Celebrating Halloween

It is the time of year in the American calendar where evangelical anxiety about Halloween comes to the surface more than it usually does.  There is never a time of year where rationalistic Christians do not have to put up with legalistic concerns about nonsinful things, but October is especially ripe for such baseless worry.  The "paganism" on display around Halloween is regarded as a particular threat to the influence of Christianity on the West--as if the evangelical world represents genuine, Biblical Christianity!

Often objecting to the general emphasis on costumes and monsters more than on the point of All Hallow's Eve, evangelicals might even go so far as to claim that those who celebrate Halloween have engaged in something that directly or indirectly glorifies Satan.  Even if acknowledging satanic forces was the objective of everyone involved in events related to Halloween, this would not be inherently positive or negative.  After all, different people could have varying attitudes towards positing this, if that somehow was indeed the case.

However, many people who participate in Halloween celebrations are not making any sort of worldview statement, nor do they regard Halloween as anything more than a day (or season) on which they can enjoy a "spooky" atmosphere with friends and strangers.  They appreciate the scenery, costumes, and general experience without attaching any ultimate personal or theological significance to it.  There is no ulterior philosophical motive for many who enjoy Halloween, much less one of disdain for Biblical Christianity!

As with all activities that the Bible does not condemn directly or by logical extrapolation (i.e., the Biblical condemnation of alcohol abuse also condemns drug abuse), each individual Christian is free to act on their subjective preferences.  A person who feels uncomfortable with anything about Halloween is under no obligation to participate in it, and he or she can simply find some other activity to engage in on October 31st.  A person who wishes to be a part of Halloween events is under no obligation to fight those wishes, and he or she can wear costumes and partake in other traditions of the holiday.

Christians who celebrate Halloween have in no way betrayed Christian values.  Ironically, it is the person who claims that participating in Halloween activities is sinful that betrays Christian values, as they look to tradition and emotion instead of theonomy for their moral framework, meaning they disobey the vital command of the Bible to not condemn that which Mosaic Law does not (Deuteronomy 4:2).  Legalists profess to desire righteousness, but their very additions to Biblical instructions reval that they are ignorant, hypocritical, stupid, or all three.