As October comes to a close, “spooky season” is in full form. Stores are packed with Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations.

Some Christians reject Halloween as synonymous with evil. But why is that? And what is the best way for Christians to respond to Halloween?

Make no mistake: Every day on the calendar belongs to God, and none of them belong to anyone else, including the devil.

How it started

The pagan Celts of ancient Ireland celebrated the new year on Nov. 1. So, much like we celebrate the night before New Year’s Day, they celebrated the night before (Oct. 31), too.

They called it “Samhain” — a night when they believed the dead in the form of ghosts could return to walk the earth. The Celts built huge bonfires, dressed in costumes to disguise themselves from the ghosts, and made lanterns out of gourds (like pumpkins, although they likely used different gourds). The fires attracted many insects, which attracted bats.

When the influence of the Catholic church began extending into pagan lands, sometimes the two cultures influenced each other. The Catholics celebrated All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 — also known as “All Hallows Day” — which was an occasion to remember the dead, who are supposedly now in heaven.

So Samhain eventually came to be known as “All Hallow’s Eve” or Halloween. And the bats, ghosts, costumes, and jack-o-lanterns made of gourds — the trappings of Samhain — continued to be part of the celebration.

Trick-or-treat origin story

In medieval Britain, a practice called “souling” emerged, where the poor would go door-to-door on Nov. 1 or Nov. 2, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food, often “soul cakes.”

In Scotland and Ireland, a parallel tradition called “guising” developed in which children and young adults disguised themselves in costumes or masks, supposedly to mimic or hide from wandering spirits, and went door-to-door performing songs, poems, or tricks in exchange for food, nuts, or coins.

The term “guising” comes from “disguise,” reflecting the costume element in modern trick-or-treating.

How it’s going

History is important. But so is understanding what is happening now.

In the U.S., Halloween is primarily about one thing: trick-or-treating. Kids love dressing up in costumes and getting free candy, which is why we start seeing Halloween candy displays about 10 minutes after school starts in the fall — if not earlier.

Trick-or-treating is, of course, driven by commercial candy manufacturers, who make a significant portion of their profit from Halloween-related sales of their highly processed, terrible-for-everyone, garbage candy, which is full of dyes and additives (save us, MAHA!). That’s an “evil” we don’t hear enough about.

But there are those who see evil in every Halloween nook and cranny. Those who proclaim it “Satan’s day” and a peak time for witchcraft and other evil doings. This seems to be based in great part on alleged comments from satanists and witches that I see posted on social media every October — comments thanking Christians for allowing their children to worship Satan one day a year by trick-or-treating.

That’s stupid. Why would we believe or listen to anything self-proclaimed devil worshippers say?

Make no mistake: Every day on the calendar belongs to God, and none of them belong to anyone else, including the devil. I don’t deny people could choose Oct. 31 in particular to celebrate evil. However, for the vast majority of Americans, Halloween is about strolling the neighborhood in costume and collecting candy.

What should Christian families do?

Our highest calling is to love God and love our neighbor. And Halloween brings those neighbors to our door, literally. What if we prayerfully and thoughtfully considered how we can bless those neighbors on Halloween with an eye toward building relationships?

I’m not talking about handing out Christian tracts instead of candy. Don’t be that person. But I am talking about eagerly seeking opportunities to connect with at least one if not more families in your neighborhood with whom you can begin to build relationships.

This, in fact, is why God has you where you live.

Let me tell you about what one family did for Halloween. They set up a pole tent in the driveway, hung lights from it, and under the tent placed their BBQ grill on which they cooked hot dogs. A table held buns and condiments, a bowl of Halloween candy, and jello shots for the adults. They publicized this on the neighborhood webpage a day or two before Halloween.

To be clear, they weren’t Christians seeking to love their neighbor. They were seeking to promote the father’s business. But how might we promote our heavenly father’s business similarly?

Here are some ideas:

If you have access to one, a pole tent in the driveway with lights strung on it is very welcoming on a dark night! Grilling hotdogs is a good idea. Another might be a big crock-pot filled with chili, with paper cups and plastic spoons for serving.A hot drink station with cocoa, cider, tea, etc.Fresh-made pumpkin bread or oatmeal cookies in little treat bags as an alternative to commercial candy.Set out lawn chairs and invite people to sit down and rest for a moment — and if they do, introduce yourselves and get to know their family.Let your kids dress up and pass out the goodies. If you also allow your kids to trick-or-treat, one of you can hold down the fort while the other takes the kids around the neighborhood.Let people know a day or two ahead that you welcome them to come by and “sit a spell,” as the saying goes.

