harry Potter and the Teachable Moment”
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:2 NIV)
For Homeschooling Moms
This week’s Carnival of Homeschooling will be held on Tues. Oct. 30, 2007. Join the good Moms at Sprittibee for plenty of inspiration and socialization. Submission deadline is Monday at 6:00 PM PST. More info is here.
Up Next—Top 21 Home-Based Business Ideas
How do you plan to celebrate Halloween this year?
This week’s Carnival of Homeschooling will be held on Tues. Oct. 30, 2007. Join the good Moms at Sprittibee for plenty of inspiration and socialization. Submission deadline is Monday at 6:00 PM PST. More info is here. Up Next—Top 21 Home-Based Business Ideas
How do you plan to celebrate Halloween this year?Photos: Mandy on earth (A) and Yogi (B & C) (Flickr) Graphic: ImageChef
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14 Comments:
We've always done Family Movie Night on Halloween. We don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters so its pretty quiet here. We usually buy a bunch of candy and enjoy time together. However, its getting harder to find a movie the whole family will enjoy. This year its Transformers, which my littlest has seen but not the older ones (and they actually want to!).
Some years my kids have gone to their friends church's Harvest Party. They have fun, but would comment that they missed doing the Family Movie Night.
Amen to this post! I am in total agreement with Dr. Dobson on this. Thanks for posting that. I am not sure what we will do this year-there is a harvest festival at church that perhaps we may do. But we do stay away from the dark side of it all together.
We usually do a movie night too. I want my kids to have fun like their friends. We have such different convictions than many so I don't want them to think they are missing something. That is a hard place to find balance I have found.
Blessings,
Angela
Hi this is Ruth Tammy's mom at Family Doins. After reading your question about the Rolloffs, I thought I would pop in & visit. I'm sure she'll probably answer your question, but they are indeed Christians. Their kids go to a Christian school & yesterday Amy was interveiwed about the accident last year that injured their friend & little Jacob their youngest. She said it was a miracle & credited the Lord with them escaping with less serious injuries when the Traversty? (the thing that throws the pumpkins,) misfired & they both were hit & trapped underneath. After watching it last year on TV, I can see what a miracle it was.
I really liked this: "our interests can be no smaller than God's." What a great way to put it! This was such a pretty post, too... I loved all the pictures.
I've enjoyed your comments recently, thank you so much for visiting! I had to laugh at your last one on my post re: wisdom. I'm an over-thinker, can you tell? And, as my sister once told me ever so gently, "you have... strong... opinions..." My mouth dropped open: ME? Revelation.
But, yes, it's true, I've discovered...most of the time I feel like a flake, but evidently I come across like a steamroller! Gotta watch that.
Generally, I think my tendency to over-think can be a hindrance to really living well. You're so right - there are people within the body of Christ who move through life so beautifully, spreading their talents and making our churches more hospitable and Christlike. I admire them from afar! Sigh...
I agree. I do not think the darker side of halloween is "innocent" fun, but dressing up and eating candy?
I think both sides are a good conversation to have with kids, however, so that they do understand what is going on.
DebD: Family movie night is a fun idea! We always do a dinner out at a restaurant...usually Mexican.
Angela: It's a hard one, for sure. Healthy creative alternatives seem to be the way to go. :~)
Ruth: So nice of you to stop by! I missed the accident altogether. What a blessing that the injuries weren't more serious. I just love the attitude in the Roloff family... and I suspected they might be Christians!
:Jennifer: Right, that one statement sums it up nicely. :~)
Funny, I tend to have strong opinions too... so I like to interact with people like you. :~)
I gave up on group Bible studies about 2 years ago, because guess who tended to dominate the discussions... Mrs. Know-it-all! Not at all popular with the sweet old ladies!
I agree. I admire my softer less "thinky" friends from afar. So glad to have met YOU Jennifer!!!
Dana: Good point. It's important to discuss what's going on with our children, so they're not in the "dark." BTW, nice to meet you! :~)
Nice Halloween post. I'm not really decided how my family will ultimately handle this holiday, but for this year, here's what we're doing: spending the rest of the afternoon at another farm with a pumpkin patch, gathering fall decorations, like squash and corn stalks, having a hay ride, etc. Then, this evening the kids will get to dress up and attend a Harvest Party at a local church - good old fashioned fun like apple bobbing, cake walks, fishing games, face painting, and *limited* candy. That'll be it. What I'm not sure about is celebrating on the same day as all the rest of the "darker" Halloween celebrations. I'm considering in the future having a completely different celebration - maybe host a "fall costume party" the first week of November? My kids love to dress up in costume, and we do that on a regular basis anyway, but a formal party with other like-minded friends might be a nice alternative.
Jennifer: It sounds like you have a very wholesome time planned for your family. Enjoy your evening! :~)
Nice to meet you, too. : )
My kids went ToT with another family of Christian friends, and at each house they gave the owners a card that said "It's no trick, Jesus is a treat" with a Bible verse. It was an easy chance for them to practice telling others, very briefly, about their faith!
Ooh, and before we went out ToTing, we did a Bible study with the kids on the light coming into the darkness (John 1), and they put on their "armor" before we went. They're going to meet darkness someday, so it's nice we could do a "Practice run" where they had some training first.
Dana: You're so shweet!
Ann: I admire you, Mom! You did some good things with your children this Halloween. Bless you. BTW, it's nice to meet you. :~D
Hay Sweetie nice post. Thanks for you kindness. Girl would you keep me in your prayers. I want so much to be able to allow my kids the simple sweet pleasures. I will allow them 2 or 3 houses of close neighbors but I am really struggling with the flash backs. You see real bad bad things happened to me at the hand of evil during this week year after year. Knowing this it is a very heavy week for me. Kids are being set up to have those same rituals done to them. I am in a sicken to my spirit place and I just am so trying to not allow my torture and abuse to rob the kids. Need your prayer please. Thank you.
D
We will do the family movie night tradition we always have but I gave them a choice to just get to experience it for themselves. (as to not set them up for rebellion n later years)
A year later I noticed your link in the comment you left on my post. There's some good helpful advice here; thanks.
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