By Heather Donckels
Religion News Service
Cindy Cathcart was angry with God and on the brink of divorce and suicide on Oct. 30, 1998, when her nephew dragged her to “Hell House.”
Though raised Lutheran, she had repeatedly refused her sister’s invitations to come to church and had no desire for a relationship with God. All of that changed as she walked through Hell House.
Hell Houses are intended to literally scare the hell out of people.
Participants walk through several “scenes” depicting the consequences of things like abortion, homosexuality and drunkenness.
“As I went from scene to scene … (God) just started working on my heart and showing me that it’s not him that caused this,” Cathcart said.
“It was the lack of having God in my life.”
By the time she reached the heaven scene, Cathcart was on her knees, begging God for forgiveness and asking Jesus for salvation.
While some Christians aren’t certain what to make of Halloween — unsure whether to embrace or ignore all the goblins and ghoulishness — some evangelical churches use Oct. 31 as a day to evangelize.
“Hell House is not a celebration of Halloween,” said Pastor Keenan Roberts, of New Destiny Christian Center in Thornton, Colo., who created Hell House as an outreach tool in 1995. “It’s not even a Halloween event. It is the church taking advantage of America’s cultural influence of the haunted house. … It’s the church absolutely capitalizing on the time of year.”
Like Roberts, Terry Long, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Salt Lake City, believes the church can turn Halloween into something good.
“Instead of cursing the darkness,” he said, “just turn on the light.”
Each year, Long’s church hosts a Halloween-alternative “Hallelujah Party.” Kim Giebler, who helps coordinate the event, cited Romans 12:21 as their theme: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
The annual Hallelujah Party allows about 1,000 kids to experience the usual Halloween costumes and candy, but also includes an invitation for them to ask Jesus to be their Savior.
Though many at Calvary Chapel participate in the party, some stay at home. Long has no condemnation for people who opt out of the Halloween alternative; rather, he encourages them to pray for the event’s success.
Mike Gilbart-Smith, assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., said that although his church does not sponsor a Halloween alternative, church members have found their own ways of dealing with the holiday.
Some use trick-or-treating as an evangelistic opportunity, giving out Bible tracts with candy. Others celebrate Reformation Day, recognizing Oct. 31 as the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door and sparked the Protestant Reformation.
A father of three, Gilbart-Smith said he and his family do not celebrate Halloween. He doesn’t see a point in doing so, and would have to have some positive reasons before getting involved.
Still, Gilbart-Smith knows the decision of whether or not to celebrate — or even recognize — Halloween can be a challenge for some Christians. He suggested people ask themselves one question: “What would your involvement or non-involvement be telling people about your stance toward evil?”
On the night of Oct. 31, Doug Phillips will spend the evening like he would on any other night: with “family devotions.” Phillips, president of Vision Forum, a Texas-based organization dedicated to restoring biblical family values, may tell his eight children stories about Martin Luther and other reformers, but other than that, life will run as normal.
Phillips enjoyed Halloween celebrations as a child, but when he became a Christian, he decided they were “unwise and inconsistent with biblical Christianity.”
“It’s about what saith the Scripture,” he said. “Go to the Bible and ask yourself the question: If all I had was the Bible to lead me to a wise conclusion, where would I end up?”
While Phillips commended sharing Bible tracts with neighbors on Halloween, he doesn’t think Christians should take on “the exteriors of … the occult” to reach non-Christians. “When it comes to evangelism, it isn’t anything goes,” he said.
Perhaps, says Steve Russo, author of “Halloween: What’s a Christian to Do?”, but on one of the darkest nights of the year, “why not talk about the light of the world, Jesus?” he asks.
“As an evangelist, I would say, `What a great opportunity we have!”‘
Russo doesn’t think Christians need to completely abandon traditional Halloween activities. Rather, he thinks they can find a “balanced, reasonable approach to Halloween” without celebrating its darker aspects.
Russo’s 11-year-old daughter plans to go trick-or-treating this year, an activity Russo says can be safe and fun with parental monitoring. “I don’t see anything wrong with that at all,” he said.
Almost a decade after her conversion, Cathcart is still married and now serves as a Bible study coordinator at Roberts’ church. Rather than trick-or-treating, she opts for helping with Hell House on Halloween.
“Sometimes we have to use extreme measures to save (God’s) people,”
Cathcart said. “After all, if someone were in a burning house, would you quietly say, `Come out, you will die’? No. You would run in there with your arms waving and screaming to the top of your lungs, grabbing them if need be, to save them from an untimely death.”
Copyright 2007 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted October 25, 2007 at 6:16 pm
The people in this article scare me much more than anything Halloween can muster up.
posted October 25, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Ditto! Sage. The people I grew up around treated Halloween as it was supposed to be considered…fun. Our Lutheran church had at least two Halloween parties when I was a kid. Mothers, fathers and kids. We all dressed up, had barn dances, ducked for apples, got candy etc. “Nothing evil going on”. On the other hand my husband was brought up in the mid-west….it wasn’t even mentioned, no costumes no candy, no playing with the family or your minister, no fun!!!!
posted October 25, 2007 at 6:58 pm
“Some Christians Torn on What to Make of Halloween”. I am impressed with the title.
