Who Are You Praying For?

         Halloween has its roots in the Christian observances of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. These are Holy Days observed by many churches, but originating in the early Catholic Church. All Saints Day, also known All Hallows Day, hence the day before known as All Hallows Eve or Hallow' een, and All Souls Day are days devoted to the honoring of and the prayer for those who have departed from this life, saints and sinners.  After the break from the Roman Catholic Church, many Protestants began observing October 31 as Reformation Day, which is a day of remembrance and prayers for unity.  For many Christians prayer is one of the main activities of this time of year.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:17-19

         When Paul instructed the followers of Jesus Christ to "pray for the saints" he was most probably telling them to pray for all fellow believers, those in their own church as well as those in churches throughout the world.  Here Paul also tells Christians to pray without ceasing-- to be in prayerful attitude with all kinds of requests. Do you pray?  For whom do you pray?

            Have you ever told somebody or had someone say to you, "I'll keep you in my prayers."   This seems to be the most comforting response we can often come up with in a difficult situation.  Sometimes it's just too hard to completely understand what another grieving or troubled person is going through so we try to show empathy by telling them we will pray for them.  Then later do we?  At times I have found myself saying this to someone and then realizing later that I had forgotten to pray for them.  Or did I?  Is it enough to think the action at the moment that it is said so that it becomes part of later prayers that are more generic and all-encompassing?

          I certainly ask God to answer prayers concerning my needs, but I regularly pray for my family, my friends, and my church.  Many people may find different things for which to pray--- our community, our country, our politcal leaders, our soldiers.  Some people pray more broadly for things like world peace, aid to peoples facing calamity, a cure for a disease, or ending poverty.   But is just praying enough?  Or do we need to do something as well?  Often the answer to our prayers is not just God doing something, but our eyes being opened to take a needed action ourselves.

 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
Exodus 14:15

             Quiet times of reflection are important for the restoration of inner peace.  One should pause many times throughout the day for prayerful moments.  This does not necessarily mean falling to your knees in lengthy devout prayer.  It might be a short mental prayer for a homeless person you see on the street as you drive by or a praise to God when you hear something good about someone else.  And frequent thoughts and remembrances of those you keep in your prayers.  A kind smile and a helping hand whenever you can give them can do wondrous things.  Slow down and realize how your words and actions can impact those around you.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  

Colossians 1:9-14 (New International Version)

Is Halloween Evil?

