Month: October 2014

Blood-stained dummies, Jack the Ripper eviscerations, and baby-doll killers are having a difficult time these days. It’s that season again of fright for fear’s sake, and it’s getting difficult to up the ante on blood and gore, according to those in the Haunted Attraction Association. (Yes, the haunted house folks have a trade group, the HAA.) Insiders in the business say it’s getting harder and harder to frighten jaded customers. This affects a lot of people: vendors, artisans, builders. As one insider put it, “When we started this, we took our cornfield, mowed a path, bought masks and scared people by jumping out of the corn. That doesn’t do it anymore.” Another business insider says that in a culture of normalized violence “it takes so much more to get them [customers] to that level of fear reaction. They’re so used to it.” Yet another industry leader says, “The only way to satisfy customers would be cut off their arms and slap them upside the head with them.”  On the drawing boards? Haunted houses where people enter naked, to make them feel more vulnerable.

The biblical response to this is so simple: For God has not given us a spirit of fear . . .” (2 Timothy 1:7). Note the verse refers to a “spirit.” Don’t buy the standard exegetical explanation for this text that it refers to an attitude. No, Paul says that fear is a spirit. A demon. What the Haunted Houses are trying to conjure is a demon, by evoking the fear factor inside the natural human response of fright to the unexpected and the grotesque. Christians should have no part of this, although there have been some commendable Christian attempts to redeem the idea by frightening people about the consequences of hell. If you can scare people away from the devil, that’s good. But it’s evil to scare people into the arms of Satan with houses of horror at Halloween.

I’m on the Highway to Hell,

Going down, party time,

My friends are gonna be there too, yeah

Hey Satan, paid my dues . . .

I’m on my way to the Promised Land,

I’m on the Highway to Hell.

Lives there a hard rock fan who can’t sing the entire song from memory? It’s the rock classic by Australian band AC/DC. Formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus young, they’re considered one of the top 10 selling rock bands of all time. They survived the death of lead singer Bon Scott in 1980 when, in a drunken state, he suffocated in his own vomit. Now, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide they face another crisis. Malcom is being treated for dementia at 61 years of age. While it may not be clear that the hard living accompanying his music contributed to his health issues, it certainly didn’t help. In fact, Malcolm had a history of drinking problems, even missing tours as a result. He’s now in a nursing home, not exactly the high-life surroundings he’s undoubtedly used to.

Sad. All that money and fame and no memory of it. Not even knowledge of who the people are in his old band. Shuttled back and forth to the bathroom and dining table, with nowhere to go and all independence gone, Malcolm Young is truly on a living highway to hell. No party, no promised land. I pray that somehow in his addled state the hope of Christ becomes clear, if anyone has ever shown him the Way. If not, the hell he lives in now won’t be nearly as terrible as the Hell that he described in his lyrics.

 Deliverance isn’t in the Bible. Now that I’ve got your attention with that statement, let me explain what I mean. Many beliefs and practices in Christianity are not explicitly pronounced in the Bible, but the implications are there. For example, I’m pro-life, but I can’t quote a scripture saying, “Thou shalt not commit abortion.” I believe in the rapture, but it’s not mentioned once in John’s Revelation, where you’d think the Holy Spirit would have placed it, if anywhere. Many Christians believe that for baptism and accepting Christ as Savior with full mental recognition there should be an “age of accountability,” but it’s not taught specifically. Baptism by immersion is pretty standard for evangelicals (me too), but it can’t be proven that’s the only way to baptize.

Now to my point. Yes, Jesus cast out demons, but there is no specific formulaic system laid out to follow procedurally. The command of Christ to cast out demons is explicit. (Matthew 10:1, for example.) Exactly how it should be done is implicit, gleaned from the anecdotes in the synoptic gospels. We infer how to go about it by piecing together the accounts of Christ’s exorcisms. (Yes, I know, when Jesus expelled demons it wasn’t actually called an exorcism by the gospel writers. That came later in church history.) So the next time someone tells me that what God has called me to do isn’t found in the Bible, I am inclined to smile inside and agree with them. That should keep them quiet for a while.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going — to the next husband! I’m all for a backup on computer hard drives, a backup on internet passwords, and a backup in baseball. But a backup mate? According to a published survey in the Daily Mail, 1000 married women were questioned as to whether they had someone waiting in the wings if their marriage went south. Half said they did. Some said they had more than one backup, usually an old friend or ex. Ten percent said the backup had already confessed love and was waiting for things in the marriage to worsen. Twenty-five percent of women admitted they felt as emotionally strong toward the backup as their spouse.

