Can You Catch a Demon? and other questions to consider in Halloween's ledger

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Can you catch a demon in the way one can catch a cold? 

Can you worship something against your will?

Is dressing up as scary things the same as 'glorifying' those same things?

Every year around this time these kinds of questions repeat themselves in my head. Today is Halloween and so in a few hours small children will be donning outfits and slapping on makeup to step out into the darkness. They'll tentatively approach some cobweb covered and pumpkin laden house to request, in the boldest tones they can, some sweets. Is what they're doing 'wrong'? I think it's worth considering.

Christians and churches have an uncomfortable relationship with Halloween. Many of us ignore it all together pretending that it doesn't exist, or perhaps we occasionally tut at the scary costumes on our TVs and in the shops. Others of us acknowledge it but only insofar as we provide an 'alternative' to the darkness of it all. Still others sheepishly participate in it aware that many in their church feel strongly that they really shouldn't, that they're 'worshipping the devil' by doing so.

As a pastor I've heard most of the concerns people have about Halloween and I've sympathised with much of it. The Nigerian woman in my church who escaped a life of witchcraft and the psychological abuse and control that went with it definitely gets my sympathy. Witchcraft is not something to be treated lightly and if there's one thing Halloween seems to do it's make light of it - not good. Other responses in the church include a clever 'redirection' of the season: "Halloween?" they say "what halloween? Today is Reformation Day!" 

Several years ago I was told that I was 'welcoming the devil' into the church by hosting a 'Superheroes' party as our alternative to Halloween. The alarmed church member even had a prophetic dream to back up their concern which I duly took to the elders, considered, weighed and then carried on. That was six years ago and I haven't seen any evidence either of satanic infiltration that can be linked back to that party, or  for that matter of any change in posture from the concerned prophet. 

When it comes to Christian's living in a culture filled with pagan customs (a thing we've always had to navigate) we need to think about how to engage with every festivity that takes place. Should we reject what we see, try to redeem it or celebrate it? Those are the options available to us and how we respond to each holiday season will vary depending on the festivity, our consciences and our past experiences. 

I have friends who won't celebrate Christmas because of what they perceive to be its pagan roots, and I have friends who were alarmed when I encouraged observance of Lent in the church. I also have friends who rejoice in both of those things. 

Halloween triggers more Christian consciences than any other festival and since St. Paul instructs us respect one another's consciences those who feel a freedom to enter to it have a responsibility to do so discreetly.

Christian reactions to festive seasons vary dramatically. If we lived in the middle ages where Saints' days proliferated and a person could barely go two weeks without some church holiday being imposed on them I might be more sympathetic, (but even then in a society without bank holidays or any rhythms of rest I may not mind it!). In a society like ours where people are more fragmented and adrift than ever, and where the only holidays left are the ones the shops can market I believe we need to think carefully before throwing out the few historically rooted holidays we have left. I'd rather live in a culture that gives you a day off for Halloween than for Black Friday for example.

Let's consider the biblical and social ledger for and against participation in Halloween.

Biblical 

Against:

  1. "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:21
  2. "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
  3. "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11 
  4. "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Romans 12:9 
  5. "Stay away from every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22
  6. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:19
  7. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
  8. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:21
  9. "Everything is permissible," but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible," but not everything builds u. no is to seek his own good, but the good of the other person." 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

For:

  1. "Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience" 1 Corinthians 10:25-27
  2. "Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come — sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:14-23
  3. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
  4. "You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44
  5. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him." Colossians 2:25
  6. "To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22
  7. Paul's example in Acts 19 and his mission to the Athenians. He quotes their prophets and visits their altars (in order to be able to name 'to an unknown god').
  8. "Christ is Lord" was a politically charged due to the familiar 'Caesar is Lord' common in early Christian society.
I'm sure there are others but they're a starter for us to consider. 

The list 'against' seems pretty conclusive doesn't it? Except that the question needs to be asked "is this what Halloween's doing?". When Jesus and Paul urge Christians to keep their distance from darkness is Halloween in their minds? With the exception that 'witchcraft' is listed in the 'deeds of the flesh' in Galatians, it's clear that generally they're referring to immoral behaviour. 

There is however enough in the 'against' list to give anyone pause for thought before running headlong into the culture's embrace of all things Halloween.

What of the 'For' list? 

