Recently, I was listening to the radio and it seems a local Methodist church is putting on some activities for Halloween. There will be food and crafts for the kiddies and dressing up and lantern making, even a bit of trick and treating. Nothing new there then, except that the reason they are doing this is to challenge the fact that although once a ‘bit of fun’ Halloween is getting worryingly darker and they wished to challenge this by ‘bringing in the light through the love of Jesus’.
This is complete misunderstanding of what this time of year is really about and they have pretty much got it right but for all the wrong reasons. I was brought up a Christian and I have the greatest respect for both the path and the followers, but it never ceases to amaze me how often they can crowbar Jesus in to any situation on the flimsiest of contexts and this is no exception.