Judgement House

[BlackCat13]

So, some Christian churches, especially around Halloween, have what they call "Judgement Houses". http://judgmenthouse.info/ There's a link for more info, as it is apparently a centralized idea churches can essentially buy into. Judgement House is a walk-through drama showing the "consequences" of one's actions, be they choosing Jesus, not choosing, or actively rejecting. Some accident happens, and the people end up having to deal with their decision, by either going to Hell or Heaven. Also, not choosing Christ simply equals choosing Satan in this organization's book.

It's a very clever way of converting people who are on the border about being a Christian, and uses great scare tactics. I've been through one before (and honestly, laughed half the time because it is SO over the top). One statement on the website holds that "Judgement House has the unique ability to communicate the Gospel message to a wide variety of audiences. People of different age, race, denomination, and spiritual maturity engage in an experience that forces them to make a decision about Jesus Christ and His sacrificial offer of salvation. Judgement House remains one of the only evangelistic tools to see 10% of its participants make a first time profession of faith."

So, what do you think? Is this ethical?

[Clownboat]

Good grief. The powers of compartmentalisation of Christians is amazing to me.

For the sake of contemplation, assume that the OT Jewish God actually exists as described.

Do they not perceive the potential risks to their own souls, if by accepting Christ they place themselves into a state of blasphemy against that God?

Looks like you found the theme to the counter Hell House.

I can see the last scene now, if you don't accept the Jewish god, you will be raped and your belly cut open in order to spill your guts. Is that enough scare to be effective though?

[Adurumus]

Holy Cow! Err, swine/clams. At any rate, I thought Judaism was more peaceful than that!

[Goat]

Ha, ha. I think you mean accept not except.

I wonder how they arrive at the 10% number. I wonder even more, how many of those are still in after a year.

I don't know about that..> I have excepted Jesus in my life.

[postroad]

Good grief. The powers of compartmentalisation of Christians is amazing to me.

For the sake of contemplation, assume that the OT Jewish God actually exists as described.

Do they not perceive the potential risks to their own souls, if by accepting Christ they place themselves into a state of blasphemy against that God?

Looks like you found the theme to the counter Hell House.

I can see the last scene now, if you don't accept the Jewish god, you will be raped and your belly cut open in order to spill your guts. Is that enough scare to be effective though?

Not that I accept the Jewish concept of God. But Christians obviously must, according to my concept of logic.

I have not been able to reconcile the OT to the NT and I have spent countless hours studying them both.

Now what I find is that the OT God was not to much concerned with non believers until they start to mess with Him and His.

[McCulloch]

Ha, ha. I think you mean accept not except.

I don't know about that..> I have excepted Jesus in my life.

As have I, but I don't expect a crowd of people at a church sponsored event to encourage me to do so.

[Confused]

Moderator Action

As the OP clearly is looking for the ethical implications in his OP statement, I have moved this to Right and Wrong.

______________

Moderator actions indicate that a thread/post has been moved, merged, or split. Such actions are taken at the discretion of a moderator.

[Confused]

So, some Christian churches, especially around Halloween, have what they call "Judgement Houses". http://judgmenthouse.info/ There's a link for more info, as it is apparently a centralized idea churches can essentially buy into. Judgement House is a walk-through drama showing the "consequences" of one's actions, be they choosing Jesus, not choosing, or actively rejecting. Some accident happens, and the people end up having to deal with their decision, by either going to Hell or Heaven. Also, not choosing Christ simply equals choosing Satan in this organization's book.

It's a very clever way of converting people who are on the border about being a Christian, and uses great scare tactics. I've been through one before (and honestly, laughed half the time because it is SO over the top). One statement on the website holds that "Judgement House has the unique ability to communicate the Gospel message to a wide variety of audiences. People of different age, race, denomination, and spiritual maturity engage in an experience that forces them to make a decision about Jesus Christ and His sacrificial offer of salvation. Judgement House remains one of the only evangelistic tools to see 10% of its participants make a first time profession of faith."

So, what do you think? Is this ethical?

