Halloween, Hallowed Is Thy Name: How to Scripturally and Theologically Justify Christian Halloween Haunted Houses and Other Evangelistic Events for Christian Fellowship, Fun, and Prophet.

By Rev. Dr. Eddie J. Smith

Halloween has been referred to as the Devils holiday, but all 365 1/4 days were created by and belong to Jesus. If Satan usurps even one day it is our Christian duty and responsibility to reclaim and redeem it in the name of our Lord. Are the imaginary ghouls and goblins of Halloween any more wicked than the jolly elf called Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny? Should the Church stop celebrating these holy days, the bookends of our faith, as well?

Instead of battling the spiritual enemy on Halloween, the Church is guilty of crossing swords with one another. We fight among ourselves, not about how to celebrate Halloween, but whether it should even be observed. Jesus is more the reason for the season on Halloween than He is at Christmas. The Church must realize it is forfeiting Halloween as an opportunity to glorify the Prince of Peace, the One who has given us the victory over the prince of darkness and his evil minions. The Way, the Truth and the Life has conquered Death and the grave.

By dressing up in costumes and portraying frightening creatures who at one time caused us to fear and tremble, we are not glorifying Satan. Rather, we are poking fun at the Serpent whose kingdom has been plundered by our Savior, and whose head has been crushed! Should we celebrate Halloween? The question is, How can we not? Halloween, Hallowed is Thy Name offers a believer confidence and joy in expressing the greeting Happy Halloween.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449757168

Rev. Dr. Eddie J. Smith

The author is a Baptist minister who has pastored churches for thirty-two years. In this role, he has developed very successful Halloween outreaches that saw as many as 1,600 Halloween guests during two to four weekend evenings. Dr. Smith now shares his years of Halloween ministry experience with churches that would also like to present more than candy and tracts to their Halloween visitors. Dr. Smith makes his home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with his wife Sandra. They have two beautiful daughters, two great son-in-laws, and three wonderful grandchildren. Dr. Smith and his wife enjoy traveling, dining out, landscaping and gardening.

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Hallowed Is Thy Name

How to Scripturally and Theologically Justify

Christian Halloween Haunted Houses

and Other Evangelistic Events for

Christian Fellowship, Fun, and Prophet.

Rev. Dr. Eddie J. Smith

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Copyright © 2012 by Rev. Dr. Edward J. Smith.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-5715-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-5717-5 (hc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012912371

Scripture quotations marked CEV taken from Contemporary English Version® Copyright © 1995 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.; used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible; Tyndale House, 1997, © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright (c) by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked Phillips are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, copyright © 1958, 1959, 1960 J.B. Phillips and 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957 The Macmillian Company, New York. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/30/2012

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1

Chapter 1 Looking at Halloween Cross-Eyed

St. Boniface and Thor’s Oak Tree

Satan, the Master of Disguise

St. Patrick, the Shamrock, and the Pagan Feast of Beltane

The Devil’s Tools

The Gospel Apologetic Called Halloween

Looking at Halloween Cross-Eyed: A Tool in the Hands of Christ

Salt and Light

Warning! Do Not Shoot (Condemn) First

and Ask Questions Later

G. K. Chesterton’s Definition of Idolatry

Chapter 2 The Origin and Nature of Halloween

The Druids

The Feast of Samhain

The Bon(e)fire Ritual

All Saints’ Day

The Pope Who Stole Halloween

All Souls’ Day

The Relationship between Halloween and the

Protestant Reformation

The Purpose of the First Halloween Masks and Costumes

Trick-or-Treating

Halloween Decorations

The Origin of Mischief Night

Washington Irving and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Jack-o’-Lantern

Caramel and Candy-Coated Apples

The Number Thirteen

Superstition

The Numinous and Our Search for Meaning and Purpose

The Scarecrow or Man-Cross

In Summary: Like Scarecrows in a Melon Patch

Looking Ahead

Part 2

Chapter 3 Everything Is Permissible, but Not Everything Is Beneficial

Halloween and the Legend of Sleepy Hallow

Scripturally Resolving Controversial Questions

What Would Jesus Do with Halloween?

Deciding Controversial Matters

What Is a Conscientious Acceptor?

