Why Does RiverLife Celebrate Halloween?

Why does RiverLife host a large costume party every year around Halloween? While some Christians believe Halloween should be avoided, rejected, and even condemned, we believe there’s another option that lies at the heart of God’s work—redemption.

Transcript

THE QUESTION

Every year, I have someone ask me, “Why does RiverLife celebrate Halloween?” Sometimes it’s a person who is openly against it, and they’re not really asking “why?” but instead, “how could you?” But most of the time, it’s from somebody who’s curious. Maybe someone like you.

You’ve never seen a Hmong church do a Halloween event like this. Or you didn’t celebrate Halloween growing up. You know the drill—lights off, don’t answer the door. Or you’ve heard from pastors or parents that Halloween was an evil, pagan holiday and Christians shouldn’t celebrate it. But now, as an adult, you’re not sure. Or you’ve had Christian family or friends who criticize you for letting your kids go trick-or-treating, and you’re not sure how to respond.

So, wherever you are, my hope is that today will be eye-opening, encouraging, and maybe even challenging for you.

THE ANSWERS

The question of how Christians should relate to Halloween is really part of a larger question: How should Christians relate to secular culture?

There are really just three answers to this question: reject it, accept it, or redeem it.

• Reject it – Don’t engage. Don’t be a part of secular life. A Christian is not to participate in the things of this world.

• Accept it – Don’t worry about it. We can do secular things. Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world

• Redeem it – Bring the power and presence of Jesus into the secular world.

What’s interesting is that the Bible teaches all three of these. That’s why we don’t criticize people who choose not to participate in Halloween. But here at RiverLife, we choose the last option—to redeem Halloween.

THE OBJECTIONS

But before we dive into that, let’s briefly look at the three most common objections to Halloween:

1. Halloween originated as a pagan holiday.

This is the origin argument. While this is partly true, Halloween also has explicitly Christian origins. November 1 was a church celebration known as All Saints Day. The night before, October 31st, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, was a time of prayer and celebration. So, is the origin of Halloween pagan or Christian? Yes.

Also, if a Christian truly rejected any holidays with secular origins, then they would also have to reject Christmas or Easter.

• Christmas originated from the Roman festival of Saturnalia

• Easter originated from a Germanic springtime goddess festival.

But in both cases, the Church redeemed these pagan holidays and changed them into ones that celebrated Jesus.

2. Halloween today glorifies evil and death.

This is the present-day argument. This is a pretty good argument. You just have to walk into a Spirit Halloween store to see the obsession with death, blood, and gore. And I totally agree that relishing in death and evil seems contradictory for a Christian child of light and life.

But does this mean everything about Halloween is focused on evil and death? No. Walk around here after church, and you won’t see any of that because we don’t celebrate that part of the holiday.

3. It’s a worldly holiday.

This is the secular argument. Using this logic, Christians shouldn’t celebrate New Year’s Eve, 4th of July, or Groundhog Day. They’re all worldly holidays, and yet Christians don’t have any problems with these. This objection seems weirdly selective.

SCRIPTURE READING

Is there an alternative to all that? We absolutely believe so. We don’t believe that Halloween is inherently evil because of part of its origin or how some choose to practice it today, or even simply because non-Christians do it.

Instead, we work to bring the redemption of Jesus Christ into our world, our cities, our families, and even Halloween.

And this isn’t our idea. God has always meant for his people to be forces for good, builders of God’s kingdom, and bringers of light. In essence, to redeem.

To help cast a vision for how Christians can redeem culture, I’d like to invite Alicia Thoj up to read the Scripture for today.

Ephesians 4:17-32 (NLT)

17 With the Lord’s authority, I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil. 28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.

Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. [17] 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

REDEEMING HALLOWEEN

This passage begins with a powerful topic sentence: “Live no longer as the Gentiles do.” The modern version of this would be: “Hey Christians, don’t live like non-Christians.”

“Ok, we shouldn’t celebrate Halloween. It’s pagan, non-Christian. We shouldn’t live like them. Got it.” Hmmm, not so fast; there’s more.

Paul explains what this looks like to live differently than the non-Christians. And he repeats a three-fold template:

• If you…

• Then stop doing this…

• Do this instead…

Let me give you an example. Verses 21-24: “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him…” This is the “If you” statement. If you’ve heard and believed the life-giving truth of Jesus…”

Then stop doing this part: throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Stop living out of your old, corrupted self.

Now, a lot of Christians just stop here and focus on not doing things. “I have to stop doing things I used to do. That’s what it means to be a Christian.”

But that is not the goal of the Christian life—to simply not do what the non-Christian world does. Paul says that there’s more. Do this instead: Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Let the Holy Spirit renew you and give you new thoughts and new attitudes. Put on your new righteous and holy nature. In Christ, you are to be something different and do something different.

Then Paul gives 4 examples of how to live this out, addressing 4 non-Christian behaviors—lying, anger, stealing, and cussing. And each time, he uses the same format: If you… Then stop doing this… Do this instead…

If you lie…Then “stop telling lies.” Do this instead: “Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” Don’t simply stop lying. That’s not enough. Instead, redeem your words by speaking the truth to others because we’re all connected.

If you’re angry…Then, don’t sin & let anger control you. Do this instead: Resolve your conflict quickly. (“Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.”) Christians are called to do more than just not be angry. We’re called to make peace quickly, to redeem our conflicts.

If you’re a thief… Then, quick stealing. Do this instead: Use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. A lot of churches and Christians will just focus on the first half – don’t steal. That’s not good enough for the people of God. We are called to do redemptive things, like giving to people in need.

If you cuss… Then, don’t use foul or abusive language. Do this instead: Redeem your words. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

And there’s one more catch-all. If you’re anybody… Then, get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. That’s redeeming your words and actions.

Do you see the pattern? More importantly, do you see the problem? A lot of Christianity is focused on, even obsessed with, “Stop doing this.” Christianity is boiled down to a list of don’ts. A good Christian is defined by what you don’t do.

But we, as Christians and as the Church, are called to be agents of good, redemptive work in our world. We’re called, even commanded, to do good, not just avoid bad.

HALLOWEEN

So, why does RiverLife celebrate Halloween? Because we choose to redeem it and not just avoid it. In fact, we can apply Paul’s same three-fold instruction to Halloween.

If you celebrate Halloween…

Then, stop focusing on death, gore, horror, and fear

Instead, bring light to children, families, and your neighborhood.

That’s why you won’t find any skeletons, blood, zombies, or tombstones around here. Because those do not redeem Halloween. They play into the obsession with darkness and death.

Instead, you’ll find kids' games, family activities, and a free event for eastside neighborhoods. We have photo booths for family memories. We have a coffee cart whose proceeds support people experiencing homelessness.

JESUS, OUR REDEEMER

Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected to redeem the lost, the dark, the pagan, and the evil—namely us. Thank God that he didn’t reject us. And thank God that he didn’t just accept us in all our sins, bondage, and failure. Instead, he chose to redeem us—to forgive, to make us a new creation, to make us holy and righteous, to free us from our old sinful nature.

If Jesus Christ can do all of that to redeem us, I think we can redeem a simple holiday.