         Halloween is a source of controversy among many people.  Some discourage participation in the event or celebrate in ways that are alternative to the traditional way that most people celebrate. Others choose to essentially ignore Halloween not for any moral or religious reasons, but because there is something about the celebration they don't like or they just aren't interested. However, the majority of Americans accept the day for what it is and join in the festivities without really thinking too much about it. But if we do think about it just a bit, perhaps we should ask the question that incites the controversy: Is Halloween evil?
           The evilness of Halloween is another one of those topics about which one could write a book and indeed many have been written. In fact there are some Halloween aversionists who make a substantial portion of their income from writing about, speaking about, and creating media presentations about the Evilness of Halloween. Just as there exists a Halloween Economy there is conversely an Anti-Halloween Economy, albeit much smaller but there nonetheless.  In the following post I will not be going into a lot of detail, although if there is a cry of interest we may certainly expound upon some of the details in upcoming posts, but here I will attempt to present a case that Halloween is not evil.
           In order to clarify my case, I would like to start with the background of where I'm coming from.  I was raised in a Christian tradition, have beliefs that are rooted in the Judeo-Christian ethos, and I regularly attend a tradional Christian church. I consider myself religious and well educated. I am fairly open-minded, but always ready to apply what I believe to be appropriate discernment in my decisions, with this discernment  based on logic and  on my own beliefs.  I would be considered by the system of labelling to be in the classification of White Anglo Saxon Protestant Male.  I am rather conservative by nature and libertarian by ideology but not party affiliation.  I wll not be quoting any Bible verses to support my thesis except for leaving a verse at the end.      
           Also, for the sake of clarification, I want to indentify and define the terminology of the question:  Is Halloween evil?  Firstly, for the sake of my argument, my definition of evil is that which is done or thought for the purpose of harm or injury. Evil is intentional action, sin, or wrongdoing with the foreknowledge that another person or property will be damaged or destroyed and the execution of  one's actions are acceptable to the person performing the act. Evil thought is the intent and planning to carry out the evil action even if the action is never actually carried out--the mere desire to do the harm is evil. 
           The name Halloween is a contracted form of a religious observance known as All Hallows Eve which precedes a day that honors the saints of the church.  The modern celebration of Halloween has assimilated some pre-Christian traditions that came from very superstitious times. Mostly attributed to Celtic practice, some of these pagan related traditions became part of the Christian festivities and were later introduced to the United States by Irish immigrants.  The modern observance of Halloween is a secular celebration which most people do not directly relate to any religious celebration whether it be pagan, Christian, or any other.
            Finally, not to sound like Bill Clinton or anything, but we need to define what is is.  For the sake of my argument we are going to use is as an absolute.  I do not want to get into inferrences, suggestions, or relationships.  To say that something is means definitely, absolutely, without question can be defined as such. When dealing in value judgements it is often difficult to use absolutes when there may be some mitigating factors that may injected into the scenario.  So in our case we might have to change the question at hand to one of the following statements: Halloween could be used for evil purposes sometimes or Halloween might have some connotations of evil.
            Since my definition of evil does not include anything that is related to the occult or satan, then this would exclude arguing that since Halloween does often include imagery related to occultism or satan then Halloween is evil.  If one wants to say that Halloween is evil because it has relationships to satan then I might argue that every day is then evil because satan or things that are related to evil are a constant factor in our lives every day. What about other days related to other Holy occasions?  Mardi Gras for example is a time of bachanalia and excess that can be related to sin, evil, and crime, but in and of itself is the day evil?  I would say no-- some of the actions of some the participants might be evil, but overall the day is one of fun and celebration.  I've heard that Santa Claus is an anagram of Satan.  Is Christmas really evil, or have some imaginative persons  derived a perceived interpretation of evil from the Christmas symbolism?  There are probably a number of evils that can be associated with Christmas, but they are evils that one can associate with any day of the year.  Holidays might be time when evil becomes more prevalent, but only because holidays are exaggerated days were people have more opportunity for revelry, stress, depression, or what have you.  And since many holidays are religious by nature does that mean religion is evil? There are certainly some that would say so.  I don't think so.  I just think that there is a temptation for all humans to do evil.
           The propensity for human beings to do evil is the bottom line of the argument.  Values, ethics, enlightenment, self-discipline, and all of the other qualities that human beings learn to help them control the propensity for sin and evil must be learned and reinforced from childhood until the day we die. To participate in an event like Halloween does not cause one to become evil. However if one is not spiritually and mentally armed to counterattack any evil influences that may be related to the day then one may succumb to the temptations of evildoing. "Teach your children well', says the Graham Nash song and this is what we should do.  Let them particpate in the fun, but keep them firmly ensconced in good values so they can make good choices. Also, look for more positive alternatives, such as Harvest Festivals at churches, or start your own traditions geared toward positive things.
              So am I saying Halloween is good?  Well as I noted in some previous posts, Halloween is good for the economy.  This is not to say that everything that might be good for the economy should be encouraged, but something that has deep seated roots in tradition and culture like Halloween probably is not all that bad if kept in perspective.  I celebrated Halloween throughout my childhood and I don't think I'm any the worse for it other than some cavities and I don't really blame those on Halloween.  If there is some bad in Halloween, as there is in every day, then do what it takes to bring some good out of it.


             You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives".    (Gen. 50:20)

     In other words, "Something that might have been intended to be used for bad purposes,  God can turn around and use it for good in my life and in your lives and in the lives of many other people."

             I would really like to hear what some of the readers think about this topic.  I tossed it out to you, now you toss it back.