I believe that non-essential issues like this should settle into a moderated position of recognizing and respecting both ends of the debate and landing somewhere firmly in the middle of it.
Each of us as parents will have to give an accounting to God for our actions, take these concerns to Him and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your decision this fall. -- Brad Matthias
If you need the devils holiday to draw near to your family and neighbors then you are not trying hard enough. Just because you can create a perceived positive outcome it does not make the choice correct or righteous. Remember that everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. The truth is that Brad Mathias wanted to be able to say that Christians can celebrate Halloween and I assume because he always had with his children. So he splattered some strawmen arguments along with playing whataboutism games to try and downplay the significance of the conversation.
It is not a matter of cultural avoidance beloved. No one is suggesting shuttering your doors and huddling up until daybreak. This is about not participating in evil, pure and simple. You are not redeeming the day, taking it back somehow, or waging war against the enemy. Just have the guts to admit that you do not want to tell your children no. We are supposed to be a peculiar people beloved. We are supposed to be set apart.
His third closing argument is especially well disguised. He spent the majority of this article trying to make a moral equivalency between celebrating Halloween and not celebrating Halloween. He did so to set up this argument. That when you have two opinions it is always safe to split the bill and land somewhere in the middle. The poor assumption baked in here is that both sides of this conversation have merit when they do not. There is not one biblical reason why people should celebrate Halloween. I gave you four points against in the key verses off the top of my head alone. Perhaps the most frightening statement Mathias has made is in saying this is a "non-essential" issue. Partaking of evil is always a serious issue with God beloved; always.
His closing argument is simply a cop-out. I am all for prayer and asking for guidance but the bible is our primary source and it is crystal clear. The only reason why you would pray here is that you do not like the answer the bible has given you. Beloved, I know this is not easy when it comes to parenting. Sometimes however we have to be the adult. Sometimes we have to be the parent. You want to outreach your community? You have over 300 other days to choose from. The same goes for any argument you can come up with. Harvest parties, trunk or treats, or any other faux substitute is still partaking of Halloween. Brad Mathias' bio says he co-founded the "Brilliantly Brave Parenting Podcast" but there is nothing neither brilliant nor brave about lining up with the devil and pretending it is just as reasonable as avoiding it.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- October 24, 2018
