Here We Go Again. It's the Great Halloween Wars, Charlie Brown. Good Grief.

It's that time of year again when it's cool enough that you don't melt walking across an asphalt parking lot, the leaves turn pretty colors, and churches start arguing about whether to call their October event a Fall Festival or a Halloween Trunk or Treat.

Unless you have lived completely off grid, you have seen that October masterpiece, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It used to be on one of three major networks for free, but now you have to pay for Apple+ to stream it. Or maybe you still have a DVD player or one of those antique VHS players. My, how times have changed.

But one thing has not changed. There is something that feels good about heating up a cup of cider, slicing some apples and warming the caramel dip, and settling in to watch Linus and the gang celebrate the season.

Or perhaps you are one of those fall-loving people who prefer all things pumpkin spice. To each his own.

Anyhoo, the Peanuts story perfectly captures a child's excitement about costumes and free candy.

While the rest of the gang prepares for the big night, Linus is preparing to spend the evening in a pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of The Great Pumpkin.

Spoiler Alert: The gang goes trick or treating while Linus and Sally spend the night in the pumpkin patch. Charlie Brown keeps getting rocks in his Halloween bag while the other kids get treats, and The Great Pumpkin never shows up.

Sally lashes out as only a sugar-deprived little girl could, "You blockhead! You kept me up all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, and all that came was a beagle! I didn't get a chance to go out for tricks or treats. And it was all your fault! I'll sue! What a fool I was! I could have had candy apples and gum and cookies and money and all sorts of things. But no! I had to listen to you, you blockhead. What a fool I was. Trick or treats come only once a year, and I missed it by sitting in a pumpkin patch with a blockhead."

I bet you know a kid like Sally. They just can't wait to put on a costume and go get free candy. And heaven help you if you stand in his or her way.

Meanwhile, church people get downright hostile about the whole Halloween thing. It makes me want to sleep all the way through October, kind of like that Green Day song, Wake me Up When October Ends.

And almost on cue and in a moment of utter dejection, Linus says, "There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."

I agree with Linus. We have forgotten how to listen to understand and study to learn. It seems too many would rather lash out at those who do not think like they do, much like Sally in her sugar-deprived anger.

Religion and politics are not the best party topics, though both subjects are deeply and significantly important. Suffice it to say that too many have elevated politics over religion or concocted their own strange brew of the two. It seems Jesus has something to say about this.

One day, religious leaders attempted to entrap Jesus with a question that feels surprisingly relevant.

Matthew 22:17-18,20-21, NIV

"Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” [18] But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? [20] and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” [21] “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

With this answer, Jesus demonstrated our dual citizenship. As citizens of a nation, we give to the nation what is due the nation. As followers of Jesus, we pledge our ultimate allegiance to God and to His Kingdom.

But we have blended the two topics, often (and wrongly) putting politics over religion, and we can be downright mean about it.

See, Linus has a point. Religion and politics are difficult to discuss in this current environment.

That leaves The Great Pumpkin. For our purposes, we will refer to it as Halloween.

Another Halloween is rising like a Great Pumpkin coming out of the pumpkin patch, and there are (mostly) sincere people on either side of The Great Halloween War among us church folk.

Growing up Baptist, our small church always had a Halloween/Fall Festival party. We decorated, ate food, bobbed for apples, and played other games.

One year, one of the games had our men running a relay to put on women's hose, dresses, shoes, and wigs. I'm not sure, but some of the men might have had to use the ladies restroom to get themselves back together. Can you imagine the heat we would catch for that today?

One year we had a woman dress up like the Church Lady from Saturday Night Live. That was special. Yet not one of the people in attendance tried to make a political statement of it, and no one had a proverbial culture cow.

And of course, there was a costume contest and enough candy to put us all in a sugar coma.

What there wasn't was a church split over it. There was no nefarious manipulation to worship Satan, and no one practiced black magic. But as I recall, there was some quiet discussion about whether we, as a church, should be doing this. That stuck with me into adulthood. When I began seriously studying scripture, this was one of the "hot button" issues I was attracted to, and I've read a great deal about the question of whether Christians should observe Halloween.

Most historians agree that Halloween has its roots way back to an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (this is pronounced somewhat like sow-in in the Gaelic language). In that part of the world, this night was viewed as a time when the boundary between the land of the living and the land of the dead was diminished. The Celts used this time to honor and worship their ancestors. All sorts of traditions grew from this. (Read more about this at The Origins of Halloween: Celtic Roots, Evil Spirits and Pagan Rituals | History Hit and Samhain: Celts, Traditions, Halloween, Wicca | HISTORY)

For Christians, the question is not whether kids should dress up, bob for apples, and ask neighbors for free candy. The question is whether Halloween is another way Satan lulls us into believing he is more like a cartoon character and less a true spiritual threat. Is participating in Halloween harmless fun that can be used as a meaningful outreach (think of that good old standard church sponsored trunk or treat) or a dangerous dalliance with the devil?

