Halloween for Christians: How to Respond to It

Halloween has become one of the largest, most influential holidays in America, and is gaining ground in other countries as well. It is a day filled with costuming, horror images, candy, and community openness. That combination seems strangely out of synch with sensibility at first glance, but those issues may not be as far apart as we might assume.

If you come from the conservative to fundamentalist spectrum of Evangelical Christianity, you may have been raised with a fear of Halloween. You have heard stories of its supposed Pagan beginnings, and the dark sinister things occurring on Samhain (pronounced Sow-en). The Fundamentalist mind runs rampant with human and kitten sacrifices on October 31st. Churches hold Harvest Fairs, or 24-hour prayer vigils to combat the dark intentions of the Evil One on this night.

Meanwhile, families are getting dressed up in costumes ranging from bloody zombies to Disney Princesses, and they are traveling the neighborhood knocking door-to-door like vacuum cleaner salesman looking for candy for their children. The neighbors open their doors, cheerily accept a "Trick-or-Treat!" shout, give out candy, and close the doors to declare how cute the kids look. To these neighbors, your concern about keeping your kitty indoor on Halloween, or avoiding a demonic intrusion into your child's soul seems as distant as Pluto.

Now, I will be so bold as to declare, that I know a bit more about Halloween and its intersection with Christianity than just about anybody reading this blog post. You see, I am a Christian Pastor. But not only that, I am a Christian Pastor who lives and pastors in Salem, Massachusetts, and in our little city, Halloween is a one-month-long experience. But, not only that, I have been running an outreach on the streets of Salem for nearly an entire month each year during our month-long Halloween season. And not only that, our city has real live practicing Witches, and I know many of them well. So, here goes my take on Halloween. I will not give you the supposed history of the event. You can find that elsewhere on the internet, and some of it is sensationalist (stay away from that stuff - it's just dumb and wrong), and some of it is honest enough to say that we do not really know the origins or activities on this night back in early Pagan history.

Here are some suggestions I have for you:

1) Don't get freaked out by the gory aspects of Halloween. Yes, some people go overboard, but then again so did Grimm's Fairy Tales, and so did some of the descriptions of war, sickness, depravity and suicide in the Bible. There is a strong connection between death and apocalyptic scenarios in literature and film, and these connections carry spiritual meaning. From stories of zombies to vampires to monsters to antichrists we find interesting correlations to finding safety in God during apocalyptic crisis in literature and film, and social commentary is ripe in story lines like The Walking Dead.

2) Take advantage of the community openness. What other day of the year will people happily open their doors to a knock from a strangely dressed stranger saying funny things to them? In fact, they will be so happy to see you, they will give you a gift of candy. How often does that happen? You couldn't get that to happen on Christmas Day while everyone is excitedly opening packages under the decorated piney tree.

3) Don't get all caught up in the supposed dark intentions of the night. How many Witches do you actually know? My guess is that most people reading this will answer "none." I know hundreds - literally hundreds. That is because I live in Salem Massachusetts, and have friends from the Neo-Pagan Witchcraft community from around the world. I have yet to encounter any dead kitty cats, or sacrificed babies. I have found very few examples of curses upon churches or individual Christians. I am not saying that there are not any examples of curses by Witches, but the Witches I know are generally kind people who want the world to be a better, more peaceful place. For this reason, I do not have to hide on Halloween to pray the darkness away.

4) Join someone doing something both fun and redemptive, if you can. Because I am in Salem, and 500,000 to a million people will visit our city in October, we will provide live music on the streets, give away free hot cocoa, free hugs, and will set up booths to offer a variety of spiritual counseling. This is our way of connecting to a searching world during a searching season.

I believe that Halloween is the most open and community oriented holiday in our culture. It is filled with wild creativity, and offers Christianity the best moment in the year to shine with its own creativity, love and giving. Don't let that moment pass you by, because you are afraid of some bogey man of urban myth in fundamentalist garb.