Brief Points

The Heart of the Matter

Our Freedom in Christ

Do Not Judge One Another

Everything Is Permissible

But Not Everything Is Beneficial (Helpful)

Weak Ones

To the Pure, Everything Is Pure

Maturity and Immaturity

In Summary

Chapter 4 Is Halloween Really the Devil’s Holiday?

Halloween and the Feast of Purim

The Grinch Who Stole Halloween

Halloween and Christmas: A Historical Comparison

The Evolution and Enemies of Christmas

Christmas … Bah Humbug!

A Christmas Prophet Named Charles Dickens

The Redemption of Christmas

The Victorian Christmas

Why Can’t the Lesson of Christmas Become the

Story of Halloween?

Of Faith and Myth

Have You Heard? Easter Is a Pagan Holiday!

Behold—the Old Has Become New

The Good News of Halloween

Part 3

Chapter 5 Trick or Treat?

Rightly and Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth

How Does One Faithfully Interpret Scripture?

Beware of Those Dangerous Presuppositions

General Guidelines to Govern Our Moral Decision Making

Is Halloween Unscriptural?

Redeeming the Time

Chapter 6 The Nature of Good and Evil

The Not-so Wonderful World

Killer Pride

Satan, the Incarnation of Evil

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Evil Is Nothingness

Morality and Immorality

The Words We Use to Define and Describe Evil

What Is the Origin of Evil?

God Creates Good Results from Evil Actions

How Could Angels Created Good Become Evil?

Theodicy

Bad Things Happen to Good People

The Fall—the First Halloween

The Good Role of Suffering in Our Lives

The Purpose of Evil

God Exploits Evil for Good

Servants or Tools?

The Parable of Good and Evil

The Nature of Evil

The Death and Destruction of Evil

Chapter 7 Is Celebrating Halloween Imitating Evil?

What Is the Purpose of Fantasy and the Imagination?

The Gospel as Fairy Tale

Is Celebrating Halloween Imitating Evil?

Fantasy and Reality

Which Witch Is Which?

What Is the Biblical Definition of a Witch?

From Witch to Heretic

What Is the Benefit of the Church Celebrating Halloween?

Fishing for Men by Becoming the Compleat Angler!

Looking Forward

Part 4

Chapter 8 Is Halloween the Story of Nineveh or Sodom?

Methods and Message?

Old or New Wineskins?

The Areopagus Principle in Action

The Evangelistic Motivation: Is Your Church an

Innie or an Outie?

Spiritual Discernment

Our Evangelistic Strategy: Fear or Love?

God as Evangelist: Divine Miracles and Strategies

Finding Common Ground

The Christian Soldier and the Culture War

Christ and Culture

Jesus Against Halloween

Jesus Is Halloween

Jesus and Halloween

Jesus Transforms Halloween

Evangelistic Schizophrenia

What Does Common Ground Look Like?

Onward, Not Inward, Christian Soldier

Caution: Sodom Just up Ahead

Chapter 9 Harry Potter Is a Christ Figure, and Prince Charming Is Jesus Christ in Disguise

Simple Stories and Archetypal Truths

Of Gryffindors and Hogwarts

Harry Potter, a Christ Figure

Context, Context, Context

Turning Lead into Gold

The Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone

The Chamber of Secrets

The Prisoner of Azkaban

The Goblet of Fire

The Order of the Phoenix

The Half-Blood Prince

The Deathly Hallows

If Harry Potter is of Satan then His Kingdom is

Divided Against Itself

The Fairy Tale

God Is Our Fairy Godmother/Godfather, and We Are Cinderella

Chapter 10 Why Do Christians Disagree, and How Do We Change?

What Do You See? How Our Brain Processes Information

Optical Illusions

Our Blind Spot

Image I

Image II

Image III

Image IV

Image V

Image VI

Image VII

Image VIII

Image IX

Image X

Image XI

Image XII

Image XIII

Image XIV

Image XV

Image XVI

Image XVII

Image XVIII

Image XIX

Image XX

Image XXI

Image XXII

Where’s Waldo?

Image XXIII

Scripture is Spiritually Discerned

The Evil Called Bulverism

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Halloween and the History of Singing Christian Hymns

How Do We Change?