This Christian has no problem with Halloween!
Peace!
posted October 25, 2007 at 7:33 pm
It’s interesting that Christians have a problem with one of the two holidays we celebrate that actually have a Christian origin [All Hollow's Eve]. They have no problem celebrating the fertility feasts of Saturnella [Christmas], and Estarte’ [Easter]. How did we all ever get together on Thanksgiving?
posted October 25, 2007 at 8:23 pm
jd, I doubt that just because the early Catholic Church decided to combat pagan celebrations by placing their own on corresponding days, leads to Christians worshiping fertility and pagan ideas.
The worship of the Ressurection and the Birth of the Messiah doesn’t lose value and meaning based on the month or date. If anything, it’s a smart strategic move by the early church.
posted October 25, 2007 at 9:37 pm
To me, the thought of converting or reaffirming a person’s faith through planned and calculated scare tactics makes the act about as meaningful as a prayer offered at gunpoint.
Consider the children who are taken to these things; I mean, the parent’s won’t let them read Harry Potter, but they will take them to watch mock-abortions and school-shootings and, the worse of them all, homersexals! :-/
Do these people honestly believe that God, by any name, will be happy with people praising his name out of no other directive than TERROR? (Er… maybe I answered my own question.)
It really boggles my mind.
The funniest thing of all is that the ‘dark aspects of Halloween’ these people fear the most were invented as scare tactics by themselves to begin with! In cultures around the globe, this time of year is a peaceful and solemn mark of the natural passing of the seasons. Many believe that the veil between this life and the next is thinnest, and that at this sacred time our loved ones and ancestors can visit with us. Many people gather to reflect on those who have passed before them into death, and welcome back their memories by sharing stories of them with the next generation of family.
This, in part, is what Samhain (“Halloween”) means to me. This, in part, is what it meant to my ancestors long before Christianity showed up on their shores.
While I do not begrudge Christianity (or any religion) adopting associations with other indigenous faiths holidays, and I do not ascribe ‘ownership’ of such things, I do respect those who can at least acknowledge their true history. In this, Evangelical Christians such as those described in this article do a great disservice to the authentic history and living culture of this holy day.
I feel that many of these individuals knowingly exploit the fears of their own community at this time of year to re-secure allegiances. Perhaps some act out of genuine (although misguided, in my opinion) concern for the souls of their friends and loved ones, but I believe a far greater number sit back and revel in the easy terror-based conversions they can ‘scare up.’
And you know what ticks me off the most? They don’t even say ‘thank you’!
posted October 25, 2007 at 11:00 pm
As a Christian, I think it’s silly for Christians to object to Halloween. I mean, just because it happens to be descended from a pagan festival doesn’t mean it’s evil in itself. What harm is there in dressing up and asking for candy? It’s not like to do so is ‘devil worship’ or ‘immoral’. It’s good clean family fun! I think the greatest crime of Halloween is that families don’t go to church the next day for All Souls’ Day (which was, incidentally, originally May 13th). Oh well. I think the bible-thumpers who get all red in the face about Halloween should just turn off the lights and hope that they don’t get egged…haha.
posted October 25, 2007 at 11:11 pm
In my early experience with Christianity it was all about fear. At every funeral I went to with a Christian preacher we were treated to the claim we’d be headed to Hell if we weren’t saved and the hope the deceased was saved so he or she would avoid that. So the Hell houses are just more of the same.
When logic and the facts are against you, use fear. All too often, it works.
I hope all the children old enough to trick as well as get treats realize getting Bible tracts is not getting a treat and act accordingly.
posted October 26, 2007 at 5:49 am
“As a Christian, I think it’s silly for Christians to object to Halloween”
I completely agree. And it’s funny, because while growing up in Christian family in a specifically Catholic town, I never heard one objection to Halloween. It was just a night of candy and fun.
It wasn’t until later in life — when I became aware of the evangelical movement — that I started to hear the objections mentioned in the article above; objections which I find ridiculous.
This is one faithful Christian who loves Halloween
posted October 26, 2007 at 8:54 am
Just to set the record straight: The Christians did not place their holidays within a pagan context to co-opt the event but to “hide” their worship during a time when being Christian was a death sentence (Christmas/Saturnalia) and Easter is located when it is because it follows the Jewish Passover – not because of Estarte’ – although they did appropriate a lot of the symbology.
As a cradle-Catholic who grew up in the Midwest, I have to say that all this panic about All Hallows just makes me laugh. We have real issues that need to be addressed in this country – poverty, both of body and spirit; failure to be good stewards of the land we have been given; unuust wars and genocide around the world and an economy that rewards those who violate the law to name a few – and that is where our attention and efforts should be focused. Not on a children’s holiday that has nothing to to with evil – it was originally a celebration of the end of the harvest and and ackowledgement of the beginning of a time for reflection. Perhaps the problem is that most of the people complaining have never actually spent time on or near farms where gathering the harvest and remembering those who have died is as much a part of life as spring planting.
posted October 26, 2007 at 10:54 am
Wow. I had no clue there was this anti-Halloween crowd. Now I understand the nasty look I got when I asked our evangelical office manager to help me plan a Halloween party for our office. I thought she was just a spoilsport. Oh well, more goodies for the rest of us.
posted October 26, 2007 at 11:02 am
This all sounds fear-based.
posted October 26, 2007 at 11:25 am
Thank the Good Lord this article doesn’t reflect all Christians!
