It blows me away how fierce and protective people are when it comes to hallowe’em! When spoken against people get down right angry when you tell them you don’t allow your kids to take part in this tradition. I am a born again Christian and we do not take part in hallowe’en simply because it’s roots are contrary to my faith. In this life I try to make as many conscious decisions as I can to live according to my faith in Jesus Christ. I honestly don’t believe that taking part in hallowe’en is what God wants from me.
When the Isrealites took a city, town or people they were instructed by God to destroy all remnants of pagan and false religions. At times he even instructed them not to take wives from among other nations because he didn’t want their ungodly belief’s to cause damage to his people. They were to destroy everything! And not take part in any of their cultural traditions because they conflicted with their faith in God.
In our time hallowe’en is the modern contemporary. It’s roots are based on everything that is unholy and therefore we should not be taking part in it. Please read my husbands blog about hallowe’ens origins at Halloween is not a Christian celebration, http://hubpages.com/t/19e57b .
I have heard people say, " oh, its harmless, it just for fun, kids dressing up to have fun!" Well, my kids have never took part in hallowe’en, neither my husband before them and they don’t miss it. Believe me when I say, if they missed it we would hear about it! But they don’t!
It is been hard over the years to take this stand, more than any other of my christian walk. I have been insulted, told I am a fanatic and my kids have been harassed and teased, all over choosing not to take part in a cultural tradition!
It is completely ridiculous how people react when I simply say, “We don’t take part in Hallowe’en.” They look at me like I am guilty of murdering someone!
If you think that is bad, you should see how they react when I say that I don’t let my children believe in santa claus, but that is a whole other blog!!!
Go read my husbands blog he speaks about All Saints Day. Day of the dead interesting, Jesus doesn’t teach I don['t do it! I won’t give a spirit of death anymore power than it really has, but that is just my opinion.
I personally think it’s a waste of time to be so levitican and legalistic about life, to keep a bunch of little kids from dressing up and begging for candy. 
If that’s what you want to pursue, fine. But yeah, people are not gonna find it very rational. And yes, I have been a part of those kinds of churches before… Prohibiting everything, saying everything is bad because of it’s past… etc, etc. It’s a true waste of one’s faith and energies.
Did you get hurt in those churches? Is that why you think being “Levitican and Legalistic” is what I am doing? No, I believe in grace but there are some things you just don’t compromise and hallowe’en is one of them! Whether you agree with me or not frankly, doesn’t matter to me, my conscience is clear because I am being true to who I am and what I believe. How can that be a waste of faith? Faith is never wasted!
When Jesus walked the earth his ideas were considered radical and extreme, the religious people of his day would have said the same thing to him, infact they killed him for those belief’s!
Thanks for sharing, I really do appreciate it.
To each his own! It’s not my place to tell what you should have faith in, but it is to speak of what I have faith in.
All the best to you as well, and thankyou for sharing.
I imagine it shouldn’t be surprising to receive such a reaction about not allowing your children to participate in Halloween since many Christians do allow their kids to.
I’m not Christian & don’t enjoy being surrounded by the trappings of the dominant culture expecting me to be fa-la-la-ing in December. Christmas, as it’s typically celebrated, is a co-opted pagan holiday anyway. I also don’t enjoy hearing others proselytize. Non-Christian belief systems don’t employ converting as a prime directive, but I’ve been verbally assaulted by the converters on their mission. Spiritual beliefs are a highly personal matter & should be kept private.
I have friends of all faiths & my husband was brought up with a different religion than I. The diversity enriches us all. To me, there is no one way.
Thanks, Judith. I’d love to meet you some day & your Wiccan Buddhist sister. A dear friend has a sister who decided she was Wiccan at an early age. When she was 11 years old she had a teacher she didn’t like. She made a likeness of the teacher, put it in a paper cup, filled the cup with water & stuck in it the freezer. The teacher came down with pneumonia. Though conicidence, of course, her parents made her stop. Know Wiccan isn’t about that kind of thing, but this girl was an unusual one.
I celebrate Halloween and give out a Christian track with my candy. I’ve used it as an oppertunity to reach out that I wouldn’t have ususally. Kids can read it if they want to or not read it. Do you celebrate Christmas, with a tree and gifts? Just curious.
