Christian Liberty and Halloween
How much freedom, or “liberty,” do we as Christians really have?
This is a question constantly debated among the members of the early church, so thankfully we have some great passages that answer it. One such passage is from 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul says in verses 23-26,
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.” Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
… Cool.
So that’s no doubt a little hard to wrap our heads around when it comes to the problem of whether or not we should participate in certain activities like Halloween which we hear some Christians call evil and immoral. What does eating meat in the market have to do with trick-or-treating?
Actually, now that I say that, I do remember raising questions about the people who handed out boxes of raisins…
Anyway, when we’re trying to figure out what Paul was saying in this passage, it’s important to understand the context of his audience and their setting in order to realize the full weight of Paul’s words here.
The Meaning and Purpose of 1 Corinthians 10:23-26
In regard to verse 25 and the mention of eating meat sold in the market, Ellicott’s Commentary from Biblehub offers some really useful insight into what is being talked about. Ellicott explains,
Some of the meat which had been used for sacrificial purposes was afterwards sold in the markets. The weaker Christians feared lest if they unconsciously bought and ate some of that meat they would become thereby defiled. The Apostle’s view is that when once sent into the public market it becomes simply meat, and its previous use gives it no significance. You buy it as meat, and not as part of a sacrifice.
So Paul is arguing that when the meat offered to idols is separated from its original spiritual and sacrificial purpose, its existence is only that of meat which you can eat without any concern for what someone else might have been intending to use it for previously.
Paul even encourages believers not to ask questions about whether the meat was originally intended as an idol offering, which Ellicott also explains by saying,
The words “for conscience sake” have been variously interpreted as meaning, (1) Enter into no inquiry, so that your conscience may not be troubled, as it would be if you learned that the meat had been used for sacrifice; or, (2) Ask no question, lest some weak person’s conscience be defiled if they hear that it is sacrificial meat and yet see you eat it.
Ellicott goes on to say the second interpretation must be rejected, but we’ll get into why later.
So, moving forward with the first interpretation, we see that Paul is encouraging believers not to needlessly worry their conscience about what the meat might have been intended for since it’s simply meat which they are free to purchase, cook, and eat.
Bringing this back around to Halloween, then, what should we as Christians do? To trick-or-treat or not to trick-or-treat? That is the question.
Well, bringing up the ancient history of what Halloween used to be is exactly like bringing up the history of meat that used to be offered to idols.
Because Halloween in the modern day is so far removed from what it once was, just as the meat in the market was so far removed from what it once was, we don’t have to worry our conscience that dressing our five-year-old up in a Spider-man costume so they can run around their neighborhood collecting candy is somehow evil.
However…
The Christian Conscience
Paul introduces an idea in 1 Corinthians 10:27-29 that’s also important for this discussion. He says,
If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience?
To make this clearer, Paul paints the picture of you and a fellow Christian who attend a dinner with an unbeliever. This other Christian points out to you that the food on the table was originally offered in sacrifice, likely because they’re concerned that eating it is a sin.
Even though you don’t personally have an issue with this fact since you understand the food is just food now, Paul encourages you not to eat it because doing so would likely encourage your fellow Christian to violate his own conscience to follow your example.
While some might claim this actually means no Christian should participate in Halloween since it could cause another Christian who thinks it’s wrong to participate and violate their own conscience, that’s taking things too far.
The example Paul gives is of an extremely intimate and isolated setting where you and another Christian are in an unbeliever’s home eating dinner together. Paul even says that the reason you shouldn’t eat the food is for the other Christian’s conscience, not your own, and that our liberty is not determined by someone else’s conscience.
This ties back into why the second interpretation from Ellicott’s commentary earlier should be rejected.
So, should you celebrate Halloween?
Well, calling back to verse 23, we have the freedom to do so but should be careful how we do so. As ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), how we live reflects on who we claim to believe in.
If you encourage and/or permit your children to dress up like Jason Voorhees and carry a fake knife they pretend to kill people with, this might not hit the right note you’re going for if you’re trying to model Christian values for your family and those around you.
That said, Halloween is supposed to be fun. Believe it or not, Christians are allowed to have fun.
Don’t think this means you can only dress your children up as characters from the Bible.
Superheroes, dinosaurs, werewolves, vampires, mummies—these are all relatively innocent examples of costumes that allow children to play pretend and dress-up while also not promoting hacking and slashing people into pieces. A lot of this is due to the popularity of such creatures in children’s media; just go watch Hotel Transylvania if you’re not convinced.
But hey, if a vampire costume is just a little too far for you personally, that’s okay. The point of this article isn’t to convince you to dress your children up in specific costumes, but rather to encourage you to consider what you think is appropriate within the bounds of a Christian life.
When it comes to celebrating something like Halloween, at the end of the day, your liberty as a Christian extends as far as your own conscience and God’s word allows.
Reference:
“1 Corinthians 10:23 - Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers.” Biblehub, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/10-23.htm, n.d. Accessed 18 February 2025.
This post was inspired by the Halloween episode of the Critical Levitical podcast.