Obviously, trying to make a marriage successful while wasting energy on the “what-ifs” undermines success in the present relationship. The Mail likened it to “boarding a vacation cruise wearing a life jacket for the duration of the trip.” What’s apparently missing with many in this survey is that having a backup could well be the reason the marriage doesn’t work. This all reminds us how narcissistic and self-indulgent many have become. Jesus said (Luke 12:34), “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” One’s spouse should be the ultimate treasure. And if a marriage does fail, God forbid that it should be because of a backup “treasure.”

If E. T. were to phone home, now that he could use a smartphone not available to Steven Spielberg in 1982, where would he call? A new book called The Copernicus Complex, states all the usual arguments for life having evolved on other planets. But it offers an unintentional kudo for creationists. Enter the “principle of mediocrity.” According to a review in The Wall Street Journal, this principle says that “we live on an ordinary planet, orbiting an ordinary star, in an ordinary galaxy.” In other words, life on this planet isn’t such an evolutionary big deal. But Complex actually claims that conclusion is too exaggerated. Earth is quite extraordinary when compared to the rest of the universe.

 The book seeks to prove that our earth, in the order of things, is incredibly unusual. Elsewhere in the universe, chaotic disorder is common; in our galaxy there are more circular orbits that have left earth relatively undisturbed for billions of years. In fact, about 97% of other planetary systems don’t allow for the conditions that might lead to life. Our galaxy is in the 2% where life might be possible.  As Hebrews 11:3 says (KJV), “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.” No chaos, no elliptical orbits, no disorder. Life formed by God in the only place it could have happened, here on the planet, by the creative hand of God.

For a moment I thought I had checked into Hotel California, you know, the Eagles’ haunt where you can “check out but you can never leave.” (Cue an old Vincent Price laugh.) I was setting up for my seminar — yes, I really was in a hotel in California — last weekend when I realized I was just a few doors away from a massive ballroom filled with hideous paraphernalia. It was the “Horror Film Fest.” I checked out the scene as the merchandisers were preparing for the onslaught of ghoulish customers. I was conscipcuously out of place, sans tattoos, piercings, and black, skull-infested T-shirt, which it seemed was the requisite dress of choice.

You probably can’t read what’s on the posters above so I’ll translate; ESPAPE FROM JESUS ISLAND comic book, DAYS OF THE DEAD poster, and schedule sheet, featuring workhsops such as “Serial Killer Culture.”   A catatlogue offered movies you probably won’t download on Netflix: “Witchhouse — Demon Fire,”  “Demonic Toys” (Chucky on steroids), “Virgin Hunters,” “Decadent Evil,” “Dungeon of Desire,” “Teen Sorcery,” and hundreds of other titles.

Thousands of aficionados of horror/sex/bloodlust virtually took over the hotel. Meanwhile, at our end of the corridor we were dealing with real demons in real people. We were casting demons out while those down the hall were inviting them in. Yes, they had more people and took in a lot more money, but at the price of their souls. My weekend in hotel California was one more reminder of how important this ministry is, to set free those for whom demonic horror is no film fest.

It’s that season again when all that’s negative, macabre, sinister, and downright evil becomes legitimized. And commercialized. Today’s American motto seems to be, “If a buck can be made, make it.” Morality in the marketing? Who cares? But what’s really scary is how culture has absorbed the kingdom of Satan, even embraced it, without a blink. Exhibit A, the photo above which I shot in a supermarket aisle yesterday while picking up some cereal and yogurt. The candies weren’t even in the Halloween section. They were displayed in the midst of Snickers and Butterfingers: a big bag of mini-candies to hand out to the trick-or-treaters. The Hershey’s, Reese’s, Almond Joys, and KitKats were combined into a sugary blend labeled: DEMON TREATS.