This will cost you time, effort, and money. But it’s a ministry investment in the lives of precious people God has placed in your neighborhood. You can’t love them if you don’t make an effort to know them, and you can’t know them if you never even meet them.

You could also just set out lawn chairs toward the end of the driveway where you will be able to actually see and converse with the adults as you pass out candy. Compliment the kids’ costumes. Ask the adults where they live in the ‘hood. They won’t linger long without a reason to stop at your house, but at least you’ll physically meet some of them.

A few do’s and don’ts, by way of suggestion

DO wear a costume. Bible costumes are fun. So are a lot of others. Don’t be anything that will scare children. Don’t be a witch. Don’t be the devil (duh).DON’T hand out Christian literature that talks about how evil Halloween is. In fact, don’t hand out Christian literature. I heard someone say once that if you feel you absolutely must hand out some kind of Christian tract, you should be handing them out with full-size candy bars!DON’T make it all about your kids and their candy. Recruit them to be part of your family blessing the neighborhood, whatever you end up doing.

If you think Halloween is evil, don’t hunker down in your house with all the lights out. Unless you live somewhere with no trick-or-treaters, get out there and redeem it.

Halloween is an opportunity for your family to bless others and begin forging relationships with lost people in need of Jesus, all by being a good neighbor.

This article was adapted from an essay originally published on Diane Schrader’s Substack, She Speaks Truth.

​Christianity, Christian, Devil, Satan, Gospel, All saints day, All hallows eve, Halloween 

The incoming equipment for U.S. military members is so advanced that it not only looks like a video game but seems like the user is cheating.

The standard helmet for the Army has remained largely the same in the last few decades, save for key updates in blunt force protection. While there may have been additions that allow for microphones and night-vision attachments, nothing has even come close to what is on the horizon.

‘Think of it almost like a hive mind.’

Leaning more toward what a fighter pilot’s helmet is capable of, the new Eagle Eye warfighter helmet from Anduril Industries uses technology that is pretty hard to explain.

The company recently released a stunning display that looks like the first-person view of a video game. Providing a directional map in the bottom corner of the soldier’s view, the optics are immediately recognizable to anyone who has played a video game of that genre; a young man in the Army probably has.

A heads-up display reveals nearby enemies with a red blip, and the soldier digitally selects a tactical strike with a drone on an encroaching vehicle in seconds, all while chatting with other soldiers on his team.

The new helmets make this possible by using a “hive mind” technology that connects soldiers on the battlefield with drones, cameras, surveillance, and their squad mates on the ground; the results are fairly shocking.

RELATED: ‘Insane radical leftists’ are gone: Zuckerberg and Palmer Luckey reunite for US military project

— (@)

“The ability to have night vision, thermal vision, but also the ability to see where all the bad guys are, see where all the good guys are by fusing everyone’s view together. Think of it almost like a hive mind,” inventor Palmer Luckey recently told Joe Rogan.

“If I’m able to see something, you should be able to see it. If a drone can see it, you should be able to see it. Even if it’s on the other side of a building, you should be able to see it and effectively have X-ray vision. And I should be able to command and control all these other systems using this heads-up display interface,” Luckey continued.

Using “intelligence sensors,” the Eagle Eye helmets can detect cellphone signals, radio signals, and even where gunshots were fired, revealing their distance from the soldier.

The Anduril CEO showed Rogan that with a pair of connected augmented reality glasses, the soldier can see all the data being captured by the helmet and show it in real time to the user. This, in conjunction with any drones, cameras, or other soldiers wearing the tech, combine to form a network of data that Anduril says gives America the advantage in an “unfair fight.”

What this results in is the soldier being able to see everything at once, effectively seeing through walls or over hills; if anyone or anything on his team can see it, so can the individual.

Luckey showed off a sample video where a soldier could use the X-ray vision to track his allies through a sea can while engaging enemies, displaying them as skeletal-like figures. Once the allies saw the enemy, the user could see them through a wall too.

RELATED: You can now buy a real-life Jetsons vehicle for the same price as a luxury car

Additionally, the helmets not only have thermal sensors, night-vision censors, and hearing protection, they also have sound amplification. Tactical technology allows the wearer to hone in on sounds coming from a certain direction, while canceling out noise from other directions to better focus on the target.

Anduril boasts that it used no taxpayer dollars to create Eagle Eye and is certainly pushing advanced military technology in the right direction.

The advancements come at the same time the company has revealed its anti-drone technology, in the form of a mobile kit for soldiers on the ground. Drone strikes have become an often-used instant-casualty tactic in the Russia-Ukraine war and are a constant threat for those operating without cover.

