Is participating in Halloween activities an evil thing? Is not participating in Halloween activities a good thing? What is evil? Where does evil come from? These are the $100,000 questions we Christians want to know. I am anxious to know about this myself.
With Halloween abound on October 31st and people dressing up in zombie costumes & the giving of candy to children dressed in ballet and princess costumes, begs the question: is Halloween evil? Is Halloween an evil event? Does participating in Halloween make you evil?
What does Jesus say about evil? Actually, I used to think that Halloween was evil when I first began my walk with Christ, but that's not what Jesus said about what evil is.
Matt 15: 19 - "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander (NLT)."
What do evil people do? What are the marks and signs of an evil person?
• Exodus 23:1 - “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.
• Job 24:2 - Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
• Job 27:16 - “Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing.
• Psalm 94:4 – “How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast?”
• Proverbs 4:16 – “For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.”
• Proverbs 10:16 – “The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.”
• Matthew 5:11 - “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.
• Philippians 3:2 – “Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.”
• 1 Timothy 6:10 – “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
• 3 John 1:9-11 - I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. 11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God (NLT).”
Therefore, someone who is evil:
1. Passes rumors
2. Steal things
3. Are arrogant and boastful
4. Causes trouble for people
5. hoarders of money and necessities
6. squander money to commit sins
7. are religious zealots
8. love money
9. refuses to support the church
10. makes false accusations
11. is self-centered
Isn’t that amazing?! In the case of Diotrephes, even a Christian in the church can be evil! Was it because he dressed up as a fictional character on a useless, commercial holiday? No, it was because his intentions and deeds were evil in his heart. He was self-centered, unsupportive of the church and the Apostles, he refused to help anyone who came to teach and he would kick you out of the church if you disagreed with him.
Let us not forget what Jesus said about evil. He said, “For from the heart come:
• evil thoughts
• murder
• adultery
• all sexual immorality
• theft
• lying
• slander
Evil does not come from people dressing up as fictional creatures or cartoon characters. How can things, that don't even exist, be evil? Is it evil to dress up as a Storm Trooper (from Star Wars)? Is it evil to dress up as a nerd? Is it evil to dress up as a clown? Is it evil to dress up as Jesus Christ? I guess it would not be evil to dress up in a costume; rather, it would not be wise to dress up in a costume of someone or something that represents evil or an evil act.
However, if a person was in impersonate a suicide bomber, an axe murderer, a greedy preacher or a porn star it may cause someone to start thinking evil thoughts, act upon sexual immorality and lust by rape or adultery and it may cause them to hesitate into committing a sin. Even though you may have not had the intention of causing evil, you may inadvertently cause someone who is weak to fall into evil thoughts and evil deeds.
If you believe that it is a sin to impersonate a fictional creature for the sake of mind-numbing entertainment, then you shouldn’t do it. It may not always be profitable, lovely or of good report; but isn't that up to the Christian under God's grace to decide? However, from the definition that Jesus gave, evil comes from within the heart & revealed in the deeds of ungodly men.
Now, I understand that some people are really evil. They may be trapped in some evil behavior rooted in Satanism or the occult. We must remember that these people are not our enemies but it is the powers of darkness that have deceived them into these kinds of evil acts and deeds. As Christians, we must show mercy on these people who are bound by this occultism, sorcery and witchcraft. We must pray for the ones who are there and if we know someone who is caught up in these things, we must pray for them and attempt to rescue them if we are able.
I know that on October 31st that there are people all over the world who are involved in many kinds of evil things. However, I am not responsible for what they do or act. Those things are beyond my control. I do not support them and I do not participate in their evil deeds.
When the average person who is not involved in the occult dresses up on Halloween and impersonates a fictional character, they are not sinning against God. They are not actively participating in evil acts such as murder, killing babies, worshipping Satan, divination, sorcery or consulting mediums. These people are dressing up for fun, playing some meaningless games, entering a costume contest and eating lots of candy. Don’t we all do the same things when we participate in other useless activities in our lives?
Some people may suggest that this is mixing the systems. That is, Christians shouldn’t blend the Kingdom of God with the world's system and expect to get godly results. When I think of mixing the Kingdom of God with the worldly system I get ideas such as:
• Pornography for Christ
• Selling Drugs for Jesus
• Mob families in the Church
• Brothels for the Brothers
• Murdering Mothers for the Lord
I know that these are silly examples but that’s my point. Someone would have to blatantly blend the two systems into an obvious perversion that even evil-minded people would recognize that it’s ridiculous. If we are guilty of blending the two, I would hope that we could recognize it and when realized, we should take the proper steps to repair the mistakes.
Even Paul the Apostle supported being in the world, for the sake of Christ but being not of the world. Christians live here and we cannot separate ourselves from what the world is. However, as Christians we must separate ourselves from what the world does.
This is today’s impression of Halloween: people having fun by dressing up, playing mindless games and receiving candy from their neighbors and friends. I hope that is not evil. If that’s what evil is, then God must be a liar. Of course, God is not a liar but I hope you get my point.
Do we go by what God says is evil or do we go by what we think is evil or what we think evil should be? If people are not sinning against God, if they are not performing evil deeds (given by the definition in the bible) or presenting themselves as an act or actor of evil deeds then there is no harm in enjoying the things in life that are a part of traditional holidays, amusing festivals and special occasions. Halloween is harmless unless your intentions are to cause harm to others or by unintentionally presenting yourself as an image of an evil act (murder).
This year on Halloween of 2010, I dressed up as Jason Vorhees, the axe/machete murderer from the movie Friday the 13th. I agree that perhaps my costume may have not been the wisest choice, especially since I went to a church-held event. However, I didn't have murder in my heart and I never planned to kill or rape anyone. It was all in good, clean fun in my heart. I never meant to insult anyone or cause anyone to fall or stumble. Yes, I'm sure there are people that perhaps may do those things and there are many who are victims of such people, but God knows that I'm not one of them. It is my heart that God sees and He knows my intentions and motives.
Where is line drawn when it comes to evil, sin or presenting images of evil acts on the outside? Thanks to a great Christian friend, I have realized my error. I can honestly tell you that I don't want to be responsible for causing others to stumble as well. I believe that I was wrong to present myself as a fictional murderer. If I had dressed up as a clown or a funny cartoon character, perhaps it would have been different. Therefore, I have made a personal decision to never again present an evil person or act on the outside.