In Summary

Chapter 11 The Magic of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Walt Disney

Blockbuster Evangelism

C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis’s Greatest Joy and Sadness

The Chronicles of Narnia—Fantasy Stories for Children

J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Fantasy or Magic?

Fantasy or Truth?

The Magic of Walt Disney

Disney’s Inspiration

A Black Cloud over the Magic Kingdom

The Pain Behind the Magic

Daniel, the Chief of the Magicians!

In Summary

Chapter 12 What Is Christian Entertainment?

What Is a Christian Book or Movie?

Gospel Magic

What Is Magic?

Avoid Every Appearance of Evil

Can Sleight of Hand Minister for Good?

Can Something Not Wrong Be Right?

Bridge Building

Of the Increase of His Government, There Shall Be No End

Chapter 13 As Shrewd as Snakes and as Harmless as Doves

As Shrewd as Snakes

As Harmless As Doves

Risky Evangelism or Risqué Evangelism?

Super-Scriptural versus Anti-Scriptural

The Spirit of the Law and the Letter of the Law

Shrewdness and Innocence

Slaying the Monster Called Traditionalism

Cookie-Cutter Christianity

The Parable of the Sower

The Reconciliation of All Things

A Last Word

A Halloween Prayer

About the Author

Endnotes

Bibliography

Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.

—James 1:19b–20 (NRSV)

James 3:17–18 says, But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice (CEV).

This book is dedicated to my all-wise and glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is my hope and prayer that the pages of this book will be used to increase the domain of the kingdom of heaven by assisting the members of the church to become faithful Halloween evangelists sowing the gospel in peace, love, and purity.

In addition, I dedicate this book to God’s servants, my brothers and sisters who were falsely accused of being witches in the Middle Ages and, through fear and ignorance, were innocently brutalized, demonized, and murdered in the name of God. For the most part, they are unnamed and unnumbered in history. Time may have forgotten them, but our Father, who knows all things, knows His sheep and holds them in the palm of His eternally loving hand. On judgment day, these fellow believers will be vindicated, and their tormentors will be condemned.

Last, I dedicate this book to those whose continual prayer is to grow in faith and understanding—those who are not afraid to confront their own ignorance and bias but who are challenged and emboldened by it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7a).

Acknowledgments

In his book entitled God Is the Issue, author Brad Bright said that truth is always the first casualty when we start with what we want rather than with who God is. This book, first and foremost, is not about Halloween. It is not about the Church’s interpretive opinion about Halloween. The issue in this book is not about us. Rather, it is about God and His Word. So I thank Mr. Bright for clarifying our vision right from the start. Further, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the following people for assisting me in the writing of this book.

To my youngest daughter, Erin, for her computer expertise in helping her exasperated father solve his many Now what? questions. After just a few seconds and after pressing the right keys, I was merrily along my way again. She has edited, formatted, and designed each page of this book.

I also owe a great debt to my beloved wife, Sandy, who has provided invaluable constructive criticism. With her help and endless encouragement, I was able to conquer my long episode of writer’s disease called the paralysis of analysis. Thanks, sweetheart, for your patience and faith in me. I love you so much.

Finally, I want to thank my oldest and most enthusiastic daughter, Joann, and the members of the Roxborough Baptist Church in Philadelphia, for having the courage, vision, and dedication to be Halloween evangelists. It is their hard work and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ that made our Halloween haunted houses such outstanding successes, and this book possible.

Introduction

George MacLeod, a Scottish soldier and clergyman, was one of the best-known and most influential and unconventional Church of Scotland ministers of the twentieth century. In a poem entitled Return the Cross to Golgotha, he said the following:

Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, on a town garbage heap. At a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek, and at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse and soldiers gamble. Because that is where he died, and that is what he died about. And that is where Christ’s men and women ought to be, and what church people ought to be about.

This book is written for all those believers who bravely face the darkness of this world and who are skeptical of broadly based popular opinion. It is for those who are unafraid to light a candle to dispel the darkness around them. To all the brave souls who dare to say, Happy Halloween, in the name of Jesus Christ, this is your book as much as it is mine.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7 KJV). God gives His children the courage and strength to face and overcome any foe, natural or supernatural. In Christ, we are more than conquerors. First John 4:18 gives us reason to rejoice: Perfect love casts out fear." Halloween was once a day that extolled all the things that made us shudder and fear. In Christ Jesus, however, it has become a holiday about celebrating our faith. Satan’s spooks have been routed by the Spirit of God. This is the good news of Halloween.

