As Christians, we are called to live our lives in accordance with God’s Word and to be salt and light in a dark world. We should approach all cultural celebrations with thoughtfulness and a desire to honor God. While Halloween is a morally gray area and many view this holiday as harmless fun, it’s crucial to examine its spiritual implications through a biblical lens and to be aware of potential spiritual dangers that may arise from celebrating this holiday.
The main Spiritual dangers of Halloween come from taking our eyes off of Christ and making much of the things that God hates. Movies or activities that are designed to make us feel scared or paranoid can take our eyes off of Christ. They can rob us of the peace, joy, and security we have in Christ (Philippians 4:6), who has conquered evil once and for all at the Cross.
The Bible clearly warns against engaging with the occult and dark spiritual forces. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 states, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you.” If we choose to celebrate Halloween, it is imperative that we avoid glorifying or magnifying anything that is demonic or against the character of God.
Emphasizing entertainment through darkness, fear, and death can give us a skewed idea of what spiritual warfare is like, and cause us to make light of its seriousness. The ways that Satan seeks to destroy Christians and the church are often not through the bodily possession or “haunting” portrayed in popular media. Instead, it is through things such as hypocrisy (Acts 5:1-11) and divisions in the local church body (2 Corinthians 2:5-11). As Christians, we are to take Spiritual warfare seriously. This happens not by being paranoid, but by resisting Satan in Christ (James 4:7), and to stand firm as we put on the armor of God and seek to live in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Peter 1:15-16), and trusting that we are secure in Christ no matter what (Romans 8:35-39).
Believers in Christ are also called to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:9-10,15). When we are consistently exposed to gore and violence as part of our celebration and entertainment, it can cause us to have hardened hearts towards the very real suffering in the world all around us and to take the lives of other image-bearers for granted.
All Christians can use this time as an opportunity to reflect on the light of Christ and our victory over death through Him. If you choose not to celebrate, you can consider organizing or attending alternative events that focus on harvest themes or Reformation Day, which falls on October 31st and commemorates the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Ultimately, as believers, we must prayerfully consider how our actions align with our faith and whether they glorify God. Whether we participate in or abstain from Halloween, we need to stand firm in our convictions and shine as lights in a world that often celebrates darkness.
Chew on This:
Does Halloween change or inform your view of spiritual things? Why or why not?
