In Texas Hell House, Girl "Deserved" Rape

And some smart teens push back.

How's this for Christian compassion:  A girl makes friends with a guy on Facebook.  They decide to go out on a date.  When they meet, the guy brutally rapes her.  A demon emerges from the shadows, sneering, and tells her she deserved it.  It's her fault she was raped.  She shouldn't have agreed to meet someone from one of those sinful online communities. 

Next up?  A young girl is sexually assaulted by a family member and in despair commits suicide.  She is promptly consigned to the fires of hell for an eternity of pain and suffering. 

Welcome to Hell House - The Devil's Playground, a production of Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas.  For 17 years this Pentecostal  place of worship has produced Halloween hell houses designed to scare the bejesus out of youths 13-years-old and up.  Director of Student Ministries Carlos Ortiz directed the seven outlandish and grisly skits that are performed nightly inside the church's "haunted house." 

Says Ortiz:  "We don't do it to scare people.  The scary part about the Hell House is the reality that we portray."  (No, Mr. Ortiz, that's not the scary part.  The scary part is that deranged individuals like yourself feel compelled to create these grotesque exhibitions in order to frighten youngsters into following your church's narrow social agenda.) 

It's worth noting that this year something happened to cast a pall over Trinity's annual hell house extravaganza.  More than a dozen young churchgoers from the United Methodist Church in Richardson decided to take a stand against the event. 

I contacted the Richardson UMC and spoke with administrative assistant Jennifer Rawlinson.  She told me that the idea for the protest came from young people in her congregation who had visited "The Devil's Playground" and were disturbed by its depiction of an unforgiving God turning his back on victims of sexual abuse.  They returned to their church and voiced their concerns to Tommy Houghteling, United Methodist's youth minister.  A discussion ensued and it was decided that a protest should be organized.  So Houghteling accompanied a group of his  conscientious teenagers to the site of Oritz's hell house where they peacefully demonstrated against the intolerant message espoused by their fellow believers.

I'll admit that here at ProPup, Janis and I are quick to point out the hypocrisy and mean-spiritedness of Christian fundamentalists who are often as irrational as they are ill-informed.  And it's tempting to tar all religious folks with the same brush, especially when mainstream churchgoers remain silent while their ill-tempered brethren spew hateful rhetoric at liberals, secularists, gays and lesbians, and pro-choice advocates.  (Hell houses across the country commonly show devils snickering over dying AIDS patients, aborted fetuses condemning their terrified mothers -  y'know, good clean family values entertainment.)  But these young people at The United Methodist Church actually stepped up to the plate and denounced the grim proselytizing of churches like Trinity - and in doing so they've shown us a different side of Christianity.  They have also earned our respect.

Comments

[todd]

Too many fellow Christians have fallen victim to the plague of hate and intolerance. They happen to think that it's the Godly thing to do. In actuality, those are the two things that Jesus taught against.

Christianity is a faith based on love. Trinity Church's outlandish attempt at subverting something that others of us hold so dearly - our faith - is doing a grave injustice to both themselves and the rest of the world.

Stop spending all of your time playing out Satan's hate, and start showing Christ's love. All you've accomplished is a spectacular display of ignorance and idiocy.

Doing this "hell house" makes you no better than Fallwell, Robertson, Dobson, Tilton, Hinn, and the rest of the frauds.

Get out of your ivory tower and join the rest of us in the gutter, where we belong.

(addendum: I don't really read the progressivepuppy, and am not too familiar with the fundamentals behind it. The gutter reference is linked to a book: http://www.amazon.com/Gutter-Where-Life-Meant-Lived/dp/0976035707 )

[Tommy Houghteling]

Hi Max and Janis,

Just wanted to drop you all a note to say I enjoyed your article! I will show it to the kids on Sunday and I know they will be totally stoked. Thank you for getting this out... People need to know that not all Christians are Homophobic/racist/right wing/sexist/narrow minded knuckleheads!!
Keep up the good work!
-tommy

[Bee Girl]

The kind of people that put on these hell houses are scarier than the hell houses themselves. They sure don't project a good image for Christianity.

[Jack]

Or Texas. A lot of stories you hear like this come out of Texas.

[Jack]

This is nothing but a mind control cult.

[Amy]

I agree Christians are supposed to be showing love, that is what Christianity is based on. But, how scary is a room full of people showing Christian love to one another. Maybe they can come up with some skits and do it again for Valentine's day or something.