Halloween is the story of Jesus Christ, and like the story of redemption, it begins with the birth of a baby, God in the flesh. It continues to the horrid cross and ends at the empty tomb!

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Halloween: Hallowed Is Thy Name dares to proclaim that Halloween is the gospel story that comes between the two bookends of our faith, Christmas and Easter. Of course, I am not talking about the calendar that starts on January 1 and goes to December 31 but the gospel of redemption. Christmas is celebrated at the end of December, and Easter is always celebrated in spring, sometime during either March or April, so we know that Halloween, which is always on October 31, cannot chronologically lie between these two dates of our Christian faith. Halloween has become the orphaned holiday. It was disowned by the church and put up for adoption. Lying exposed and unwanted, the world has taken in our unwanted holiday, abused it, and profited by it!

The gospel story—written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—begins with the birth of Jesus and rightly concludes with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But everything in between the two events of Christmas and Easter—His birth and death—deals with Halloween! Between the birth of Jesus and His passion is the bulk of the gospel proclamation—Jesus’ life and ministry, which, in summation, is the story of His spiritual warfare and victory over Satan and his minions from the kingdom of darkness.

Thus Halloween should be celebrated by the church on an equal footing with Christmas and Easter. But instead it is cast away, abandoned, and rejected, just like the Jewish nation rejected its Messiah. The central message of the gospel is that the kingdom of heaven is presently invading the kingdom of darkness, but the victory will not be made complete until the second coming, when Christ will come to rule and put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be defeated will be death, the grimmest reaper of all.

Halloween’s message is the ministry of Jesus Christ—how He came to earth and claimed a beachhead by binding the rich man and ruler of this world, Satan (the prince of the power of the air), and is presently dispossessing him. Christ healed the sick whom Satan had diseased. He visited the prisoners whom Satan had imprisoned. He set at liberty those whom Satan had enslaved. He fed the hungry whom Satan had starved. He exorcised demons from those whom Satan had bodily possessed. He resurrected those whom Satan had marked for death. He gave hope to the hopeless. He brought light into the world that Satan had darkened. He brought forgiveness to those who were condemned and paralyzed by guilt and sin. Christ blessed the poor and befriended the friendless. Everything Christ did and said added another nail to Satan’s coffin. Jesus came to destroy the great destroyer and plunder his kingdom.

This is the message of Halloween, and it is time for the church to understand the value of the holiday (holy day) we have forfeited to our great enemy and reclaim it in the name of Christ, our Savior. May we as Christians understand our great error and repent.

I challenge churches to become zealous ambassadors of the Halloween message. I ask believers to decorate evergreen trees—even gnarly, dead trees—with Halloween ornaments that will remind us of Jesus’ great victory. May we sing Halloween carols and proclaim the message of Jesus’ miracles and His power over the natural world as well as the supernatural. May we light up the night with decorated light from above, mail Christian Halloween cards, and ready special dishes to eat and savor with our families. Just like Christmas and Easter, let us put on Halloween plays that remind us of the miracle-working power that is available in the name of Jesus. Let us greet our neighbors with the joyous refrain, Happy Halloween.

Let us be reminded—as is the task of the Jewish Passover—of the evil empire called the kingdom of darkness from which we have been delivered. Children, courageously wear your masks and costumes that powerfully remind believers and unbelievers alike of the evil powers Christ has vanquished through His courageous sacrifice and the proclamation of His faithful saints. And may our children go trick-or-treating, calling to mind that just as we once were deceived and tricked by the great liar and enemy of our souls, now we have sweet Jesus to feed and nourish us.

I challenge our Christian authors to fill bookstores with themed accounts about the Halloween gospel, as is common at Christmas and Easter. At present, we usually have only one or two selections, which usually attempt to prohibit Christians from observing Halloween! This is not Christian evangelism—it is unconditional surrender to the world. Instead, may we wax creative and invent some unique and special traditions that only Halloween, and believers inspired by the Holy Spirit, can produce.

