Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 514 | Halloween: Satanic Trick or Harmless Treat?

Episode Date: October 28, 2021

Today we're talking about Halloween and the variety of views that Christians have on the "holiday." Although it is a celebration of death and not a Christian holiday, we shouldn't pass up an opportunity to share the Gospel with nonbelievers. Then, we answer some of your questions on topics like motherhood and homesteading. --- Timecodes: (0:00) Intro (2:24) 3 ways Christians view Halloween (16:43) Allie takes some audience questions --- Today's Sponsors: Annie's Kit Clubs has launched their latest subscription, Genius Box — your curious kids will get a new box bursting with three (3) hands-on activities to explore an exciting STEM theme. Go to AnniesKitClubs.com/ALLIE & save 50% off your first box! Good Ranchers have traveled the U.S. & met with the actual farmers that raise the livestock to ensure the beef and better-than-organic chicken they are sending to your table is the very best. Go to GoodRanchers.com/ALLIE to place a one-time order or subscribe & save 20% off each box! Plus, use promo code 'ALLIE' at checkout to get an additional $20 off & free express shipping. Alliance Defending Freedom will challenge the private employer vaccine mandate in court if it's enacted, but they need your help to protect our cherished freedoms from government overreach. Join the large group of supporters at ADFLegal.org/ALLIE & make your donation today! --- Past Episodes Mentioned: Ep 170: Is It OK to Celebrate Halloween? | Guest: Lisa Simmons (Allie's mom) https://apple.co/3boZaYA Ep 177: Personality Tests https://apple.co/3vRQ6oO Ep 211: The Dangers of the New Age | Guest: Doreen Virtue https://apple.co/3jM1H3Q Ep 424: Should We Beware of the Enneagram? | Q&A https://apple.co/3jKX7Ty --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed.

You can watch this D-Day Show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Hey guys. Welcome to Relatable. Happy Thursday. If you're watching on YouTube and you've got deja vu because I'm in the same shirt that I was yesterday. Yes, I am.

I am. It's Carly Jean Los Angeles, by the way. If you're looking for a great business to support with great clothes, you should definitely go to Carly Jean, Los Angeles.com. I love them and I love their clothes. the reason I'm wearing the same shirt is because I'm recording this on Wednesday. And I didn't have time because we're doing a quick turnaround thing. But today we are going to talk about Halloween. Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Now, I did answer this question. I think it was back in

2019. I actually interviewed my mom. Now that was back when relatable, literally. Wow, we've come a long way. We were in my living room. Like without any lights or anything like that, we just used the brilliant light of day and I sat on my couch and I don't even know if we like passed between my mom and me too different or like a microphone. I don't even know how it worked. But you guys loved the episode because my mom is awesome and she's super creative and we talked about different ways to share the gospel on Halloween. And I'm going to talk a little bit more about that today. But I want to make sure that I give air to the different perspectives about Halloween because I do understand that among faithful Christians, there are different ways to look at this, or at least there are different

ways that Christians do look at this. And I'm not saying all three are valid, or I shouldn't say that, but that all three are right, or all three are equally biblical. But these are all three representative, I think, of what a lot of Christians think. And maybe there's some fourth option out there, but these are the three that I could really boil it down to. After we talk about that, I will answer some questions. I really wanted to dive into the Reformation today because October 31st is also Reformation Day. I will touch on it a little bit, but I don't have time to get all into that today. Maybe I'll talk about it on Monday if you guys want me to, but we've like really kind of taken a break off of heavy news this week. And so if you want me to talk about more COVID stuff on Monday, I'll also do that. Just let me know. All right, let's look at these three perspectives that I think represent what Christians think about Halloween. So there's one way to look at Halloween. The first way is who the heck cares? Who cares about Halloween? They're bigger fish to fry. There are bigger things to think about. There are bigger problems that we are facing. There are bigger theological disagreements that we have, bigger things to tackle.

You might think, you know, I celebrated Halloween as a kid. I turned out fine. Let's not be fuddy-duddy, fundamentalist. I'm going to let my child trick-or-treat, dress up like a vampire, whatever, it's really not a big deal. And maybe you really enjoy all of that stuff. And so you don't think that it's a problem. The second way that I think that we can think about this is that you could shield your child from Halloween as completely as possible. And you could say, well, it's a night to worship Satan. It's a glorification of death, of decay, of darkness, of despair. And there is no benefit to my child's heart, mind, or spirit to introduce them to that kind of glorification. You could think that you could say no trick or treating, no acknowledgement of the day.

