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I’ve been away for Slice for a while and appreciate so much the ongoing teamwork here with Lane Chaplin, Ken Silva and others who contribute valuable links, articles and videos for readers while I am away. I wanted to write a few thoughts about Halloween. John MacArthur’s ministry has a good article on Christians and Halloween that was really balanced in its approach. It may shock some, but our family does give out candy to neighborhood children who stop by. Most of them come with their parents, and it’s one of the rare chances to get to actually see neighbors face to face these days. Halloween has become a children’s candy holiday to most Americans, and while I in no way support gore or the celebration of death and witchcraft, giving out candy to the little neighbor children dressed as ladybugs and Sponge Bob is hardly a celebration of the Prince of Darkness. Tonight we’ll hand out some little orange tracts with the candy, but will enjoy seeing the excited children ringing the bell. Last year, I opened the door to find a beautiful Cinderella and a Snow White, ages 2 and 3, on my doorstep. It’s not every day you can say that.

Contact with neighbors today is so rare. Many mothers are gone during the day to work, and are overscheduled after work with children’s activities. I wish there were more times when neighbors could stop and chat a moment and get to know each other. We have two sets of new neighbors across the street who have young children, and I hope to meet them tonight. How can we be witnesses for Christ in our neighborhoods if we don’t even know the names of those living just a few yards away?

To those who feel that any participation is compromise, I would suggest that this is one of those issues that each family needs to settle for themselves according to their own consciences. The same with Easter celebrations. I have heard some Christians inveigh against the American tradition of giving out chocolate bunnies and having colored egg hunts. Some will point out, with great heat, that the origins of the holiday date back to ancient times and Ishtar worship. I like to meet that claim with the observation that the days of our week are named after pagan gods or the planets. Monday meant “Day of the Moon, Tuesday was named after the Norse God “Tyr”, Wednesday after the Germanic god, “Woden”, Thursday was “Thor’s Day” after the norse god of thunder, Friday after Frige, the Germanic goddess of beauty, Saturday was named after the Roman god Saturn, and Sunday, after “Day of the Sun”. If we are going to purge our lives of anything with remotely pagan roots, the days of the week will have to be renamed by conscientious Christians. Ishtar was yet another pagan idol that represented a failed and now forgotten religion. Just think, a day intended to celebrate a pagan goddess turned into a day to celebrate the ultimate triumph of Christ on the cross and His empty tomb. That’s why we ring the church bells, cue the trumpets and break out the chocolate on Resurrection morning. Christ has risen and He has triumphed over sin, death and the devil. Ishtar worship is left on the ash heap of history in the blinding light of the resurrected Christ!

Halloween may be a pretext for black masses and wiccan festivals held by the light of the moon by a fringe few. The majority will see it as an excuse for excessive candy consumption and playing dress-up. I see nothing wrong with showing Christian neighborliness and using the opportunity to pass along a gospel tract with the candy.

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