I think it is a gross distortion of what Christianity is suppose to ascribe to in my humble opinion. Now, if one is an adult, they have the right to make their own decisions about the message such a place implies. If they are subject to scare tactics, then they have every right to choose the "lesser evil" if that is the message they have gleaned from such an experience. But just as there are ratings on television shows about age appropriate, I just don't see how this type of experience is appropriate for children. Even teenagers. We should be raising our children to think for themselves after giving them all the information in a clear and nonthreatening way.
Just last night I had a huge argument with my 13 year old daughter. She gets birth control shots every 13 weeks, not because she is sexually active yet, but because her hormones go so out of whack she becomes a raging lunatic around that time of the month and her grades as well has her social skills suffer as a result. Well, she is due for that shot this week, and let me tell you, emotional mood swings are from one extreme to another. Exposing her to something like this when her hormonal fluctuations are like this would not only be irresponsible of me, but detrimental to her physically and emotionally.
When you look at what these groups are trying to do, save a soul, my daughters issues may seem mild comparatively to them. However, I can't see a good outcome anyway this would play out should she be exposed to such an experience at such a vulnerable age and state.

[BlackCat13]

Hell Houses:
A Hell House consists of a group of horrific scenes within a type of haunted house. The customer walks through a sequence of tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion. The last scene is different; it is typically a portrayal of heaven. The visitors are then asked to accept salvation by repenting of their sins and trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Hell Houses are a relatively new evangelistic technique used by many hundreds of fundamentalist and other evangelical churches in North America. One intent is to proselytize the unsaved public. Another is to promote certain conservative Christian beliefs, such as:

• That abortions kill human persons;
• That sexual orientation is a matter of choice, is changeable, and that God hates same-sex behavior;
• That everyone who is not saved will go to Hell when they die. They will then be eternally tortured without any hope of mercy or release;
• That underground Satanic cults engage in widespread sacrifice of humans.

Some hell houses are disguised to resemble conventional secular haunted houses. The customer only realizes that they have a religious theme after they have bought their ticket and gone part of the way through the scenes.

Typical scenes are:

• A phoney reenactment of the murder of Cassie Bernall, a teenager victim at the Columbine High School in 1999-APR. She was allegedly asked whether she believed in God, answered yes, and was murdered on the spot. The incident never happened. But the story has taken on a life of its own. She is frequently referred to in conservative Christian magazines, books, and radio programs as a Christian martyr.
• A person being sacrificed during a Satanic ritual. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) web site warned of Wiccan rituals and stated "... evidence persists that some Satanists and voodoo groups offer sacrifices -- usual animals, but, possibly, human babies" at this time. Satanic Ritual Abuse was a widespread hoax that was commonly believed during the 1980s and early 1990s.
• Women undergoing very bloody late-term abortions, complete with screaming, lots of blood, and particularly insensitive, uncaring health providers. Some of these scenes have been partly abandoned in recent years in favor of a portrayal of guilt and depression arising from Post Abortion Syndrome.
• Gays and lesbians being tortured in hell for all eternity because of their same-sex behavior while they were alive on earth.
• The dangers of "dabbling" in the occult and becoming demon possessed.
• Personal tragedies arising from pre-marital sex.
• Disastrous tragedies and loss of life resulting from drunk driving.
• A man having an argument with his wife and is later seduced by his secretary.
• Witches pressuring a depressed teen to murder his fellow students.
• A 9/11 ground zero scene.

Criticisms of the Hell House concept:

• The Colorado Council of Churches, criticized the scare tactics used in the Arvada Hell House. They were also critical of the literal demonization of homosexuals and abortion providers.
• Rev. J.T. Tucker, director of youth ministries at Northway Christian
  Church in Dallas, TX suggests that any shock value wears off quickly in a society saturated with violent images. He commented: "I detest those things...Trying to scare people into a decision [for Jesus] is very wrong...If you consider all the money, along with ministry hours...if they would refocus those areas on missions in urban Dallas, I think they would have a lot bigger return..."
• The Human Rights Campaign is a group which promotes equal rights for gays and lesbians. They note that homosexuals are frequently demonized in Hell Houses. The reality of sexual orientation is also distorted. A Florida house features a "demon" who dances around the coffin of an AIDS victim, overjoyed that the dead man is now suffering in hell. He declares "I tricked him into believing he was born gay! Have you ever heard something so silly?" HRC spokesperson Wayne Besen calls such displays "pornography for the soul...It's poising the minds of people...It's especially hurting gay and lesbian youth who are already under pressure."
• The Rev. Ballard's "Hell House" in Warren County OH was criticized by Doreen Cudnik, executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati. She said that the display "is out of touch with AIDS in the year 2000. To say gay equals AIDS equals burning in hell has the dangerous potential to lead to hate crimes against the gay community."
• The Merced, CA Sun-Star newspaper criticized the New Beginning Christian Center for what the paper called an "unnecessarily brutal and insensitive" event. The church's pastor, Mike Duckworth, said: "We're going to scare the hell out of people and, at the end, show them there's a way out--Jesus Christ. We're bringing controversial issues to the forefront and then giving an antidote."
• A Christian radio station in Fairfield, OH terminated ads which promoted Kings Point Church of God's Hell House because the ads invited listeners to "come see the funeral of a homosexual AIDS patient." The Cincinnati Enquirer said that the ads were "blatant gay bashing."

