but if rightly, why

Halloween gives churches philosophical fits. Halloween is one of the days where the "world" hits the church square in its face. And how the church responds says a lot about the discomfort churches have about pressing the message about being different for God. This Beliefnet piece mentions a few of the ways churches can respond.

* Those which make a church-version of Halloween complete with the gore hug the world and don't let go. These churches are likely the ones that distort the truth and accept relativity. These aren't churches but glorified social clubs.

* Those that take the reverse tack and rail against Halloween as the devil's day and forbid costumes and trick-or-treaters and even handing out candy at the door shove the world aside self-righteously and look to the skies. These churches are likely the ones that preach against contemporary Christian music. These churches shun the Lord's humanity and compassion for His judgment.

* Those that hold harvest carnivals -- basically a sanitized euphemism for Halloween -- will walk the line between the above two polar extremes. Some will go all out with costumes and candy and head toward the huggers. Others will try to tone down the satanic and move toward the judgment.

Codified religion that doesn't seek His will or seek to have purposes behind their actions don't make sense to me. Lord is black-and-white about many things, yes. But even in those instances, Lord wants us to seek His will and seek His Spirit rather than give in to obligatory action one way or the other. Lord isn't about law; Lord is about learning to walk.