Monday, 31 October 2011
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The Hell House: Evangelical Tool or Deceptive Halloween Trick?
I remember around this time a couple years ago, a girl I worked with asked off for the entire week of Halloween. She had mentioned to our manager that it was for a Christian event. Having told me she was a youth pastor, I thought perhaps she was taking her group on a trip. I asked what her youth group was doing during her days off, and she explained: We're having a Hell house.
You may have seen signs for Hell houses in your own area. They look like any other haunted house attraction on the outside, but the purpose is very different. While the scenes and events inside are scary, they are meant to depict sin in its ultimate vile form. Many Hell houses portray controversial issues – such as abortion, suicide, murder and adultery – in a detailed, gruesome light.
All of this is to contrast the final portion of the Hell house tour: an open invitation to accept Christ and avoid having to face all of these horrifying images in real life.
The first Hell house was created in 1971 by Jerry Falwell, televangelist and founder of Liberty Christian Academy. Scaremare, as it is called, is now in its 39th season, and the university's website boasts having led more than 26,000 into a relationship with Jesus Christ through Scaremare.
Another well known Hell house is the Temple Hell House in Temple, Texas. Hosted by Bethel Chuch, the Temple Hell House includes, according to its website, a 45 minute tour “guided by a demon,” featuring “guns, blood, violence, intense scenes and disturbing images.”
While Hell houses attract thousands of people, they also cost thousands of dollars and require thousands of volunteer hours to put together. But if you want to start a Hell house, New Destiny Christian Center in Thornton, Colorado, wants to help you out – with its Hell House Outreach Kit. Its promotional motto:
Shake your city with the most
"in-your-face, high-flyin', no denyin', death-defyin', Satan-be-cryin', keep-ya-from-fryin', theatrical stylin', no holds barred, cutting-edge"
evangelism tool of the new millennium!The Hell house has been around for quite a long time, and while the concept is indeed interesting, it is no less controversial. It may be a bit deceptive, but many churches claim it's nothing if not effective.
Below is the promotional video for this year's Dark Rail Hell House, sponsored by Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas. This video contains dramatic interpretations of drug use, violence and suicide, and it may not be suitable for children. You can get more information about the Hell house on their website.
Have you ever been to a Hell house? Have you ever helped put on a Hell house? Do you see these as effective ministry tools, or are they too deceptive?
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Comments (16)
Wow, yet another perfectly logical reason to hate Christians! Never fail to come up with more and more.
I don't see the connection between being Christian and never having to deal with those types of things in "real life." >_> Being Christian doesn't mean you magically never have anything bad happen to you. *facepalm*
@hollowhopes@xanga - *raises hand* I'm Christian. :( Don't hate me. I don't hate you, if that helps any. :P@hollowhopes@xanga - A-FREAKING-MEN.
@Ooglick@xanga - I just know a lot of Christians that make life harder to deal with, and myself a lot more angry. Ruining families and being "nice" only to try to convert me has turned me off well beyond repair. Don't take it personally.
man.... you Christians are pretty sadistic. not all of us heathens are drug addicts, suicidal, promiscuous, or violent. in fact, i was only suicidal when i WAS Christian, and i can definitely connect my recovery to my abandonment of faith. if anything, the trailer was a great depiction of what Christianity was like for me.
and what's with the dead kid with the rosary? Catholic = Christian. morons.
@hollowhopes@xanga - *nods* If you've had horrible personal experiences with people who have done that then it's understandable that you feel that way. I'm sorry that some people are jerks. >.< I promise that not all Christians are jerks.
@hollowhopes@xanga - A stretch to hate Christians because you know a lot that are jerks. I meet jerks from all walks of life and I do not hate anyone. I promise I can never be mistaken for a Christian either.
