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« Actually, It Takes Much More Than a Village | Main | The Best Christian Halloween Party »

October 29, 2010

Why Should the Devil Get Halloween?

The holiday, one of my favorites, reminds me why I became a Christian in the first place.

Caryn Rivadeneira, guest blogger

Halfway through our hayride, around the second bend into the woods, two of our fellow riders — the clown and the guy with the Scream mask propped on top of his head — jumped out. Unlike the rest of us, who had taken the hayride for fall family fun, these guys took it as a ride to work. After the sun went down, they were to jump out from behind or swing down from trees to terrify folks riding the haunted version of our sweet hayride.

The woman next to me said that at the end of the haunted version, a horse with a headless rider charges out of the woods. My eyes widened. I leaned across my daughter to tell my husband, “We have to come back without the kids.”

My husband — a perfectly brave man — rolled his eyes, not sharing my enthusiasm for haunted houses or hayrides. When my daughter asked, “Mama, why do you like being scared so much?” he laughed. And waited for my answer.

“I don’t like being scared,” I told them. “I like being spooked. Big difference.”

And there is. I’m not a fan of the heart-sink that happens when my 3-year-old darts across the street. I don’t like the raccoon that pops out from behind our garbage cans at night. Goodness, it took three tries and practically being pushed by the guy behind me for me to jump off the high dive. This summer.

But my love of the creepy and ooky-spooky is altogether different. It’s a love I’ve had for as long as I can remember. When I was 6 and my cousins tried to torment me with ghost stories about their creeky house in Louisville, far from not being able to sleep, I wanted to explore it.

My penchant for all things creepy fuels my love of Halloween as well. It’s why I congratulate neighbors on their fog machines and eerie playlists and animatronic monsters. It’s also why I’ve expanded the treat-or-treat rules that I grew up with: While my mother allowed us to dress only as cute and nice things, my kids are allowed to dress as pretend scary things. Vampires, ghost-brides, and swamp creatures have all gotten nods from me. (Costumes that mock others, that objectify their bodies, or that represent actual killers will never.)

I might be embarrassed to admit all this if it weren’t for one thing: Whatever it is that draws me to the creepy is what initially drew me to God, and still does.

Whatever compelled me to explore my cousins’ attic, pressing my hands on every wall, hoping a secret door would give way, was the same impulse that compelled me to look for signs of the God I kept hearing about. It was, at age 7, the terrifying yet comforting realization that God on high heard me, way down below, that made me believe in him.

And it was God’s mystery, his invisibility, his at-once immanence and transcendence that made me long to know him more, to search, to discover.

Liturgical churches “proclaim the mystery of our faith,” as “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” Indeed. Yet there is more to that mystery.

In his great beckoning and rescue of us, God not only sent his Son to die a gruesome death; he not only raised Jesus from the dead, terrifying those who saw him risen. He not only will send his Son again, in what seems will be a mysterious and frightening time; but God sends his Holy Spirit to live within us. To grant us peace and comfort, at times. At others, to fuel us to fight battles, to seek justice, to dole out mercy.

We Christians profess a belief in an almighty, invisible God, in his risen, flesh-and-blood Son, and in a Holy Ghost, who works in us, not to mention a world full of battling angels and demons and futures that include eternal bliss or eternal fire.

What we believe as Christians is nothing short of, well, creepy — as something that causes us to shiver in fear or revulsion yet pique our curiosity. When we take time to think of the price that’s been paid for the grace and love God offers us, we should all shiver, in both fear and revulsion for what our Jesus endured. The grace and love we cherish, that draw us irresistibly to God, are born right out of blood and terror.

Of course, the creepiness of a worldly Halloween holiday is meant to draw us to the dark. I get that. It’s why I don’t think Halloween should be a high holy day, and why I understand my friends who choose to opt out or tame it way down.

However, I’d love to leave room to celebrate Halloween as a day when Christians can at once embrace the call to live without fear and to consider the mysteries, even the creepiness, of our faith. Of things we don’t understand and yet are so drawn to. Recognizing these mysteries as part of the wonder and glory of how God chooses to reveal himself to us as light on the most dark and stormy nights.

