The Holiday of Darkness

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. – Romans 13:11-14.

Halloween was a holiday, which I as a young boy, was allowed to participate in. I remember trick or treating around the houses near my grandparents’ since they lived in town. The very first time that I remember trick or treating on Halloween was when we were visiting relatives in San Francisco. When my sons were old enough I took them trick or treating. However, as I have grown as a Christian and learned more, my thoughts about Halloween have changed.

I have come to realize that at the very best Halloween is a pagan holiday (The pagan holiday, Samhain, was long in existence prior to the Catholic church trying to establish All Saints Day in 741 A.D. on November 1 and the evening before as preparation for the day) and at the very worst, it is the devil’s holiday. I have read testimonies of people who claim because of Halloween experiences they were launched on the wrong course for a major portion of their lives. Halloween does seem to say that bad is good. It does seem to say that fear is good for you. It does seem to say that the devil is just a good old boy and not all that bad. That is in direct contradiction of the Word of God.

The more we are exposed to evil the less we are sensitive to the evil of it. The more fear is put into us the more it seems good to put fear into others. The more bad is presented to us as being good, the more likely we are to do bad. If we are honest, Halloween is a holiday of darkness, of evil. We are very familiar with the armor of Ephesians, but there is another element of armor that we need to have. In a day of evil and darkness, surely we need the armor of light. “…let us put on the armor of light.”

(Halloween is a holiday representing values which are in direct opposition of the values of Christianity. Originally sent 10.30.98. Rewritten for today.)