Mike Warnke Lied

I became a believer in the mid-1980s, just when conservative Christians were turning against Halloween. Much of the impetus for this came from speaker and comedian Mike Warnke.

He showed up on a 1985 episode of 20/20, at the height of Satanic hysteria. His extravagant claims of being a high priest of Satan were later released in his book The Satan Seller. It was these works, with had lurid accounts of Warke's participation in Hallween sacrifices and Black Masses, that gave momentum to the anti-Halloween movement.

Just one problem ...

It was all lies.

Cornerstone Magazine debunked all of the dramatic claims in the Satan Seller, which after attempting to defend himself for years, Warnke later admitted he had fabricated. The Cornerstone investigation was released in 1991, but the anti-Hallowween movement was off and running. And it hasn't slowed down yet -- Hell Houses and other "alternative" events dot the evangelical landscape to this day.

My response as a relatively conservative evangelical believer in Christ to this fear-based approach can be summed up in 2 words:

Happy Halloween.

Luke 7:36-50

This is the story of the sinful woman who comes directly to Simon the Pharisee's house, who has invited Jesus to dinner. She interrupts their meeting, and extravagantly worships Jesus, wetting his feet with her hair, drying them with her hair, and pouring expensive perfume over them

Simon is scandalized, and attempts to "correct" the Lord for allowing "this kind of woman" to touch him.

In many ways, I am bent to be Simon. But I need to be Jesus, offering grace and mercy to all.

The gospel is not moralism. The gospel is not judgment.

from "Never Forget The Cross"

As performed by the seminal Christian punk band One Bad Pig:
----------------------------
No major gain without no loss
No resurrection without no cross
No golden crown without no nails
Trade my life for a love that never fails

From St. Francis

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility, their is neither anger nor vexation.
Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice.
Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.