100 Reasons Why I Kissed Halloween Conspiracy Theories Goodbye

I really don’t like Halloween that much. It’s just not a big deal. I don’t want to write blogs about it. I don’t want to think about it.  If my neighbors kids come to my house, I smile, be kind, courteous, give them some candy, and show them some neighborly love. If my work party has some Halloween treats, I might grab one, and that’s about it. My involvement is tiny. I really don’t care about Halloween.

What I do care about is what Christians believe and say. Throughout my life, I have often been an apologist to my secular and nonbelieving friends, trying to draw them into the church. And most of the time, it’s you silly Christians that make it nearly impossible. By believing and saying ridiculous things, you present Christianity as a faith of historic and logical ignorance. More often than not, many of you teach nonbelievers that Christianity is just one huge conspiracy theory.

And this is especially true on Halloween.

I hate to have to write about Halloween, but as I open up my Facebook feed and see historically erroneous conspiracy theories being touted as Gospel truth, it really bugs me. I keep hoping my unbelieving friends won’t see this. This makes things even harder. I don’t only need to convince them there is a reason to this world, and faith will draw us near to it, I also have to explain to them why they should join the same Christianity that claims little-Halloween-celebrating grandmothers are actually secretive Satanists. And my unbelieving friends know these “Satanists”, for to them, they are their very nice Catholic grandmothers, who try to bring them into the Catholic church. One of my friends left the faith precisely because of this harmonious disunity, in which every side considers the other worse than Satan himself.

The point is what many Christians teach about Halloween is a toxic mixture of false facts, incorrect history, out of context Bible verses, fear, and conspiracy theory. It stinks! That said, I want to post a response to that article. You know which one. You have seen it in your Facebook feed at least a hundred times now. Here is my response to the 10 Reasons I Kissed Halloween Goodbye.

I will try to give 10 reasons why every 1 of Blake’s “reasons” are silly. Where she makes attempted factual statements, I provide far better historical and sociological data. Where she provides illogical rhetoric and moralizing, she receives a well-deserved satirical response. With no more ado, here are 100 Reasons why I kissed that article, and other conspiracy theories goodbye.

Regarding “Halloween glorifies evil, not God.”

2. Halloween is not a pagan holiday. It is not Samhain. There is intense scholarly debate amongst historians as to whether the two are even connected at all. Many historians don’t believe Halloween is connected to any pagan holiday at all. But even if they are connected, Halloween would turn out to be a Christian remaking of the holiday in the same way Easter and Christmas replaced thematic pagan holidays. We don’t claim Christmas is still the pagan Yule which it replaced! We don’t claim Easter is still the worship of Eostre! Unless Mrs. Blake does? (2, 3, 4)

3. Halloween, as we know it, is a secular holiday that is devoid of all religion. There are no rituals or ceremonies and no point to add religious mythology and ideology into it. To claim these things shows a deep cultural ignorance. (4)

4. “It’s no secret that Halloween is all about… fear and death.” There is a great deal of fear and death in the Bible. See verses like Gen 6:7, Deut 13:15, Deut 28:22, Deut 28:25-26, Deut 28:28, Lev 20:9, Isaiah 13:16. The Bible seems to be have these themes of fear and death. According to the your logic, Mrs. Blake, does that mean that the Bible equals Halloween?

5.“blood and dead bodies and axe murderers… skeletons… and gravestones.. Can anyone deny that this holiday glorifies Satan and every evil thing?” Again, the Bible is filled more violence than Halloween can ever hope to portray. See Exodus 32:27, Deut 7:2, Deut 20:16, Deut 21:10-12, Deut 21:21, Deut 25:12, Num 31:17-18, Judges 21:10-11, Hosea 13:16, Ezekiel 9:6. According to this logic, the Bible glorifies Satan. Is that what Mr.’s. Blake intends, I certainly hope not.

6. What is the “meaning” of Halloween? Blake says “sugarcoating the evil with smiling pumpkins.. [doesn’t change the evil] meaning of the celebration. Okay. Ask the kids who come to your house about the meaning, will they say “yes we are here to worship Satan, all hail Satan!” No! They want candy and fun, that’s their meaning, let’s not ascribe Satan worship to a bunch of sugar craving children.

7. “the holiday itself glorified evil” No, it did not. This is a unhistorical and anachronistic assumption on the part of many Christians who try to connect Samhain to Halloween. Most historians disagree with this urban legend. The ancient Samhain of the Celts, and the contemporary consumerist secular holiday called Halloween are almost 1500 years apart and share no direct traditions. (5)

8. “Most of us know that Halloween is one of the highest, most holy days for witches and Satanists” Whaat? How does this allegation prove anything? First, “witches and Satanists” if they exists are deluded people. Second, this is not common knowledge but superstition and fable. Third, it’s almost certainly not true as legitimate anti-cult organizations report that all the researched tales about satanic abuse have been proven to be the result of mentally ill people projecting myths, not the result of real satanic cults (6)

 9. “Abstain from the appearance of Evil” (1 Thess 5:21-22). If we put aside our Dante for a minute and look at the Bible, what does Satan, the most evil being of all, look like? Well, the Bible says he is appears as an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14) and that he is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). So when Blake spreads forth outright lies about history, but comes with the appearance of the light, what does that mean?