It's just another damn fall. We don't even say the word Halloween. We call it, you know, harvest or autumn or whatever. And you might go look at pumpkins, but that's it. Or better yet, you just say, nope, this is Reformation Day. It's only about Martin Luther publicizing his 95 thesis. his complaints against the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation was born with Reformation Day and maybe that's the only thing that you even acknowledge that is special about October 31st.

Now, there is a third way, I think, and this is the way that I tend to lean. A nuanced approach, if you will, as much as I think that that word sometimes is overused and misused by people who are just confused. Nuance in itself isn't bad. My stance on nuance is that we should always be. be pursuing the truth. Sometimes the truth is nuanced. Sometimes it's not. But if you're pursuing nuanced, then sometimes you miss that which is true. That's maybe another episode for another day. But here's my more nuanced approach to Halloween. Halloween is a celebration of fear,

of death, and of decay. It is. It is not a celebration of that which is good and right and true. Now, whether or not it is actively Satan worship, I'm not so sure about. I do think it's a glorification of that which is not good and right and true. And there are a few passages that speak to this. I'll just read two specifically. One is Ephesians 5, 7 through 11 and verses 15 through 16 that says, therefore do not become partners with them. He's talking about the sons of disobedience that Ephesians 2 talks about that says we were all one sons of disobedience. We were all under the authority of the prince of the power of the air of Satan. And Ephesians 5, 7 is saying, therefore do not become partners with them.

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. We also talked about this on Tuesday. Walk as children of light. No, on Monday. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Well, carefully then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. So I think it's a good question. Is it the best use of my family's time, of my child's mind, is it the best stewardship of their heart and mind and spirit to introduce them to what is incontrovertibly dark? Then there's Philippians 4, 8 through 9. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there's any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things. And the God of peace will be with you. So I'm just speaking honestly

that I don't necessarily apply that standard to every part of my life. Like there was a time when I would listen to murder podcasts and mystery podcasts that were very dark and made me very afraid. And what's the point of that? Really, like what benefit does that have to my mind? And yet I did that we were watching you, that very scary, like serial murder series. We're not watching it anymore. But we were watching it. That does not meet the standard of Philippians 4-8-9. The Sopranos, one of my favorite series of all times, definitely does not meet the standard of Philippians 4-8-3-9. So I don't want it to sound like I am, well, I guess I just want to talk about the fact that I don't apply that perfectly. However, that is the standard that we are to strive for. And I'm not sure if

celebrating all the death and decayed Halloween represents meets that standard either. And I think we should all be asking for the power to resist any form of the glorification of darkness and sin. That cuts out a lot of the content that we consume. Now, I still think with those verses in mind, what Halloween is and represents in mind, I still think there is a way to take part in some of the fun of the day without celebrating darkness. Christians are in the business of redemption. We are in the business of making right and good the things which the world has made bad. Now, not everything I don't think can be repurposed because maybe it's a sin in and of itself. It's wrong. There's just no way to try to redefine it or finagle it so that it is different and glorifying to God.

And I've also talked about in the cases of things like the Enneagram and yoga, these are two things that I don't take apart in. And my mind has changed in that over time. I didn't used to feel that way because I feel that it's very hard to separate those two tools from its spiritual origins and intent. I will link both episodes. I've done on those two things where I've thoroughly explains my change of heart and change of mind, according to scripture on them.

I do hold those views confidently yet loosely, not believing that these are salvation, affecting issues, and yet I was convinced through prayer in my reading of scripture that these are not things that I want to repurpose or redeem. But there are parts of Halloween that I do believe can be redeemed and repurposed because, for example, candy is not glorification of darkness. Many costumes are not glorification of darkness. So can your child dress up in, say, a poodle skirt, eat candy with her friends, and maybe trick or treat at the houses that don't have a bunch of blood and, you know, like gravestones and zombies and skeletons all over them? I think so. Or depending on how old your kids are, maybe this is an opportunity to talk to your kids about death and why we don't glorify it, but also why it's nothing to fear for the Christian.