[Amy]

Also, I don't think that the message was that God was telling the girl that she deserved rape. It was the demon telling her she deserved it and isn't that how the enemy traps us. Makes us think it is all our fault and no one will believe us and no one could love us after such a thing. The message was clearly not from God it was from Satan. The reality is many young women who are victimized do feel guilty and that guilt is not from God it is from the enemy. Satan doesn't want us to think we can turn to God in times like these because God "can't love somebody like me". That is totally not what God says. He want's us no matter what, just like we are. It seems like that youth pastor should have picked up on that.

[Max]

Thanks for your comments.

Jack #1 - I live in Texas and you're right - it seems as though a disproportunate number of incidents like this originate here in the Lone Star State. We have our fair share of wingnuts, maybe more than our fair share. But like everywhere else, we also have many kind and decent folks who don't judge others. I just wish they'd speak out more often - like these teenagers did - when the crazies start spreading their pernicious views.

[Burning River]

Amy:

That doesn't seem to be the message people were actually getting. It seems to me that if you want to witness, you might want to get the message as clear as possible so that people don't confuse it for something much more sinister than your supposed intentions. As for your comment that "It seems like that youth pastor should have picked up on that.", all I can say is that if a youth minister sees this as something contrary to the actual message of Christianity, perhaps the people organizing this "Hell House" should re-examine their message (and most likely their own souls as well).

Hell Houses are a terrible idea and cause more harm than good for the community-at-large as well as the church. The only good thing about these Hell Houses is that they shine a light on the sick and twisted individuals that run them so that we all know who we need to stay well and far away from.

[h]

Bravo to Tommy Houghteling and the kids from Richardson UMC. We need more positive examples like you guys out there standing up to say that no, not all Christians agree with or will stand for these displays.

[Tommy Houghteling]

Amy, I am "that youth pastor" and i never said god told the girl she deserved rape. That being said, the message to young teens at this hell house was that if you are date raped it is your own fault. Whether it is Satan, a demon, God or George Bush saying it, it doesnt make a difference. We should never! tell a victim they are to blame!!

tommy

[Amy]

Tommy, Satan doesn't play by the rules. You are so right, no victim should be told it is their fault. However, Satan never does what is right. That is why for my group that attended Hell House this year it opened up a door for conversation about how Satan can twist your mind. He can make you think things that are not real, like it is my fault. That is why it is so important to know what you believe. Hell House is 45 min. play. They cannot tell you all about God's goodness and everything involved theologically and systematically with it in that time. It is intended or I use it as a tool to spur conversation with my youth. What were your concerns, likes, dislikes and why, are always things we talk about after an event like this. It always seems to make them think and ask questions they had not thought of. They can disagree with some things and we discuss that as well. Don't forget, Satan can also work to distract us from what God's purpose is. The fact that this event has been so successful for so many years and continues to grow seems like God is blessing their ministry instead of decreasing it. My only concern with Hell House this year was that they did not have any scenes showing people making right choices and telling the demons no. We have a helper who helps us resist temptations and also guides us and they did not emphasize that enough for my taste. But, they are the ones who invest all their time and energy every year so who am I to complain. When I compare how many people may have truly heard and understood the gospel because of their effort it puts me to shame. Thank goodness we are not in a competition. And I am thankful that they are willing to put so much effort into this event. It always reinforces to me just how sick and demented Satan is and how he is influencing our society today. That is what I think their purpose is at hell house.

[Bee Girl]

Dear God, please make Amy stop preaching. Yours truly, me.

[Me]

I am not a christian but consider myself a believer in my faith and I try my best practice it. The house of horrors and the preaching I will go to hell for my beliefs is what breeds my disdain for Christian, but I have started to encounter tolerant people just believe what they do and I do what I do and we are still friends, coworkers or acquaintances. Its nice to see people who have the logic and free thinking mind to be inclusive and objective and know what is hurtful and what his helpful.

In this day and age the Christians of the US in the bible belt are the same to me as the Muslims hardliners. Our way or the highway and they cram their beliefs down everyone's throats.

[Sara]

Amy, it seems to me that if they really want to show that Satan tries to trick you into believing things are your fault, they wouldn't have just left it at the demon saying she deserved to be raped, which as it is, implies that rape is the deserved punishment you get for using online dating sites, which is just plain sick. This is especially true when you consider that no punishment comes to the rapist, who is the truly evil person in this scenario.

