To Halloween or Not to Halloween?
For those of us who are trying to figure out what to do with this whole Halloween thing as Christians, I want to offer a pretty good article on the whole thing that explains my current take on it.
Have a read and let us know what you think.
For the article, click "here"
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Thanks for this link, Alan. I must say that I found the Halloween article refreshing and, to my surprise, very instructive as well.
I fully support Pastor James Harleman’s idea that we ought not to shun Halloween simply because we are told it is evil, or because we have at some time participated in the festivity and never bothered to weigh its appropriateness. We ought instead to encourage ourselves and our fellow believers to employ godly wisdom, discernment, and a sense of our shared mission as Christians to decide what to do about this so American and Canadian festivity…….”Our abstinence or participation in regard to Halloween should not be derived from fear, misinformation, or pressure but rather from a sincere love of Jesus; every response to our culture and its festivals is a way to point to the God we love and serve”.
Furthermore, and along the same line, I wholeheartedly champion the belief so well expressed by Mars Hill Church in Seattle that…….”when it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc., we ought to take a “closed-hand/open-hand” approach.
The closed hand hangs onto the non-negotiable tenets of Christian orthodoxy: sin is the problem, Jesus is the answer, the Bible is true, and Hell is hot. The open hand, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters; we liberally allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent”.
Thus we see how the open hand fosters unity among the diversity of expressions found in our church communities: liberals and conservatives, ice hockey fans, and soccer moms, tree huggers and consumerists, carnivores and vegetarians, trendy bohemians and Microsoft nerds. Hence, my favorite Mars Hill Church policy, to be….”in favor of good beer (in moderation), great sex (in marriage), and even tattoos (Jesus has one). But our goal must always be love and concern for our friends so that we don’t enjoy our freedom at the expense of their faith.
Thanks again for an inspirational read.
Comment by Alfonso Casasempere — October 26, 2007 @ 6:29 pm