Halloween is coming up soon. Within the past few years there has been a great controversy in regards to whether Christians should celebrate Halloween since it started out as a pagan holiday. For me Halloween was never anything evil. Rather it was a holiday for fun times and dressing up in wild costumes. Those who wish to try to make Halloween into some type of satanic holiday are attempting to steal the holiday away from kids. Those who oppose celebrating Halloween since it has pagan origins need to be reminded that Christmas and Easter had pagan origins too. Halloween is whatever you decide to make it. For me, its just a fun holiday for kids to dress up and go trick or treating. No more; no less.
On the same note, there has been a big push within the evangelical denominations to have religious oriented haunted houses…also known as “Judgement Houses.” During college I went to a couple of these type shows. Usually a story is told about 2 teenagers who die suddenly. One goes to heaven and the other goes to hell. Visitors to these haunted houses get to experience what each eternal destination might be like. Heaven is usually protrayed as a all white place with lots of light. Jesus is seen in heaven and sometimes interacts with the visitors. Hell is a dark place where much of the scare factor comes into play. After the show, visitors are invited to “accept Jesus into their heart.” On the surface these types of shows might seem like a good idea. However I doubt that these types of conversions based on fear or emotions have much root. After a few months when the fear and emotions go away, so does church attendance. One should never base conversion to a particular religion based on emotions. It should only be after thoughtful consideration and study of God’s plan.
Poltergeist is probably one of my favorite horror movies. It has some classic moments. I remember be scared to death watching it when I was younger. But now it all seems so hilarious since it can be so campy at times. The stuffed clown toy attacking the boy, Carol Ann vanishing into another dimension within the house….the midget lady saying “This house is clean!!!”…..the giant hole appearing in the closet of the kids’ bedroom.