10. Is fear equal to Satanism? That most certainly cannot be true, for if it is, a great deal of “fire and brimstone” preachers are secret Satanists. I wholeheartedly don’t like fear. But I will say I have found a great deal more fear in the sermons recounting stories and visions of those who supposedly visited hell, than on any Halloween. I agree with the out of context citation of 2 Timothy 1:7, and think that is why Christians should not be afraid of Halloween.

Regarding “If the seed is bad, the fruit will be bad.”

12. She also says that “The foundations of Halloween are occultic.. [and] pagan.” This is also not factual. Most of the symbols were created within a Catholic medieval culture. Any student of history knows this period was filled with dark imagery of such as Dante’s Inferno. How could Halloween be a occultic/pagan holiday, celebrated by witches, in an era where Catholics burned witches? Yes, it was a time of superstitions, but they were Catholic superstitions, not pagan. (8)

13. Blake argues that Halloween is derived from October celebrations of the Druids. Again, there is real debate between real historians about whether Halloween really has any connection to Samhain. It’s unscholarly and unwise to argue her main point from something leading historians disagree about. In addition it also misses the complexity of the cultural evolution of holidays. Just as Christmas is no longer Yule, even though that is its origin pagan holiday, so too Halloween is not Samhain. (9, 10, 11)

14. “the first Christians came to America, they knew of Halloween’s occult beginnings and banned its celebration.” Another silly and irrelevant argument. The early Puritans were strongly against anything Catholic, and would never celebrate a holiday honoring Catholic saints. Furthermore, these same Puritans also banned the celebration of Christmas! Is Christmas also therefore an occult holiday? Well, let’s hear it? Where is the consistency? (12, 13)

15. There is a citation to a very sentimental blog by a “homeschooling mom” that claims Germans brought witchcraft into Halloween (neglecting the fact that Germany was a Lutheran country with judicial punishment for witchcraft) and claims that Haitians brought Voodoo into Halloween tradition, ignoring the fact that early American culture was predominantly Christian and conducted many witch burnings. There are absolutely zero historical references to the German/Haitian connection on this moms blog, just a blank, and undocumented, statement. Yet is plenty of proof the early American and Germans burned witches. Historians or homeschooling moms? Where do you get your info from? You decide. (14)

16. There is a citation from Deut 18:9-11 about sorcery and customs. Blake attempts to equivocate this with Halloween. This is ridiculous. The verse deals with worshiping idols and sacrificing children. Please find me one child that was sacrificed on Halloween? (Aha you will say, they are secretly lost and we cannot find them, that’s the point. To which I’d reply “my point exactly”). Please tell me one pagan god that is celebrated on Halloween?

17. Blake argues that putting Christian labels on pagan practices don’t make them pleasing to God. For the third time, she makes this false connection, ignorant of the real history of Halloween, as well as the historic fact that many common “Christian” ideas were indeed influenced by pagan ideas. This is documented by numerous historians, both secular and sacred. (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)

18.Next is Deut 12:1-4. This passage is taken completely out of context and deals with destroying altars to false gods and idols. I politely ask, does anyone truly worship pagan deities at their altars on Halloween? Is there even a Halloween altar or sacred pillar? It seems senseless to equivocate a secular holiday to real pagan worship practices. Unless Blake can produce a Halloween altar.

19. She argues that God wants us to elevate him alone. I agree, this is what the Bible teaches. However, does she really imply that celebrating Halloween means people cease elevating God? Why? Who worships Halloween instead or above God? Do these people also worship Memorial day above God simply by taking a day off? Why or why not? This is a silly logical fallacy.

20. “Any other practice is sin and eventually bears bad fruit.” I know hundreds of famous preachers that grew up celebrating Halloween and still do. One of these is the internationally known John Piper. Please, Mrs. Blake, do show us John Piper’s bad occultist fruit? Is his church really a secret outpost for child sacrifice? Do they have cauldrons in the basement? (20)

Regarding “Don’t dine with demons”

22. These celebrations are certainly not Halloween. The neo-pagans who celebrate Samhain, in order to be historically accurate, “celebrate Samhain on the date of first frost” not necessarily on October 31^st. Why in the world do these neo-pagans choose a different date and a different name for their holiday if it’s really Halloween? (21)

23. Blake asserts that “Guising” is dining with demons. Yes, “guising” was a medieval superstition, there is no debate about that. However, it is a Catholic superstition, not an ancient pagan superstition. Blake is totally ignorant of the simple historic fact the whole point of this silly medieval Catholic superstitious of “guising” was to ward off evil spirits, not to invite them in for dinner. Superstitious medieval Christian’s did other superstitious things, like hang garlic to protect against vampires, can we argue that hanging garlic is inviting in demons? No, it’s merely a silly superstition. (22)

24. Blake introduces 1 Cor 10:21 and rips the text out of context. Yes, the passage does speak about Christians refusing to worship other gods while they worship God. However, that same passage concludes by allowing Christians to eat foods sacrificed to idols, arguing that even if one person does an action to worship an idol, and a Christian does the same action to God, he is free to do so. Turns out this chapter, as a whole, actually supports Christian liberty to celebrate Halloween, as long as it’s not unto Satan (1 Cor 10:25-30)

25. Furthermore, 1 Cor 10:21 specifically refers to those who willingly and knowingly serve and worship idols and pagan gods. I would wager that Blake and everyone else will be hard pressed to find even one Christian who willingly and knowingly serves specific pagan gods. This passage is therefore useless in the context of this secular holiday. However, it is useful in showing the extent of Christian liberty does allow Halloween celebrations.