Like our worldly neighbors, may churches conduct Halloween fellowship parties and rejoice over our great salvation. Are we to allow the world to dictate to us what a Halloween party should look like? On Halloween, is the church to be the only one standing out in the dark and cold looking in at the festivity all around us? No! Christians should be the ones who teach the world how to sing when it comes to celebrating Halloween. Church, wake up! Oh, God, send us Halloween prophets and a truly hallowed reformation and revival.

The study and interpretation of Scripture should never be an end in itself. God has given us the gift of His Word for a very practical purpose: That the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17).

Part 1

The Legend of Halloween

Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much. Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.

—William Cowper, English poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)

Oh that I could converse and reason, and plead, with power from on high. How powerless are the best-directed arguments, till the Holy Spirit renders them effectual.

—Henry Martyn, Anglican priest and missionary

to the peoples of India and Persia (1781–1812)

Chapter 1

Looking at Halloween Cross-Eyed

Minds are like parachutes; they work best when they are open. They are completely useless when closed.

—Frank Zappa, American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, recording engineer, record producer, and film director (1940–1993)

The issue of Christian involvement in Halloween, like Christmas and Easter, is a jeremiad. The concept of a jeremiad comes from the prophet Jeremiah’s book of Lamentations. A jeremiad is a prolonged, mournful complaint.

But as we well know, Jeremiah did not convince Jerusalem and Judea that things were as dire as they really were. As Jeremiah lamented, things continued as they were and even grew worse. The people heard the soothsayers of pleasant things instead, and Jeremiah was ignored and cast in prison. But still the Babylonians came. Illusions and delusions can be fatal! The people preferred to hear prophets who preached good news but not true news. Dumb dogs that had no bark (Isa. 56:10) were hearkened, but it was exactly because the false prophets did not bark or bite that the people were lulled to sleep—and to their death!

Like prophets, the problem with jeremiads is that they are usually heard only by people who already have a Jeremiah kind of heart, with spiritual ears to hear. The crowd usually responds with, Whoa! It’s bad but not that bad! It could be far worse!

It has been said an illusion can never be destroyed directly, and only indirectly can it be radically removed. One must approach from behind the person who is under an illusion. The reason for this is because when people sense a jeremiad coming, they instinctively raise their shields in defense. Thus, the truth is deflected away and prevented from penetrating their minds! This is exactly why the prophet Nathan first approached King David—who was guilty of murder and adultery—with a little story about a pet lamb. The story drew the king in, and then the sword of truth did its soul-saving work of conviction, confession, and repentance!

St. Boniface and Thor’s Oak Tree

History tells us that when St. Boniface came up against the sacred oak tree of Thor, the pagan god of thunder, during his evangelistic mission to the heathen Germans, he chopped it down and built a chapel out of the wood. Thousands of Thor worshippers, after seeing their god fail to strike Boniface with one of his infamously powerful lightning bolts, converted to Christianity on the spot.

St. Boniface’s faith and courage cannot be denied. He knew there was only one God of thunder, only one God who had the power of a destroying hammer—and Thor was not him. This kind of evangelistic zeal, spiritual wisdom, and godly power should be characteristics of every believer. After all, given the church’s Great Commission, we have been promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the gospel.

Most Christians will agree that this oak tree, this pagan symbol of godlessness, should have been cut down. But how many modern-day Christians would have dared to lift the ax while surrounded by so many enthusiastic followers of Thor who were so fervently heathen that they supposed they would not have to lift a sword against Thor’s enemy? They zealously believed Thor could, and would, strike the deathblow himself!

Courageous faith is one thing, but godly wisdom is another. How many modern-day believers, after having chopped down the mighty oak tree, would have constructed a Christian place of worship from the wood instead of fueling a large bonfire? What motivated St. Boniface to do what he did, and was he right or wrong in doing it? The answers to these questions set the tone for this book on Halloween evangelism.

Before we get caught up in a theological debate, let’s look to the Word of God for instruction. In Judges 6:26, Gideon was instructed by God to tear down an altar to Baal, a foreign idol that had been erected by Israel. Once the altar was torn down, Gideon was further instructed by none other than God Himself to build an altar to Him on top of the ruins of the altar that was once dedicated to Baal. This we can understand; it symbolized that Jehovah was mightier than Baal.