These products show that Luckey has put a very real focus on protecting the individual American fighter in attempt to prevent loss of life.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Return, Military, Army, War fighting, Helmet, Palmer luckey, Anduril, Tech 

I’ve watched a lot of cultural moments come and go in my lifetime, but this one has felt different.

The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk didn’t just send tremors through the conservative world — it created a ripple that reached far beyond it. In the days and weeks that followed, I saw headlines I never thought I’d see: reports of a Bible-sales surge unlike anything in recent years.

When the noise of culture gets stripped away, the hunger for truth rises to the surface.

According to Fox Business, more than 2.4 million Bibles were sold in the U.S. in September — a 36% increase over last year.

The Bible-sales surge that coincided with Charlie Kirk’s assassination reveals something profound.

When America faces moments of crisis, people often turn to scripture for hope and answers. While no one can say with absolute certainty what caused the surge, the timing and impact of Charlie’s life and testimony make it reasonable to believe it played a significant role. And I personally believe that his assassination likely contributed to this powerful moment.

A cultural shockwave I’ll never forget

Charlie’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, shook me to the core. Like so many others in conservative circles, I admired him. But for me, it was more than admiration. Charlie was my role model in Christ — a man who stood unapologetically for Jesus in a culture that often mocked Him. He lived boldly, unfiltered, and unafraid. That resonated with me deeply.

For years, those of us who followed Charlie knew who he was and what he stood for. But it wasn’t until his assassination that millions outside our circle — people on the left, independents, and even those who normally tune out of politics — truly saw him. His name wasn’t just on conservative media anymore; it was everywhere. And in that moment, the world encountered the testimony of a man whose faith was front and center.

That matters. His assassination didn’t just make headlines — it made people think about eternity. It made them think about what kind of man he was and, more importantly, Who he lived for.

This cultural moment reminds me of how believers are called to stand firm even when the world doesn’t understand.

Why people turn to the Bible in times like this

I’ve learned over the years that when tragedy strikes, people instinctively reach for something that doesn’t shake. They reach for something real. For many Americans, that means reaching for the Bible.

We’ve seen this before — after 9/11, during the pandemic, and now again. The Bible-sales surge isn’t just about a number on a spreadsheet. It’s a reflection of millions of hearts suddenly looking for answers they can’t find anywhere else. People may not even fully understand why they’re buying a Bible — but something in them knows they need hope.

Deep down, every person has a God-shaped void. And when the noise of culture gets stripped away, the hunger for truth rises to the surface.

The power of one man’s testimony

Charlie’s faith spoke louder in his assassination than most people’s do in their lifetime. I’ve followed him for years, not just for his courage in politics, but for his unwavering love for Jesus. Seeing the way his story spread afterward impacted me profoundly. People who would have never listened to him while he was alive suddenly heard about him everywhere.

I believe some of those 2.4 million Bibles may have been bought by people who wanted to understand why Charlie believed what he believed. Others probably acted out of grief, curiosity, or quiet searching.

RELATED: Why Gen Z is rebelling against leftist lies — and turning to Jesus

StanislavSalamanov/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Whatever the reason, it’s reasonable to believe his testimony was one of several factors prompting people to seek answers in scripture.

The early church experienced the same kind of ripple effect. Persecution never silenced the gospel — it multiplied it. Charlie wasn’t a martyr in the classical sense, but the way God is using his life after his assassination fits that same pattern: light shining in the darkness.

Why the Bible-sales surge matters

To me, this surge isn’t just encouraging — it’s revealing. Beneath the noise of politics and division, there’s still a spiritual hunger in America. People are tired of the chaos. They’re searching for something real. And whether they know it or not, they’re reaching for the only truth that can set them free.

The Bible isn’t just another book on a shelf. It’s living and active (Hebrews 4:12). If even a fraction of the millions who bought a Bible actually open it, read it, and meet the living God, this moment could be the spark of something extraordinary.

But this also means we need to be discerning because buying a Bible isn’t the same thing as being transformed by it.

Reaction or revival?

I remember the wave of church attendance after 9/11. America prayed. Churches filled up. People searched for answers. But as the months passed, that spiritual hunger faded.

Crisis can wake people up, but it doesn’t guarantee lasting change. That’s the question now. Will this Bible-sales surge be a turning point or just a reaction to pain?

Reaction is emotional, but revival is spiritual. Reaction fades, but revival transforms.

Real revival isn’t just a wave of emotion or a spike in sales. According to GotQuestions.org, true revival is a spiritual reawakening that brings a heartfelt return to God and obedience to His word. That’s the kind of revival America needs — not just a cultural reaction to tragedy.

