As we all know, Christians' views on Halloween cover a wide spectrum, from the "no way; it's evil" variety to the "don't be goofy; let's go trick-or-treating" breed. Most of us probably fall somewhere in the middle.
I'm not about to post about this should-we/shouldn't-we debate. But for those of you who might be interested in thinking through it a little more, there's some good history and thoughts on Halloween posted online, courtesy of Grace to You. You can find it here: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/1126. (Tim Challies also has some good thoughts on his blog: http://www.challies.com/.)
Anyway, the main reason I'm posting this is that one snippet from this GTY article caught my notice:
Christians should use Halloween and all that it brings to the imagination--death imagery, superstition, expressions of debauched revelry--as an opportunity to engage the unbelieving world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has given everyone a conscience that responds to His truth (Romans 2:14-16), and the conscience is the Christian's ally in the evangelistic enterprise. Christians should take time to inform the consciences of friends and family with biblical truth regarding God, the Bible, sin, Christ, future judgment, and the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ for the repentant sinner.
What a great reminder! Halloween is a wonderful evangelism opportunity. Talk about fear, death, spirits, etc., are pretty easy to bring up this time of year, thanks to the holiday (and the ubiquitous slew of witches, black cats, and jack-o-lanterns adorning everything). And these provide awesome, very natural springboards for spiritual/gospel conversations. Just something to keep in mind.
1 comment:
So true... What's great is that many holidays during this time of the year can lead to evangelistic opportunities if we try, no? Thanksgiving-- thankful for the ultimate Gift. Christmas of course is obvious. The hard part is being faithful!
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