October 31st: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and the Murky

October 31st. A date wrapped in controversy, celebration, and Christian history. Every year the questions come flooding in about Halloween, and every year the answers remain the same: it's complicated, but it doesn't have to divide us.

Here's what most people don't know: the earliest documented origins of Halloween come from the church, not from paganism. All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day, was established by the Catholic Church centuries before any written record of Celtic festivals. Yet modern paganism has claimed this date, and many Christians have simply surrendered it.

But here's the real question: does your conscience allow you to participate? Paul's words about meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8 give us the framework we need. Some are free. Some are convicted. Both positions can honor God.

If you celebrate, focus on the good: community, imagination, connecting with neighbors in an increasingly divided world. Avoid the darkness. Respect those who abstain. If you abstain, honor your conviction without condemning those who participate. Your conscience matters, but so does grace.

And let's not forget: October 31st is also Reformation Day. The day Martin Luther stood against corruption and declared that salvation comes through faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for God's glory alone.

Whatever you do today, do it for Christ. Here I stand. I can do no other.