26. “Sharing food with someone represents a sacred connection” In the Ancient Near East culture, certainly. However, the fact that I just had lunch with a coworker doesn’t mean I have a sacred connection. We are no longer in the Ancient Near East. In any sense, who shares a meal on Halloween? Do Druids show up and eat from my plates? No. Does Satan show up for pizza? No. A bunch of neighboring kids show up for candy, which is hardly a meal, that’s it.

27. “Satan is the world’s greatest counterfeiter, so he tempts us to sit at his table and join his feast.” Blake makes many rhetorically pointed statements, however, does almost nothing to prove these statements. She assumes they are true, and hopes her readers will as well. I’m sorry speculation is not evidence. Convince me, I am open and waiting.

28. Blake stated that Satan makes Halloween “as attractive as he can.” Oh really? Did she not just tell us that Halloween is evil, because it is so obviously unattractive? Did she not say that its “all about witches and ghosts and fear and death. Haunted houses, Hollywood movies, even neighborhood patios are graced with blood and dead bodies and axe murderers …” Is she saying all of that is now attractive to her? Which one is it? Is Halloween all dark and scary or is it attractive? You can’t have both. (23)  

29. “[Satan] knows we won’t say no if his festival looks like pure evil, so he’s let us create our own G-rated version that we aren’t as likely to resist.” Here she contradicts herself again. Earlier on in the article, she argued that Halloween is evil, because everyone can clearly see its evil (a circular argument, by the way). Again, she changes her mind, and says the reason it doesn’t appear evil, is because Satan is tricking us on purpose. It seems Blake is willing to invent any explanation for any evidence presented, provided it fits with her preconceived feelings.

30. Finally we see 2 Cor 6:14-16, which is (surprise!) out of context for this discussion. Blake uses the Bible passage most commonly used to warn Christians to avoid marrying nonbelievers. However, in 2 Cor 6:15, there is a specific mention of the Greek name Belial, which is used as a reference to Satan. (24) Paul is saying Christians should not merge with those who worship Satan. By this Blake implies that everyone who celebrates Halloween worships Satan and we should not join. Is this true? Do trick-or-treaters worship Satan? Does Billy Graham who celebrates Halloween worship Satan? No! This is a ridiculous accusation not grounded in reality. (25)

Regarding “Halloween is an excuse to flaunt sexuality.”

32. “There seems to be an unwritten competition to have the raciest costume” Again, in some spectrums of society, though by far not all, this does occur and it is a tragic example of our sexist society. Yet, this is seen in every aspect of culture, not just Halloween. And again this gives Christians even more reason to be a positive influential force in Halloween.

33. Ephesians 5:3-8 is included in this point. And all of it is true. And all of it applies to hundreds of other things besides Halloween. If we follow Blakes logic we can outlaw… why literally everything! “Television helps sexual immorality.” Boom, outlaw the telly. “High school social interactions inflame sexual immorality” Boom, no more high school. And on and on.

34. “I can vouch from personal experience that when we put on a costume, we often detach ourselves, sometimes ever so slightly, from our inhibitions” One person’s personal experience, does not prove anything. “it is much easier to act a tad bit naughty when our real identity is hidden.” Perhaps. Then again, perhaps that only exposes a much deeper problem on the inside. Perhaps we ought to work on the deeper problem than a silly manifestation?

35. “almost as if bad behavior is somehow excused when we are in costume” Again, if someone is doing something bad, and finds his or her costume as an excuse, we ought not blame the costume, but deal with the person and their motivations. This is like blaming a fist for punching another person, and trying to outlaw fists, rather than dealing with the motives of him who used the fist.

36. “it’s much easier to explain in the morning: “I wasn’t actually sinning; I was just staying in character” This is a nonrealistic rhetorical argument and adds nothing to the real world. It is so illogical, that I would say any Christian who sins, and uses that as an excuse has far greater problems than Halloween costumes. This is like someone saying “the devil made me do it” and Christians writing a new rule to outlaw “the devil” in response, instead of dealing with the person holistically.   37. “we prefer to emulate… unfruitful works of darkness…” Again, it is tragic that some people do things like this. It grieves me to see the oversexualization of girls and women in our society. Yet, this is not a Halloween thing, for this was never a historic part of Halloween, but it is a historic part of Western culture. Let’s deal with the real culprit, the rich white men who own the media. For example, the most “conservative Christian channel” Fox is probably the leader in promoting sexism and the oversexualization of girls. This is not a Halloween’s issue, it’s a culture issue. (25, 26, 27)

38. “parade them on our Facebook pages as if they are somehow deserving of honor.” This is another contemporary culture issue, not a Halloween issue. Yes, many women post provocative photos of themselves on Facebook. Yes, it’s terrible. But is Blake really trying to argue that the ancient Catholics who participated in Halloween in 1245AD posted dirty pictures on Facebook? No, this is a modern culture thing. Young women do it with bikinis during summer, should we outlaw summer? Or should we work hard to change the culture?

