Trick-or-Treat?, Part III

Here is my final post on Hallowe'en, starting with its symbolism, as I promised, and then wrapping up the topic as a whole.

To begin, I would like to refer to a point I made in my previous post on magic which is, I think, applicable here: We must remember that the depiction of evil as such is not evil. Performing acts of evil is evil. Revering or worshipping what is evil is evil. But, depicting evil is not evil. It is merely "holding up the mirror to nature," as William Shakespeare once said.

In fact, let's take a look at Shakespeare for the moment. More specifically, the Scottish play, or MacBeth. As the curtain rises on this classic tale of deceit and murder, we find three witches stirring a cauldron to the famous lines, "Double double toil and trouble!" Spooky old crones aside, the subject matter of this play is undoubtedly evil. MacBeth and his wife trick the good king into staying the night only to murder him in cold blood in his bed. And, that's just the beginning of all the bloody power struggles. However, while the subject matter deals with works of evil, the moral of the play is good and just: God and fate favour the righteous, and the wicked are punished for their deeds.

Another good example is C.S. Lewis' classic work of fiction, The Screwtape Letters. Here, our two main characters are demons scheming to lure a man to Hell. Was Lewis evil for writing this work? No. He wrote it as a Christian satire, a fable. Tolkein certainly rebuked Lewis for dabbling in such subject matter, but most Christians today agree that the book is an important work that delves into our sin nature and playfully takes a look at the reality of evil in our midst.

We must ask ourselves what purpose the symbols of Hallowe'en are serving. Are they being used to playfully frighten? To engage our imaginations in acts of fancy? To celebrate the turn of the seasons? There is nothing wrong with any of these motives. What we must be careful of is the use of symbolism to terrorize, to cause harm, or to do anything evil.

Just as the ancient Celts feared, sometimes Hallowe'en gives occassion for evil to walk abroad. I remember the animal shelter near us would not adopt out black cats during the month of October due to reports each year that some sick people were killing the cats on Hallowe'en night. We kept our own black cat locked safely indoors, much to his chagrin.

Symbolism is also very powerful. It works deep in our psyche and subconscious in complex ways. In addition, symbols can mean different things to different people. One example is the color white. Here in the United States, white symbolizes newness and purity. In Japan, it is the color of the dead and of mourning. We must be sensitive to the fact that symbols can affect people differently. Similarly, the supernatural itself can affect people differently. Just as some people are more attuned to their emotions, there are those who are more attuned to the supernatural than others. Choices about exposure to spiritual elements and symbolism must be made in light of this. Likewise, judgments about others' choices on such matters must be made with deference to the fact that such things effect different people differently.

One good example is witchcraft. I was always fascinated with fantasy, and I devoured books with magical tales and elements. To this day, I still love to read such works. To me, books like The Witches, The Lord of the Rings, and yes, Harry Potter are powerful teachers of lessons of good vs. evil--with good triumphing in the end. Having come from cultures steeped in Christian values, these stories are actually wonderful at teaching Christian values--if one can see beyond the symbolism to the humanity beneath. For me, this sort of fantastical witchcraft is merely whimsical. I was drawn to stories about it in the way that young boys are drawn to comic book heroes. But, I have known Christians who were once involved in the occult and fear that any exposure to tales of magic will draw them away from their faith in Christ. For these people, Harry Potter may not be the best choice of reading material.

John Paul Satre once said, "Like all dreamers I confuse disenchantment with truth." Heaven forbid that Christianity should ever become the faith of the disenchanted. There is nothing wrong with imagination and fantasy or with a holiday to celebrate such things. Some people are afraid of fantasy. They fear that fantasy will be confused with truth or that it will eclipse truth with it's magical brilliance. But truth that is truth can never be eclipsed. Real truth will always shine brighter than the most brilliant fancy. The color of the fantasy will not diminish the light of the truth--it will provide a way to celebrate it.

A final controversial note: While our contemporary Hallowe'en celebrations have little or nothing to do with real pagan religions, such as Wicca (in fact, some Wiccans resent the conventional depiction of witches and therefore refuse to celebrate Hallowe'en) there are plenty of Christians who are disturbed by the symbolism this largely secular holiday shares with religions which truly practice witchcraft. I think this prejudice against pagan faiths is something worth addressing.

First, let's be clear: Wicca and other pagan faiths are real religions. They are not some silly thing that a bunch of misguided people cooked up. Ancient Greece, one of the most educated nations in history, had a state sanctioned pagan religion. I had several friends who practiced Wicca in high school, though admittedly, none of them were particularly serious about it. Since then, I have met some more "serious" Wiccans, as well as peoples of many other non-Judeo-Christian faiths, including Buddhism, and Hinduism. As an actor, I have also spent a great deal of time studying the pagan religions of ancient Greece and Rome. I remember once talking about Wicca with a Christian friend in college. He scoffed at a story I was relating about my Wiccan professor and said, "That's not even a religion!" For shame.

Furthermore, while there are those out there who practice evil deeds as a part of their faith, and while we must guard against such things, we must take care not to do so in ignorance. Ignorance is truly a tool of the Devil. We would do well to learn about other faiths, like Wicca, in order to understand what is true about those religions and what is not. Very rarely will we discover that any religion is inherently and completely "evil." If we can examine paganism, acknowledge any beauty or truth that we find there and reject any mistruths or evils we discover, we are less likely to run the risk of becoming superstitious about such faiths. Moreover, we will more able to befriend, minister to, and evangelize to those we meet who practice such religions.

We needn't fear finding truth in unexpected places. Recognizing the wisdom of the Buddha will not make me a Buddhist or tempt me to deny Jesus anymore than recognizing the wisdom of J.R.R. Tolkein will make me a hobbit...much as I might like to live in a cozy hole in the ground.

Notice what Paul, often so harsh in his condemnation of sin, has to say about the judgment of non-Christians:

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside..." (1 Corinthians 5:12-13, emphasis my own)

As that controversial day of magic and ghosts approaches, let us remember not to judge. If you don't want to celebrate Hallowe'en, that's fine! Whoever heard of forcing someone to have fun? But, do not judge those of us who choose to celebrate. If you condemn our celebration in the name of Christ, you are likely to cause the dreamers of this world to mistake the Truth of your faith for the disenchantment of Satre.

So, whether you spend October 31st bobbing for apples, passing out candy at a church "Harvest Fest," trick-or-treating, staying in to watch a scary movie, or none of the above, may your choices for the day bring you peace, and may you have a safe and healthy Hallowe'en...or Reformation Day or Samhain or All Saints Vigil or...