Comments on: Halloween and Evangelical Identity

By: Melvin Wells

Melvin Wells — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:06:53 +0000

I think Halloween and Evangelical identity is the religious information. It will be useful to anybody who want to know about an evangelical is a fundamentalist whose kids dress up for Halloween.

By: Hintergrundinformationen und christliche Beurteilung von Halloween | lgvgh – ein Blog von Viktor Janke

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:01:16 +0000

[...] Halloween and Evangelical Identity – Halloween und die Evangelikalen. [...]

By: The Wiles of Works Righteousness- Credo Magazine

The Wiles of Works Righteousness- Credo Magazine — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 05:40:49 +0000

[...] dress up our kids as Zwingli and Bucer for ‘Reformation Day,’” (compliments of Russ Moore) that we wouldd spent some time reflecting on the magnificence of justification by faith alone. In [...]

By: Keren Threlfall

Keren Threlfall — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:27:42 +0000

And then there’s the ultra-separated fundamentalist who is a fundamentalist who turns out the lights and hides in the basement during neighborhood trick-or-treating. (That’s what my family did during my childhood. Don’t tell me we were the only ones… :))

By: Rev. Allan Eckert

Rev. Allan Eckert — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:02:34 +0000

A true evangelical is a Lutheran who knows that October 31 is really Reformation Day!

By: News, Reviews, and Other Stuff | Church at the Cross

News, Reviews, and Other Stuff | Church at the Cross — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 17:42:46 +0000

[...] Johnson offers his rationale for taking his kids trick-or-treating here, and Russell Moore takes a more humorous look at various Christian responses to Halloween and how they related to evangelical [...]

By: Sharon Shearer

Sharon Shearer — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:36:14 +0000

@Kim Ransleben, Ouch - I’m recognizing myself.

By: K

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:28:42 +0000

@Kim Ransleben, yes!!!! My parents are the ones who made us hide and leave the neighborhood on Halloween, but now they like us to dress up our kids and go trick or treating LOL!

By: Keri P

Keri P — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:25:37 +0000

My emerging church friends have 4 kids :-)

By: Trunk or Treat and Salt & Light on Halloween! | From Law to Grace

Trunk or Treat and Salt & Light on Halloween! | From Law to Grace — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:01:07 +0000

[...] at least according to Dr. Russell Moore’s identification system outlined in his recent post, “Halloween and Evangelical Identity”: An evangelical is a fundamentalist whose kids dress up for [...]

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:47:21 +0000

@Denise, by this line of logic Jehovah’s Witnesses are New Testament believers and Christmas is “just another day”, as Christ was almost surely not actually born on December 25. Holidays are for remembering something (Reformation Day) or celebrating in fun and innocent ways (Halloween in its healthy context for believers).

By: John K

John K — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:27:41 +0000

@Denise: Romans 14:5 “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:50:25 +0000

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

Note that it doesn’t say, “The ones who consider every day alike are the right kind of Christians (i.e. ‘New Testament believers’) and the ones who don’t are wrong.”

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:36:20 +0000

@Denise,

Lighten up. God did give us a sense of humor.

By: Voting and Evangelical Identity | Tota Scriptura

Voting and Evangelical Identity | Tota Scriptura — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:05:04 +0000

[...] Russell Moore has a great post, Halloween and Evangelical Identity, where he identifies the various sectors [...]

By: Hallowing Halloween and Hell House Madness | The Wartburg Watch 2012

Hallowing Halloween and Hell House Madness | The Wartburg Watch 2012 — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:53:16 +0000

[...] gospel and biblical gender roles to write a humorous post called Halloween and Evangelical Identity here. Don’t say I have never said a nice thing about [...]

By: Yuriy S

Yuriy S — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:07:27 +0000

This is hilarious beyond words. I come from a Russian Pentecostal background, where everyone is hyper-fundamentalist, aka asking trick or treaters “So did you always like worshiping the devil.” Just yesterday I wrote an article about it on my website and was accused of “poisoning” the local Slavic speaking community.

By: Nick Kennicott

Nick Kennicott — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:52:20 +0000

@Stuart, Me too - that was fantastic!

By: Keith Wiebe

Keith Wiebe — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:43:54 +0000

Great article! (but where do the “Trunk or Treater’s” fit?

By: Joel Tetreau

Joel Tetreau — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:40:41 +0000

Hey bro - this is/was hillarious from a “Type b fundamentalist” - I fit into two or three of these categories - I’ll have to talk to myself about that. God bless and Straight Ahead!

Dr. Joel Tetreau
Senior Pastor
Southeast Valley Baptist Church
Gilbert, AZ

By: Doug Adamson

Doug Adamson — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:28:59 +0000

Gave me a chuckle. Thanks!

By: Tim Sadler

Tim Sadler — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:02:51 +0000

Great read Dr. Moore! I suppose I’m a fundamentalist (for Halloween) who is not a Fundamentalist (theologically).

By: The Halloween Spectrum – Understanding the Evangelical Community « …Seeking a Generation…

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:01:30 +0000

[...] See the original article here. [...]

By: What to do with Halloween | robfaircloth.com

What to do with Halloween | robfaircloth.com — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:34:52 +0000

[...] Moore has a good article about Halloween and how people of different Christian persuasions treat it. See where you fit on [...]

By: Kim Ransleben

Kim Ransleben — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:26:32 +0000

Some friends of mine and I were talking and decided we’d like another category…

A grandparent evangelical is one who made you hand out tracts at the door but want their grandkids to dress up so they can take them trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.

By: Denise

Denise — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:23:21 +0000

And a New Testament believer is one who does not recognize Oct. 31st in any way. It’s just another day!

