Halloween, Heathenism, and the Holiness of the Church: A Biblical and Historical Examination of Religious Syncretism and the Christian Response
Halloween, Heathenism, and the Holiness of the Church: A Biblical and Historical Examination of Religious Syncretism and the Christian Response Abstract The relationship between Christianity and the religious practices of surrounding cultures has been a recurring challenge throughout the history of the church. Although the gospel calls believers to engage the world with love, humility, and missionary responsibility, it never permits the assimilation of religious practices that contradict the revelation of God in Scripture. Halloween provides a contemporary opportunity to examine this tension. Commonly presented as a harmless cultural celebration involving costumes, sweets, and entertainment, Halloween has a complicated historical background involving pre-Christian seasonal customs, medieval Christian observances, folk traditions, and modern representations of death, witchcraft, and the supernatural. The central concern, however, extends beyond the question of whether Christians s...