39. Another surprise, another verse out of context, dealing with works of darkness done in secret (Eph 5:11-12). It is obvious that Halloween is not a secret holiday, but a very public and secular one. This verse simply doesn’t apply. Yet that doesn’t mean that Christians should not strive to remove the aberrant sexist demands on women to flaunt themselves in numerous cultural expressions. We should. Yet, let us not mix the war against sexism with Halloween, the two were never historically related.

40. Finally, it seems odd that Blake contradicts herself in the definition of Halloween. First she argues that it is still the ancient pagan holiday that is satanic in origin, and it has not changed, so that is why it’s wrong. Later, she reverts, and argues it’s wrong because it’s a completely different secular holiday which has been changed by our society to include a new sexist theme. It seems to me Blake should stick with one or the other, either the holiday is an unchanged ancient Druid holiday, or a changed contemporary secular sexist holiday, to claim something is both exactly the same and completely different, is illogical.

Regarding “We play how we practice.”

42. Psychologist say the truth is exactly the opposite. That our Halloween costumes and habits are not something that comes into our life and changes us, but actually comes from within and reveals our inner self. It seems odd to attack the instrument of expressing what is within, rather than the evil that is within (28, 29, 30)

43. Jesus agrees with the psychologists (or is it the other way around?) in saying that things from the outside do not defile us and make us evil. On the other hand, it is what is on the inside that is the root of evil. Jesus said that “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” (Mat 15:11)

44. Blake then introduces an logical fallacy called an “appeal to consequences,” wherein she presents a totally fictitious outcome of Halloween and uses that fictitious prediction to argue Halloween is wrong. She uses a fictitious story (she made it up, out of the blue) and thinks that is enough to prove her point. There is absolutely no psychological and psychiatric evidence that Halloween causes necrophilia. I will gladly change my mind when legitimate evidence is presented.

45. On the other hand, there is a great deal of evidence that Halloween does not make one obsessive. For example, there are a great of eminent pastors and church leaders who celebrated Halloween in their childhoods, and indeed still do, however, are not necrophiliacs. Let me stress this, there is more real evidence that children who celebrated Halloween in their childhood became pastors than there is for Blake’s unwarranted speculation. (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)

46. If dressing up in costumes allows us to act out and assume violent identities, does this not make any church play the vehicle towards extreme violence? According to Blake’s logics, it certainly seems that way. For example, what if a little boy is dressed up as an angel? Well in the Bible angels are agents of God’s wrath, often smiting and destroying cities and armies. Or what if a boy is dressed as David, does he automatically want others to say of him what was said of David in the Bible? (1 Samuel 18:7)

47. Now Blake comes about full circle, and again bemoans the horrific and gory side of Halloween. Previously she had stated that the reason Halloween is wicked is because Satan makes it so attractive in order to lure in Christians, now she argues that it wicked because it is completely unattractive with its “macabre, erect gravestones … dead ‘bodies.’” Well which one is it? It can’t be both. Blake needs to find a consistent position, not flip-flop as it suits her.

48. “if we choose to be entertained by evil, we should be prepared for the time when it becomes reality” Time and time again Blake uses circular arguments to prove Halloween is evil, because it is evil, and therefore we know its evil. Halloween has been around historically for over 1300 years. Did ghosts and demons destroy the world? What is this evil reality she is speaking of? The world is far less superstitious than it has ever been. A far bigger danger is complete naturalism and secularism, not the reality of superstition and witchcraft.

49. She includes yet another Bible verse (is this getting old or what) that is out of context regarding Halloween. This time it’s Eph 6:12 which talks about spiritual battle against Satan. Of course Blake sees this to be against Halloween, just because she assumes Halloween is really Satan (because he isn’t like an angel of light or anything). She isn’t bothered the fact that a biblical definition of the doctrines of demons in no way matches her definition. (1 Tim 1:4-6)

50. She concludes this by equivocating Halloween festivities as camping out “one night a year “for fun” on the side of the enemy.” Again, there isn’t a shred of proof to back up her shame-filled statement. She manages to cast guilt upon hundreds of millions of wise, caring, historically acute, Christians who use Halloween to share neighborly love. All based on her morally righteous, opinionated speculation.

Regarding “Are we causing others to stumble?”

52. “have we given any thought to the impact our actions might have on others?” This is indeed the question I want to ask her, and every Christian that believes in “Halloween Conspiracy Theory.” If I have a nonbelieving friend, and you call his Catholic grandmother a Satanist for participating in a “druid holiday,” will he not think you are absolutely insane and want nothing to do with you or your Christianity? Yes!