In fact, if they just wanted to show Satan tricking you into believing you're not loved by God, there are much better, less triggering ways to show that than through rape, which is offensive and triggering if depicted badly as it is without the victim being told she "deserves it". And I think most teenagers who came through the house would come away with the idea that the rape was deserved because nobody said it wasn't. They could have, at the very least, had God smite the demon or say it's not her fault or something to show that God doesn't condemn people for being abused by others.

[Jason]

Why do people pretend not to grasp that the portrayal of demons laughing at someone in a horrible situation does not equate with the church laughing at those people or lacking compassion?

[Ted]

Yeah. Right, Jason. Sure it doesn't. I was a member of a church in Louisiana that put on a hell house and I happen to KNOW how they talk about "sinners." It was at the start of the AIDS epidimic and I was just coming out of the closet - I hadn't told anyone yet - and some of the nastiest comments I evr heard were from adults in the church who made "jokes" about the sick queers. So please, peddle your Christian compassion crap somewhere else. If these demons are shown laughing at people its because churchmembers are projecting themselves onto the demons.

[Amy]

Well, I will try to comment on as much as I can without "preaching" I guess if you share your opinion on here and it happens to differ from your opinion (Bee girl) than it is considered preaching but anyway. Ted, I am very sorry that people laughed at you at your church. They were not projecting what true Christianity is. They should have loved you no matter what. I am sorry that they have given you a bad opinion of Christians. And Jason same for you, I don't understand Church members laughing at someone in pain that is not how my church is, how I am or how I was brought up. People in pain need all the love and compassion they can get and it should most certainly come from true Christian people. Sara, this is a short skit not intended to give you all the ends and outs of Christianity, that is why they have people at the end to ask questions. It is also the job of the youth leader who has brought a group out to fill in the gaps. Hell House is a tool for youth leaders, it is an alternative to traditional haunted houses. And I don't think we can know what most teenagers thought because none of the ones that I brought came away with that thought. Me, I don't remember them talking about any specific beliefs sending you to hell. It was about choices we make and situations that we are in and the reality of Satan at work in those situations. And the reality of heaven and hell. But no specific beliefs during the skits that I remember. I have slept since then so I may be wrong. And I am willing to admit the possibility. Christians and Muslims are very different especially in that Christians believe that they can know for certain that they are going to heaven by only believing that Jesus died for them and that it is through what Jesus did and through nothing that they have done on their own. Muslims believe that they will only know for sure that they will go to heaven and receive their 40 virgins if they are martyrs. I am not saying hell house is perfect, I don't even believe that it should be considered and evangelistic tool but I do think it is a viable option as an alternative to traditional haunted houses and that it remind us of Satan's influence.

[Marisa]

First United Methodist Church Richardson is amazing.
I was amazed when I heard they were going to protest, and I thought it was pretty cool that they can stand up for whats right. No one should blame you for getting raped. You can't seriously say it was your fault when the person did it to you. And you shouldn't go to hell for it because God is a loving God and he isn't like Trinity makes him sound.

[PortlyDyke]

Amy -- Regarding this: "Christians believe that they can know for certain that they are going to heaven by only believing that Jesus died for them and that it is through what Jesus did and through nothing that they have done on their own".

If the only criteria for escaping hell is a belief in Jesus as the savior, then why would the girl who committed suicide go to hell? Unless, of course, she first recanted her faith.

So, if this particular church believes that faith in Jesus alone is enough to get you into heaven, then they're completely screwing up their own theology, unless they clearly demonstrate that said girl both committed suicide AND was a non-believer. Otherwise, according to your stated philosophy, she'd still get to heaven even if she committed suicide, right?

Just sayin'.

[Tommy Houghteling]

Amy,
I will try as best as I can to explain why we protested hell house in the first place. I simply ask that you keep an open mind and read what I have to say before you form an opinion, as I have tried to do with your post.
For years I have been hearing about hell house's used as a tool for evangelism for conservative churches. I have been told of some of the scenes involving homosexuals, drug users, etc.etc. and how each scene depicted a spiritual judgment on a person based on the activity they were engaged in. So this year, after receiving a flyer (two actually) we decided to go to see for ourselves.
I have non christian teens in my youth group, I have gay, I have straight, I have prude and I have sexually active. I have geek, jock, cheerleader, you name it... I probably have or have had them in my youth group. I say this to help you understand that it is not only one particular kind of kid who visits hell house. In fact i would guess that my group was representative of the audience as a whole, partly due to the fact that hell house is promoted in many churches, indeed by the very churches that sponsor them, as an evangelism tool.
So what did my motley crew see this year as we went through hell house?
Well for starters there was the rape scene. That horse has pretty much been beaten to death, so let me tell you about two other scenes my teenagers witnessed.
-The first scene was a school shooting where three frightened girls were kneeling on the ground as a confused boy waving a gun shouted above them. As he pointed the gun at one girl, the demon host whispered, "shes not ready". The teen then asked her if she believed in God, to which she responded, "yes". The host then guided the kids gun to another girl kneeling. "this one is ready", he said. The boy asked, "Do you believe in God", the girl responded, "No, but im your friend..." BANG!! she was shot...

