Wow!

Oh, the things I miss.

Cindy was over here this morning and enlightened me about the Halloween discussions going on various blogs. A virtual explosion. We sat and read and talked about it together. You already know my opinion on it, and once again nothing has changed. I took my kids trick or treating. They had a blast. It was great. My only issue is from a health standpoint - how many treats are okay how often.

I would like to write a couple of more things about it for anyone who is not totally sick of the whole subject. There was a lot of talk about darkness and compromise and how much cancer is okay and would you go to a strip club and so on. Scripture was peppered liberally but I'm not convinced it was used correctly.

Only once or twice was the passage on meat sacrificed to idols mentioned and generally it was not responded to. This discussion is about our response to a cultural reality. If there is any passage in the Bible that applies most to this topic, that is the one, but it was virtually ignored.

I encourage everybody who is concerned about Halloween to read this passage - I Corinthians 8-10.

I find myself wondering what some bloggers would be saying to Paul if he had posted some of this stuff in the comments section. Would they say the Bible's very words are about compromise and giving in to darkness?

Halloween is NOTHING, people. Ghosts aren't real! Witches are fake! (And hey, there are an awful lot of Christians crazy about the Lord of the Rings cosidering that it has such imagery of darkness connected to it - how much darkness is okay?) Even if pagans do use this occassion to offer sacrifices and worship their gods - their gods don't exist!!!!

Not to mention that 99% of our culture doesn't believe any of the stuff anymore than we do. In Paul's day, they did believe the stuff about idols and he still said to not be bothered by it.

Be free!!!!

But don't cause others to stumble!!!!

Don't let anything, anything, block your freedom - except love.

"If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?" (10:30)

We should be just as concerned about stifling freedom as we are about compromise. It is a question of balance.

There has been a very pick and choose mentality in the conversations. Christmas trees have pagan roots. I don't see many people throwing those out. Christmas, Easter and Halloween are all days taken by the church out of a pagan culture and transformed into something that glorifies God. Why are we so stuck on Halloween?

But what bothers me most is the narrow range of what we apply holiness and compromise to. We will agonize over whether to go trick or treating but buy products which came to us via child labour without even batting an eye. We will question costumes but conveniently ignore that corporations we support are laying people off and paying poverty wages while enabling their shareholders to purchase a 7th cadillac.

How about these questions: Should Christians be shopping at Wal-mart? Should we be buying coffee that isn't free trade? What do our investments in RRSPs support? Should we be supporting the United Way when some of our donations go to advance abortion?

These kinds of questions are much, much more important, IMHO, than costumes and candy.

I am urging people to do two things:

1. Apply the whole of Scripture
2. Apply it to your whole life, and not just select pet issues.