53. Blake introduces the “cause others to stumble” idea found in Mat 18:6 and Mark 9:42. And obviously assumes Jesus was talking about Halloween (must be in a Bible translation I don’t have). Now, let me ask, which is a more likely to scenario. First, children who dress up as the Power Rangers are likely to grow up and stumble into witchcraft, becoming Satanic Power Rangers. Or second, children who are told Halloween is Satanic, grow up to see that statement was an ahistorical, unfactual, superstitious myth; then they refuse to listen to other things Christians tell them, assuming those too perhaps are myths. (Hint witchcraft is not growing, but atheism is) (40, 41, 42)

54. “are we opening the door to involvement in those practices in the future” This strange logical fallacy argument reminds me of the ruckus over the Harry Potter books years ago. Millions of Christians predicted mass movements of new child-witches. This never came, instead young people continue to lead in atheist polls, not supernaturalst polls. As JK Rowling put it “I’m laughing slightly because to me, the idea is absurd. I have met thousands of children and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, “Ms Rowling, I’m so glad I’ve read these books because now I want to be a witch.” (43)

55. “Will our children learn values we want them to learn by participating in this ‘holy day’” First, Blake shows her ignorance of the history and etymology of the term Halloween, which does really come derive from “holy” and “day” which completely contradicts her speculation that Halloween is pagan. She then appeals to sentiment, by bringing in children. I want to ask her, will her children learn good values such as ignorance of history, propagation of falsehood, superstitious fear of the unknown, cultural isolationism, and shaming or shunning everyone who disagrees as worshiping the devil?

56. “what values are we impressing on our children when we send them trick-or-treating?” I would probably say we are enabling children to learn the beauty of capitalism. The bigger houses provide the most candy, while the cheaper apartments have less to give. (I am laughing as I write this.) What is Blake referring to? Apparently something sinister is the answer. Something like, we are teaching our children the values of worshiping the devil? Oh really? So that little kid who comes to my door asking for candy is a Satan worshiper? Really? Little Iron Man is here to sacrifice my soul to the demons?   57. “Is the lie “give me your candy or I’ll play a trick” really becoming of anyone?” Another case of historical ignorance. I cover the four possible historical sources of Trick or Treating in my post The Real History of Halloween. None of them are a “lie.” I also cover the historical development of holiday traditions, which Blake appears to be oblivious of with a statement like this. Traditions are often complex anachronisms, not simplistic statements as she assumes. According to her strange logic, she could consider play-actors as liars for not truly meaning what they recite.  

57. “If we forego Halloween but give our children a substitute celebration instead, are we sending the message that “I am trying to compensate because I think you’re missing out on something really amazing?” Here, Blake goes overboard by not only denouncing Christians who participate in Hallowing in a positive way, but even those who host “anti-Halloween” parties. Her rhetoric simply does not hold up. Even if Halloween was evil, this would still be a logical fallacy. If I give a teenager a car to stay off drugs, am I really telling him drugs are better than a car?

59. “No more bobbing for apples in the church basement (a pagan fertility ritual, by the way)” Blake begins to show her true colors. She starts off by saying she is not legalistic, and goes on to completely contradict her moderate introduction. Using her logic we can probably find or invent pagan roots in every single game, event, or “thing.” Does she not know that it was Pagan’s like the Egyptians and Sumerians that invented writing as an ancient ritual of spreading pagan ideas?! Yet she uses the written language herself! Oh dear, she must be warned, her soul is in danger!   60. Finally there is a contrast between Halloween versus “true joy in knowing God’s true Son!” Oh really? Are those the only two options being offered to the world? Halloween or Jesus? Really? There is no possibility that maybe, just maybe, there could be a tiny little bit of wiggle room? Blake defiantly says no, and thus implies that millions of Christians who claim they love Jesus but celebrate Halloween are evil pagans. Thank you Mrs. Blake, boy am I glad to know this truth.

Regarding “Be faithful in the small things.”

Regarding "God wants to bless us — but not in the way the world blesses."

72. “for those us who love Jesus, why is it so important to entertain the macabre and flirt with the dark side” I’d like to ask a counter-rhetorical-question. For those of us who love Jesus, why is it important to entertain historical lies and the superstitions guilting of fundamentalism? Why not openly discuss this like civilized people without drawing horns on anyone who disagrees?

73. Blake, just to be consistent in at least one thing, throws in another out-of-context verse, Jeremiah 10:2. This one is about Astrology and pagans looking at the starts for signs. At this point Blake has completely given up explaining and contextualizing the verses, they are just thrown in, almost at random. I highly doubt that there is a real connection with Halloween and Astrology. I’m not sure if Blake thinks so, because that’s what she appears to imply, but it seems she isn’t even sure of that herself and because she doesn’t realize this is about Astrology.