It's certainly an opportunity, and not every aspect of Halloween is glorifying the darkness. Not everything violates that Philippians for passage. Now, I don't have any judgment or any condemnation against parents who say, you know what, it's just too hard to try to kind of separate my kids from the darkness that it represents. And so it's just easier if we don't celebrate it at all. If we don't go trick-or-treating, if we don't even talk about it, that's fine. Like, I don't have any judgment about the second option that I was talking about. I do think that there's a problem with saying that there's nothing wrong with Halloween, that we have no responsibility to protect our child's eyes and mind and that we should not be at least trying to reach the standard

through the power of the Holy Spirit of Philippians 4. I think the time is coming gone for parents to be apathetic and flip it really about anything that their child consumes. And it's not only social media in places like YouTube or, you know, school where kids can be consuming harmful content. It can even be in, again, the glorification and the normalization of the, demonic satanic and the dark. Last year, we saw it as an opportunity to share the gospel with people who came to our house. So we put the candy in little baggies with a strip of paper with the Bible verse and the gospel on it. My mom has done the same thing in the past. She also makes these awesome signs with Bible verses that she turns into upon like whosoever calls upon the name of the

Lord and will be saved and like, oh, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. And so she's made, she's super creative. She's very artsy. I am not. I did not inherit that from my mom, but she has had these signs made that are so awesome. And I'll post them on Instagram so you can see for yourself. Maybe you can get inspired. Those of you who are artistic out there, you can put those signs in your yard. Some of you have since you listened to the podcast that I did with my mom a couple years ago, you made your own signs, and that's just warmed my heart. It's warmed my mom's heart, too. So I think that Halloween can be an opportunity. It can be an opportunity to talk about the gospel and the lack of fear of death that the gospel gives us with our kids. It can be an opportunity to share

the gospel to show hospitality and generosity to your neighbors. But I don't think that it's necessary to be hospitable and generous and share the gospel with your neighbors if you're someone who doesn't want to take part in it. I am all for just the fall festival, the harvest season, season, the pumpkin season, and all of that. I think that's fine. What I do think is wrong. What I do think is untypical is simply being laissez-faire about it and not thinking that the demonic has any power and not thinking that even decor. No, I don't think it's going to, you know, like that your child is going to become demon disaster, that they're not going to be saved or anything like that. I don't think that. If they see Halloween, scary Halloween costumes and

decorations. That's not what I'm saying, but I am saying that it's a bigger deal than I think a lot of Christians think and that we should just be thinking twice about it. And rather than just doing exactly what the secular world does when it comes to decor, when it comes to dressing up, when it comes to trick-or-treating, let's at least take this as an opportunity to show some redemption and to share the gospel and share generosity with the people around us. I also am super excited to celebrate Reformation Day. I don't know what we're going to do. but you guys know I'm like hardcore Protestant. And every time I get, every time I put a question box up on Instagram, I love, love,

love my Catholic friends, by the way. And I love all of my Catholic listeners. But I just like love the Reformation. I, you know, I've totally, I adhere to reformed theology. Five Solas, all that. We've done episodes on all of that good stuff. And so I love Reformation Day. I love learning about the Reformation.

I don't remember really learning about it growing up, but I love the history of Protestantism. And every time I put a question box up, I get a question from a beloved Catholic follower or listener saying, why aren't you Catholic? It's because I'm Protestant. So I will talk about that more on Monday if that's something that you guys are interested in. Don't hate me Catholic listeners. I'm sorry. Some of you have even asked me to come to Mass with you.

I've turned down your invitation, although I've. I appreciate it. There are so many Catholic thinkers and writers and influencers and commentators and pro-life advocates and listeners and followers who I really love. So no hard feelings, but I am a Protestant because I believe in Protestantism, namely justification by faith alone. Again, another podcast for another day. So I think we will.

I think we will celebrate some Reformation Day, some Reformation Day stuff. maybe, I don't know, if I come up with any ideas for how to celebrate it, I'll let you know. But I'm sure there are some ideas out there. I've seen some stuff on social media over the past couple years for what people do to celebrate it with their child. And so I think that'd be fun. Like I think churches should do that. Protestant churches should be doing that.

Like you should have like a Reformation celebration. It is a day that is totally worth celebration for Protestant churches. And so I think that churches should facilitate that more. Again, I don't even remember hearing about it. or learning about it growing up, why isn't that a holiday for Protestant Christians? Like, come on. So maybe we should start that. Maybe relatable listeners should start that.

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard question.

and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. All right. So I'm going to take a few questions from you guys.

