Thou Shalt Be A Scary God - PhillyBlog

chrissayer · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2004, 03:25 PM

This caught my eye. Evangelicals are scaring people to Christ.

Of course, traditional churches have been doing that for 1000 years.

But:

Quote:

Faith Through Fright
Depictions of Death and Hell Aim to Save

By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 30, 2004; Page A01

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Visitors are led around the grounds of an abandoned brick orphanage, where bodies spill out of the wreckage of a grisly car crash, a young woman is laid to rest and a lashed and bloody Jesus Christ hangs on a cross.

Outside, they are invited into white tents, where students like Steve Cashman, 21, explain the meaning of it all.

"Part of life is death," Cashman told a group of adults and teenagers sitting quietly on folding metal chairs last week. "It's an eternal death. It's hell. But the gift of God is life."

By tonight, 20,000 people from across the Eastern Seaboard will have made a pilgrimage here this month. Nearly all will have been scared senseless. And many say they will have been saved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Oct29.html

sycamore · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2004, 03:41 PM

Chris, you have got to be getting old. A good liberal would have noted that the show is linked to Jerry Falwell. :twisted:

chrissayer · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2004, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycamore

Chris, you have got to be getting old. A good liberal would have noted that the show is linked to Jerry Falwell. :twisted:

I did notice it, but just figured that I would leave the discovery to you all. Besides, I never quite know where to cut a story off in a quoted passage. Too much, no one reads; too little, and no one can discuss it.

Also, I figured that folks might know that anything coming out of Lynchburg is tied to Jerry Falwell. Except in Lynchburg, TN where everything is tied to Jack Daniels. Guess which I prefer.

IMPAQ · #4 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Begun in the 1970s by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, there are now some 3,000 Hell Houses across the country every year. Visitors are led through a series of rooms where skits are performed about school shootings, people dying of AIDS, the horrors of abortion and performing human sacrifices, among other topics. They are then lead into hell, where they find the tormented souls of suicide victims, Satan worshippers, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and other nonbelievers of Jesus. Visitors are then asked if they accept Jesus. If they do, they are let into a party. If not, they are booted out into the street.

http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=12895

There was one at that huge church on Route 73 just past that weirdo strip club.

peacemover · #5 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 04:23 PM

It is sad that so many of the more vocal Christian fundamentalists resort to so much fear-mongering and what seems to border on hate speech.

It really portrays Christianity in general in a negative light to much of the American public. I am a Christian and consider myself socially progressive, and I am deeply disappointed when I hear of these kinds of fear-mongering shock tactics- particularly when they are used to try and manipulate people who are seeking spiritual nurturing and direction and are at a very vulnerable point in their lives.

There is an independent film on this topic, that I have not seen, but looks fascinating. It is called Hell House, if I am not mistaken:

http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?...#screenformats

Has anyone seen it? If so, what did you think of it?

thomast · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 06:21 PM

Mentioned in passing in the WaPo article, here's the full Reuter's article about the parody that changes no words:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6635196

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