74. “We often say we don’t want to deprive our children of candy, of dressing up, of the “fun” they have by participating in this holiday. But God has already told us the customs of the world are futile!” She continues to try arguing that dressing up and eating candy is the same thing as listening to Astrologers instead of trusting God. And, for all we know, this might be true. I did recently hear that the famous psychic Mrs. Cleo had eaten candy in her childhood.

 75. “Is this is the kind of happiness we want for our children, we are clearly setting our standards too low” Blake is correct, our standards are too low. When Halloween comes around and all of Billy’s friends are having fun by poaching hundreds of candies, Billy’s mother ought lock him up and tell him to read the Book of Deuteronomy, that will certainly contain more fun and less violence.   76. “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and He will provide all of the other things we need.” I’m not sure what she intends to say, but it sounds like she might be changing her mind? If someone seeks God first, can they seek Halloween second? Or perhaps if someone seeks God will first, then God can provide the Halloween they need?

77. Another…. Out of context verse! This time it’s Psalm 37:3-4, which is a generic reminder to trust God and do good. I think Blake is again saying it’s impossible to trust God and be a kind neighbor on Halloween? Unfortunately for her wild rhetorical statement, this is argued against by a great many leading pastors from numerous Christian movements and denominations (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)   78. “God, however, has far better things in store for us than candy corn and parlor games” Goodness, this Blake lady has no end! She keeps casting her net wider and wider. She is now completely anti-candy and anti-fun! What did candy corn ever do to her? Then again, I suppose candy corn does kind of look like the devils horns.  
78. “Would our time be better spent in prayer, teaching our children about the real dangers their friends face by dabbling in the occult.” It looks like Blake has finally explained her endgame. The reason she doesn’t want children to have alternative “anti-halloween” parties at church, is because she would rather they spend that whole evening learning about the frightening dangers of the occult. I can only imagine the tension in a tiny child’s brain from hearing all of his friends at school are about to be infected by evil Dante-ish demons from hell. Wait, didn’t Blake earlier say something about not scaring children and casting out fear?  
79. In conclusion there is finally a verse in proper historical and theological context, with a very astute hermeneutical approach and exegesis. She writes, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” —Luke 12:34” Gosh she totally caught me here! My treasure is Halloween, and that’s where my heart is. Not only one day a year, but all 365 days a year. For me it’s Halloween every single day. I usually stock up on sacred Halloween ritual candy to last me the whole year. I buy it at the same place I get my cauldron and chicken feet. Saw Harry Potter and Merlin there last week.

Regarding “There is sin in the camp”

82. “What about pretending to cast spells?” Another powerful argument from Blake. I’m not exactly sure what it is or why its powerful, but I know it is supposed to make me feel emotional. Wait for it. Wait for it. Boom, there go the goosebumps. What a crafty argument there Mrs. Blake. You have clearly proven your point. Which is, what exactly? That people who participate in Halloween start casting spells? Does that include the following Christian leaders? Do they cast a spell over their audience? (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)   83. “We have made ourselves the judges of what is good and evil instead of following God’s command to avoid even the spoils of the enemy.” Another solid, rational, reasonable argument from Mrs. Blake. Assuming she is really referring to herself when she uses the term “we” I have no counterargument. She really is assuming herself as the judge of what is good or evil, she has even made herself the judge of who is with the devil. (And what a surprise, that just happens to be veryone who disagrees with her.)

84. “I have two words to say to that kind of thinking: Remember Achan.” All of a sudden Mr.’s “I-don’t-like-Halloween-because-it’s-all-about-fear” takes her gloves off. No more Mrs. Nice Guy. Now, by disagreeing with her point, you are not only joining the dark side, participating in satanic rituals, and in line to become a necrophiliac, but you are also on the verge of falling under divine punishment. If you don’t listen to her, God will kill you. Shiver. Didn’t you say that fear is demonic, Mrs. Blake? But now fear is actually ok, provided its only used to prove your point?

85. To drive home the point Blake recites Joshua 7:8-12 (wait for it……. Out of context!). There is some implied connection to one of the Hebrews stealing sacred pagan objects, against God’s particular command a few hours beforehand, to a Catholic holiday –turned secular – which is really about the glamorization of candy? For the record Mrs. Blake, I heard the same out of context passage against  Gameboys and Pokémon in my childhood. I was frightened to death and waited for God to smite me, and he never did. Instead, I later learned I should be thankful for some little measure of childhood joy, and that it was only boring, anti-fun-fundamentalists (ironic, no?) who liked to use that passage against everything they personally didn’t like.

86. “The darkness of Halloween is devoted to destruction and is in no way honoring to our Father of lights” What if we have lots of lights on? Perhaps drape them all over the place, even turn on a few very bright happy lights? Argument disproven, take that.

87. “God is a jealous God, and all pagan beliefs are sinful in God’s eyes” Oh really, this again? Still trying to argue that All Hallows (Saints) Eve is somehow related to an ancient pagan tradition, and therefore evil? Unlike everything else in Christianity?  For your one unhistoric, unintellectual, uneducated, baseless, emotionalist, speculation I offer you these references. And yes, there are thousands more, and no, I doubt you will care. (57, 58, 59 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)

88. “And we need to help hold each other accountable because we may all bear the judgment for sin in the camp.” More fear mongering. This is basically a carefully wrapped version of  “if you celebrate Halloween God will kill you and everyone else who doesn’t even celebrate it.” Does such an argument (based on the Old Testament which contains divinely ordained violence, of the variety Blake thinks is purely Satanic) really need a rebuttal?

