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Halloween has been a popular, and overly commercialized, pseudo-holiday in the United States for more than a century. But many Christians have protested the tradition, claiming the pseudo-demonic nature of Halloween, as well as its pagan roots, makes it something Christians ought to abstain from participating in. Is abstinence the best approach? Should Christians participate in any Halloween festivities or not?

In this episode, Kenny answers this question directly by pointing out that there are many different viable approaches to cultural traditions such as Halloween. Kenny also makes clear that his own approach is to use these sorts of events and traditions as an opportunity to prayerfully and intentionally penetrate the culture with Gospel-centered and redemptive purposes.

Recommended

Thoughts on Halloween (video from John Piper)

Open the Door to Halloween (article by Jonathan Parnell)

Kenneth Ortiz

Kenneth E. Ortiz (M.Div.) is a professor and recruiter at Bethlehem College and a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, MN. He has 15+ years of vocational ministry experience. He’s also a podcaster, author, and Ph.D. student. Kenneth lives in Bloomington, MN with his wife Malaina, they have one daughter.