Christians and Halloween
The Bible gives us some principles that can guide our actions. In Old Testament, witchcraft was a crime punishable by death as seen in the following passages: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:31). “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:6, 27). “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18).
In the New Testament, there are many references on the occult and witchcraft. Acts 8:9-24, in the story of Simon, shows that occultism and Christianity don’t mix. The account of Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11, reveals that sorcery is of the devil. Paul called Elymas a child of the devil, an enemy of righteousness and a perverter of the ways of God. In Acts 16, at Philippi, a fortune-telling girl lost her demon powers when the evil spirit was cast out by Paul. And Acts 19 shows how new converts, who have repented from the occult, burned their works (Acts 19:19).
Regarding celebrating Halloween, the Bible is clear “for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Christians should be teaching their children that: there is a spiritual world filled with goodness from God and evil from Satan (Ephesians 2:1-10); life with Christ has power over evil (I John 4:4); and those who celebrate Halloween either are unaware of its origins, or are knowingly promoting a world where evil is praised and seen as the ultimate power.
To counter the evil influence of Halloween, Christians need to provide their children with an environment that makes room for innocent activity. As an alternative to Halloween, many churches hold “harvest festivals” an other historical feasts in an effort to allow the children to have a happy, innocent and learning occasions.
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