Author's note:

Hell Houses appear to spread misinformation and disinformation about a variety of topics:

• The nature of abortion: 90% of all abortions are performed in the first trimester. The percentage of third-trimester abortions -- as portrayed in the play -- is less than 1%) and are often performed because of a major genetic abnormality in the fetus.
• The motivation and demeanor of abortion providers.
• The appearance, beliefs and activities of Witches and other Neopagans.
• The Satanic ritual abuse hoax.
• The nature of sexual orientation.

We feel that their credibility will eventually suffer in the eyes of the public. Their Hell Houses may do more harm than good to the cause of their sponsors.

Ultimately, I believe that any Christian church or organization that associates themselves with this practice has irrevocably damaged their reputation for being honest and fair. Those who indulge in this kind of sensationalistic evangelism are not interested in presenting truth or gaining converts who can think.

I feel I should bring up that Hell Houses and Judgement House are (ever so slightly) different. Apparently, Hell Houses are waaaaaay more controversial. >.>

"Judgement House and Hell House are only similar in that they are both walk-through dramatic presentations in which a guide helps audience members follow the story or scene being shared. This is the only thing they have in common. ...Judgement House does not deal with socially controversial issues and instead chooses to focus the entire presentation and in fact every scene, even Hell, on presenting people with the opportunity to choose a saving and personal relationship with Jesus Christ....Hell House on the other hand, deals very graphically with highly controversial social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, date rape and suicide. The guides for a Hell House presentation are demons who want to convince the audience that there is a penalty for these sinful social behaviors. Hell House is very controversial, not only to most churches but to the general public as well. "

That's all found on the Judgement House website.

I have to agree that both seem somewhat looney, but I can definitely see where scare tactics would work on the populace. I mean...a lot of people would accept Jesus Christ simply on the off-chance what these churches say is right. Better safe than sorry, right?

I love that churches reportedly spend anywhere from $3500- $15,000 on these productions. Countering Halloween (although these do occur year round apparently) and "saving souls" seems to be worth a huge investment.

Personally, I think when I have kids I will be taking them trick or treating, maybe to some of these "fall festivals" for the fun of it...one of these things...no. I don't think I'll ever allow my kids near this kind of thing. It's pushing beliefs on impressionable youth with whom scare tactics work amazingly well. As attested to by the fact that I thought of this because a girl who goes to my dance school who is in high school went to one and came home proclaiming on facebook she will now be reading her Bible on a daily basis because she doesn't want to risk Hell. Well, I guess no one would, given all that implies, if it actually exists.

[McCulloch]

Perhaps the distinction between Hell Houses and Judgement Houses is akin to the distinction between Fundamentalist and Evangelical.

[james.hoggatt]

So, some Christian churches, especially around Halloween, have what they call "Judgement Houses". http://judgmenthouse.info/ There's a link for more info, as it is apparently a centralized idea churches can essentially buy into. Judgement House is a walk-through drama showing the "consequences" of one's actions, be they choosing Jesus, not choosing, or actively rejecting. Some accident happens, and the people end up having to deal with their decision, by either going to Hell or Heaven. Also, not choosing Christ simply equals choosing Satan in this organization's book.

It's a very clever way of converting people who are on the border about being a Christian, and uses great scare tactics. I've been through one before (and honestly, laughed half the time because it is SO over the top). One statement on the website holds that "Judgement House has the unique ability to communicate the Gospel message to a wide variety of audiences. People of different age, race, denomination, and spiritual maturity engage in an experience that forces them to make a decision about Jesus Christ and His sacrificial offer of salvation. Judgement House remains one of the only evangelistic tools to see 10% of its participants make a first time profession of faith."

So, what do you think? Is this ethical?

Its a theatrical version of Pascal's Wager, and in much the same way the theatre show doesn't ask you to make an ethical decision but a statistical one. In the long run, theatre of religion has created a lot more "christians" than anything else, however; the vast majority of those people have no faith of which to speak.

In terms of whether scare tactics are moral, I think that it depends on the intent behind the tactic. If the scare tactics are truly meant to 'help' then I don't find them ethically inconceivable-- after all ethics and morality are based in intent not effect.