Amongst Christians, the subject of halloween is a pretty divisive one. Usually each person will fall into one of two camps: full participation or flat-out rejection.
Can Halloween be redeemed?
The prayer of Jesus in John 17, however, is that we are united. This is often called the Great Unanswered Prayer. So in light of this, is there a third approach to halloween?
It may come as news that a number of holidays are built on pagan traditions. Christmas and Easter are celebrated at times of the year that pagans would have worshipped deities. But rather than crushing those, the Church had a great way of redeeming some practices in ways that instead pointed to Jesus.
So how do we open our doors and tables to people we may not agree with and find reconciliation and truth within the different traditions?