Introductions and a Halloween Story by Denise Morris on Oct 31, 2006 at 3:27 PM

I'm excited to be blogging with you, and I'm looking forward to some interesting discussion! So, here goes my first post.

Since it's Halloween, I thought I'd be current and share this article from Newsweek. It's about something called Hell House, "an evangelical Christian version of a haunted house." Audience members walk through graphic depictions of sinful scenes (an abortion, a gay man getting AIDS, a suicide), and at the end, an actor playing Jesus calls on people to repent.

The performance, which was created by Keenan Roberts, a pastor from Denver, is meant to waken people to the reality of what sin is and does, no matter how visually and emotionally disturbing that may be. For example, the abortion scene in Hell House is apparently so upsetting that, according to the article, people have fainted while watching it. Roberts, however, thinks it is a powerful and effective witnessing tool:

A lot of the people in the audience never go to church.... We've got 45 minutes to push the pedal to the metal to make the most indelible imprint we can, because the rest of the year we do it with a milk-and-cookies kind of approach.

Hmm. I haven't seen this show, but it sounds pretty hardcore. I've always been somewhat skeptical of the "scared into salvation" approach, partly because I think it seems more beautiful and real for people to accept Christ because they have realized the grace offered on the cross, not because they're frightened of a guy dressed up in a red devil costume.

But maybe there's something to Hell House. Maybe it gives people a good look at what sin is, and perhaps it is an effective way of helping people realize their depravity without Christ.

Because I haven't seen Hell House, I don't feel qualified to make a judgment about it. However, I guess I would hope that we as Christians are careful to find the right balance in the way we present the Gospel. God continuously points out our sin throughout Scripture and warns us of the consequences of rejecting Him. Yet He also demonstrates His graceful love for us in a way that is gentle and humble.

But, like I said, I haven't seen the show. Have any of you seen or heard of Hell House? If so, what did you think? Was it an effective witnessing tool or just the opposite?