Jesus without strings: parsing the phrase

 I used the phrase "Jesus without strings" in my yearly update on the activities of the The Gathering, and it seemed appropriate to parse the phrase, and describe what I was thinking when I rather loosely released it.

"With strings attached" is a phrase used to describe an offer, which once presented does not come alone, but has hidden expectations or demands attached to it.

Christianity often appears to come with strings attached, and many people have felt that these strings were hidden strings. The message of the Gospel comes with the declaration of being a free offer: salvation by grace through faith. Then with a few days, weeks, maybe even years of attempting to follow the way of Jesus, there appear to be expectations from the community of that same faith which seem disconnected from a personal relationship with Christ.

Specific doctrinal points rise up as speed bumps in the road of faith. One is forced to agree with these points of belief or have a bumpy ride. When and how Jesus returns; whether we are "once saved always saved" or there is a possibility of walking away from Christ; doctrines of spiritual warfare and the activity of the devil; minute details concerning the sovereignty of God; or views of Heaven and Hell become major points upon which our ability to fellowship with one another is determined.

Political orientation often pulls hard to the left or to the right as an attached string, which appears to decide the depth of one's commitment as a follower of Christ. Those on the right (of American political thought) view those on the left as immoral or controlling. Those on the left view those on the right as equally immoral on different issues, or stupid. Somehow it suddenly appears that political affiliation, or special interest issues are critical to living a life of faith within many communities of faith.

Other strings have a moral force. Behavior modification is enforced and even things unrelated to basic Christian morality somehow become necessary to a life of faith. Don't wear this. Don't go here or there. Don't eat or drink this or that. Don't hang out with those kinds of people. The initial call of the Gospel turns into a community acceptance list, as once hidden strings begin to reveal themselves.

In saying this, I am not saying that there are not foundational important issues of faith. I am not saying that there are not political issues of concern to the heart of God, or that our behavior should not be modified by our faith. I am saying that doctrine, politics and behavior are not the path into our life in Christ, and should not be the primary points of maintaining a relationship with God and His people.

I also do not believe that person of Jesus attaches strings to us in the way a puppet master manages the actions of his marionettes. I admit, I have a fairly radical view of freedom, and very low view of determinism. Although there are points of our human experience which predetermine our position in life, our response to specific situations, or our ability to succeed, these are not by any means a micro-management of our behavior. They do not give evidence of a God who manipulates the minor details of life, or forces our hand to control our daily actions, choices, emotions and thought. The hand of God does not come with puppet master strings attached.

For me, my faith comes with a radical sense of freedom, and with that freedom great potential and - dare I say, with the possibility of being misunderstood as contradictory - personal responsibility.

Yet, this Christian faith, once understood at a simple level, should have no other strings attached. I yearn for such a faith in a local experience - one without strings attached.

Interpreters of Spiritual Experience

Spiritual experiences are rocking people's lives.

I know of a Neo-Pagan who had open vision of Jesus appearing in the middle of her living room on the cross. I sat for coffee with Fiona Horne, one of America's most famous Witches, as she retold her story of "the Christian God" speaking to her through a falcon. It landed on the ground in front of her, spread it's wings and spoke as man. Fiona retells this story in her book describing an event during the time she was filming "Mad, Mad House" for the Sci-Fi channel.

These are the kind of stories which rock your world and leave you grasping for footing, or reaching for answers.

Spiritual experiences are like clues to crime scene. They hint an answer, but remain mysterious without a fuller body of evidence, or a confession of a perpetrator. Spiritual experiences are like pieces of a puzzle. They are small glimpses of a larger, beautiful picture; but by themselves they are odd shaped pieces of color. They are like sign posts to a destination. They may give hints as to their ultimate meaning, or point the direction, but are not the actual destination.

The value of legitimate spiritual experience is great, as is a sign post on a long lonely stretch of road to a destination one has never before traveled. But, experiences are often few and far between, and this may be purposely so, as part of the plan of God.