By: Forward Progress » Blog Archive » Halloween and Evangelical Identity

Forward Progress » Blog Archive » Halloween and Evangelical Identity — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:21:46 +0000

[...] Posted by MK | Filed under Just for Fun, Pop Culture var addthis_product = ‘wpp-263′; var addthis_config = {”data_track_clickback”:true,”data_track_addressbar”:false};if (typeof(addthis_share) == “undefined”){ addthis_share = [];}Thanks, Dr. Moore, for this helpful and clarifying post: [...]

By: David

David — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:17:54 +0000

I brought my kid to a church Halloween event dressed as a ghost and the first question I received was, “Is he supposed to be the ‘Holy Ghost’?” This is exactly why I dressed him as a ghost.

By: OFelixCulpa

OFelixCulpa — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:10:09 +0000

Russ,

Some things you must either laugh about or cry over. “Evangelical identity” one of them. Thanks for the laugh.

By: Flotsam and jetsam (10/31) | Everyday Theology

Flotsam and jetsam (10/31) | Everyday Theology — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:04:53 +0000

[...] Halloween and Evangelical Identity: An Emerging Church evangelical is a fundamentalist who has no kids, but who dresses up for Halloween anyway. [...]

By: Lauren

Lauren — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:38:57 +0000

Yeah, I’ve been through a few versions, too (and I’m single). Right now, it’s just me dressing up and handing out candy to the kids (and asking educational questions to the ones who shouldn’t be there).

By: Stuart

Stuart — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:25:20 +0000

“An Emerging Church evangelical is a fundamentalist who has no kids, but who dresses up for Halloween anyway.”

I literally laughed out loud at this.

By: Wednesday Gumbo: Best & Worst, a Romney Landslide, and What not to Do When You’re Drunk | Mark Moore

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:05:28 +0000

[...] Are you a fundamentalist? An evangelical? Do you even know? In Halloween and Evangelical Identity, Russell Moore makes use of halloween to show us the [...]

By: Christie

Christie — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:34:07 +0000

Very true! And it made me laugh, so bonus points. I think I’ve been through several versions in my lifetime. From hiding in the basement with all the lights off to dressing up as bible characters for the “Harvest Festival” at church to tracts and now taking my kids out but banning all things creepy. Oh, and I watch the Office.

By: Rose Anne Thornburg

Rose Anne Thornburg — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:32:21 +0000

In the rest of the world (not USA) a fundamentalist is usually considered to be an Islamic extremist. We definitely avoid using that term to refer to our beliefs in regard to the fundamentals of the faith.

By: Halloween and Evangelical Identity

Halloween and Evangelical Identity — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:05:15 +0000

[...] at s the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article appeared on Dr. Moore’s Blog, Moore to the Point, and is used with [...]

By: Frederick W. Harrison

Frederick W. Harrison — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 03:10:22 +0000

Where does someone who dresses up for Hallowe’en in a monk’s cassock with cross (not crucifix) around neck, plays Bach organ music and Gregorian chant as kid’s approach, yet hands out candy fit on the spectrum? And how would you classify him? I was attempting to reclaim the All Hallow’s Eve aspect (i.e. the night before All Saint’s Day) and remind those who showed up at the door that there are Christian roots in the celebration of this evening. (see wikipedia) Some of the kids were confused because I wasn’t dressed to scare - or maybe they don’t know what a monk is. One comment I received from a youth who must have watched The Apprentice was “You’re fired!” I know a RC family whose kids dressed up as the saints they were named after but I think they attended a Hallowe’en alternative at their church.
I have contemplated carving a cross shape into a pumpkin and writing (carving?) the words “No guilt in life, no fear in death” around it but figured the words were too obscure a reference for the general public to get. Wasn’t sure how a cross illuminated by a burning candle would be received as well - might be confused with a burning cross which would cause no end of problems.
But how can we show the “light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” to the world on an evening that celebrates darkness and evil and proclaims at the very least, a duality of good and evil, or, at the extreme, the supremacy of evil over good?

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:36:06 +0000

Yes, I too am wondering where we fit in. We never really acknowledged the day as any different than any other day.

By: Brent Walker

Brent Walker — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:16:10 +0000

I laughed out loud in my office reading this. I know people in each one of these categories. Thanks for the lighthearted fun.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:02:02 +0000

Wow! I really am a fundamentalist. Bring on the gospel tracts.

By: Autumn Holidays | Pushing a Feather

Autumn Holidays | Pushing a Feather — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:09:07 +0000

[...] Russell Moore takes a stab at defining evangelicals through the lens of Halloween. [...]

By: Tom De Lasa

Tom De Lasa — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:02:59 +0000

Ha! Great read! Thank you.
Now trying to figure out where I fit!

By: Clint McBroom

Clint McBroom — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:57:04 +0000

A very keen and humorous observation! My 5 year-old daughter goes to a non-denominational Christian school, and my wife and I have seen the various reactions from other parents when we talk about taking our daughter trick-or-treating.

By: Adam Winters

Adam Winters — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:54:30 +0000

I’d say all those definitions are generally accurate!

By: Jacob Lupfer

Jacob Lupfer — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:53:29 +0000

Very clever. On the definition of the almost-useless term “evangelical,” I’ve often heard “A fundamentalist who’s not pissed off.” As an operative definition, this usually works for my purposes: “A person who believes that everyone who is not an evangelical is going to burn eternally in the fiery pits of Hell.”

I deal a lot with polling data, and increasingly find the evangelical/mainline distinction wanting. For instance, many evangelicals prefer moderate-to-liberal political policies. And many mainliners are doctrinally orthodox.

Oh, and Mainline Protestant churches have “Fall” and “Harvest” Festivals, too!