Some of this article is pretty scarry!
I think you can be a good Christian and still celebrate Halloween. Lots of churches here do trunk or treat for the kids. It seems like a safer alternative to trick or treating and doesn’t wear out the parents. I think the Halleluiah party sounds like a fun idea.
When I first met my husband he took me to an LDS church that did trick or treating room to room in the church rather than house to house. The church members went all out and decortated the rooms with fun halloween stuff. I remember even seeing a coffin, which shocked me. But it was all in fun and got a lot of kids in the church building for the first time. People need to lighten up!
posted October 26, 2007 at 11:30 am
Excellent post Katie. I can’t speak for the truth of the first paragraph but the second is spot on!
posted October 26, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Ryan and JD both make the important point that somehow the writer of this article seems oblivious to: that the origins of “All Hallows Eve” are in fact Christian and related to All Saints Day and All Souls Day. All are ancient ways of trying to come to terms with death and the communion of saints.
It continues to boggle my mind that “some” Christians (a.k.a. fundamentalist evangelicals)are represented as if they speak for historic Christianity. Their own ignorance about the church continues to amaze me, but it would be nice if the author of the article would do some investigative work to share that for many if not most Christians this is just not a big deal.
posted October 27, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Katie,
Not quite correct although I am sure Christians had to hid for a time, just as Pagans still do today, but here is some info on when Samhain was taken over and became Halloween…
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe’en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day”,[1] also which is now known as All Saints’ Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions,[2] until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. That is from Wikipedia and you will note that there references with it.
But you are right in that it is primarily a celebration of the last harvest of the year. It is also considered the beginning of the new year. Celtic calendars have Samhain as the first day of the year. I have also heard tales of it not being an actual day of the year which probably reflect the fact that they only had months with 29 or 30 days No 31st.
While I don’t enjoy the silly green witch faces, I do enjoy the fun of the year as well as the extremely important religious aspects. This is a time where we will honor those who have passed during the year and any other you wish to honor or speak too. It is a time of meditation and communication. I have had very moving experiences during our festivities. We usually participate in a feast for the dead, putting out the favorite foods of our family and ancestors. A plate is set for those who are hoped will visit. Little or no speaking is done during the supper allowing time to hear those beyond the veil.
We do our parties on the weekends before Samhain and leave the holiday for serious reflection. Although I will dress up for my students during the day, at night I will be dressed in black wearing what is thought of as witches clothes including my hat which I only wear in ritual not in play.
Bright Blessings
posted October 30, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Wow…
This is a time where we will honor those who have passed during the year and any other you wish to honor or speak too. It is a time of meditation and communication. I have had very moving experiences during our festivities. We usually participate in a feast for the dead, putting out the favorite foods of our family and ancestors. A plate is set for those who are hoped will visit. Little or no speaking is done during the supper allowing time to hear those beyond the veil.
Ruairi, you make a statement about communicating with loved ones “beyond the veil,” and setting a place for them in hopes that they will join, and you wonder why Christians have a problem with Halloween?
It’s this spiritual aspect of the holiday that people have a problem with. The Bible clearly states to avoid practices like this.
Personally, we celebrated Halloween with our kids when they were too young to know about any spiritual aspects of the night. We took a break for a few years until we knew they understood to separate the candy from the mysticism. Now they go out with their friends, and we stay home and hand out candy.
posted October 30, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Ruairi, Bright Blessings to you, too.
Wayne why would I, a Christian have a problem with Ruairi communicating with her loved ones on the other side? Haven’t you ever heard of people baking birthday cakes for their departed loved one on their birthdays? Or setting an extra place at their dinning table for them? People have messages, and poems to their loved ones on the OB pages with their pictures. Where did Jesus tell us we couldn’t talk to our loved ones that passed? Our children grew up and I can’t remember mysticism ever being discussed as a taboo or anything else. Halloween was a time of costumes, parties, and candy.
posted November 6, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Henrietta,
I don’t have a problem with her talking to her dead relatives. As Christians, we’re not supposed to expect them to talk back, or to join us for meals (“A plate is set for those who are hoped will visit.”)
I guess it’s just the wording. There’s a difference between setting a place for a person out of honor and respect, and setting a place for them expecting them to pull up a chair. I honor my grandmother every time I prepare sweet potatoes using her recipe. But I don’t serve up a plate for her to eat them, too.
Jesus didn’t say “we couldn’t talk to our loved ones that passed,” but the Bible is clear on avoiding mystical activities like seances.
I’m not judging anyone’s eternal life. I’m only doing what we’re called to do as Christians, which is to speak out against something that can lead people away from Christ’s way for us.