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Hell House Terrorism
by Janet Brazill
| In what is becoming an annual event, the once-enjoyable holiday of Halloween is being used increasingly for terrorism. |
Formerly an occasion for dressing up in colorful costumes, carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating, this happy childhood tradition is now considered to be a form of devil worship by those Christians who believe in the Devil. Not being content with stopping schools from participating in such harmless fun, these same Christians have in recent years begun appropriating this holiday for their own propaganda in the form of Hell Houses. |
Young people are impressionable. So Hell Houses have become elaborate productions of play-acting demonstrating a fundamentalist morality. Audiences are escorted by a Demon Guide through various scenes staged to portray sins and their consequences, where "sins" include drunken driving, suicide, abortion, school shootings and homosexuality, all leading to death and consignment of the offender to the horrors of Hell. |
No attempt is made, of course, to present the causes of these events - the many reasons justifying abortions, such as the woman whose pregnancy will lead to life impairment or whose fetus will be born without a brain; the many ways to acquire HIV-AIDS, including blood transfusions or the married women who contract AIDS from their husbands. No presentation of the fact that not everyone condemns homosexuality the way fundamentalists do. |
After viewing these vivid scenes, visitors are treated to an enactment of "Hell," complete with bad smells, tormented people, evil music, darkness and anguish. This is presented as the final destination for those who commit the sins just witnessed - a terrifying place where excruciating punishment will continue for all of eternity! |
Now that audiences are suitably terrorized, the offer of hope is extended, with a scene of heaven's glory. They are told that only by believing in Jesus Christ can they count on going to heaven when they die. |
Yes, young people are impressionable, but they are also idealistic. Many will realize instinctively that such a portrayal does not describe an admirable god. Only a petty tyrant whose majesty is offended would condemn all those who do not bow down to him to eternal torment. The Creator should have no need for groveling sycophants. |
Those who preach such an idea of God are akin to Jonathan Edwards, who assured the faithful that "the sight of hell-torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever." Young people intuitively recognize that taking sadistic pleasure in the suffering of others is not a commendable attitude. |
So have your Hell Houses. Assault the sensitivities of young people who feel constrained to attend such productions. But don't expect all to be swayed by your blatant dogma. Modern young people, having witnessed the awful spectacle of the 9-11 terrorism, and aware of the many suicide attacks taking place every day, have learned something about terrorists. |
They understand that terrorism is the desperate act of those who cannot convince through logic. |
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