WHO'S
LAUGHING NOW?
Some years back, an opinion column (see "Long Live Halloween!") appeared in The Lutheran Witness in which the author, a beloved former professor of mine at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, defended the practice of children dressing up and trick-or-treating at Halloween.
He contended that just because we are Christians doesn't mean we can't have fun. In fact, he maintained that we could use this occasion to scoff at, even laugh at, the devil and all his minions.
I remember thinking at the time,
"Well, that's a good Lutheran position, mediating between the extremes of
legalism and antinomianism." Now,
however, I wonder.
It is no secret that, in recent years
especially, the dabbling of youth in the occult has been on the rise.
While stationed at a U.S. Navy base in California some years ago, I had
to deal with several sailors who were avowed Satanists.
In fact, a cat was ritually dissected just outside the base, where
children walked to and from school.
Wicca, the ancient pagan religion of
the Druids in Great Britain, (and the word that gives us our "witch")
is one of the fastest-growing movements today among young people.
In my previous post as senior chaplain
at the Navy's Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill., I administered the
Command Religious Program for some 50,000 recruits per year.
Between Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, 25 worship services and
religious-education opportunities were offered, including a Lutheran worship
service. In 1995, four Wiccans
requested to have a special service on Halloween.
The following year, 13 Wiccans asked for a place where they could meet.
Because we do not allow recruit-led
services, the Wiccans were allowed only to sit in a room and meditate while
being supervised. Because of the
freedom of religion we enjoy in our country, however, they do have the right to
meet. And their numbers are
growing.
In view of the occult darkness
spreading throughout our society, particularly among our young people, we should
ask ourselves: Can our complacent attitude toward this kind of thing leave our
own Lutheran youth susceptible to future occult involvement?
Is it wise that certain of our congregations have been known to sponsor
"haunted houses" (either on church property or offsite) as a means,
usually, of raising funds? Are these churches truly serving as clear beacons of the
Gospel in doing this? And what
about the important question of stewardship?
Why should a Christian congregation, where people, out of gratitude to
God for their salvation in Jesus Christ, freely give of their first fruits, even
need to stage something as dubious as a haunted house -- or any other sort of
Halloween-theme event?
What kind of message does it send to
the community when the local LCMS church appears to make a big deal out of this
thoroughly pagan holiday? Might not
a Reformation festival be better? An
All Saints service? Or even some
sort of harvest festival? Wouldn't
any of these be a better witness to what the church is all about?
I know of cases where people have left
our Lutheran congregations because of Halloween doings of this sort -- costume
parties, haunted houses, pumpkin-carving contests, what have you.
Some had discussed their concerns with their pastors, but were told it
was all in good fun. It was only to
give the kids a chance to spoof the ghosts and goblins and witches of Halloween
-- to laugh at the devil.
I can't help but think that, in this
case, it's Satan who's doing the laughing.
It is he who is smiling, and at our expense.
CDR
John C. Wohlrabe Jr., CHC, USN, was the command chaplain aboard the USS
Blue Ridge out of Yokosuka, Japan, when this
article was published.
This
article was taken from the October 1998 issue of The Lutheran Witness,
a
magazine for the laypeople of the LCMS.
Reproduced with permission.
The
companion articles Long Live Halloween! and Why
Not Celebrate Reformation Day? offer somewhat different Lutheran opinions on
the question of Halloween.
For more detailed information on the origins of Halloween and the proper Christian response to it, read the essay Can Christians Celebrate Halloween? by Rev. Dr. Richard P. Bucher.