Can I Keep the Candy?

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-25 ESV).

We have heard from more than one source that Halloween is the “festival of the Devil.” Believers have been discouraged from participating in Halloween altogether. My assertion is as Albert Mohler has noted, that is there’s been a shift from pagan ritual to merely commercial fascination with the dark side. Those who condemn this event miss that for most people in America, Halloween is about candy. A quarter of all candy sold annually in the United States is for Halloween night! Granted, dressing up as witches and goblins can be a tricky issue, but to think that putting on a scary mask or makeup opens you up to the dark side is naïve. I think there are two other problems with a blanket-rejection of Halloween. First, there is the problem of consistency. Should we reject other holidays because there’s a propensity toward excess? In other words, if people are inclined toward gluttony on Thanksgiving or Christmas, shouldn’t those holidays be renounced as well? After all, gluttony is a sin. Second, many times the reject position assumes the evil of the extrinsic world will taint the faith of a Christian. Jesus teaches the exact opposite (cf. Mark 7:21-23). The fruit of our lives is inextricably tied to the root of our hearts. If our hearts are prone toward sin in certain ways, we will find a way to sin. Sin indeed corrupts, but the sin is not so much “out there in the world” as is in the heart of every person. The Apostle Paul teaches the truth of our biblical freedom to engage cultural practices in our reading today. Of course, how Christians ought to go about relating to or participating in Halloween is still a tricky subject. We do need to distinguish between the cultural aspects and religious aspects of Halloween. There’s a big difference between kids dressing up in cute costumes for candy and offensive costumes meant to elicit uninhibited excess. So, we may draw some advice from Martin Luther on how to respond to the Devil: “The best way to drive out the Devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.” Perhaps instead of fleeing the darkness in fear, we should view Halloween as an opportunity to mock the enemy whose power over us has been broken. Go ahead, keep the candy! Just be careful not to eat too much at one time!