You sent me some on Instagram, so I'm going to take a few minutes. This is going to be a shorter episode, right at 30 minutes. And so for the next few minutes, I'm going to be taking some of the questions that you guys sent me, sent me all kinds of questions on Instagram. I guarantee you one of the questions is, why are you Protestant? I won't be answering that since I just addressed it. But, okay, someone asked me first trimester nausea all day, every day. What helped you? Oh, I'm so sorry about the nausea, but congratulations.

Congratulations on being pregnant. It gets better. So I didn't have a ton of nausea, either pregnancy. I did just, like, not feel great. It's kind of that, oh, I don't really want to eat and I don't really want coffee. And if I don't want coffee, that's kind of like, that's a big deal. That's a big deal. And so I could kind of tell that I was pregnant maybe a little bit before I knew I was

pregnant. Actually, I don't know. I took a pregnancy test the second time, like, write it four weeks. So I didn't really have a moment to realize I was pregnant before I knew I was pregnant. But I remember not feeling great. For me, that lasts until like 16 weeks. It might not last that long for you.

It could be after 12 weeks that you feel better. It could be like 20 weeks. Some people feel bad the whole time. Most people don't. Most people feel much better after the first trimester. And really for me, like the best weeks of pregnancy were probably from like 25 to 32 weeks. Then you start getting uncomfortable. Then the waddle comes on.

And then you can't turn over in the middle of the. night without waking up. So that discomfort comes like towards the end at the last semester. Then there's a lot of discomfort in the first and the first trimester. But then, you know, right there in the middle, right there in the middle, it is, it's better. So at least have that to look forward to. I really like pink stork products. They don't sponsor the show, unfortunately. But I really like all their products. I use their prenatal vitamins. Your prenatal vitamins also might be making you nauseous. So make sure these don't make me nauseous. I like Pinkstoric prenatal vitamins. They're postnatal vitamins. They also have these little

lozenges that are supposed to help with morning sickness that I would take or that I would have every morning. And so, and there's different kinds of tea. I think that Pink Storic also has some tea that you can buy that can help with nausea. Carbs. You probably want carbs. So that's good. I would eat, you know, biscuits and bread, toast, things, things like that. That'll be helpful to you. If something doesn't sound good, don't eat it. It's fine. If something does sound good, then it's okay to indulge in that. Maybe you don't indulge in everything like I did, but it's okay to be a little bit looser and just to eat what your body needs and what you actually want because it's still important for you to be gaining weight and consuming calories and things like that. It'll help you feel better too

if you can get something down. So that is my, that's my tip on that. How do I get my millennial daughter back to Jesus? Well, I have a comforting thing to say and maybe a little bit of a frightening thing to say. One of the comforting things that I'm going to, well, it's the same thing, but it could be seen as comforting or frightening, that God is completely sovereign over your child's salvation, that God is going to do what he wants to do, that God is in charge of your daughter's eternal destiny. And if he wants to turn her heart of stone into a heart of flesh, he is going to do that, and his grace is irresistible. And so that's comforting for you because ultimately, you are not in control of your child's eternal destiny. Now, he has also,

he has also ordained that we pray for those who need prayer. He has also ordained that prayer is a tool that's actually effective, that actually works, something that he calls us to as an act of obedience, but also the book of James says that the prayer of a righteous person has great power. And so when you're praying, you're actually doing something and really this mysterious way that we as finite human beings don't understand. So God is completely sovereign, and yet he is calling us to share the gospel and to pray. It's a little bit, it's a little bit strange. And yet that is clearly what scripture lays out. And so you pray for her. You continue to share the gospel with her. You continue to love and accept her and embrace her and let her know how much you love her.

but ultimately you understand and you trust and you rest in the fact that God is totally in control of her heart and of her soul. And he is faithful and he is good, no matter what. And so you direct your attention towards him and worshiping and trusting him. Someone asks, I'm in California. I want to move to give my kids a better life, what states are doing it right. I am hearing this a lot. Some people ask me, should I stay in my liberal state? Should I move from my liberal state? And it's really difficult. It's really difficult to make that decision.

I do think that a place, I mean, there are a lot of different red states. There's Arkansas. There's Oklahoma. There's South Carolina. There's Florida, Georgia. I still think is a pretty red state. There's Alabama. Texas.

I know some people fear the Texas will turn purple. Maybe, maybe not. But those states need more conservative people to go there and to enjoy. sure that it stays red. All right. Next question. Someone said, is it bad to work for a political party if you're a Christian? No, I definitely don't think so.