However, Gideon was further commanded by God to use the same wood from Baal’s altar to build His altar! Why? Would not the holy altar be defiled by the wood that once had been used for the heathen practice of idolatry? Obviously God did not think so. The wood and the altar were not inherently holy or unholy. God’s presence is what makes a thing, a place, or a person holy!

Today, standing tall among us in the world is a living oak tree dedicated to Thor. It is called the secular, godless celebration of Halloween. Many Christians will not even venture into the forest to behold the tree, let alone strike at its roots. All they are willing to do is curse the tree from afar and energetically share with everyone they meet how unholy this tree is!

Some believers, however, filled with the wisdom and spirit of Gideon, Elijah, Jeremiah, and St. Boniface, have dared to fell the tree and dare to dedicate its wood to the glory of God. After all, God made the tree, as God has made the day of October 31! Satan has laid claim to that which is not his own, and too many Christians have relinquished their legal right of ownership of Halloween to this diabolical usurper.

Villagers who live far from the First Baptist Church in Transylvania built from the wood of Thor’s oak tree condemn those who would even touch the wood from that hideous tree. They forbid anyone, in the name of Christ, to go near it. Will not its storied evil contaminate all those who gaze upon it, let alone those who stand under its ghastly shadow? How could a church built of this desecrated, abominable pile of trunk and branches be considered holy? This chapel, constructed from wood dedicated to Thor, should be condemned and burned, they say. Why do we allow it to burden the ground? It should be burned and its ashes thrown into the wind!

They have not yet learned the lesson of those who once lived in the shadow of this mighty oak. It is the redemption of this once-gnarly and twisted tree that gives such dynamic evangelistic power to the townspeople of Transylvania. Without this story and heritage, they would only have a new church building built from quite ordinary materials purchased at Lowe’s or Home Depot!

Those who are vehemently opposed to the evangelistic spirit and zeal of St. Boniface fail to consider that Thor’s oak tree did not really belong to Thor at all; it was created by and belonged to God. It was merely being usurped by Thor and his misguided followers. Thor has created nothing; this god who is not God owns nothing. He merely stole the use of the oak tree for his own evil purpose. By rededicating the oak tree, St. Boniface was merely restoring the oak tree to its rightful owner and once more designating it to its rightful use.

Similarly, a believer who is without passion and a testimony of God’s redeeming power is a Christian in name only. He or she has not yet tasted the glory of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus. The reality and story of what we have been delivered from, and saved for, is the spiritual essence of our new identity as children of God.

Thus, the morning and evening called Halloween is not Satan’s property. Satan has created no day or time. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, their evening and morning, belong to God, our Creator and Redeemer. The sullen oaken branches of Halloween need to be ripped from the gnarly clutches of the Prince of Darkness and be forever consecrated to the Prince of Light.

Who cannot see that Satan’s possession of Halloween is like sacrificing a pig upon God’s altar of holiness? God doesn’t need this altar to be torn down and a new altar to be built of undefiled stones. God merely needs ministers who will cleanse and sanctify the old altar by rededicating it to God’s glory. Halloween needs an altar dedicated to God, planted within the confines of its sanctuary. Then and only then will Halloween be truly hallowed. Until then, Halloween is wrongly named! Its holy name signifies its holy purpose. Presently, however, the day is anything but Halloween; it is, in reality, Halloween-less!

Satan, the Master of Disguise

Far too many people see Satan as a grotesque creature of abominable appearance—a lusty, half-human, half-goat beast with scales, pointed ears, and hooves, as well as a forked tongue and tail, carrying a pitchfork and smelling of sulfur. In actuality, he is a beautiful, powerful, keenly intelligent, sophisticated, and culturally refined creature. You will not find Satan in the rat-infested, urine-stained dark alleys; those are only dwellings of his errand demons. Satan hangs out in marble halls and ivory towers of the rich and powerful elitists and intelligentsia. He is a master of disguise—and that is what makes him so dangerous.

The apostle Paul, who made it his mission to wrestle with demonic powers, warned us that we must know our enemy in order to outwit him. The one thing we must understand is that Satan’s primary target is the church, God’s Jewish and Gentile people. Satan wears a minister’s collar and a choir robe. He plays the organ, piano, and guitar. He sits in the front pew. He is a member of the church governing board and carries a Bible. He might even tithe! He is a well-known and well-liked member! He guides the church along the forms of godliness but objects when its power is displayed.

