Is it just me or what is all this effort to start celebrating Halloween earlier, and with ever more elaborate displays, each year? And then there’s the situation two blocks down the street from us…
Our neighbors two blocks down from us set up a Halloween display that is macabre, far beyond the normal bonds of propriety. They used life sized mannequins, scattered all over their yard, illustrating all sorts of murderous ghoulishness. Among the displays, there are three people hanging by their necks and a trailer where someone appears to be surgically removing people’s heads and hanging them upside down in his cabin. At it’s best, their display is an assault against a sense of decency for the citizens of our town. At it’s worst, it is demonically inspired and downright dangerous to the pliable spirits of the children that are expected to view their craft for the next six weeks.
What is the proper way for concerned Christians to respond to something like this? If I was as ‘wise as a serpent’ and as ‘harmless as a dove,’ how would I act in this matter? Marlene and I are praying that God will give us grace and wisdom in our dealing with this.
September 17, 2008 at 8:06 am
First and foremost, the Christian response should be motivated by love.
I think sometimes too, we underestimate the power of prayer because we cannot really see the war in spirit that we turn loose on something like that when we pray. It may not result in the people taking the stuff down, but it could certainly reduce the potential demonic influence as people go by that area.
The rest of my thoughts are motivated by evangelism. Too often Christian respond negatively to this type of stuff, and end up turning people off to Christianity. Basically, I merely ask the question about how a response would be received by the people that live there. If it is confrontational in any way, then we loose some chance to evangelize to them. If it is based in unconditional love and acceptance (as Jesus did for us too), then we are more likely to earn the right to speak life into them.
Just my two cents!
Dan
September 17, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Perhaps I’ve become a relativist in my ripe old age of 26 but I wouldn’t do a darn thing. Thank God! When the world grows darker it’s a whole lot easier to see the light. That is what the world has to offer, death, murder and torment. What do we have to offer? I also feel strongly that we don’t give the enemy a single bit more power than he has. When I walk into the party store and a disgusting 6 foot bat greets me I tell my two year old “YEP. That’s a big fuzzy bat! Let’s go get something pink” Granted, a murder scene is not that easy but it is easy to say “that’s what the world offers and in Christ we have NOTHING to fear!”
One last note- and a small soap box of mine. If doing nothing seems unfit to you (and by doing nothing that does NOT mean don’t pray) Give an alternative. Christians are great at getting their feathers all ruffled in righteous indignation and then they organize a boycott. Well, ho-ha! The righteous isolate themselves from the unrighteous. Of what profit is that to the lost? Throw a harvest party. Celebrate. The God of the bible was the God of feasts, of celebration. In fact the roots of Halloween is “All Hallows Eve”- All Saints Day. Show what real life and real celebration looks like. Dress up, throw a party and give them somewhere else to go. Don’t hole up in the walls of the church trying to fight demons and dragons. Get out there and rescue someone by being available!
How’s that for picking a fight.
September 20, 2008 at 4:29 am
I loved what both Dan and Aroea wrote. The way I would’ve responded in the past with my teachings of ’spiritual warfares’ would have been to go and rebuke the devil and basically stay as far away from such people as possible, but as I’ve grown in my walk with God, He is teaching me more and more of His total will. Today I love those people with all my heart, because God has given me a love, real love for all mankind. I go forward in the Spirit of God and speak love and blessings and ask my Father to touch them in a very real way, and if He tells me to, I go personally to them and do good things to them. Even as I write…I’m praying God’s presense will touch them, cuz’ they are probably hurting in some things going on in their lives.Our love, real love touches the world!!!!