89. That brings us to a citation of 2 Chronicles 7:14, which is finally in proper historical and theological context, just kidding, this one’s no different than the rest. She is now comparing the falling away of the nation of Israel, including the literal rejection of God and physical worship at the altar of false gods, to Christians giving candy to their neighbors kids. She must be using complex quantum mechanics, for I am oblivious as to how else the leap can be made. Perhaps the humility angle? All Christians who celebrate Halloween must be really, really, proud and arrogant, no? Ahh, that would explain why Mrs. Blake is morally justified in calling them all worshipers of Satan for disagreeing with her.

90. “we should not be surprised when God further removes His hand of blessing and protection from this great land.” Like any other patriot, Blake finds a place to insert good ol’ American Nationalism into the picture. God loves our “great land” more than all the other ones, that’s why we have BigMacs and Cadillac’s while those poor African children are starving, but if we keep celebrating Halloween, God will kill us all, Amen, Go Murrica!

Regarding “Come out from them and be separate.”

92. “embraced the traditions of men even when I knew God’s heart on the matter” I guess at the end of the day Mr.’s Blake just truly knows God’s heart on the matter of Halloween. Sorry John Piper, Billy Graham, Tim Keller, Greg Boyd, Jeff Harshbarger (eek a Pentecostal leader!) you are all wrong and don’t know God’s heart. Sorry John MacArthur and Mark Driscoll, you simply don’t know God like Mr.’s Blake. (Btw, did you just see that, we found at least one thing that Mark Driscoll and John MacArthur agree on, Hallelujah!)

93. Blake then quotes “Therefore come out from them and be separate from them, says the Lord.” —2 Corinthians 6:17 That’s right all you heathen Christians who are fake, Satan worshiping pretenders! Got you know! Come out from amongst those Halloween worshipers! At least that’s what Blakes argument looks like. I think she might be reading too much into scripture, but then again isn’t it  written somewhere “God shall separate the Halloweeners to the left and the Holy objectors to the right”? No? Well, gosh darn, it should be!   94. “if I fit right in with our culture and no one can tell I am any different- then I am probably doing something wrong” Perhaps you can try this (65) everyone can definitely tell they are different. Otherwise you can try to be known by your good deeds, Matthew 5:16, rather than by calling everyone who disagrees a Satanist? That might be something to try? Or else you can try living peacefully with others, Rom 12:18 & Heb 12:14, instead of calling them Satanic? Maybe even (God forbid) try being a gentile to the gentiles in order to win them (1 Corinthians 9:20-23) instead of calling them children of Satan? Then again, that’s a lot of effort.  

94. How does Blake plan on being noticeably different the rest of the year? So far her comprehensive plan has only involved the banning of Halloween, and it’s replacement with a frightening day-long children’s seminar on the real dangers of the occult. Seriously, what else? The whole plan is that Halloween is devilishly evil, and therefore if we don’t celebrate it (and call everyone who does a Satanist, as Blake eloquently shows by example) people will want to be like us? What about on all the non-Halloween days? Or does Blake intend to have her anti-Halloween indoctrination classes year round to really, really, prove that she is different?   96. “By even acknowledging and associating with the holiday, I was giving credence to it in my life and opening myself to deception.” What kind of deception is Blake referencing? We have no idea, but the scary word “deception” is argument enough! Although I have heard someone say, that once upon a time they heard, in a faraway land, someone else say, that they heard another person say, that someone once saw another person say, that some guy celebrated Halloween and ate the candy became demonically possessed because he opened his heart to Halloween-demons. Sounds legit to me. Give the woman a PhD.  

95. “it is my prayer that everyone who follows Christ will be open to prayerfully seeking God’s wisdom about the traditions of man.” Ok we agree here. But why am I getting the feeling that by “God’s wisdom” Blake is referring to her blog post, and by “traditions of man” she means all those Satanists that disagree?

96. To make a point that is completely unknown to me, Blake quotes Ephesians 5:6-10. I’m so confused as to the actual context at this point, I can’t even say if this is an out of context verse. It seems to be another encouragement to be good Christians, and Blake has already proved via wild, undocumented, baseless, speculation those Christians who try to bring a positive message on Halloween, simply cannot be good Christians, at least not as good as they are God-hating, unfaithful, Satanic witches.

97. If only there was a Bible verse that had something Biblical to say about celebrating holidays that might be pagan, unto the Lord. That would be so helpful. Wait a minute, what is this? Mrs. Blake, in her excellent and thorough hermeneutical masterpiece missed one? Here it is “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:5-6)

98. And finally, this is the hundredth point, do I even really need another argument? Let me get at least one simple baseless assertion, Blake got ten of them of them.

What as the point of this?