Jesus and Paul answer our 'can you catch a demon?' question in their dialogues with the Pharisees and the Corinthians. The Pharisees were overly concerned with ritual cleanliness, putting their confidence in it to preserve them perhaps in much the same way that a Christian parent might want to keep their children away from scary things. Jesus, however, redirects their attention. 'Evil' Jesus says 'comes from within and isn't a matter of simply 'keeping the cup clean''. 

I also think that no. 3 in the list is worth considering. I know many Christians who decry the demonic influence of Halloween, but very few who call our culture's emphasis on 'self-care' or 'self-esteem' evil, or capitalism for that matter, or the consumerism of Christmas, or the divisiveness of anti-immigration or even, dare I say it, abortion or assisted suicide.

I only bring this up to make the point that a child dressing up as a vampire or a monster to collect sweets from a neighbour is a lot less demonic than the celebration of human pride or greed or lust implicit (and oftentimes explicit) in much of the practices parents happily allow their children to indulge in.

St. Paul is clear: the devil presents as light, not darkness. We ought to beware the 'deeds of darkness' (meaning sinful behaviour) but the ideologies of 'light' (meaning things that look and feel nice but are actually evil).

Social custom

There is another way of engaging with this question as well and that's to do with considering the function of the social custom itself. 

I've been told that most (perhaps all) cultures around the world and throughout history have had celebrations of what is called 'Carnival'. Carnival is a time to dress up, let off steam and break social norms for a night. Halloween serves this function for our society, in much the same way that Saturday football matches provide an arena to let off steam after a stressful week. This isn't to say it's 'good' but simply to point out the real function it serves.

More than that (and this is where I think the church has more of an opportunity than it realises) Halloween is the one night of the year where our culture acts as though the supernatural is real. For the rest of the year we're strict secular materialists but for this one night we're open to the reality of dark forces in the world. C.S. Lewis once said:  "I would almost dare to say 'First let us make the younger generation good pagans and afterwards let us make them Christians.'" (the full quote can be read here). Halloween is like a crowbar that opens the eyelids of a materialist to see the enchantment all around them, shouldn't we do more to capitalise on that moment? 


Thirdly, and again I think the church could make far greater use of this than we do, Halloween reminds people of death. Skeletons, graves and rotting corpses are the icons of the season and in a society like ours this isn't a bad thing for the gospel. 


For obvious reasons people try to forget about death and push its reality to the margins of society wherever possible. For the Christian however we talk about and think about death a lot; the reason being that death is no longer the great enemy it once was. Because of Christ, death is now a doorway that ushers us into the presence of God (Spurgeon's 'Christ the Destroyer of Death' is brilliant here). Shouldn't the church jump on a season where the culture is thinking about death a lot? Shouldn't we say to it 'death is coming for you, you will not escape the grave, and after it what then?' we should be known as the people who say 'there is one who's destroyed death and vanquished the grave. Come to him one who saves us from it!'


Fourthly we ought to be less scared of the devil than we are of sin. The devil may have led us away from God but it's sin that keeps us there. The devil may lie to us about God's nature and goodness but it's sin's appeal that stops us returning to Him. If in the church we're going to be known for being opposed to darkness and evil shouldn't that be the evil and darkness of our flesh's sinful desires more than trick or treating and Halloween parties?


Finally I don't believe that dressing as a dark things is the same thing as 'glorifying' the dead or the demonic (I hear this often too). Instead it's a way of reminding ourselves that there are horrors in the world, dark and scary things that we're powerless over. We may dress up and pretend to be brave but we all know that there are things far scarier than an animatronic zombie in the world. Halloween reminds us of our powerlessness in the face of evil and the church has a message for people like that as well. Christ entered the grave on our behalf, he allowed it to swallow him whole and then he burst free from it. Death couldn't hold him and it loses its grip on all who trust him for themselves as well. Make yourself like a bar of soap in death's clutches, come to Christ!


With each passing year I'm less 'on the fence' of Halloween and more on the side of 'since the days are evil let us make the most of every opportunity'. Our world literally invites us each October 31st to share a message of hope in the darkness, shouldn't we get out there and share it? What would creative missional engagement with Halloween look like I wonder? 


Fancy dress funerals and a gospel message perhaps, a marching band of worshippers parading through the streets, glow sticks and Bible verses, open graves and an invitation to consider Easter's implications? At the very least it looks like Superhero and Light Parties, it looks like emphasising Christ's victory over the darkness - that's what Halloween is really about after all!


Apple bobbing food for thought...