Thank you, Gerri. Very well said.
In Wicca, it is the intention that matters. Do what you will so long as you harm none. Don’t get on that chick’s bad side, just sayin’.
I don’t need a higher being to guide my conscience. You can act in moral and graceful ways without the threat of hell or not being received into the presence of your god. I was raised to know right from wrong and that the best way to walk this life is to do as little harm as possible and be there for each other.
Saturnalia – that seems what Christmas has become. It’s an orgy of materialism where you get presents. All the debt and none of the wine. The Pope was very forgiving about accepting local pagan traditions so long as the native peoples became ostensibly RC. There are places Mexico where there is a clearly pagan ritual conducted completely intertwined with the Christian (it celebrates a corn deityMother Earth/Virgin Mother Mary).
I wish there were an actual war on Christmas. They say “happy holidays” so that all races and creeds will come in and spend money. It is that simple. No more, no less.
And who the heck died and made YOU the person to decide what was appropriate or not for a Christian to do regarding Halloween? Let me tell ya, it was NOT Jesus.
Lisa, a question? Have you ever asked God how he feels about you taking part in Hallowe’en?
Seriously People! My blog is not about anything besides Hallowe’en and what I believe is appropriate for people who confess to be christians to do or not to do. I am not trying to convert anyone, I am just pointing out it could be considered hypocrisy to celebrate hallowe’en and serve Jesus.
Why do people always go straight from hallowe’en to christmas? I will blog about that come december but right now I am focusing on hallowe’en.
I didn’t think I was preaching at anyone, just pointing out how crazy people get when I tell them I don’t take part! I guess I have proven my point! LOL
Thanks everyone for taking part in my discussion!
You don’t have the right to tell ANY Christian what is an appropriate conviction or not to have… It does not make people hypocrites to have different convictions than you, about Halloween. I am sorry… But you are overstepping your boundaries there. Your convictions are yours, and YOURS alone. They are not laws, not commandments, not mandates. They are individual things… and each person comes to their OWN individual convictions.
diabetic welfare queen, Wow! The word of God is very clear about christians taking part in pegan rituals.
Why wouldn’t he ask me to speak about something he has shown me? As a believer in Christ we are to be there for each other, bare each others burdens and correct each other. If you are interested I can send you scripture reference to back me up on this?
How can I be over stepping my boundries when this is my blog and my opinion! I am not accusing anyone I am simply asking a question!
You told me that “Your convictions are yours, and YOURS alone.” if that is true why are you getting so offended by them?
Who is name calling?
You are calling other Christians who don’t believe as you, hypocrites… and that is unfair as that is only your own conviction. It is just like Paul addressing those who were critiquing those who were eating food sacrificed to idols, in 1 Corinthians. There is NOTHING wrong in eating it, so long as you know that idols are nothing, that they don’t mean anything… They do not add or take anything away from us. The problem lies in people who don’t know this, or who have weak faith… who go around judging those who do. Paul says we ought to accommodate those people for their weak faith, and to just not do anything to not make them stumble, but honestly… in this day and age… I think those people need to just respect other people’s views and perspectives, and recognize that convictions are personal things, and they are not laws. They do not make others who do not follow them hypocrites. It is the same with the Halloween matter.
And by the way, calling other Christians hypocrites for not believing as you do, is not very Christian.
Have any of you read the blog I linked to my blog? I suggest you do it explain where I am coming from!
@lotsofshots BS?
Why bring it up? Becasue I believe it is important to stand up for something because if you don’t you will fall for anything or so the saying goes.
I think you may be surprised what God worries about. At least from what I read and experienced he cares about every hair on your and my head, so ya, I believe it matters to him.
But have I not proved my point about how people get really emotional about hallowe’en?
Good nite people and thankyou for the good discussion, it’s been fun. And we have to all remember we all have one thing in common. We are a diabetic’s and in this we all share common ground!
I am not calling other people hypicrites, if you read what I wrote, I am saying the behaviour could be seen as hyrpcritical, "I am just pointing out it could be considered hypocrisy to celebrate hallowe’en and serve Jesus."
As I said before I believe in grace,
Now who is attacking who’s faith?