Part 2 - Judgement Houses
(Before I begin…a quick apology for the continual misspelling of the word 'Judgment' throughout this post. Apparently, the church that began this Hell House variation felt their message extends far beyond the need for proper 'riting or other such fancy stuff and, wanting to present a fair portrayal of this event, I'll just go ahead and swallow my grammatical OCD tendencies, leaving it spelled so below in the spirit of honesty…except for the one critic quoted below who got it right… Jage)
This 'alternate' alternative to the celebrating Halloween dilemma for American Fundamentalists actually scares me a tad more than the 'Hell House' phenomenon I discussed in the first part of this series (here). It's promoted as a less-horrific approach than the in-your-face style of Hell Houses, but the accounts I've read about this growing sensation over the past twenty years smell heavily of the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' reality in the final analysis. The main goal of the program is still to use fear as a tool for 'saving' a person and bringing them into the tithing fold (along with making some good seasonal revenue as well). This quote from Adam Butler of the Alabama Freethought Association who visited a Judgment House at Westwood Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL pretty much sums it up in my opinion...
"After I saw two children praying through tears at the end of a performance, I realized just how powerful the fear tactics used by Judgment House really are. The mentality of churches to produce such an atrocity is simple--scare children early in their lives and they'll fear it until the day they die...what is the purpose of Judgment House, if not to use fear to convince someone of something that reason cannot?"
As in the first part of this series, I'll start out with some simple background on the concept…
A Typical 'Judgement House'
From the mouths of the makers themselves of the official Judgement House Kit - "A standard presentation involves an eight-scene walk-through drama that tells the story of several youth facing their individual daily challenges. A guide leads visitors from one scene to the next as the narrative unfolds…Each 5 – 7 minute scene is a progression of one story that focuses on the decision we all must make to either accept or reject the salvation offered by our Lord Jesus…One teen chooses to accept Christ and another chooses to reject Him. Then the characters die in a common calamity such as an a car crash or natural disaster, and they are flung into their respective eternal destinations, thus revealing the end results of the choices they made -- everlasting Heaven or Hell…After the heaven scene the guests go to an invitation room where they are offered the opportunity to accept the free gift of salvation, to rededicate their lives to the Lord, or to pray with a counselor."
Scenes from 'Judgement Houses'
(From the Original Script by New Creation Evangelism - makers of the kit)
- A fire kills Darren and mortally injures Whitney. A medical team unsuccessfully tries to save her life. Whitney dies, is judged, and is granted her reward of eternal life in heaven. However, Darren did not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior while he was alive. He is thrown into the lake of fire for eternal torment without hope of mercy or relief. "The Hell scene usually consists of a dark room heated to about 80 degrees into which the participants are herded to listen to agonizing screams from invisible speakers that surround them. Heaven is usually depicted as a bright white room (with no deficit of air conditioning) where one is surrounded by soft music and men and women dressed in heavenly garb." Jesus is shown welcoming each new arrival. Christian counselors are accessible to the viewers as they exit the heaven scene.
(From the Updated Script by New Creation Evangelism)
- This year’s script is called ABDUCTED. It is the story of two middle school girls who are in the parking lot of a movie theatre and are taken away. It is a parent’s worst nightmare. You will see the trauma that the parents go through and the reaction of the girls, one who has a personal relationship with Christ and the other who does not. You will see how they handle their circumstance and you will follow them in the midst of their terrifying experience. More and more there seems to be headline news about kidnappings and abductions. This is a relevant storyline that touches the hearts of not just teens but parents as well.
(From a Judgement House by Northside Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, TN)
- This year's Judgment House — "In the Twinkling of an Eye" — will emphasize the rapture, a future Biblical event where the faithful suddenly disappear from earth. The drama is being put together with the help of David Allen, an illusionist from Georgia, and Clark expects attendance to exceed that of last year's event.
