S05E030, Halloween – Good or Bad?!? Andy B 2 Minute Video
Halloween – is it a good thing or a bad thing to celebrate Halloween?
I’ve heard both sides of the argument!
I’ve listened to church ministers of the gospel who say we should celebrate it, because it is nothing to fear since we are Christians; putting on a Halloween celebration is good for the church to do as it shows how churches are still relevant for a modern world.
I’ve listened to church ministers of the gospel who say we should never celebrate it, because to do so is invite evil into our churches and into our lives.
So what do I think? What is the position of the BerryBunch.family Ministry – that reaches out to families all around the world?
Well, to be honest, we couldn’t do better than Canon J John, who wrote an article we also published – in full, with permission – on our own website. So, go read his article. It’s typically, superbly penned! But what’s my brief version of his written piece? It is simply this.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
You cannot celebrate evil and darkness, while also thinking about the words of the verse above.
Perhaps you see it as just a bit of fun? In reality, you simply cannot do so if you believe in Jesus Christ.
You’re welcome to disagree with the conclusion of myself, or Canon J John (Philo Trust), or Gavin Calver (head of the Evangelical Alliance) – who also put out a similarly themed comment. But, just like putting your hands near a fire, further away is always safer, than as close as you can.
Canon J John’s article is titled The Tragedy of Halloween
Just a thought...
Andy B
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Transcript
[00:00:00] , another Andy B 2 Minute Video and I'm gonna be a little controversial in this one, which I'm not usually actually. I like to try and think I'm fairly neutral in what I say in order to help you to think your own thoughts in your own relationship with God, or as you discover who God is for you.
[00:00:14] So I try and give you, you know, material to think rather than telling you what to think. This is gonna be a little different! Because today is, according to my watch, the 31st of October. And my watch isn't even switched on.
[00:00:23] Did you remember you used to have phones? Sorry. You used to have a watch and you pick it up and it's working. Now you got digital watches and you gotta switch the thing on like a computer. Anyway, that's switching on.
[00:00:32] Today is definitely the 31st of October as I record this. And it's often known as Halloween. Some call it All Saints, all all Hallows. There's all these different names. At the end of the day, it's just another day. What you choose to do this day is important.
[00:00:45] A lot of churches might do Light Parties. It's my favorite event of any church can of any year. It's more important to me than Christmas or Easter, is a light party.
[00:00:53] We allow the enemy to steal so much of our time, of our energy, of our words. I love that Answers. in [00:01:00] Genesis has a rainbow plastered across the side of their Arc, their Museum, dedicated to God. I love that. Cause they're saying this is a rainbow. This is God's. And we don't have to be offensive.
[00:01:10] But I had a chat the other day with a vicar and he said, It's interesting, isn't it, and this is our conclusion. If you don't evangelistically agree with someone's comment, then you hate. That is the ridiculous nonsense of this world. We can't just simply not agree anymore. If you don't agree really passionately, then you must hate them. It's really sad.
[00:01:31] But as we think about Halloween and Light Parties, you might be thinking, Well, I don't mind a bit of scary fear. I read an article from Jay John, which I'll link to in this and it's absolutely spot on, and I just wanted to pick up on one point, and he was talking about these three things that he feels are relevant for why he doesn't celebrate Halloween.
[00:01:48] Me and my family, we don't celebrate Halloween, but we don't not celebrate Halloween. What we do is we celebrate God's light. And this is the point really, that he picked up on.
[00:01:58] When we celebrate [00:02:00] Halloween, what we do is we're saying that evil is obvious. We can see evil. Look here it is, it's a, it's a, it's a devil like head with horns. But the devil, the devil is more subtle than that. And it isn't always obvious. And the danger with celebrating Halloween is we celebrate that which is not, We celebrate evil as something that's obvious, which it can be. But there's an awful lot of evil, which is also under the surface.
[00:02:23] That's why I would urge you never to celebrate Halloween, but to celebrate the light of Jesus, to focus on him. Whatever is good and honorable, that is what we should be concentrating on.
[00:02:33] Just a thought.