Music I Won't Teach

 This isn't an easy post to write, but I've always believed that honesty is the best policy. Some of my students have been asking me if we're going to learn any Halloween music. I feel that there's a need to address the topic here.

   The answer is no.

   That might seem shocking, but let me explain why (and please be gracious as I try to be clear without being offensive). I don't celebrate Halloween. You will never see Halloween decorations in the studio or hear about Halloween games being played during October. But before you shrug your shoulders and mutter, "religious radical"... well, maybe I am being radical, but I'd like to explain why that "radical-ness" is consistent with my Christian faith. I'm not going to bash anyone here. I don't judge anyone who does celebrate Halloween. I just feel very strongly that for me to do so would be inconsistent with what I believe. Here's why:

  • Halloween celebrates fear. You don't have to look very hard at store decorations -- once it's October, spooky is the buzzword. God says 366 times in the Bible not to fear. Here's just one example that's very precious to me: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
  • Halloween celebrates the things of darkness. You know I'm not talking about the abundance of black-coloured decorations. I'm talking about the witches and goblins and leering jack-o-lanterns. Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World in John 8:12: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'"
  • Halloween celebrates death. Christianity is all about the life that is available in Christ to anyone who believes. The whole message of Christianity is that death is not the end, that death is an enemy that has been defeated by Jesus, that there is a glorious, joyous, abundant eternal life waiting after death for all those who put their faith in Jesus! If you've heard any Bible verse, you've undoubtedly heard John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 


   Jesus -- the Light of the World, the One Who gives us freedom from fear, the Life-Giver. If you are interested in knowing Jesus for yourself, He want to know you. And I can assure you that there is nothing that compares to the joy He gives! Click here to learn how you can know Jesus for yourself. 

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