(From a Judgement House by First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, FL in 2002)
- "People lie dying on the street of a small Florida town hit by a tornado, their mangled bodies buried under uprooted palm trees. Survivors walk around in a daze, pleading for help. A small boy, blood running down his face, goes from person to person asking: "Have you seen my mom?" A busload of people arrive to witness the carnage. They lift the yellow tape of the police cordon and walk through the scene, anxiety written on their faces. But they make no attempt to help. They are hurried on by a tour guide, who leads them into a makeshift operating theatre where victims lie on the floor screaming in pain"
(From the 2005 Judgement House by First Baptist Church of Maryville, IL)
- More than 1,500 people toured the church's Judgment House last year. The theme this year is "Family Skeletons: What's hiding in your closet?" Judgment House is a one-hour, guided walk-through drama based on the reality of American life. Guests are guided through several scenes in the lives of a typical American family as they struggle to live the American Dream while they cope with the price they pay for the realities of unemployment and alcohol abuse.
The History of 'Judgement Houses'
Tom Hudgins, youth pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, FL created the first Judgment House in 1983 "as a Christian alternative to Halloween." Since then, he founded New Creation Evangelism, Inc (also in Clearwater) to begin selling the 'concept' and script kits for the event. But - don't order just yet - the payment of $335.00 (US) doesn't just buy the kit…the participating church also becomes a 'Covenant Church' with annual membership fees and new sinner scripts each year. If you're curious what churches in your state are on the membership roles, click here for an interactive map for each state. So far, this particular outbreak has mostly been contained within the Baptist Church in southern states, but it is beginning to spread across the land between the shining seas as a quickening pace.
The Target Audience
As with the Hell House goals, there's a specific focus on aiming the message of eternal doom and punishment for certain sexual and social behavior on teens and pre-teens. The scripted stories in Judgement Houses are always about teens making bad choices while children. And it's having the desired effect. Here's a letter sent in to New Creation Evangelism by a Baptist minister operating a Judgement House…
"A group of 30 teenagers came through our Judgement House presentation with some pretty rough looking guys and gals. The youth pastor that brought the group was really excited that so many unsaved teenagers came with him to tour Judgement House. After going through the tour, one of the boys raised his hand for salvation during the invitation and went for counseling. No one else in the group responded to the invitation.
Several hours later the youth pastor called my cell phone. He was sobbing uncontrollably as he shared his story with me. He had been discouraged that only one young man from his group was saved. On his way home he was upset because it seemed that God had not worked. He began to rationalize why no one else had responded—the drama wasn’t real enough, the invitation wasn’t strong enough, hell wasn’t hot enough, etc.
When he got back to his church parking lot, the one 14-year-old boy who did make a decision asked if he could say something to the entire group. The youth pastor gave him the okay. All the students gathered around while this newly saved teenager began to speak. The teenager was not raised in church but with the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God’s grace toward him, he started to give the plan of salvation to his fellow students. He quoted Scripture that he heard in the invitation room word for word and presented the gospel in clear fashion. His final statement was, “I have only been saved for an hour but God has made a big difference in my life already.” With that final statement, he gave a chance for others to respond to what he had already tasted. Fourteen of his peers accepted the Lord in that parking lot!
Funny isn’t it how God can continue to work even after the groups leave our churches? Our job is to sow the seed…Judgement House allows us to do that time and time again.
Serving the Lord and Loving it!
Dan Kubish
Messiah Baptist Church
Wichita, Kansas"
On the Light Side
Here's the bugger about this one…there is no light side. The overly-obvious Hell Houses are finally starting to get some scrutiny and scorn from the sane, but Judgement Houses are still pretty much flying under the radar. If a Judgement House isn't in your city or state this year, chances are it likely will be in one of the Halloweens to come… Jage
Next: Part 3 - Tribulation Trails and Revelation Walks (Final Segment)
Some Related Judgement House Stories Online:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/fundamentalists/fund151.html
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/282005c.asp
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/hallow1.htm
http://www.mbcpathway.com/quasar/isl/content/content.isl?channelid=-1999993227&partnerid=-1999999057&contentid=-1999965368
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