Jesus says "Boo!"
• Christian Fundamentalism
The Potter's House Christian Center's haunted house, called "Walk Through Hell" this year, has the requisite Halloween season scares. But Dave Bartelson, acting assistant pastor, says it also packs a message many don't want to hear: There is a hell and it doesn't take much to get there.
Many of those standing in line for Walk Through Hell on Wednesday night, including some Potter's House members, laughed off questions about whether they believe in hell and if so, what it's like. ...
"Hell is where people go when they smoke weed," offered Mikel Rhodes. ...
"What do you define as hell?" asked Jonathan Tarrats. "I think we all go to heaven."
Bartelson says such notions spring from a culture made numb by evil. "Deep down inside, most of them believe there is a heaven and a hell. Because of society, they have gone cold about it. It's up to us as Christians to warn them. We're trying to keep people out of hell."
The Potter's House hell includes watching the condemned -- a Mormon missionary, Catholic nun, church-going Christian, one-time drug user, rape victim, rich man, gang banger -- suffer the agony of demons' flogging and imprisonment.
Kristen Moulton, The Salt Lake Tribune : Church presents a hell of a Halloween
Colin Melbourne, an English missionary in Asia, says that’s how we got from Before Candy to present day.
“One method Satan uses to deceive people is to seed youngsters with the lie that Halloween is a harmless Christian festival of spooky fun,’’ he says. “Instead, it is one of his greatest weapons to demonize the unsaved.’’
Sam Cook, The News-Press: Halloween often chafes religious
"We honestly don't believe Halloween is a celebration that we as Christians should take part in," Manassa said. "It is really based upon the worship of Satan. We're worshippers of Jesus and this night, on these grounds, we are going to lift up and celebrate him.
"Someone needs to declare the truth," Manassa said. "It's important these days."
These days, Manassa and her congregation are not alone. Conservative Christians in Florida and around the country have upped their opposition to Halloween in recent years, scheduling events on the same night to limit participation in what is seen as a satanic celebration, scholars said. ...
The Rev. Michael Lindsey of West Charlotte Baptist Church in Englewood says he planned to tell his church's youth group that Halloween "is a feast of Satan. It's the one time of the year that occult activity is glorified."
"In evangelical thinking, Halloween may seem harmless on the outside, but it is actually a conspiracy of satanists or Satan himself to lure you into practicing Satanism without knowing it," said David Frankfurter, a professor of history and religious studies at the University of New Hampshire. ...
But no clear evidence linking Halloween and Samhain exists, said Hans Broedel, a visiting professor of History at Hamilton College in New York.
Because All Saints' Day was first celebrated in fourth century Italy, long before the Catholic Church made inroads in the British Isles, the holiday clearly developed independently of Celtic tradition, Broedel said.
He said Halloween is a Christian holiday, which derives its name from the Catholic holiday All Saints' Day, also known as All-hallows. Catholics celebrate this feast Nov. 1. The night before, All-hallows Eve, became known as Halloween.
Halloween-bashing may have been started in the 16th century by opportunistic Protestants as a way to discredit the rival Catholic faith, Broedel said.
"Protestants demonized Catholic beliefs to make them look bad," he said. "I think that is the reason that the demonization of Halloween began."
Michael Werner, Herald-Tribune: Christians just saying 'no' to Halloween
Earlier: Go to (virtual) Hell and What is really scary about Halloween.