HALLOWEEN AND CHRISTIANITY-PART FOUR
Halloween Alternatives

Before we go any further in these nuggets, we want to reiterate something.
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:1
If you have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that Halloween is evil and
something that your family should not participate in, do not be burdened
with guilt or condemnation. Just ask Jesus to forgive you and show you His
will for your family.

And remember that pumpkins, black cats, apples, the colors orange and black,
bonfires, etc. are not evil in themselves. It is what we do with them. God
does not call Christians to be legalistic or self-righteous. Listed below
are several ideas on alternatives to the common way of celebrating
Halloween. For me personally, I believe the most effective means of
counteracting the darkness of Halloween is to share the light of the gospel.
So whatever I do on Halloween will be some form of witnessing, not just
having some kind of fun. Of course, I think sharing the gospel in unique and
powerful ways is FUN!

Harvest Festivals
"Harvest Festivals" are carnivals with booths for food, face painting and
skill games. Participants receive candy after they have tested their skill.
The festivals are free or have a nominal charge. They are geared to meet the
needs of young children.
Many traditional Halloween activities continue in these festivities: Bobbing
for apples, costumes, giving candy away to children, pumpkin carving
contests, etc. Biblical costumes are promoted. Occult and death theme
costumes are frowned upon. Children wearing such garb are lectured or turned
away. Conversely, the kids in occult costumes should be most welcome-they
really need Jesus.
Harvest Festivals are a great way for providing an alternative for the
community and young children. However we believe some of the other
activities listed below are a better alternative for Christian families.
Harvest Festivals can be an effective means to 'wean' children off
Halloween. It is not too late this Halloween to stop the trick or treating.
Take your kids to a Harvest Festival as a special treat and they won't even
be upset they did not go out trick or treating. And next year do something
else special.

Family Night
Parents are replacing Halloween with family night activities. Take the
family out for a special dinner and a wholesome movie.
Or make it a really big event.
Why not start a NEW family tradition for October 31st in your family? You
can have a family meeting and make the plans for the special evening. Choose
some FUN & CREATIVE things to do as a family. Maybe even have a Board Game
Marathon. Give each member of the family a special responsibility. Each one
of you can do something to plan, prepare and take part in, for your special
evening. Family times are too often rare or non existent. Bake some cookies
and make some popcorn the old fashioned way. Have some FAMILY FUN. Next year
you can have the 2nd Annual Family Fun Night. You can't have the "first
annual" because if you think about it, it really has to be the second time
to be "annual".
What a great way to counteract the attacks on the family. Take the devil's
holiday and bring healing into your family.

Glory Gatherings
"Glory Gatherings" is where all references to Halloween are removed and
wholesome games are played, Christian songs are sung and Christian videos
are shown. Children can invent their friends over and even have a sleep in
if Halloween falls on Friday or Saturday.
Do you know kids in the neighborhood that are open to the gospel? What a
great way to reach them!

Decorate yard and hand out candy and tracts
Why would you hand out candy, if your opposed to Halloween? You see, if we
just refuse to hand out candy, we are sending a message to those in the
community that don't have our convictions, that we are a strange unfriendly
family who doesn't care about their children. But, if we hand out candy and
include an upbeat message about Jesus, then we are looked at as strange
friendly people! As a result, we are redeeming the night with a message of
light.
You can decorate your yard with some catchy Halloween sayings like: "Let
Jesus fill the Hollow" or "No Trick, God's Treat is Jesus"'. Have tombstones
with Bible verses.
For the kids in your home, have them dress up in Biblical costumes and hand
out candy. You can even dress up. Have some fun!
Be sure and pray that God will use the tracts you hand out to bring someone
to Jesus. You can even be as bold to ask people if they need prayer.

Judgment House or Christian Haunted House
Some of you are thinking, "I thought you were against haunted houses and
anything that creates fear in children". We are. But there is a godly fear.
A fear that can motivate us to serve God instead of the devil and sin. A
fear that causes us to look at our life and want to change.
Judgment Houses are sponsored by churches. There are various scenes that
present the deeds of darkness and there is a short gospel presentation at
the end.

Here is how the tour through the "haunted house" normally goes.
Usually the tour guide is satan bragging on the destruction he is doing with
people's lives.
Scene 1: You enter a bar where there is drinking, card playing, and a drunk
being obnoxious.
Scene 2: You may see a scene with a family in a vicious yelling and
screaming match or a youth committing suicide.
Scene 3: You hear brakes squeaching, the hitting of cars, and sirens. You
come upon an accident scene and see dead bodies. The drunk had left the bar
and got into an accident.
Scene 4: A scene of street kids shooting up.
Scene 5: A scene in some way of depicting abortion.
Scene 6: A scene of hell.
Scene 7: A glorious scene of Jesus and heaven.
At the end of the tour, there is a short gospel presentation.
I strongly support this as an alternative to haunted houses. Some may feel
that the scenes are too graphic. I have heard parents complain about it. But
these same parents allow their children to play evil video games and watch
violent movies. WAKE UP! Sin is ugly, destructive, and ugly to see. But it
is a wake up call for "innocent Christian kids".
I went to one Judgment House and there were some non-Christians in line who
had been drinking and were joking about what a silly 'Haunted House' this
was going to be. Guess what? As they went through each scene there was no
joking. They were quiet and solemn. PRAISE GOD!
Do you have a rebellious teenager, take them to a Judgment House.
I would suggest only teenagers and older for this type of activity.
Be prepared to wait in line for 1-3 hours.

Hide
Lock the doors, turn off your nights, put your kids to bed real early, and
tell them Halloween is wicked and you do not celebrate it.
This is legalism and foolishness. It is a great way to create rebellion in
your children. We are to be a LIGHT, not to hide from darkness. REDEEM the
day. Lift up Jesus. He is the Lord of even October 31. He is King of Kings
and Lord of Lords.

Websites on Halloween
http://www.webcom.com/christ1s/hallowen.html
http://members.tripod.com/~RU_BOLD/halloween.html
http://www.victorious.org/chur68.htm
http://www.bright.net/~1wayonly/hallowee.html
http://www.gospelcom.net/peggiesplace/halloween.htm
http://wwwp.exis.net/~dplast/hallowen.htm
http://www.hnrc.org/html/halloween.html
http://www.reslight.addr.com/halloween.html
Alternatives:
http://www.christianalternatives.com/original/index.html
http://graceland.gentle.org/topten/ween.html
http://www.halloweenoutreach.com/
http://www.entourages.com/barbs/alternatives.htm

Copyright © 2002 Richard D. Dover. All rights reserved.
This material can be used without written permission if it is not used to make a profit, all comments are quoted in context, and this copyright tag is included with document. You must include the URL.
http://www.inhisstepsministries.org

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).

Richard D’Andrea Dover
In His Steps Ministries

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