My prayer is that this moment becomes more than a headline, that it becomes a holy spark that ignites something real.

The church — and you and me — must be ready

This is where we come in. If people are turning to the Bible, the church has to be ready to lead them to the Author. And I’m not talking about pastors and leaders alone — I’m talking about all of us. I’m talking about me.

People who might never have stepped into a church are holding a Bible right now. Some don’t know where to begin. Some are skeptical. Some are hungry. If we stay silent, this moment may fade away like so many before it. But if we speak up — if we share the hope we’ve found — we can meet those searching hearts with truth and grace.

Charlie’s example and our call

Charlie Kirk lived the kind of bold faith I want to live. He didn’t compartmentalize his Christianity. He proclaimed it from the rooftop, even when it cost him culturally. That’s why he became my role model in Christ. And I believe the best way to honor that kind of legacy is not just to admire it — but to live it.

A Bible sitting unopened on a shelf won’t change a single life. But the Word of God, opened and believed, absolutely will.

This is our moment to shine the light of Christ, to speak boldly, and to live with conviction. Charlie did. Now it’s our turn.

America is reaching for the Bible again. But this time, it’s personal for me. Charlie Kirk wasn’t just a public figure I respected — he was a man whose faith inspired mine. His witness is still bearing fruit, even now. I don’t want to see this moment fade into history as just another cultural reaction. I want to see lives transformed.

That starts with believers like you and me living out the truth we say we believe.

This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Arch Kennedy’s blog.

​Christianity, Christian, Culture war, Biblical truth, Bible, Bible sales, Bible boom, Charlie kirk, Charlie kirk assassination, Faith 

In a sense, this is old news. In December 2021, CNN reported that the House’s January 6 committee had subpoenaed phone records of more than 100 people.

But that was mostly Trump officials, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. No surprise there. After all, the January 6 Select Committee was empaneled for the specific purpose of turning President Donald Trump into a criminal for supposedly aiding and abetting the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol.

It is well past time for the Republican Congress to fulfill its promise to hold accountable those who weaponized the federal government against Trump and his allies.

But when this story resurfaced earlier this month, there was something new, too. For one thing, the scope of the investigation was almost unbelievable — it turns out those subpoenaed phone records consisted of a staggering 30 million lines of phone data.

And when the select committee’s investigation went nowhere, one of the members — GOP malcontent and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) — informed the FBI about the phone data in Dec. 2023 when it was becoming apparent that Trump was the favorite to win the Republican nomination in 2024.

Greater than Watergate

More revelatory than the numbers of the phone records hauled in by the J6 committee was the news that the FBI had gone after these same records — and possibly more — in an effort to target Trump and his conservative allies. Not only did the agency have its eyes on Trump, it also went after nine Republican members of Congress — eight senators and a stray congressman, in an obvious effort to sweep up accomplices in the coup that never was.

Whether the FBI obtained the same phone records as the J6 committee is unclear. Kinzinger’s tip may have been moot, because an FBI memo released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) shows that by September 2023, the agency had already “conducted preliminary … analysis” on the call data of several members of Congress, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

According to CNN, “The FBI, as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation, used court orders in 2023 to obtain the phone records of nine GOP lawmakers.” These were not actual phone calls or text messages, but rather information about who called or texted whom and when.

Grassley posted the memo to his X account, with the message:

This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into “election conspiracy.” Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump.

He concluded, in all caps: “BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE.”

Which raises the question: Why did the story turn out to be a one-day wonder? Here we have the discovery of a partisan investigation seeking to uncover dirt on fellow members of Congress (if the records did indeed start with the J6 committee), or at the very least a rogue element of the executive branch targeting political enemies in the legislative branch.

As Johnson said:

They’re casting this net, this fishing expedition against members of the Senate and the House. There is no predicate. There’s no reason for this other than a fishing expedition, which, again, should outrage and shock every American.

Once again, a member of Congress implied that we are witness to a political scandal (one of many in the Biden administration) that is among the worst in our history. Yet when you do a Google search for stories related to phone toll records being subpoenaed by either the J6 committee or the FBI, virtually nothing comes up beyond Oct. 7, the day after Grassley released the memo.

Crickets …

A few news outlets reported in the following days that FBI Director Kash Patel had fired agents involved in the Arctic Frost investigation. In addition, scattered reports surfaced on Hagerty questioning why Verizon released his phone records without informing him.

Verizon told Fox News Digital:

Federal law requires companies like Verizon to respond to grand jury subpoenas. We received a valid subpoena and a court order to keep it confidential. We weren’t told why the information was requested or what the investigation was about.