So what does that mean? Treat the demons at Halloween? Treat the little “demons” who knock at the door? It doesn’t matter. What’s important is this trivialization evil. You don’t have to be an exorcist, such as I am, and encounter despicable demons face-to-face, to see that the deeds of demons are everywhere. Beheadings. Human trafficking. Child porn rings. Serial killers. It’s a long list. Must our society, and candy manufacturers, make light of what demons do? What if the label on this bag had read: PEDOPHILE TREAT, or RAPIST TREAT, or METH DEALER TREAT? Well, these are evils that demons facilitate. It’s time to get serious about who demons really are and what they really do, and find a better way to label caloric concoctions.

FREE DOWNLOAD! Download and print our newly revised Halloween tract! It’s a great way to share the truth about the dangers of Halloween with your friends. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD This downloadable pamphlet is designed for 8 � x 11 tri-fold and needs to be printed on both sides. Please remember it is your support that provides the resources to bring  salvation and deliverance to millions worldwide. You can donate today by CLICKING HERE.

The young woman above, in Istanbul Turkey, is facing a dilemma. What will she do with the body piercings on her back? If she wants an education, she’ll have to make changes. The government of Turkey has been leaning toward a more conservative and Islamic way of thinking, and pupils in school have been banned from have body ink and body piercings. The law may be difficult to enforce and seen as repressive, but that hasn’t stopped President Erdogan from trying. A Muslim country, since the days of the reformer Ataturk who founded the current Republic, Turkey has walked a fine line between secularism and Islam. Now things in the country that was once a cradle of Christianity are moving in the direction of Islamisation.

My point isn’t to debate the political aspects of government infringing upon personal rights. What’s apparent is that some Muslim countries are moving in a moral direction that is shameful to America. No, I don’t want the government telling me or anyone what they can or cannot do with highly personal habits or predilections. But isn’t it a little topsy-turvy when Islamic countries find distasteful what some Christians extol with their “liberties?” What a conundrum that one can find more body piercings and hideous tattoos in a Sunday morning, emergent mega-church than in a Istanbul high school classroom. One reason that the ISIS/ISIL terrorist movement is gaining steam is because they appeal to a stricter way of thinking than even U. S. Evangelicals have. I’m not for legalism, political repression, or equating spirituality with outward appearance. What Turkey is doing may be undemocratic, but is the American Christian way of trumpeting tattoos all that much better?

NOTE: To read other blogs by Bob about tattoos, see “Tattoo Removal” (09/21/12), “Cremation Tattoos” (11/11/13) and “Christian Tattoos” (2/11/14)

“What goes on here, stays here.” Just one of the many salacious slogans associated with the gambling and show town of Las Vegas. The billboards above are just a few of the extra-curricular activities promoted in the Nevada city of lights and action. Even for a state in which prostitution is legal and regulated, it appears that there is at least some moral territory that’s too much for the city that truly never sleeps: unsafe sex. California passed a law mandating condom-controlled acting in porn files, and the multi-billion dollar industry located the Southern California now wants to head to the desert were there would be less restrictions. Not so fast. Some legal experts in the state are arguing that porn won’t be legal in Nevada because it’s actually prostitution, which in Las Vegas means condoms are required.

All this is a bit bemusing: a state and city in which sin is the main industry, now trying to regulate the particulars of sin for public health reasons. The irony of it all – a city that doesn’t kiss and tell having a public debate about, well, morality; not that having indiscriminate sex on screen is bad, but that not protecting one’s partner from disease is a moral lapse. It’s almost Orwellian the way that language and laws are being debated. I suggest a better billboard that would avoid the eventual wrath of God: FLEE FORNICATION. Paul’s words of 1 Corinthians 6:18 would accomplish two goals: 1) keep an unsavory industry out of town, and 2) help to avoid the very health risks that concern the citizens of Nevada.