Halloween

I have made a BIG mistake. Beverly and I are leaving this afternoon for Houston, where she will lead a ladies' retreat at my son, Josh's, church. We are going to have to leave our dog with the pet-store owner here in Decatur. I am so attached to this dog now -- I'm not sure I can make it until Sunday. I should have waited until Monday to get her in the 1st place.

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Tuesday is Halloween. This is a day that has become a topic of (sometimes heated) discussion. I can remember when I was growing up in Mississippi, Halloween was a blast. We would head out with our paper grocery store sacks about dusk. By 8 PM, we would have about 10 pounds of candy. It would last us until Christmas.

We never thought of it as a religious celebration. Not once were we tempted to worship dead saints. It is only in adulthood that I have come to be warned of the "evils" of Halloween.

I recognize that the day has its roots in some pretty unsavory stuff. But current context should carry more weight than the historical -- in my opinion. I mean, should we stop celebrating Thanksgiving because it actually ushered in the mistreatment of Native Americans? And the 4th of July: If one of the 50 states today declared independence from the US, would we consider that something to celebrate? Or would we consider that treason? The celebration of Christmas and Easter have questionable roots as well.

I'm not trying to tell anyone who is opposed to celebrating Halloween that they are wrong. I think this is a Romans 14 issue. I just think that sometimes we Christians hurt our witness by being opposed to things that the world is going, "Huh? It's about candy and a little 'Boo'."

Oh, I long for simpler days -- before the days of Political Correctness.