Judgment House Not, lest ye be Housed in Judgment
When I moved to Virginia from Yankee Land I expected to find, and was not surprised when I did find, extremely overt fundamentalist Christianity everywhere I looked.
I was, however, surprised to find (when I visited my home back in the Midwest a few years later) that there was almost as much back there as down here. I guess it is a reflection of this Administration's determination to reduce the separation of Church and State and the terror inspired by 9-11 that has everyone waving flags and crosses. I'm not against flags and crosses, understand, just nervous when they are waved in unthinking combination as part of an effort to exclude rather than embrace...but I digress.
One thing I've recently become aware of down here is the Baptist Church sponsored alternative to Halloween. There was a hubbub in the news locally because Halloween falls on a Sunday this year and the Baptists (who always try to ban observance) this year tried to get them to at least move trick or treating to Saturday.
No dice. The government left Halloween where it is.
Sooo, the Baptists have created this thing called Judgment House as an alternative to traditional Halloween observance to protect the kiddies. There are billboards all over town encouraging people to not Trick or Treat but bring their kids to the Baptist Church to walk through a scary foretaste of Hell.
I understand the room of murdered fetuses is particularly horrifying.
I will, out of morbid curiosity and a misguided sense of journalistic investigation, go to Judgment House so that you don't have to, and will duly report of my adventures. I'm looking for a Virgil, (Or Mussolini for you Larry Niven fans) but am likely to have to go it alone, just like Everyman must, I suppose.
My wife has refused to accompany me. Alas, no Kith and Kin, and I think there is an admission price so not even Worldly Goods will go along. Wonder where I buried Good Deeds?
I'm anxious to discover if this House of Godly Punishment will have a room full of Kerry supporting, sodomy promoting, God- and America-hating liberal democrats. That should be interesting to see.
Well, as my pastor back at the Methodist church said, "Laws without punishment are just good advice. " Hell is sort of the epitome of "Necessary Evil," I guess.
I just wish more people were motivated to become Christians by other Christians living as close to a perfect example as possible rather than Christians going all out to scare the bejesus out of little kids with the wrathful side of God.
Oh, well. Not my will but thine, Lord, forgive us all for being as imperfect as you made us.
And for those far flung folks that read this thing, I'm also curious--Are there Judgment Houses in your neck of the woods, or is it just where I live?
Archie
I was, however, surprised to find (when I visited my home back in the Midwest a few years later) that there was almost as much back there as down here. I guess it is a reflection of this Administration's determination to reduce the separation of Church and State and the terror inspired by 9-11 that has everyone waving flags and crosses. I'm not against flags and crosses, understand, just nervous when they are waved in unthinking combination as part of an effort to exclude rather than embrace...but I digress.
One thing I've recently become aware of down here is the Baptist Church sponsored alternative to Halloween. There was a hubbub in the news locally because Halloween falls on a Sunday this year and the Baptists (who always try to ban observance) this year tried to get them to at least move trick or treating to Saturday.
No dice. The government left Halloween where it is.
Sooo, the Baptists have created this thing called Judgment House as an alternative to traditional Halloween observance to protect the kiddies. There are billboards all over town encouraging people to not Trick or Treat but bring their kids to the Baptist Church to walk through a scary foretaste of Hell.
I understand the room of murdered fetuses is particularly horrifying.
I will, out of morbid curiosity and a misguided sense of journalistic investigation, go to Judgment House so that you don't have to, and will duly report of my adventures. I'm looking for a Virgil, (Or Mussolini for you Larry Niven fans) but am likely to have to go it alone, just like Everyman must, I suppose.
My wife has refused to accompany me. Alas, no Kith and Kin, and I think there is an admission price so not even Worldly Goods will go along. Wonder where I buried Good Deeds?
I'm anxious to discover if this House of Godly Punishment will have a room full of Kerry supporting, sodomy promoting, God- and America-hating liberal democrats. That should be interesting to see.
Well, as my pastor back at the Methodist church said, "Laws without punishment are just good advice. " Hell is sort of the epitome of "Necessary Evil," I guess.
I just wish more people were motivated to become Christians by other Christians living as close to a perfect example as possible rather than Christians going all out to scare the bejesus out of little kids with the wrathful side of God.
Oh, well. Not my will but thine, Lord, forgive us all for being as imperfect as you made us.
And for those far flung folks that read this thing, I'm also curious--Are there Judgment Houses in your neck of the woods, or is it just where I live?
Archie
posted by Archie Levine at 6:23 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home