Caryn Rivadeneira is a writer, speaker, and mother of three, and the author of Mama's Got a Fake I.D. as well as a book forthcoming from Tyndale House. She has written for Her.meneutics on burqas, fathers, Mother's Day, spanking, happiness, and pregnant Olympians.

Comments

I love this post. We just had a huge discussion about this at work since my co-host (I host a Christian radio show) mentioned that she liked fall and Halloween and neighbors stopping by and pumpkin muffins, etc... and a listener informed us that it was Satan's favorite holiday and she couldn't believe we were Bible College graduates endorsing this holiday. Here's the deal....I like candy....and, as a kid, liked dressing up, so what's wrong with that? Thank you for bringing out the mysterious creepy side of our faith and for being real.

I like the fact that it is a socially recognized day for going out and meeting your neighbors. I never understood all of the church based "Fall Festivals". All it does is put Christians together with other Christians and take them away from meeting their neighbors and actually building relationships with people.

I love the thought that this once evil day is now a day of 'kicks and giggles'. Once children were killed and sacrificed, now under Christ they are celebrated..... enjoy the day for it belongs to Him.

I agree with Adam. Simply gathering Christians together negates our impact. My church does what is called "reverse trick-or-treat." Since Trick or Treat is the one night of the year when people expect strangers to come to their homes, we send our youth out to GIVE something to them. One year it was 9v batteries, another it was light bulbs, and this year it was microwave popcorn. Also given is a card from the church, letting people know that God loves, and that this is our way of showing it.

I like your blog on this topic. I agree with you about the fascination that can be found in spooky and fun things. But I would hesitate to place God ever in the same category as "creepy". Creepy = annoyingly unpleasant not in the same vein as One who is fearfully awesome.

I am a born again Christian and I have always loved Halloween. As I was praying today, prior to receiving the above article in an email, I asked God if it was wrong that I like Halloween. I have been concerned from time to time if my fondness for Halloween was sinful and if I should eliminate anything "Halloween" from my life. Within an hour of praying about this I was surprised to receive the above email from Christianity Today entitled "Why Should the Devil Get Halloween?" This article could have been written by me as
Caryn articulated my exact reasons for being drawn to Halloween. Thank you.

You're on to something, Caryn. Some Christians are a lot more squeamish than the Bible. I've always thought the Bible stories of demons (especially demons drowning 2,000 pigs at Christ's command), the witch of Endor, the death angel at Passover, the sudden deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, Herod being eaten by worms, Mrs. Lot being turned into a pillar of salt, the bizarre practice of circumcision, the animal sacrifices that lead to cleansing of sin, the strange dividing animals in half and walking between the pieces in certain rites, not to mention the crucifixion and resurrection of the God-man--were all worthy of a Halloween weekend Bible study.

I not making light of the ghastly. It's really really there in the Bible. And if we can dress up like nice little angels and sheep at Christmas ...

I disagree with the title "Why Should the Devil Get Halloween?" because its not "Why should he?" but that he does own this day! When you've known someone who was in the occult and whom Jesus saved you will never again look at Halloween the same way.

I will say that I appreciate that you understand why there are many Christians who don't support the day. I tend to act like it doesn't exist. Its just another day. I grew up celebrating it, dressing up, trick or treating, but as an adult and I found out its origins I decided I would no longer do so. And in the same vein as your attitude is why I don't judge those who do celebrate Halloween either. I've noticed that those who get deeper and deeper into studying spiritual warfare tend to naturally drift away from celebrating it.

Satan does NOT own this day. "This is the day that the Lord has made. We shall rejoice and be glad in it."

For several years after having our first child, we chose to opt out of Halloween, choosing "Fall Festivals". Then, we realized that by doing so, we were giving Satan more power over the day than he has - for he did not create, nor does he own this day.

An increase in occult activity on this day does not negate the fact that God still has dominion over it.

When my daughter turned 4 (she's now 9), we decided to hop on board, thus refusing to give Satan any credit for a day that he did not create.

