Comments on: What should Christians think of Halloween? http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:01:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Pastor Eugene Curry http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-123 Pastor Eugene Curry Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:47:11 +0000 http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-123 This is a very good question, Gianne. When the Bible speaks of causing our fellow believers to stumble as regards matters of conscience it does so in the following way: "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge." (1 Corinthians 8:9-11) In the above passage, causing a person to "stumble" isn't merely irritating him or even offending him, it is emboldening that person to act contrary to his conscience, to act contrary to what he thinks is right, that is, to become a hypocrite who believes one things and does another. The best way to prevent this shipwreck of conscience among new and sensitive Christians with regard to Halloween is not, I think, to pretend that the last 1000 years of Christianization of October 31st hasn’t happened. (There are limits to the extent which “weak consciences” ought to be indulged, as Paul’s refusal to accommodate the scruples of the men from James in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%202:11-14;&version=31;" rel="nofollow">Galatians 2:11-14 </a>indicates.) Instead, those Christians who do celebrate the day would do well to avoid the “lunatic fringe” of the holiday—a morbid and dubious emphasis on death and the occult. A celebration of Halloween in which children go door-to-door for candy dressed as ballerinas and super-heroes is a much different and much more palatable things than a “celebration” in which adults dress as axe-murderers and witches and participate in a séance. This is a very good question, Gianne. When the Bible speaks of causing our fellow believers to stumble as regards matters of conscience it does so in the following way: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-11) In the above passage, causing a person to “stumble” isn’t merely irritating him or even offending him, it is emboldening that person to act contrary to his conscience, to act contrary to what he thinks is right, that is, to become a hypocrite who believes one things and does another.

The best way to prevent this shipwreck of conscience among new and sensitive Christians with regard to Halloween is not, I think, to pretend that the last 1000 years of Christianization of October 31st hasn’t happened. (There are limits to the extent which “weak consciences” ought to be indulged, as Paul’s refusal to accommodate the scruples of the men from James in Galatians 2:11-14 indicates.) Instead, those Christians who do celebrate the day would do well to avoid the “lunatic fringe” of the holiday—a morbid and dubious emphasis on death and the occult. A celebration of Halloween in which children go door-to-door for candy dressed as ballerinas and super-heroes is a much different and much more palatable things than a “celebration” in which adults dress as axe-murderers and witches and participate in a séance.

]]> By: Gianne http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-101 Gianne Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:58:42 +0000 http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-101 Yet, are we to worry when our "celebrating" the holiday makes others stumble? Yet, are we to worry when our “celebrating” the holiday makes others stumble?

]]> By: Drew Wilson http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-2 Drew Wilson Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:05:23 +0000 http://www.fbcgh.net/wordpress/archives/4#comment-2 Wow, in depth. Wow, in depth.

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