Satan comes as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) and is an impostor who claims to speak for God. He is a brilliant Sunday school teacher or orator who twists God’s Word to create false doctrines. He can mimic piety. He will yell the loudest and be the first to judge and condemn unholy acts when a struggling saint is tempted and fails. Satan knows how to fit in, and he uses the right words to gain entrance into the most exclusive church cliques. He does much to create a religious atmosphere, but he does everything to make it devoid of gospel power.

We expect to find Satan in our pagan culture—in the dark and destroyed remnants of a hopeless subculture of our society—but he has infiltrated the church. In Galatians 3:1, Paul asked this church, Who has bewitched you? In 2 Corinthians 11:3, he told the church at Corinth, I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (ESV).

By our wrong behavior, attitudes, doctrine, and decisions, we give Satan membership into our church! As long as we tolerate carnal thinking and behavior in the Body of Christ, we create an atmosphere of spiritual compromise and/or laxity that attracts our enemy as much as the cool moisture and darkness found under a rock attracts a bug!

What we believe or don’t believe has both temporal and eternal consequences. What we do in church—and don’t do—brings certain results. Every thought, word, action, and inaction has infinite significance! Radical Christians, the counter-revolutionaries in this world must always be on the offensive. We must be pursuing the spiritual enemy, invading his domain, and liberating his captives. There is no vacation and no R&R on the battlefront! We must always attack and advance.

St. Patrick, the Shamrock, and the Pagan Feast of Beltane

St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Originally kidnapped from Britain and made a slave, after his escape, he had a dream where a man reached him a letter entitled, The Voice of the Irish. At the same time, he heard voices asking him to come back (to Ireland) and walk once more among us. Only the Spirit of God could lead a man to return in love to the place where he was once held as a slave.

St. Patrick used novel and inventive methods of evangelism. He used the common three-leafed clover, today the national flower of Ireland, to explain the concept of the Trinity to these fifth-century barbarians (those outside the Christian culture of Rome). St. Patrick’s ministry was so blessed because he too was filled with faithful courage and godly wisdom. He fasted for forty days and nights, and like Elijah, he confronted and challenged a powerful pagan king by lighting a fire for an Easter celebration. This bonfire was in willful opposition to a command that only one fire was to burn in the land—and that one fire was to burn for the pagan feast in honor of the (false) god Beltane.

Beltane was the Irish pagan god of fertility and magic. The feast of Beltane was celebrated on or near the evening of April 30 to May 1 and is also known as May Day. The feast celebrates the sexual union of the pagan god with the goddess, resulting in the beginning of summer and the fertile agricultural season. Beltane, of course, can be traced to the Baal of the Canaanites. The name Beltane means Fire of Bel.

St. Patrick searched for ways to build a bridge between the gospel and the Druids’ supernatural world of magic. In doing so, like the apostle Paul, he became all things and entered the world of the pagan Irish so he might save some. Finding what the Druids shared in common with himself, Patrick exclaimed that he too embraced a world full of magic. Yet he explained the difference between his magic and their magic was that in his world, all beings and events proceeded from the hand of a good God.

When Patrick first arrived in Ireland, he encountered the abomination of human sacrifice. By explaining that the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God born in the flesh, no longer made such sacrifices necessary, St. Patrick was able to take the superstitions of an entire culture and nation and lead them to Christ—out of darkness and into the light.

But by lighting this fire dedicated to the pagan god Beltane and using it for a holy Easter observance, can St. Patrick stand accused of imitating evil? By lighting this fire supposedly dedicated to Beltane, wasn’t St. Patrick wisely using something dedicated to Satan to disassemble his kingdom? He was exactly imitating the wisely successful evangelistic strategy used earlier by St. Boniface. Is it wrong to use Satan’s own sword to slay him? If St. Boniface’s and St. Patrick’s evangelistic strategies are not to be considered evil, then how can it be said that celebrating Halloween, and redirecting it to honor God, is imitating evil?

The Devil’s Tools

It has been rightly said that we cannot build God’s kingdom by using the Devil’s tools and nails. Because of this, it is claimed a Christian version of a Halloween haunted house and other such evangelistic strategies are oxymorons. However, the word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron. It is composed of the Greek word oxys, meaning sharp, and the Greek word moros, meaning foolish.