I agree, there may be reasons to avoid or tone down your celebration. Use your Christian liberty and conscience. Use your wisdom.  If you feel wrong, don’t. If you don’t want to, don’t.

But please, for the love of God, don’t make stuff up, don’t spread ridiculous lies, don’t argue from ignorance of history. Don’t try to force and shame others for participating. Don’t spread false information. Don’t guilt those who participate. Don’t present Christianity as an ignorant and superstitious religion.

What Blake accuses dissenters of:

1. First, refusing to obey every single Bible verse she quotes.
2. Leaving Jesus and "just a little flirting once a year" with the other guy
3. "ignoring [Holy Spirits] gentle tugging"
4. "evidence of a divided heart — but Jesus wants [the] whole heart."
5. "sugarcoating the evil with smiling pumpkins and sparkly Disney princess costumes"
6. Refusing to " abhor any day designated to celebrate...evil"
7. Refusing to "Abstain from all appearance of evil.
8. "Even though we ourselves may not be involved in the practice of witchcraft, we give credence to" its holiday
9. Refusing to "avoid all pagan rituals and traditions."
10. Being "accustomed to the traditions of men [so much that] we refuse to question them"
11. "Ignor[ing] the fact that this festival in no way honors God"
12. "Celebrat[ing] the very practices God abhors"
13. "Putting a Christian label over the top of a pagan practice [that isnt] pleasing to God."
14. "keep[ing] the ways of the world and sprinkl[ing] Christianity on top"
15. "supping with demons" and thinking "it’s okay to dine with demons — as long as you wear a costume to protect yourself."
16. Refusing to say no to to "Satans festival" because "he’s let us create our own G-rated version that we aren’t as likely to resist."
17. "act[ing] a tad bit naughty when our real identity is hidden. It’s almost as if bad behavior is somehow excused when we are in costume"
18. "prefer[ing] to emulate [the works of darkness] and parad[ing] them on our Facebook pages as if they are somehow deserving of honor"
19. Enabling "some among us [to] decide to act out in real life the fascination with evil we insist on holding dear"
20. "choos[ing] to be entertained by evil,"
21. "camp[ing] out one night a year “for fun” on the side of the enemy."
22. Enabling a "17-year-old []to have] a fascination with dead bodies and decides to act on his morbid desires."
23. "dabble[ing] in the ancient pagan practices of Druid priests"
24. Not giving "thought to the impact our actions might have on others"
25. Presenting "present witchcraft, promiscuity, and the occult in a fun and seductive manner"
26. "opening the door to involvement in those practices in the future"
27. Refusing to "stand up against evil even when our culture says it’s fine"
28. "bobbing for apples in the church basement [as an alternative, which is realy] (a pagan fertility ritual,"
29. Refusing to "be faithful in the small things"
30. Refusing to "focus on what is pure, noble, right, lovely, and admirable"
31. "remember[ing], imitate[ing], and even elevate[ing] ...the works of Satan"
32. Refusing to "say no to glorifying evil in what we do for fun"
33. "join[ing] forces with the world" and becoming "one giant spot with [the world]"
34. Being "so much alike [to the world] no one can tell where the world ends and the Church begins."
35. Neglecting to keep "ourselves pure in the small things
36. "entertain[ing] the macabre and flirt[ing] with the dark side for one day, one week, or one month out of the year"
37. Refusing to "delight in the joy the Lord Himself has set before us"
38. "setting our standards too low"
39. Neglecting to "Seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness,"
40. "believ[ing] Satan’s lie that God was withholding something good from us"
41. "grovel[ing] in the plastic sandbox [of the world]" instead of turning to God
42. Spending "money on an... event that is so dishonoring to God"
43. Making Halloween our treasure and refusing to believe "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
44. Not being certain about drawing the line "draw[ing] the line at Ouija boards"
45. Not denouncing others for "pretending to cast spells"
46. Attempting to put "orange and black sugar coating" on a day "devoted to destruction and in no way honoring to our Father "
47. Refusing to  "hold each other accountable"
48. Causing everyone to "bear the judgment for sin in the camp."
49. Not "truly humbling ourselves and turning from wickedness?"
50. "refus[ing] to surrender in complete obedience to His Word in even the simple act of turning from [Halloween and evil]"
51. "Refusing[ing] to repent and seek God’s wisdom in every aspect of our lives"
52. Causing God to remove "His hand of blessing and protection from this great land."
53. Allowing the "celebration of Halloween [to] become an idol"
54. Neglecting "to be holy, which means to be set apart"
55. "fit[ing] right in with our culture" so that "no one can tell [we are] any different" and by that "doing something wrong."
56. Attempting to "have less up do with darkness than other people do" instead of listening to the Bible where "it says have nothing to do with evil"
57. Refusing to "come out from them and be separate from them" in reference to satanic idol worshipers
58. Giving credence to [the evils of Halloween] in my life and opening [ourselves] to deception."
59. Neglecting to be "open to prayerfully seeking God’s wisdom about the traditions of man."
60. Refusing to "Walk as children of light" instead remaining in "darkness"