Discern

In 1st Samuel 15, we see an instance where the prophet Samuel chastised King Saul, who had been
disobedient in his dealings with a conquered people. We read:
22 So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."

Saul had chosen to disobey, and in so doing, had participated in a practice that was likened to "the sin of witchcraft."  Disobedience puts us on the wrong side, the opposite side, from Almighty God.  The devil tempts us to sin, and if we give in, then we have placed ourselves at odds with God, until we confess our sins and repent.  The devil roams the earth, we are told, and he is bent on destruction - we have to be aware of his schemes to dupe us and to weaken our walk with God.   If we honor the Lord and resist the devil, we can experience the right relationship Jesus came to bring us.

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In Deuteronomy 18, we can see a passage that highlights how we, as followers of the Lord, are to
turn aside from religious or superstitious practices that are contrary to Scripture:
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

Welcome to Halloween - the amalgamation of Christian and pagan traditions.  It's been characterized as a "high holy day," on the Satanic calendar, yet the name means "All Hallow's Eve," the day before the Christian celebration of All Saints Day, which, according to a piece by Travis Allen on the Grace to You website, was a remembrance of church martyrs.   In fact, Allen quoted from another version of that Scripture passage in his article.

Allen points out that as Christianity spread throughout Europe, it collided with some pagan practices, one of which was the Samhain (pronounced "sow" "en") festival which was commemorated around the end of October/first of November period.  The Celts, who resided in Great Britain and other areas of Europe, believed the curtain dividing the living and the dead lifted during Samhain to allow the spirits of the dead to walk among the living—ghosts haunting the earth.

He writes:

Some embraced the season of haunting by engaging in occult practices such as divination and communication with the dead. They sought "divine" spirits (demons) and the spirits of their ancestors regarding weather forecasts for the coming year, crop expectations, and even romantic prospects. Bobbing for apples was one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world's "blessings" on a couple's romance.

For others the focus on death, occultism, divination, and the thought of spirits returning to haunt the living, fueled ignorant superstitions and fears. They believed spirits were earthbound until they received a proper sendoff with treats—possessions, wealth, food, and drink. Spirits who were not suitably "treated" would "trick" those who had neglected them. The fear of haunting only multiplied if that spirit had been offended during its natural lifetime.

Trick-bent spirits were believed to assume grotesque appearances. Some traditions developed, which believed wearing a costume to look like a spirit would fool the wandering spirits. Others believed the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it—the jack-o-lantern.

Pope Gregory IV actually moved the celebration of All Saints Day to November 1 to counter these pagan practices. Samhein and All Hallows Eve actually mixed together - as Allen writes, "On the one hand, pagan superstitions gave way to 'Christianized' superstitions and provided more fodder for fear. People began to understand that the pagan ancestral spirits were demons and the diviners were practicing witchcraft and necromancy. On the other hand, the festival time provided greater opportunity for revelry.

So, there will be debate about whether or not Halloween is a pagan holiday that has been Christianized or a Christian holiday that has been secularized.  Nevertheless, understanding the origins of Halloween can shape the approach to how our families can celebrate it.

This so-called "holiday" (which it's not - if you're employed, did you work today?) can give us the opportunity to consider and even discuss the topic of spiritual warfare.  And, even though there's an organization called the Satanic Temple that claims not to worship Satan, we can acknowledge that there is a real devil who has a plan for your life.

Perhaps you've heard of the after-school clubs planned by this Satanic Temple group.  According to the Marietta Daily Journal out of the Atlanta area:

The Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple, which formed in 2012, is a political group known for attracting headlines for its efforts to get public agencies to adhere to the separation of church and state and equal treatment of all religions, such as trying to install a satanic statue at the Oklahoma Statehouse, reciting a satanic prayer at a Florida city council meeting and performing a ceremony at the gravesite of the mother of the Westboro Baptist Church’s founder.

On Aug. 1, The Satanic Temple announced its intention of opening nine After School Satan Clubs at elementary schools across the nation, including a program at Still Elementary in Powder Springs.

So, plan A seems to be that a school reject the Temple's application as an approved club, but also reject all religious-oriented clubs.  That's based on comments by the head of the organization's Atlanta chapter.  Apparently, the Temple doesn't "worship" Satan, but it "views Satan as a literary symbol of man’s enlightenment," according to its representative. According to the article, he says that "including Satan in the after-school program’s name is a tactic his group uses to attract attention in a way a 'humanist-secular alliance' would not."

The Temple doesn't worship the devil, but it certainly is allied with him.  And, that is a good lesson for all of us on this Halloween.  We may say we reject the devil, but when we succomb to or participate in the activities he wishes for us, then we are acting as a ally in those areas.   If we glorify evil, and even Christian believers must guard against it, we are furthering the devil's work.

We may say that we do not worship the devil...but, if we are not careful, we will become his servants and even his victims.  He is the one who brings temptation into our lives, and we have the choice - to yield to it, or to stand strong in the power of the Spirit. We have to recognize when we are being tempted and rely on the power of Almighty God.

And, there are those who deny the devil's existence or make light of or soft-sell his operation - this is dangerous and imperils the hearts and minds of those who would not be wary of his schemes.  For the believer in Christ, we are instructed to resist him, and he will flee.