If we truly believe that our God is more powerful than Satan, then we will realize that not even Halloween can thwart his mighty work. I, for one, would rather spend the day getting to know my neighbors and their children than hiding out in our church multipurpose room playing fall themed games with those that already know the Lord.

You are right, bad choice of words Joline. He doesn't own it, but he does his best to control. And yes he did create it - http://www.klove.com/promodetails.aspx?i=6055 - the day started out as a pagan holiday. Who is the god of the pagans?

Think about trick or treating "Gimme, gimme, gimme what I want, when I want it and I want it now...or else I'm going to do something bad to you." What kind of attitude is that? I actually really like the previous commenter's response that said that his church does a reverse trick or treat. I meant to comment on that but forgot earlier.

As for dressing up? They did it to hide the fact that they were human and not demons/ghosts/whatever you want to call them. I am all for dressing up and costume party's, etc...but just not on Halloween.

In the Christian tradition Halloween aka (All Hallow's Eve) is a Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown.

Back in the day, Christians dressed up in scary costumes to scare evil spirits away. In addition to this, the poor would knock on the doors to pray for the deceased loved ones in exchange for the seasonal food, soul cakes (i.e. donuts, no joke).

For more info:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKnFH_gA31k&feature=player_embedded

http://www.insidecatholic.com/feature/my-high-holy-day.html

P.S. There is a chance someone will respond with the i.e. "that's not in the Bible" and you are correct it's not in the Jewish/Protestant canon. However, it is Orthodox and Catholic Scriptures/LXX.

An ersatz "Harvest Festival" or "Fall Festival" is at root more pagan than Halloween (All Hallows Eve).

Perhaps if more Christians actively celebrated the Feast of All Souls, they might better understand the Christian purpose that originally formed the practice of dressing up as spooks. The Church Lady types have it backwards, the purpose of Halloween festivities is to mock Satan and demonstrate that the faithful are protected from him by the Lord.

When Christians put themselves in the way of anything "spooky" as you call it, we open ourselves up to the demonic. Fear is from the enemy, faith is from God; fear is the opposite of faith, because it is saying that God cannot protect us, cannot help us, cannot deliver us from some trouble. So if we are fearful, or "spooked," (same thing) it is a gateway for satan to take hold of us. We need to be careful what we are watching & what we are listening to. The enemy has such a foothold in media outlets. Curiosity or not, we come to God knowing He will never hurt us or make us afraid, but take care of us. It is a different kind of fear, a holy/respectful fear. We watch scary movies being afraid that that same thing that's going on in the movie will happen to us, which is not from God. These things are real in the spiritual realm, believe it or not. & the example we leave for our children will effect them so much. Romans 12:2 calls for a holy life in all areas, not just where we pick & choose. But sadly, the western church wants to twist God's word & pick & choose. God is separating the sheep from the goats now. We must stand up & stand up FULLY for Him, not just parts of our lives but all of it! God bless you.

Those of you who claim to be 'opting out' of Halloween have been tricked into side with darkness. The purpose of All Hallow's eve is to FRIGHTEN away evil spirits on the night that (for various reasons) they find it most easy to make their way to Earth. The wicked and evil are also the most cowardly and do not have the protection of the Lord on their side .. their greatest fear is that of viewing their true reflection. THAT is the history of why Christianity (and the good people who preceded Christianity) have had the tradition of providing that reflection when evil attempts to knock on their door. Those of you who prefer instead to dress as Winnie the Pooh .. well, good luck with that.

i don't agree with you at all!! open your eyes and look at all the costumes that people wear. do you think that these grotesque creatures come from God? No, they come straight from the devil!! You are not mocking the devil by dressing up like him, you are mocking God, who created what is good and beautiful. 1 Peter 2:11 says, "Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls." If your home was heaven, you would not be taking side with the Devil by participating in his holiday. please don't do it, imagine how God feels when His children are turning away from Him because of a little temptation.

This Satanic day should have no place in this nation under God, period, end of discussion. Spending up to 6 billions this year up 22% to please the devil, where are America's priority anymmore for God's sake? While millions die yearly from starvation with no food? As a Christian I rest may case!

