Halloween: Consumeristic Numbness, or the Desire for Aliveness through Contact with Death?
Season 2, Episode 209, Oct 31, 2019, 09:22 AM
What do our cultural practices around Halloween tell us about who we are? Is Halloween just another way for us to become numb, or do our Halloween practices contain kernels of unfulfilled desire for deeper living, and lives that matter?
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Here are timecodes to help you navigate through today’s show:
00:21 What was your favorite Halloween costume growing up? Shayna was all about the candy; Chris was all about the envy of others whose costumes were better than his.
02:52 We are unbreaking news, so What In God’s Name takes a moment to acknowledge both the fires in California and the impeachment inquiry process in Washington, noting some of the moral questions these raise.
06:48 Is there anything to the warnings that some Christians raise about the dangers of Halloween as allowing Satan a foothold? Or are these the ravings of crackpots?
9:47 What moral questions are raised by the fact that we spend, by recent accounts, upwards of 9 billion dollars on Halloween costumes, decorations, and candy? More broadly, what is a critique of consumerism from a spiritual perspective?
12:03 What does all our energy around Halloween signify about what we are hungry for? Are we seeking numbness, or seeking a way to break out of numbness?
18:37 Is there a connection between Halloween and extreme roller coasters in our culture today?
19:30 How does danger make us feel alive? Are we a people who are largely asleep?
20:37 Is modern American life the numbness of consumerism interspersed with absolute terror?