But can foolishness be sharp? Can sharpness be foolish? In God’s hands, yes! In 1 Corinthians 3:19, Paul wrote, For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’ (NIV). In 1 Corinthians 1:18, we are told, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (KJV).

Similarly, Halloween can indeed be hallowed! But for Halloween to be given the opportunity to become hallowed in the hands of God, many people’s ideas of traditional evangelism must be dismantled so they may become wisely effective evangelists. There is only one way to God, and that is through the gospel of His Son, Jesus, but there are many ways Jesus has available to bring a sinner into the kingdom of God. After all, Jesus hung out with publicans and prostitutes. For goodness’ sake, Matthew, a publican, was chosen as one of Jesus’ disciples! Women traveled with Jesus, bankrolled His ministry, and studied at His feet. Jesus healed Samaritans and Romans. He was scandalous!

If one were to conduct an informal survey about how many people come to salvation in Christ Jesus through the many traditional methods of evangelism, such as mass mailings, gospel tracts, going door-to-door, street preaching, Bible crusades, or radio and television, the responses would be ridiculously low considering the cost of resources used. There is a lot of room in the kingdom of heaven for the use of nontraditional methods of evangelism.

The Gospel Apologetic Called Halloween

In today’s postmodern culture, which is so saturated with situational ethics, a lack of absolute truth, and an appreciation for multimedia and graphic violence, Halloween has an unparalleled ability to be a fervent and effective witness for the Christian worldview. Many well-meaning Christian protesters claim that everything about Halloween is intrinsically evil and is not appropriate for believers to participate in. They believe Halloween is an idea conceived in hell itself and is popularized and disseminated by demons; therefore, the tradition of this unholy day should not be continued or encouraged by those who are called Christians. Like an Old Testament Jew approaching someone with leprosy, they yell, Unclean! Unclean! They do not believe Halloween can be redeemed, because like Satan himself, it is beyond redemption since it carries the image and likeness of the sinister one.

Evidently God disagrees with such rationale, because God Himself has inspired horror stories throughout the pages of His Word. Brian Godawa, in an article called An Apologetic of Horror, said,

The prophet Daniel wrote horror literature, based on visions revealed by God to him in Babylon. Not only did God turn the blaspheming king Nebuchadnezzar into an insane wolf-man to humble his idolatrous pride (Daniel 4), but he storyboarded horror epics for kings Belshazzar and Darius as allegories of the historical battle between good and evil to come. Huge hybrid carnivorous monsters come out of the sea like Godzilla, one of them with large fangs and ravishing claws to devour, crush, and trample over the earth (7:1–8), until it is slain and its flesh roasted in fire (7:11); there are blasphemous sacrileges causing horror (8:13), including an abomination of desolation (9:26–27); angels and demons engaging in spiritual warfare (10:13); rivers of fire (7:10); deep impact comets and meteors colliding with the earth, Armageddon style (8:10); wars, desolation, and complete destruction (9:26–27). The book of Daniel reads like God’s own horror film festival.¹

Godawa writes that in the book of Revelation, we read of visions with an even harsher horror rating.

We read of a huge demonic spectacle of genetically mutated monsters chasing and tormenting screaming people (9:1–11); armies of bizarre beasts wreaking death and destruction on the masses (9:13–18); a demonic dragon chasing a woman with the intent to eat her child (12:3–4); a seven-headed amphibious hydra with horns that blasphemes God and draws pagan idol worship from everyone on earth (13:1–10); massive famines (6:8); gross outbreaks of rotting sores covering people’s bodies (16:2); plagues of demonic insects torturing populations (9:1–11); fire-breathing Griffon-like creatures (9:17); supernatural warfare of angels and demons (12:7); the dragging of rotting corpses through the streets while people party over them (11:7–13); rivers and seas of blood (14:20; 16:3); a blaspheming harlot doing the deed with kings and merchants (17:1–5); who then turn on her with fire, and cannibalize her (17:16); more famines, pestilence an plagues (18:8); and when the good guys win, there is a mighty feast of vultures scavenging the flesh of kings and commanders in victory (19:17–18). And I might add, this all gives glory to God in the highest.²

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