This scene hurt my heart to watch. I looked over at one of my teenagers who I knew struggles with the whole God thing and I saw genuine anger and confusion on his face. If trinity church was merely depicting a real life situation, it would be one thing. But that is not what is going on here. By injecting demons and the threat of hell, they are in fact making a claim that they know how the spiritual influences and consequences of our actions operate. The truth is, Amy, neither you nor I really knows how the spiritual realm functions and any speculation about it is extra-biblical. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what you and I think, because that teen who is struggling with faith, doesn't hear a message of grace, but rather "if you are an atheist you are more likely to get murdered in a school shooting" and that PISSES THEM OFF! It TURNS THEM OFF! and it makes them never want to go to church again.

- But worst than the school shooting was the last scene depicted at this hell house. Two little girls are molested by their uncle, both little girls end up committing suicide. At the end of the skit, the demon host stands over the body of the dead girl and gleefully declares that this little girl, who was viciously raped by her uncle and who, in a moment of despair and sorrow, committed suicide, was now burning in hell!

How dare they make that kind of judgment on an innocent! There is nothing scriptural to back up that this little girl is burning in hell and the idea that trinity would use this type of scenario to try to coerce people into believing in God is not only ridiculous, its Shameful!

Amy Please Understand, hell house has nothing to do with trying to teach teens about spiritual forces! It is not a fun alternative to haunted houses! It is a deliberate attempt by some churches to scare kids into thinking that if they don't get saved right then and there, they will end up in hell. If you think I'm off base on that one, then why do they invite you to give your life to christ at the end of the show? Why do they have people standing by to pray the "sinners prayer" with you when you are done? (By the way they arent counselors like the guy on tv said) And finally why is the message at the end about salvation and not about demons?

I feel a great sorrow that many churches and "Christians" have grown so stagnant in their own personal, spiritual growth, that the only way they can feel anything any more is by putting others down. This adoption of a morally superior attitude by many in the church has happened before. In fact it happened in the times of Jesus and he called those people Pharisees...

Sincerely,
Tommy Houghteling

[Max]

Well said, Tommy.

[Amy]

Tommy, I understand your position and I understand why it upset your teens. Yes, Hell house did not depict the loving God that obviously you and I know. But it is Halloween. It is supposed to be scary. I understand that some teens are not ready for this. I even agree that some of the scenes are not particularly ones that I would want to do if I were in charge. I also do not believe that you would go to hell for committing suicide after you have been victimized. And I would agree that we don't know everything about spiritual warfare. But we do know that spiritual warfare is real and quite honestly it is scary. But here is something else I know. I have been having conversations with some members of a non-believing group who were also in attendance the night your church was there. They dislike Christians and they hate Hell House. It saddens me that they got two for the price of one that night. They got to mock Trinity's attempt to "witness" (good or not)and they got to see two Christian groups not getting along. It will only be when Christians unify and show true love that people will want what we have. I just feel there might have been a better way than to protest. Whether it was meant negatively or not I am sure that many in the non-believing community only saw that we can't get along. Just more fuel for the fire for them. I appreciate all that you do with your group and I respect you. I just may have handled it a little differently.

[Amy]

Also, regarding Christians belief in eternity, well Trinity is an Assembly of God church and I don't think that they have the exact same belief. It is my understanding that they believe that you can lose your salvation by actions. I do not believe that this is supported by the scripture. It is certainly not what I believe. Jesus died once for all.

[Linda]

"I even agree that some of the scenes are not particularly ones that I would want to do if I were in charge."

Yes, Amy, let's put you in charge of all the hell houses and see what hatefulness you can come up with. The whole f---ing concept id flawed. If Xtians can't find a way to promote their "faith" without scaring kids they need to give it a rest. It's no wonder people don't go to church anymore.