This article is week. The author gives no scripture what so ever for supporting her view of why she celebrates Halloween. If she wants to celebrate then celebrate it but don't make this in to something draws one closer to God or something. God's word stands on it's on.

Happy Reformation Day. Oct 31 was the day Luther posted his concerns with the Church.

The author of the article's assertion that the things of God are "creepy" is completely unScriptural and inaccurate. With all due respect, what god does s/he worship? There is nothing scary or creepy about the Lord. God is love! His perfect love casts out all fear. He is the author of all good gifts. Fear has torment. He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, power, and of a sound mind.

To me, celebrating Halloween is giving an appearance of evil, which the Lord has told us not to do. When I learned the origins of Halloween (out of Encyclopedia Britannica, some time ago), I remembered the scriptures which say we are not to have anything to do with the darkness (Satan's realm), but we are to walk in the light (of the Lord).

Since then, my family and I have celebrated Reformation Day, since Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Now THAT is something we can celebrate!

I can't believe i am reading this on a "christian site", it's so out on context, if you only knew the impact that is happening right now in the spirit world, don't be fooled by what you can see, but rather pay attention to things unseen.

It's now no wonder USA is in such a pathetic state at the moment, even the christians have join in with the world, we are to stand as believers, not follow the traditions of man.

My family celebrates Reformation Day on October 31st, as it is an event in Christian history actually worth celebrating.

Also, I would wager that dressing up like evil spirits to scare them away is about as foolish as the guy in Acts who tried to cast out demons and ended up being beaten almost to death because he did not have the authority as a Believer in Christ to do so. Demons are not stupid. Some $19 Wal-Mart costume is not going to scare them away, so why perpetuate a foolish tradition begun by superstitious people hundreds of years ago?

I had read in one of the comments that a commenter know's the origins of Hallows eve. I am just wondering were she got her information from. For the day was actually manifested by believers which was called All Saints Day. Which used to be celebrated on November 1, 2010. Than folks started tricking their neighbors pulling pranks, and the secular created a day for tricks and treats. Now the enemy used this day as a battle field for wicca, and Demonic works - thus the negative costumes etc. But wicca has been around long before Hallows eve.

Definition: Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in Canada, Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

The bible says let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your God which is in heaven. - This also means October 31 of every year!

This article is a perfect example of why I marked "cancel" on my subscription invoice. What passes for "Christianity" (today)is so much blended with The World as not to reflect what is found in scriptures. Search your hearts brothers and sisters, and search The Word.

After reading may of the responses to this article I can say that Dana Carvey's portrayal of the "Church Lady" is spot on.

For all the people claiming this article and anyone who celebrates Halloween are acting "unbiblically," there is precious little Scripture being used to make the point. There is a lot of "it's bad, end of discussion," and "tsk, tsk, you should know better." I see much misunderstanding as to what people are actually celebrating, and much misunderstanding about the origins of Halloween. And if the "historical" basis of Halloween is the reason we should not celebrate it, then you are on a slippery slope that will lead to Christmas and Easter, which both contain traditions of pagan origin and are both celebrated when they are to "counteract" old pagan holidays.

Basically, I think we need to be more concerned with figuring out if this type of thing causes us to sin, and, if, therefore, we should personally avoid it. We need to be less concerned with painting others with that same brush when it does not apply

Use to be many years ago, that most Christians if not all in the Evangelical and Protestant sector. Would indeed celebrate October 31st.

Not as halloween, but as the day of the Reformation.

There was a lot of good preaching about the reasons for the Reformation. Talks about Martin Luther and all of the Historical background for such an important event in History.

Whatever happened in the last 30 years is beyond me. One thing is sure however we're living in days of great apostasy. When not only our rich history and our faith is being renounced and denied but the Lord himself is being push aside. Like if we can really do that without paying the terrible consequences. May the Lord have Mercy.
.

Halloween is SO much fun. I have been a believer for close to 3 decades. Went to Bible college. I have a 2,000 volume library on topics from A - Z. I walk with the Lord, I abide in Christ and He in me. I love my family and my Christian brothers and sisters.

