{"id":789,"date":"2019-10-28T11:08:31","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T15:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=789"},"modified":"2019-10-28T11:08:31","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T15:08:31","slug":"hillsong-pastor-says-parents-allow-kids-go-trick-treating-warns-demonic-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2019\/10\/hillsong-pastor-says-parents-allow-kids-go-trick-treating-warns-demonic-works.html","title":{"rendered":"Hillsong Pastor Says Christian Parents Should Allow Kids to Go Trick-Or-Treating But Warns of Demonic Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shutterstock.com\"
Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nathan Finochio, pastor at Hillsong Church also says parents have a responsibility to teach their children about Halloween, warning \u201cthere is spiritual darkness surrounding everything.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In a recent story shared to Instagram, Nathan Finochio, author and pastor of Hillsong Church listed 10 reasons parents should allow their children to trick or treat:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t instill fear of the world.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t teach them that the world has more fun.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t teach them superstition.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t teach them isolationism.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t teach them a lack of faith.<\/p>\n

Teach them common grace \u2013 candy is from God and that to the pure all things are pure.<\/p>\n

Teach them the redemptive motif \u2013 that we reinterpret culture and give it a new meaning.<\/p>\n

Teach them that the demonic works by willful agreement, bot accidental consumption.<\/p>\n

Teach them in but not of, not out and not of.<\/p>\n

Critique loudly what you see as you walk. Make them brave and discerning, not scared and superstitious.<\/p>\n

While he endorses kids celebrating the holiday, he also emphasizes the importance of properly teaching kids about things like Halloween because of the real and present threat of spiritual darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is spiritual darkness surrounding everything,\u201d Finchio said in an interview with Faithwire. \u201cFilms, books, politics, and yes, even Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think humanity is fascinated with the afterlife, with death, with good and evil. And Halloween is a cultural recognition, a sort of strange negotiation with some of these concepts,\u201d Finchio said.<\/p>\n

He acknowledges that there are pagans along with witches and warlocks that consider Halloween a high festival, but points out that Christians took power back from the dark ages ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is their last stand, and we actually took it from them a long time ago,\u201d he told Faithwire. \u201cIn the British Isles, it is known that churches were already celebrating All Saints on 1 November at the beginning of the 8th century to coincide with or replace the Celtic festival of Samhain.\u201d<\/p>\n

A major point that Finchio emphasized was the importance of teaching kids history because of the real danger of evil in the world.<\/p>\n

Kids don\u2019t learn because parents don\u2019t talk,\u201d Finchio said. \u201cAll of life should be a running commentary for the Christian parent.\u201d<\/p>\n

For parents that are nervous about the holiday, he encouraged them to allow children to be involved in trick-or-treating, not sit it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t teach your children double-mindedness, anxiety, and doubt,\u201d he explained. \u201cRomans 14 teaches us to be fully convinced and to do things from faith. If you have strong faith, you eat and drink; if you have a weak conscience, you abstain. But the point is not to stay weak, is it? Get a revelation of the Gospel!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nathan Finochio, pastor at Hillsong Church also says parents have a responsibility to teach their children about Halloween, warning \u201cthere is spiritual darkness surrounding everything.\u201d In a recent story shared to Instagram, Nathan Finochio, author and pastor of Hillsong Church listed 10 reasons parents should allow their children to trick or treat: Don\u2019t instill fear…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[439,441,440],"class_list":["post-789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-news","tag-halloween","tag-should-christians-celebrate-halloween","tag-trick-or-treat"],"yoast_head":"\nHillsong Pastor Says Christian Parents Should Allow Kids to Go Trick-Or-Treating But Warns of Demonic Works<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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