Now, you don't want to compromise on your values. Politics can be a very dirty business. And so you want to make sure that you are walking in integrity. And if there is ever a moment where it comes to, it comes to your faith or, you know, doing whatever the campaign asks you to do that you don't. think is honorable or that you think wouldn't glorify God or you think is a sin, then obviously you choose to walk away from that. But we need, we need salt in light. We need salt in light in politics. Politics matter because policy matters because people matter. So we need Christians

in politics, in culture, making a difference, influencing people with the light of Christ. my next question is holiday traditions to start with young kids so we kind of talked about Reformation Day. I think that would be really fun. I want to I really want to have traditions with my kids surrounding the holidays and ensuring that we are bringing everything Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Reformation Day. Every holiday that we possibly can, we can bring it to rejoice in the Lord and the blessings that he's given us, the freedom that we have in Christ, everything can be centered on the gospel. That's what our job is as Christian parents to lay that foundation, that biblical worldview so that everything they see, they make sense of using

scripture and using the gospel of Christ. And so I don't have specific traditions for you. A lot of you guys are way more creative than I am, so you can come up with those specific traditions. My mom always did a birthday party for Jesus at Christmas where she would invite neighbors and people in her community and we would do all these different crafts and make sure that the celebration was about Jesus. Like she would have a birthday cake and all of that. As you can tell, my mom is very creative and is very gospel-centered. And so she's really good at all of that. So so many different things, so many different things that we can do to make sure that we are sharing the gospel both with our kids and the people around us. Other, let's see, other questions that I have.

or that someone sent me, Braves or Astros? Okay, I know that I'm from Texas and so you might think that I am rooting for the Houston Astros, but I'm not because Houston, ble. I am from Dallas. And, you know, Dallas and Houston, they kind of have it out for each other. They kind of have a rivalry. And my husband's family is all from Georgia. My husband's a Braves fan. So I would actually rather root for the Braves than Houston. I'm so sorry. It's not that. I'm not that. I don't love you, Houstonians, but I feel that it is against my deeply held beliefs to root for the Astros. And so I'm not going to do that. I'm going to root for the Braves. I actually, I've been to when the Rangers, when the Texas Rangers were in the, they were in the World Series

against St. Louis, I think. I went to the World Series in college with my dad. And it was, it was pretty cool. All right. Okay. My thoughts. on homesteading. I was just talking to a friend about this. I was just texting her about this a couple nights ago and saying how I really want to be a homesteader and I'm not. I'm not. I don't have that natural ability. However, I started following some homesteaders and I really want to start trying. So I actually had this idea the other night that maybe I can get a group of women who live close to me. Maybe we can have different chapters around the country. I always have

these ideas very few times. Do I follow through with it? But maybe someone else will. when they hear this idea. Like have different chapters around the country of women who once a month, they take some kind of homesteading class or they go to a farm and they learn how to make jam or they go and they learn how to make cheese or milk a cow or so or something like that, something that can prep you. I don't like to say prepping because it has a negative kind of apocalyptic, crazy person connotation, although I do follow people who are very prepared, and I have no problem with that

whatsoever. But sometimes other people think of, you know, people as crazy for preparing, which I don't think is crazy at all. I actually think it's very Proverbs 31, that we are supposed to prepare for hard times. And so also we can be generous to the people around us who haven't been as prepared. So I think it would be really fun to have a group of women who every month we go, we go learn from someone who has prepared and who can teach us different ways to prepare, to organize, to all of the supplies and the food that you've stored, so many possibilities. Maybe that's already out there. So if you know of something that already exists like that, I want to join it because I want to be a homesteader. I told my husband, I said, you picked a bad apocalypse wife. Like,

I'm not an apocalypse wife. If, if, I mean, if things really hit the fan and things get, you know, zombie apocalypse, like, the only thing I can do is host a podcast. So I'm going to be out there in our little tunnel in our little, you know, cellar, whatever we have. And I'm just going to be like, let's just talk about the fact that we're getting attacked by China. That's the only, that's the only skill that I have. So I'm hoping to change that. And I'm hoping to be able to actually prepare in some way just in case, just in case things happen. If, you know, the supply chain things, they keep on getting worse, people need to be prepared. And so, I don't know, just an idea I have. I love homesteading. I hope I answered some of your questions thoroughly, and I hope I answered some of your questions about Halloween as well.

All right, that's all I've got time for today. We will be back here on Monday. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular.

This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.