Carved pumpkins, ghosts on trees, black cats on windows, silhouette of a witch on a broom on my door. Spooky sounds and fog coming out of a cauldron + dressing up - it doesn't get any much better than that.......ok, Easter and the "500 lb gorilla" known as Christmas.

folks, go out and enjoy the day/night, meet those neighbors you rarely see and give your kids some good, clean fun. Focus on the fun and family time and stop being sensitive about the other aspects of the holiday.

This is such a tough topic for Christians. I have struggled with it for years. I give out candy to the little costumed kids that come to my door, and smile at them and tell them how great they look, mostly because I want to be a good witness in my neighborhood.

If I turn off my light and shun their children, do you think my neighbors will be impressed with my spirituality and become Christians? Or will they just think I'm stingy and unpleasant and not interested in treating their children?

"They will no we our Christians by our love."

Oops! "They will KNOW we are Christians by our love."

Sorry. I love the fall season, harvest celebrations, hayrides, pumpkins, and especially the colors. But as a Christian of Celtic descent I never celebrate the Druid holiday of Hallowe'en.

Mark, I alluded to many scriptures in my message; I (perhaps wrongly) assumed that people posting here were Christians and would recognize them. Here is my post again:

The author of the article's assertion that the things of God are "creepy" is completely unScriptural and inaccurate. With all due respect, what god does s/he worship? There is nothing scary or creepy about the Lord. God is love!* His perfect love casts out all fear.* He is the author of all good gifts.* Fear has torment.* He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, power, and of a sound mind.*

To me, celebrating Halloween is giving an appearance of evil*, which the Lord has told us not to do. When I learned the origins of Halloween (out of Encyclopaedia Britannica, some time ago), I remembered the scriptures which say we are not to have anything to do with the darkness* (Satan's realm), but we are to walk in the light* (of the Lord).

Since then, my family and I have celebrated Reformation Day, since Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517**. Now THAT is something we can celebrate!

* denotes a reference to scripture

** He was calling for a return to Scriptural truth

Barbara,

You were one of the few. I really meant though, that little Scripture was being used to actually refute what was being said. Most of your references refer to fear. The author makes a clear distinction between real fear and the "creepy" factor you get from Halloween type of things. I think she is referring more to the "chills" type of feeling you get with a fun haunted house or scary movie. I totally agree with her distinction. I have long been a fan of Halloween and even horror movies of certain types. The "creepy" factor is fun and not truly fearful in any way (at least not for me). If it truly caused me to fear, then I would be wrong in pursuing it.

I do agree that calling the mysterious and gruesome aspects of the biblical story creepy is maybe a bit of stretch, but I get what she was after and I feel the same. The same feeling that draws me to stories of the fantastic, is the same part of me that is drawn to (and even a little scared of)the mysteries of our faith such as eternity, omniscience, the idea of a blood sacrifice paying for our sins, etc. And do remember that the bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This word fear cannot just be passed off as respect or awe, as that does not really convey what it means. To quote C.S. Lewis from Till We Have Faces, "My terror was the salute that mortal flesh gives to immortal things." In other words, part of a fear of the Lord is the realization of his bigness and our smallness, his vast power and our lack of it, his majesty and our lowliness, his "otherness" and our ordinariness. All of which can lead to a healthy fear. Without it, we become too familiar with Jesus and our worship suffers as a result.

As for celebrating Halloween as the author describes it being part of Satan's realm. . . I'll have to disagree. I have no issue with you reading up on it and feeling personally that it could lead you to sin or doubt and choosing to opt out. But I do take issue with others (without very strong Biblical back up) trying to do the same for me.

If my words come across as argumentative, I don't mean them that way. I truly enjoy discussing these types of things with people willing to do so.

I really think this is an "eating meat sacrificed to idols" issue. If it pricks your conscience, you should follow that and not participate. If you feel that you can participate by handing out candy or attending a carnival or trick-or-treating with your kids, then okay. Each must follow what the Holy Spirit has put in his/her heart. It would be helpful to the unity of the Body of Christ, however, if we could refrain from using hyperbole and judging one another on this issue, which is not one of doctrine or orthodoxy.

