Jesus and Halloween
I just had to share this from my MOPS newsletter….
Make Jesus A Part of Trick-or-Treating
God has chosen to reach the world through us. It has been said that nothing cost less, goes farther, lasts longer or says it better than a gospel tract. These little booklets use funny stories, pictures and jokes to introduce a scriptural study of the "Light of the World." Just put the tracts under a light for a few minutes before you hand them out to activate the glow-in-the-dark ink on the front cover. Hand them out with each piece of candy and introduce your neighborhood kids to the love of God. Go to www.atstracts.org.
Mike's response was – "at least they are giving candy with the tracts." There are so many things I have issues with in that paragraph I don't know where to begin. The tracts though are priceless. There are the typical bait and switch joke tracts that eerily present a version of the gospel in joke format. Then there's the one with the message – eat too much candy and you go to the dentist with cavities, sin too much and you go to hell. (so therefore going to the dentist is like going to hell???). Or the one that states "sin makes us do bad things." (really, makes us???).
Anyway, just had to share…
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
I think I just puked in my mouth a little.
I get really frustrated by tracts. They are so out of date with society and they are theologically troubling: Just believe these four things and then you'll be okay.
I wonder why we waste resources on them.
I for the first time have to deal with Halloween – it was not big in South Africa – definitely no trick or treating happened.
It is easy to avoid something you are not comfortable with when its not in your face.
I don't have a problem with Halloween itself. I like the chance to get to know neighbors and to dress up. And on one level I'm okay with handing out info stuff with candy – but to assume that some theologically messed up piece of paper is how one should "introduce" ones neighbors to God's love is a bit far fetched.
My problem with tracts is that they are reductionist. They reduce the Gospel to a sales flier as opposed to a mysterious and wonderful relationship.
Yeah I cringe at the idea of Halloween tracts, too.
Dress up like a devil or a witch when you give out the tracts.
Or give them out and then after all is said and done pick up all the ones thrown on the ground.
Tracts are the most useless pieces of trash ever written. "nothing lasts longer then a tract." What the hell???????
You could have so much fun with that email.
On a serious note it is really sad that the only some will give candy is that they rationalize it by give tracts as well.
Long live the day of the dead.
I think Rob pretty much summed up how I feel….
Tracts are just reductionist.
We don't need to make the gospel any smaller than America has already made it…
well… how can i put this?
yes, as nauseating as they are, i must admit my own adult conversion seems to have begun with a kindly offered Protestant "tract". no kidding. most of the lowdown is here, under "about me":
http://www.myspace.com/donna_ellis
CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPY!!!!
in east texas when our kids were little there was a booth at the east texas state fair in which a magician clown stood out front and made balloon animals, luring children into a little cute train, inside which they were presented the plan for salvation and encouraged to pray the sinner's prayer, and then they'd write down the names of all the children who'd prayed.
of the many creepy things in the experience, isn't the clown the worst?