There are people on earth who though they have not reached the ultimate destination on that path toward God, have seen more clearly ahead into the distances. Scripture gives us a clearer picture than our experiences often - if interpreted well, and those who know the scriptures, and know their God will see the path of spiritual growth and enlightenment more clearly than those who have only mystical experience to navigate by.

Believing that this is true it leads to me to believe that those who know the scriptures and know their God (the two are not necessarily connected) have the potential to become interpreters of the mysterious spiritual phenomena, which often confound people experiencing them today.

Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 8)

In the 8th Chapter the Adventurer sets up a small community around the cottage of the Wise Crone, and establishes a new home for himself and the dispossessed who have followed him in the Land of Jah.

        

   
   
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Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 7)

In this seventh chapter the Adventurer and his growing troupe of misfits and outcasts now numbering almost twenty souls return to the Land of Jah in hopes of finding homes for the children.  Both celebration and disappointment are the result of his return.  This episode is 10 minutes and 26 seconds long.

    
  
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Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 6)

The Adventurer and his growing troupe of children leave the Land of the Freemen to discover the Land of Earthly Bliss, where all is peace and love, everyone holds all things in common, and everyone is the master of their own destiny - or so one would be led to believe.

This chapter is a bit wilder than the previous, and is the longest thus far at 15 minutes and 38 seconds.

       

   
   
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Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 5)

Journeys from the Land of Jah continues with the Adventurer and the little dark haired girl - his new traveling companion enter the Land of Freemen, and encounter a wild-haired man in a cage.

These stories are read in one sitting and include all the mistakes of live storytelling.  At most these stories have been told only once or twice, and as the tale continues the readings will be first tellings.

This fifth chapter is 11 minutes and 12 seconds long.

       

   
   
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Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 4)

Journeys from the Land of Jah is a missional tale.  The first 3 chapters have primarily been introductory to the longer tale now before us.

In this 4th chapter our Adventurer leaves the Land of Jah, and enters the Land of Him Whose Name we only Share in Secret.  Our tale begins to take the wacky twists and turns of a tall tale, and not just a little irreverence toward the funny things we humans believe. 

   
   
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Journeys from the Land of Jah (Chapter 3)

Our Adventurer finally discovers the road which leads out of the land of Jah, and begins his travels to the border.

This episode is 6 minutes and 14 seconds long.


       

   
   
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Journeys from the Land of Jah

This is the first chapter of my missional tale.  I will be releasing these in storytelling oral tradition first, and as written tales later.

Journeys from the Land of Jah begins rather benignly and becomes more absurd as the tale continues.  If you feel that I am making fun of religion, just wait - I'll get to yours and make fun of it soon enough.  The fable is a long story of the journeys of an young bard who lives in a land where everyone believes just one thing.  He chooses to become an Adventurer and he comes in and out of the land of Jah in his journeys to other places where people believe other things.

I certainly don't have the quick wit, command of the English language, or adept social commentary of G. K. Chesterton, but the absurdity of these tales gathers some of its impetus and silliness from his brilliant fiction.

Here is Chapter 1 of Journeys from the Land of Jah - unedited and laid out in one sitting, which is how each of the following chapters will be done.  So far I have 7 chapters completed, and plans for another 5 more are in the works.  I foresee this becoming like the Canterbury Tales, but only in this sense:  certainly not because I am brilliant like Geoffrey Chaucer but because it will be long and still incomplete.  The potential for chapters is only limited by the number of crazy things we humans believe.

I have told some of these chapters at The Gathering, and in the evening service we have stopped at the end of each chapter to consider the story.  Do you find biblical allusions, or similarities to philosophies or belief systems in this tale?  If so, stop and consider it, or even listen with a friend and talk about it.  For now, here is chapter one, and the first part of the introduction to the greater tale called Journeys from the Land of Jah: a missional tale.

This episode is a little over 13 minutes long.

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