@Mark Easteadt - I think you are talking to Jules - not Barbara - the poster's name is at the bottom of the post, not the top of the post. Otherwise if you are talking to Barbara I'm totally confused :)

So now halloween is officially a "holiday", just like christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence, memorial, Veterans etc!! Really, wow!!

Who designated it as such? Is it going to be a paid "holiday", will the goverment close that day?

Really this is going far. Will pastors, preachers and ministers in the churches will dedicate a half hour sermon to extol the virtues of celebratin it, and the virtuosity of those who passionately celebrated it in the past and made it possible for us to have it today.

Will they be able to find in the Scriptures all the necessary justifications for it. Like they have done with many other "stuff", that "christians" celebrate though they don't even have a clue as to why they do it. Like for example Christmas itself in the 25th of December. When we don't even know what year Christ was born.

Lord have mercy of a generation that has and is growing in darkness.

Thanks, Leslie. I think I knew that at some point, but looked at the wrong name.=)

Mark, you did confuse me with Barbara.

You said, "And do remember that the bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Yes, the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible also says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. (Proverbs 8)

Christ Jesus Himself taught us what He meant by *fear* in the scripture to which you referred. When He quoted OT verses about the fear of God, He substituted the word "worship" for "fear".

He said that those who come to God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He said we can come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need. We need not be afraid of God.

The things which are commonly glorified on Hallow'een are not the things of God. They are completely antithetical to His Word and His purpose. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and of power, and of a sound mind.

Jules,

I understand what you are getting at, but I still think the fear of the Lord is more than worship and awe. An example of what I mean is found in C.S. Lewis again when he, several times, in The Chronicles of Narnia talks about Aslan being good, but not tame, loving, but not safe. The things we are not afraid of are the things that we understand or can control. Jesus is neither. I am not at all trying to say we need to be afraid of God in the way we would be afraid of a scary movie or of being attacked or being homeless or anything else that we fear in a negative sense. But to encounter a perfect, eternal, all-powerful being SHOULD be scary to us who are so opposite to all that. Of course, Christ becoming like us helps to bridge that gap, but that fear of the Lord is sometimes what draws me closer to Him than anything else.

I totally agree that he has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, and of power, and of a sound mind. And if I ever felt that having some fun with "creepy" stuff pulled me away from those things, I wouldn't continue to engage with them. I have actually found that much horror fiction and film is very much about morality and really gets people (even people far from God) thinking along those lines. Not all of it, certainly. As with any genre, there is much more junk than treasure.

I can tell you that it has been my being a "fan" of some of this stuff that has allowed me to reach some people with the gospel whose only other interactions with Christians was judgment and hate. I know that is not necessarily a valid reason for doing something, but I have felt very strongly that God had put me in such a place for such a time.

Anyway, thanks for the civil and intelligent discussion. Most appreciated!

Consider this scenario: You are God. The devil took 1/3 of your angels, brutally killed your Son, and is wreaking havoc on your precious creations. Your soldiers are still working frantically to rescue a suicide-bound mother of four after the ripped marriage apart in divorce, while another unit is working on keeping the pieces together after another 3-year old was abducted for no reason.

In the midst of this, someone in your army returns all giggly to tell you they have just returned from being chased by someone dressed up with a bloody hatchet "because they like to be spooked".

Please know that I'm not judging because i'm far from perfect myself but I think western christians, have been so pampered that many of us can now afford to only believe what's convenient and fun. Few believe the bible when it says "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" or in Jesus's words, "he that is not for Me is against...".

There are many invigorating ways to get spooked that do not have to pay reverence to the devil. For instance, try a mission trip to Somalia.

If you're still in doubt, then consider if you will let your children dress up as hitler or osama bin laden this halloween? if the very thought of that question reviles you, think carefully about why it does, and then try to come up with a good answer for how that's different from halloween today.

walk into any halloween store, or put on the TV for any length of time and try to convince yourself that this is just 'spooking' for "fun and games".

I'm a complete proponent of showing God's love and using halloween as an avenue for the gospel but participating for the sake of getting spooked does seem to cross the line.

There are only two-sides to this spiritual war and there are no gray lines. I'

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