A Christian Perspective
of
Halloween
by
Isaac Murphy
Halloween has come around again and once more Satan is freely promoting his doctrine without being stopped or rebuked. As always, he comes in sheep's clothing then slowly reveals his plans until they become a regular part of life. I will try to tell you of the origin of Halloween and the devastating effects that this holiday has formed into. The celebration of what we now call Halloween originated with the Celtics, who lived in modem day Ireland. As a part of their religious beliefs they held a festival once a year on November 1st. During this festival they would light bonfires and sometimes offer gruesome sacrifices. The purpose of these activities was to appease the spirits of the dead who were supposedly sent out to roam the earth and visit their earthly homes one day of the year. Food would be given out as a sacrifice or to anyone who appeared as a ghost or demon, saying “I am your dead ancestor who has come back to haunt you if refuse to give me something to eat(or a treat)”.
Several years later, Christians or Catholics came to evangelize the Celtic people, according to the gospel stated in Mark 16: 15 “ Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” What the Christian missionaries failed to do was to get rid of the pagan practices that the Celtics were doing. (Numbers 33:52 “demolish their high places.”) Instead, the missionaries chose to “christianize” their pagan holiday. They named it “All Saints Day” to honor any saint that didn't have a holiday. As time progressed Pope Gregory IV named the evening before All Saints Day “All Hallows' Eve”. Thus the celebration of what we call Halloween was begun.
The Celtics had a folklore story about jack-o-lanterns. A man named Jack, who was notorious a drunkard and trickster, had tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Then Jack carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up in the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil, if Satan would never tempt him again, Jack would promise to let him down the tree. According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance into Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the world. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer. The Irish used their own turnips as “Jack's lanterns” originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with a candle. The majority of people think that carving out a pumpkin into a scary or loony image is a fun activity to do on Halloween but it goes much deeper than that. The jack-o-lantern's history clearly shows that the devil was the cause of it's origin.
So, what is going on today. Halloween is viewed by the world as a innocent children's holiday but Christians are warring within themselves whether or not it is acceptable to participate in this particular holiday. Some say that it is fine to participate in Halloween. Others say no, it is not pleasing to the Lord. The one's who are trying to keep themselves pure are keeping the verse of 1 Corinthians 10:23 before them, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” They know that everything is not constructive. They are also guarding themselves against any unholy practices. The ones who “merely” celebrate this unholy occasion, in any form, need to stay focused on what is good and pure. Philippians 4:8 affirms this action “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good Halloween has come around again and once more Satan is freely promoting his doctrine without being stopped or rebuked. As always, he comes in sheep's clothing then slowly reveals his plans until they become a regular part of life. I will try to tell you of the origin of Halloween and the devastating effects that this holiday has formed into. The celebration of what we now call Halloween originated with the Celtics, who lived in modem day Ireland. As a part of their religious beliefs they held a festival once a year on November 1st. During this festival they would light bonfires and sometimes offer gruesome sacrifices. The purpose of these activities was to appease the spirits of the dead who were supposedly sent out to roam the earth and visit their earthly homes one day of the year. Food would be given out as a sacrifice or to anyone who appeared as a ghost or demon, saying “I am your dead ancestor who has come back to haunt you if refuse to give me something to eat(or a treat)”.
Several years later, Christians or Catholics came to evangelize the Celtic people, according to the gospel stated in Mark 16: 15 “ Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” What the Christian missionaries failed to do was to get rid of the pagan practices that the Celtics were doing. (Numbers 33:52 “demolish their high places.”) Instead, the missionaries chose to “christianize” their pagan holiday. They named it “All Saints Day” to honor any saint that didn't have a holiday. As time progressed Pope Gregory IV named the evening before All Saints Day “All Hallows' Eve”. Thus the celebration of what we call Halloween was begun.
The Celtics had a folklore story about jack-o-lanterns. A man named Jack, who was notorious a drunkard and trickster, had tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Then Jack carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up in the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil, if Satan would never tempt him again, Jack would promise to let him down the tree. According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance into Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the world. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer. The Irish used their own turnips as “Jack's lanterns” originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with a candle. The majority of people think that carving out a pumpkin into a scary or loony image is a fun activity to do on Halloween but it goes much deeper than that. The jack-o-lantern's history clearly shows that the devil was the cause of it's origin.
So, what is going on today. Halloween is viewed by the world as a innocent children's holiday but Christians are warring within themselves whether or not it is acceptable to participate in this particular holiday. Some say that it is fine to participate in Halloween. Others say no, it is not pleasing to the Lord. The one's who are trying to keep themselves pure are keeping the verse of 1 Corinthians 10:23 before them, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” They know that everything is not constructive. They are also guarding themselves against any unholy practices. The ones who “merely” celebrate this unholy occasion, in any form, need to stay focused on what is good and pure. Philippians 4:8 affirms this action “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Finally, sidestep all evil. Evil is all over the world but it is much more prevalent on Halloween. The evil people in this world even take this holiday to the extreme, such as witches, while others just say “I wonder how close 1 can get to the fire without getting burned?” Thessalonians 5:22 says to “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Not the doing of evil or dabbling in it, don't even LOOK AT EVIL for the temptation would be too great to want to be a part of it. For those who have just acknowledged that this holiday is a form a evil Satan is not going to let you get away from him. He will throw all sorts of “tricks” at you during this holiday because it is his. He won't do it outwardly but he will put circumstances in your way to make you think that it is fine. Remember what Paul said to the Ephesians, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against “ spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12.
I hope now you have seen that when it comes to Halloween satanic powers are even more rampant than any other day. For most people who do not even know the history or are not willing to accept the history, it is just another secular 'party day.' Our responsibility as Christians is to not “go with the flow” but to hold our standard high – above the world's. I also hope that you have been enlighten by reading this short document on the start of Halloween and how it has infiltrated the body of Christ.
Isaac Murphy
9981 Country Lane 217
Webb City, MO 64870
Telephone: (417) 673-1664