Halloween-- Trick or Treat?

I find it curious that the United States, one of the most overtly Christian nations in the world, is also the country that celebrates Halloween-- the holiday of ghosts and vampires-- most enthusiastically.  And it has been so since the late 1800's, long before the most recent decline of Christian profession among the population at-large.  What's up with that?

Let me begin by offering a couple of suggestions as to why people like Halloween (besides the candy!).  Ghosts, vampires, and other things that "go bump in the night" lead us into an exploration of the world of mystery.  Throughout human history things have occurred for which people had no easy explanation.  For example, someone once had a mysterious encounter with something in the mountains and the legend of "bigfoot" was born.  I do believe the mysterious encounters were real, even if the explanations were surreal.  Some of these mysterious encounters were obviously dark and scary, giving rise to all sorts of evil creatures in the minds of people. Vampires and werewolves may not be "real" but they are close enough to the human experience of evil to be believable, or at least attractive.

If you'll notice, very few creatures out there hold final sway over people.  There is always an antidote of some sort: a silver crucifix, an special incantation, or amazing superhero who finally lays the scary creature to rest. That speaks to the human need to control evil wherever it is found.  The stories of vanquished ghosts and reburied vampires are epic tales of good conquering evil, though not without a lot of scariness before the job is finally done.

So, people may ask, what's the harm in a little Halloween fun, especially if the good guys win in the end?  There's probably not a lot of harm in some good-natured fun, except that interest in these legendary stories miss the true good versus evil story: the triumph of Jesus Christ over Satan on the cross.  You see, the emergence of vampires and ghosts probably are the result of people rubbing up against dark spiritual forces, which the Bible calls demons, the creatures aligned with Satan.  However, these evil forces are not conquered with a stake through the heart but by the authority of Jesus Christ.  The problem with epic tales involving Halloween-like creatures is that people kind of sort of hope their version of victory is true, whereas the Good News of Jesus Christ is true.  Anything that distracts people from that core truth is ultimately harmful to the resolution of fear in their lives.

The other problem with a fascination with witches, goblins, and the like is that it sometimes leads to a genuine encounter with darkness that people cannot control, resulting in genuine spiritual and psychological damage.  In that sense they are tricked into believing in something that can offer no treat at all.  That is why God was so adamant in the Bible that people should not pursue the dark arts or the power of other gods.  He knew that is was a road to nowhere at best and to the gates of hell at worst.  He didn't want people to miss out on the road that leads to real life by walking down a different road.  Which road are you on?

What Kind of God?

I just read an online article in USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-10-07-1Agod07_CV_N.htm) about a new book by a couple of sociologists from Baylor University who have discerned through research four major views of God among the American people: Authoritative, Benevolent, Critical, and Distant.  Furthermore, one's views of God go a long way in determining a person's attitudes towards economics, morality, war, politics, and more.  No surprise here.  Because our deepest beliefs are shaped by what we deeply believe in, it may be one reason why it is difficult to have genuine dialogue around important issues.  We are much more likely to fundamentally believe our position is right because it seems to mesh with the kind of God we believe in.  Some food for thought there.

The other thing to think about is, Is God really just the summation of what we believe about Him?  From the article, we might surmise that people are picking their type of God as a preference, like they might pick items off a menu, instead of really seeking to understand who He is.  The Bible tells us that God went to great lengths to reveal Himself to people, by sending His Son, Jesus, to live among us.  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus proclaimed, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father (God)." (John 14:7)

The point is God is knowable.  It's just that many people don't take the time to get to know Him, so they make assumptions about Him.  The problem with this approach is that our assumptions may be totally out of touch with who God really is and how He works in the world (=reality).

What do you think?