Focus on the Family says that dressing up and trick or treating or handing out candy is not a sin in itself (Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? - Focus on the Family)

Other ministries say that while participating in Halloween can be a matter of personal spiritual freedom, Christians should avoid anything connected with the occult, witchcraft, or glorifying evil.

But what does scripture say?

Leviticus 19:31, NIV

“ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God."

Is scripture warning us to not be dressing up as mediums, or playing with Ouija boards, or even watching movies based on these practices? I have laughed my way through Hocus Pocus a couple of times and laughed my way through Disney World's Haunted Mansion attraction a dozen times. I do not confuse the danger of true mediums and spiritists for the cartoonish witches in the movie or the partying ghosts in the Mansion. But am I missing something?

I do understand the danger of opening myself up to demonic forces. In Ephesians, Paul warns us about the dangers of the spirit world.

Ephesians 6:10-12, NIV

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

There is real danger to being ill-prepared or ignorant of how the spiritual forces of evil work.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12, NIV

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, [11] or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. [12] Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you."

I don't know of any trick or treating parent who would sacrifice their child in the fire, but I have known actual people who seek to interpret omens, practice some form of witchcraft, and who attempt to talk with the dead. If I dress up and hand out candy, am I glorifying this? Is the issue for us as believers being wise in how we choose to dress up?

Maybe this is why some churches have their kids dress as bible characters.

Ephesians 5:11, NIV

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

If our church has a Fall Festival that includes kids in costumes or if we have a Trunk or Treat, are we joining ourselves to the darkness? If the people of our church turn off their lights and pull the shades on Oct. 31, refusing to hand out candy, will we be exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness and somehow winning a trophy of righteousness?

Yes, scripture warns the believer about mixing it up with witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, and the work of darkness.

We can extrapolate this to mean that our kids can't ever wear a costume of any kind on Oct. 31 and ask neighbors for free candy.

Our churches can insist that our Fall Festivals are never on Oct. 31 and are only for those kids who dress as bible characters.

And in the process, we may lose a perfect way to invite families into our homes and churches.

The key is making sure we don't inadvertently or openly glorify anything that scripture calls evil. This season is a prime time for teaching about the two kingdoms of darkness and light. (And I am not referring to the kingdom of darkness as politics - wink, wink.)

But please don't be those people who place only scary bible tracts in a kid's orange pumpkin candy container.

God is extravagant in His love for us. As His people, we must be as extravagant as we can in our practical expressions of loving people. Of course, in this economy, I may not be handing out chocolate this year. (Tell me again, Linus, how we should avoid discussing politics in polite company.)

It is clear I have not drawn a clear line in the sand on Halloween.

Scripture doesn't seem to forbid Halloween, but the word does give us a few words that may apply

Romans 14:4-5,23, NIV

"Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. [5] One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind ... [23] But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

I found this, which has an interesting twist. It kind of gets to the issue of how we disavow some things with pagan roots while embracing others.

"But just because something has a pagan origin, that doesn't mean ANY interaction with it is witchcraft or idolatry. After all, the days of the week were named after pagan gods, and even wedding rings were originally a pagan custom. But the original intention of idol worship doesn't have to be associated with someone's personal use of these things today ... We definitely don't want to take Halloween too lightly. Whatever you decide to do (or not do) on Halloween, you want to keep in mind how you are representing Christ on October 31." (Should Christians celebrate Halloween? · 412teens.org)

The apostle Pauls is teaching this precept in his first letter to the Corinthian believers.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33, NIV

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. [32] Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— [33] even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved."

In all things, as believers, we represent Christ and we strive to not cause others to stumble.

After reading scripture and studying a little about some of the historical roots of Halloween, what does your faith say?

Are you fully convinced that participating in Halloween is simply harmless fun and your family is not glorifying evil? Until God convicts you otherwise, celebrate with innocence - and brush your teeth after all that candy.

Or do you have a small, nagging voice whispering it is wrong? Then for you, this is sin and you should refrain.

Here is still another perspective.

Nov. 1 is All Saints Day, following Oct. 31.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, wrote this in an All Saints Day journal entry dated Monday, Nov. 1, 1756, "How superstitious are they who scruple giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints!" (All Saints Day: A holy day John Wesley loved | UMC.org)

Wesley loved All Saints Day, and viewed it not as holding dead saints in equal regard as Christ, but a day for thanking God for the faithful saints who came before us and for honoring their contribution to Christianity and even to our own faith development.

This takes us full circle to those churches with their bible character costumes. Maybe there is something good to this practice. If our conscience doesn't prevent it, perhaps on Oct. 31 we turn on the porch light, throw a decorated pumpkin on the porch, dress up like a pirate, a character from Toy Story 115 or the latest action figure, and hand out the best candy we can afford to any child who rings the doorbell and cries TRICK OR TREAT!

Then, on Nov. 1, let's turn our attention as a church to thanking God for the faithful who have come before us, passing on something from their faith heritage to someone younger, and spending every day guiding others in the faith that our spiritual ancestors have passed down to us.

And be sure to watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Those kids have really good insight into life.