Halloween is coming up, we will soon have ghosts, goons, and goblins on our porch demanding goodies. For many, Halloween is a fun time to dabble in what they see as the sillier side of the spirit world; hang skeletons over the porch, tell scary stories and dress silly (ruining an old sheet for a ‘ghost’ costume). Unfortunately, the trend in more recent times is to be gruesome and macabre.
Those with Christian backgrounds have diverse opinions, and these become an issue among friends. What is ethical or appropriate may be a subject for (another) debate, but the issue generally ends up in the discussion of how relevant it is to continue to avoid something because it was a part of pagan religion hundreds of years ago. Those who have this debate aren’t aware that some places in the world are dealing with these influences in modern times.
Growing up in Buddhist society, Paganism was all around me. I remember using verses in a literal sense that western cultures interpret more figuratively because in Taiwan, paganism is still dominant.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. You cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils… But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the LORD ’s, and all its fullness.” – 1Corinthians 10:21,28
A verse like this often gets used to discuss our metaphorical ‘idols’ of wealth and entertainment, because we don’t live in a world that still wrestles with actual idolatry. Christians will not likely avoid going to a Chinese restaurant, where you can see a shelf with golden frogs on it, with incense burning in front of it. You would likely interpret that as cultural ambiance, whereas I immediately connect that with the ‘god-shelf’ found in homes and Buddhist temples in Taiwan.
Whether real, or imagined they made my hair stand on end, because I felt it was not just worship of a rock or a piece of wood. That was just a visual for an underlying worship of false gods and demons. We saw the men in the marketplace, that would mutilate themselves; juggling very sharp knives and intentionally allowing the blade to cut their skin, as they caught it and tossed it back up in the air. I never was sure of the connection to their worship – that was about the moment my mother whisked us away, but I knew what often took place.
Meanwhile in Seattle:
Police were called multiple times in the same day as a man named ‘Devin’, determined have a psychiatric crisis, kept running into traffic. Eventually the police referred the case to ‘Susan’ (names are are changed for confidentiality) and her coworker to investigate. He was high on methamphetamines and screamed racial slurs at her Native American coworker, ironically, as he simultaneously accused the white staff of racism.
‘Susan’ was alone with ‘Devin’ for a lengthy period as current protocols require the patient to remain in the ambulance while EMT staff register the patient at the hospital. At this point He began made statements about himself in the third person. “They are coming to get Devin”, etc. What really spooked her was that his tone, pitch and facial expressions changed. He was not in control of his faculties. He was ‘possessed’ by drugs.
Down in Reno:
‘Derek’, an investigator for the police department, received a call to investigate an untimely death. He and his partner were called to a hotel where a woman died, in order to rule out foul play. Stopping at the front desk to get the details about the woman, he learned that she was an older woman. All they knew about her personal life was that she was a psychic reader and that she had no family.
Like a steel trap, the police officer remembers every detail of the crime scene 6 years later. Someone who is not bothered by the typical goriness of a crime scene, there is one thing that still gives ‘Derek’ the creeps:
The women’s suitcase was still opened where she had left it, sitting on a luggage rack opposite the bed. His coworker saw the contents and commented, “Oh, she must have been a witch, and at that moment the women’s tarot cards, unprovoked, fell from the suitcase. Derek crossed the room to investigate what might have prompted the cards to fall. All of the women’s belongings sat two inches below the lip of the suitcase. There was nothing to prompt their fall!
His coworker was completely spooked, but Derek said he is a Christian and knows he has nothing to fear from the darker side of the spirit world because of his faith.
For some, devils, and demons, is relegated to the same category as giants and dwarfs, the stuff of fairy tales. Satan works well in this element of mystery in which he exists. Right between folklore and mysticism. He likes us to think of him as harmless as a little boy on our front porch in a Halloween costume with a pitchfork who just wants a piece of candy. This is where he is most dangerous.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Have a great Halloween, but remember, we still honor Jesus Christ in all we say and do.