They Will Know Us By Our Love

This American Life highlights the popular church practice of putting on Judgement Houses or Hell Houses at Halloween. Taking the classic haunted house as a starting point, these houses attempt to build a narrative about how if you sin on earth, God will send you to hell. As my wife put it, “If we can’t love them into the Kingdom, we can at least scare the hell out of ‘em!”

I’m sure churches every year get tons of kids to pray the prayer of salvation because they are scared of going to hell, but what a horrible introduction to the Gospel, this Good News that people proclaim. So much for rewards in heaven, the transforming love of redemption, the power of grace and mercy. Nope, the Gospel is merely a get-out-of-hell free card according to these Judgement houses.