Nothing Says Halloween Fun Like Being ‘Saved’ In An Evangelical House Of Horrors

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I know all of us parents are on the lookout for fun and unique ways to celebrate the Halloween season and boy, do I have a suggestion for you! Were you wondering to yourself if Halloween was the appropriate time to contemplate with your child what happens to you after you die? I know I sure was. Well, Liberty University has given us an amazing option for helping to “save” people and bring them to Jesus by scaring the ever-living shit out of them in an Evangelical house of horrors and reminding them that they need Jesus to be saved. Neato, right?!

Every year, Liberty University puts together an event called “Scaremare”, designed to remind us all that we are terrible sinners who will eventually die and be put before the Lord for final judgment and that deciding to be “saved” is the solution. Festive, isn’t it?? Here is the mission statement, right from their website:

Scaremare presents fun-house rooms and scenes of death in order to confront people with the question “What happens after I die?”

Groups of people experience a 40-minute journey, passing through creepy trails, dark woods and eventually entering the House. At the end of the experience, visitors are presented with an answer to this question and given the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Approximately 26,000 people have made decisions for Christ over the past two decades. Ironically, this House of Death points to the Way of Life!

SO ironic! I can imagine how very life-changing a creepy haunted house full of potential ways to die would be and then, at the end, they have your worries solved! Some of the testimonials are pretty scary:

“Scaremare gave me the opportunity to make my friend think about her life. Whether she will ever come to believe in God and accept Him into her life, I don’t know but at least she has to think about it and make her decision. Thank you for giving me the chance to share Christ with her through the whole Scaremare experience.”

 

“Last night I went to Scaremare, it was the scariest Haunted House I have been in, and it also had the best message. We traveled 4 hours there from VA Beach and back but it was worth it. My best friend and her brother got saved, and I was so happy for her. All I could do was hug her. I think Scaremare is a really good idea, and it should keep going!”

 

“It’s been almost a year and Scaremare is still ministering my walk with God. I’ve gone through a few fun/death houses. Actually I’m even a part of one in Miami, FL. Scaremare is a ”¦ stunning way to draw the lost to redemption, and to quicken a holy living in the believer. It may not be for everyone, but most needed it. Thank you LU for making it all happen.”

Can you even imagine if your friend was like “come to this haunted house with me!” and maybe didn’t tell you what the end game was? Like, you get through it and then at the end, it’s like “All of these horrors? No worries! Because, JESUS!” I would “nope” out of there so fast and that friendship would be in serious question. This is just not the appropriate or normal way to try to bring someone to your faith. Why should fear and nonsense play a part in someone making the choice to “walk with Christ”? It seems like one more way to trick someone into believing as some kind of after-life insurance policy. Like, believe in this in case of HELL! As someone who is not exactly into organized religion, I can say with absolute confidence that this sort of gimmick would not do anything to change my mind. I am really not sure what kind of person would be converted by it.

At the end of the day, Halloween is Halloween and should be treated as such. I find it irritating that these people are co-opting it and using it to gather more followers of Christ by scaring them half to death. It would seem that many young people attend including high school and college students. I’m sure many are impressionable and in that moment, deciding to follow Christ and be “saved” makes complete sense. But did they come to it for the right reasons? I’m guessing not. Let’s let Halloween be about regular haunted houses and trick or treating. Save the evangelical converting for another day.

(Image: carlos castilla/Shutterstock)

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