Unconditional love is unconditional. I feel your frustration as some faiths do put their conditions on unconditional. I have been called a thief and a bandit by some here on this loving Christian site but they do not get excluded from my unconditional love. Its easier to love than to hate. Nobody should be allowed to effect you but you.good thoughts,justmarty
@hollowhopes@xanga - I agree completely and I am a Christian. Please know we're not all cray cray :[
Hmmm, well, I'm really not a huge fan of the hell-fire approach to salvation at all, but I'll admit that I went to one of these and I thought it was really powerful and it actually helped my walk. I think because a lot of the presentation I went to was showing how Satan lies to us and makes us believe certain things about ourselves and other people that can drastically impact our lives. I actually ended up crying in the one I went to, because the scenes were so powerful and very realistic. But I can see that most people don't like this tactic, and I do understand why.
Disgusting.
My issue is I feel like being a Christian doesn't protect you from some of these realities. Drug use, maybe, but suicide? If you are suicidal, God and prayer can only be part of the solution, not the whole solution. Having faith in Jesus Christ isn't going to magically make you want to keep on living.
Meh, whatever.
I really don't think this is an appropriate way to promote Christianity at all. Plus, even by becoming a Christian, you can't escape all the terrible things in the world! This is not an accurate representation of "hell" if that's what they're trying to do. It's just another way of manipulating emotions in order to convert more people.
Greaaat....lets freak out the poor kids so they'll aceppt Jesus? No offense, but give me a freggin break. How about offering something real?
I pass that sign every time I visit home from college.
Also, it may be "effective" but its only effective at scaring people into their religion.
Using fear to "scare" people into accepting Christ is anti-Christian. We don't even know much about hell anyways... is it permanent? Is it really fire and brimstone? I think hell is to be completely cut off from God. I like the Asian Orthodox interpretation... For all we know, everybody goes to heaven, but let's not bank on this. However, hell houses are just going to turn people off of religion. A lot of those scenarios are not even commented on in the Bible, and are a complete malignant insult to science. For example, even though abortions are controversial (and I would never have one myself, but I think it should still be legal... giving women options actually decreases the likeihood of abortion... for example, countries where abortion is illegal have the highest rates of abortion), they are safe medical procedures. This is just insulting, and makes all Christians look nuts. I am often embarassed to call myself a Christian because I loathe being associated with stuff like this. I am a Canadian, and think that Hell Houses are are very American phenomenon. Christianity in Canada is generally much less fundamentalist, and more Christians in Canada are liberal in their political choices (ex. pro-choice, tolerant towards homosexuals, feminist, etc.). My parents, who are extremely conservative, think Hell Houses are an absolutely ludicrous idea. Jesus promoted love, altruism, and feminism. This is just insulting and makes us all look bad. If it makes so many people loathe Christianity and turn people off of Jesus, HOW can this be from God?
Hell House is just a tool of deception to turn people away from God, or make it more impossible to know Him.
Jerry Falwell has always been a false servant. He's the typical worldly loudmouth who uses God's words to deceive people and to grow his bank account. He's been with prostitutes and we all know the tears he shed. Even though he turned around and sinned afterwards. He's a lost soul and unwilling to sacrifice his worldly life like Jesus commanded we do. And its no surprise that the man came up with this evil attraction.
Hell House only legitimizes violent video games and movies we see today. It mixes right in because it is WORLDLY. The Trinity church is just another deceived institution. And it will be held accountable. When a tragic event occurs, do we see it coming? Do we pursue it? Not at all. When it happens, It creeps up on us because of someone else's Sin. We become traumatized, injured, or even killed. The Sin is on that person's hands.
Portraying Sinful acts is not acceptable to God. Even if it is fake. Having sex in a porn movie is sinful. If two people were naked and only pretended to have sex, would it be okay to just prove a point? NO. It is a worldly act. It is the promotion of evil through deception. And it is helping to worsen the ways of the world. We must not be political. We must respect free will and simply set an example of sacrifice for people to witness. We must not portray Hell or predict the future. To do so is to stand in front of God. Only He judges or shows us what lies beyond this life.
What would Jesus do?
He would not have used fear to bring others to God. The reason is because it is IMPOSSIBLE to bring others to God this way. People must free willingly walk to Him. Their willingness to surrender and sacrifice this worldly life is a leap of faith and trust. No one can be coerced or forced. And that is the reason why the Trinity church will pay for its mistake.
Btw, Jesus didn't promote feminism.