Grassley and Johnson followed up with their own letter to Verizon and three other telecommunication companies demanding to be supplied with the same data that was provided to the FBI or special counsel Jack Smith. In addition, the senators expressed their belief that the records should have been privileged because they concerned the official constitutional duties of certifying the 2020 presidential election.

It seems like a real story — one that deserves the full attention of the press — but where are the special investigation teams at the New York Times and the Washington Post? What have you heard about this story on CBS, NBC, and ABC newscasts? Very little if anything. Certainly nothing in comparison to the coverage provided to Watergate.

Most recently, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Smith demanding a transcribed interview and documents along with communications related to his investigation of Trump. Well and good, but that interview will be conducted in secret, as were the interviews of Smith’s subordinates — one of whom, according to Jordan, “invoked the Fifth Amendment approximately 75 times.”

RELATED: Exclusive: House Republican seeks criminal investigation into Jack Smith’s alleged surveillance scheme

Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Time for Congress to step up

It is well past time for the Republican Congress to fulfill its promise to hold accountable those who weaponized the federal government against Trump and his allies. Press releases and secret interviews won’t do the job. We need public televised hearings, with witnesses ranging from members of the J6 committee, including Kinzinger, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), to former FBI Director Christopher Wray and Jack Smith.

Would the legacy media networks cover it? Probably not, because as we all know by now, those outfits are still after Trump’s scalp, and they will only seek to discredit Jordan and the other congressional investigators who want to know the truth. That doesn’t mean Republicans should give up.

Watergate started as a one-day story about a botched break-in. But even without Woodward and Bernstein, the famous team of reporters from the Washington Post, the story would never have been kept quiet unless Senate Democrats and congressmen didn’t do their job.

Now it’s time for Jordan, Grassley, and Patel to do theirs.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Watergate, Jack smith, Russiagate, Russian collusion, Jan. 6 committee, Espionage, Fbi, Fbi corruption, Accountability, Government accountability, Truth about jan 6, Weaponized justice, Weaponization of the federal government, Surveillance, Congress, Jim jordan, Adam kinzinger, Adam schiff, Liz cheney, Chuck grassley, Kash patel 

Since Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, pro-Palestine protests have erupted across the Western world. Two years in, these riotous events calling for the death of America and Israel, the fall of the West, and jihadi violence continue to rage.

But Mark Levin can’t figure something out: If these protesters are so concerned about the Palestinian people, why aren’t they upset about Hamas’ recent brutality against Palestinians?

Protesters are in the streets screaming about Israel starving Gazans — “a lie,” Levin says — but they don’t bat an eye when Hamas, just hours after releasing hostages as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and peace deal, orchestrates mass public executions of Palestinians.

Graphic videos and eyewitness accounts show masked Hamas gunmen dragging blindfolded and bound Palestinian men, whom Hamas deemed dissenters, into public squares in Gaza City and executing them at close range with high-powered rifles. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, numerous Palestinians have been killed in similar executions, including beatings, hangings in streets, and purges of suspected spies or anti-Hamas militias.

Further, the Doghmush clan, one of Gaza’s largest and most powerful Palestinian families and a longstanding enemy of Hamas, was targeted. A gang of Hamas military men infiltrated the family’s estate disguised as medical staff and proceeded to slaughter numerous clan members.

“Very few people are saying anything about this. I mean, this is coming out of reports out of the Middle East. It’s coming out of reports out of Gaza,” Levin says.

He wonders: Where’s the outrage from the same protesters who flooded campuses over false claims of Israeli genocide — while Hamas now unleashes a documented “reign of terror” on its own people in the territory Israel just surrendered?

Now Netanyahu’s threat to continue military operations against Hamas makes sense. The recent executions and Hamas’ refusal to return deceased hostages points to what Levin has been saying about the terrorist regime from the get-go: You can’t negotiate with them.

He laments the partial Israel Defense Forces withdrawal to enable the hostage release, as that’s what allowed Hamas to regroup and terrorize Gaza with public executions.

Levin warns that Israel will now insist on permanent security zones: “They’re going to have a defense security area — whether the Arab countries and Muslim countries like it or not, whether we like it or not — to protect their country. And they’re going to insist on it. This is what Netanyahu has said. This is what they’re going to do.”

Want more from Mark Levin?

To enjoy more of “the Great One” — Mark Levin as you’ve never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Levintv, Mark levin, Blazetv, Blaze media, Hamas israel, Ceasefire, Ceasefire israel hamas, Palestine, Pro palestinian protest