by Justin
Apologize
10:15 am in Matters of Faith by Justin
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One day it will be too late. But for now, there is still hope.
- Justin
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This seems like a scare tactic to me.
The alternative to doing what we think you should be doing is to suffer eternally.
Im sure the fear of hellfire is a powerful tool, especially when portrayed so dramatically. Its a little interesting that people working for the devil were black and dressed in black but im sure its just a coincidence. But who was the white guy dressed in white supposed to be?
The person dressed in white would be a representation of Christ.
The fear of Hell cannot save anybody. What Hell does is make people think. Once they think, they may become a Christian, Hindu, or an atheist. But Christians aren’t scared of people thinking.
Hmm it IS interesting that so often what is good is portrayed in white while what is evil is portrayed as black……
Dont you think that often Hell is portrayed in such a way as to evoke an emotional response. Like these ‘Hell houses’ where people turn a building into a replica of hell(taking HUGE creative license since the bible isnt very descript regarding the nature of hell) where people can see various archetypes of sinners suffering poetically appropriate punishments. Surely the goal of the people behind such theatrics is not to just give an intellectual concept of Hell to ponder or why would they feel the need for fake blood and monster makeup?
Emotions get people to think. The whole white clothes (purity) and black (evil) is something that helps you recognize the elements of the drama without it having to be explained beforehand.
Sometimes emotions can get in the way of thinking. Especially when the emotion we are referring to in this case if fear. Who hasnt been so afraid that they have barely been able to think clearly at least one time in their lives?
Imagine a young person who goes to one of these “hell houses” and sees “sinners” being eviscerated and tortured by people dressed up as fantastical demons…the shock of witnessing such a thing could have a deep, visceral impact on such a person. They could easily be so traumatised that they cant reason about the issues at hand as effectively as if they were presented all the sides in a less dramatic fashion.
I think it is more conducive to thinking to try to engender loving and peaceful emotions, not fear. And certainly to expose a young person or child to such theatrics constitutes child abuse in my eyes.
There is so much wrong with that video. The most obvious one is that the main demons were two black guys. White people dressed in black wasn’t enough? I think we have progressed far enough to let go of need for racist imagery.
Secondly, and infinite God should have infinite patience with people who do not follow him. This video is just disgusting. You say people go to hell and then you show them being mocked.
And of course my last objection is that it’s just a juvenile scare tactic which was previously mentioned by Myles.
Thanks for having the stones to call out the racist imagery armchair…..I beat around the bush because I thought maybe it was possible that i was reading more into something than actually existed. But then I took a look at the other video. From what I can make out, the performance troupe consists of about 16 or so people most of whom are white(its hard to make out the black people in the ‘bleeding love’ video because they are tucked very far in the back but it looks like there are two).
The ‘too late to apologize’ video consists of the following
1 Jeusus: a white man dressed in white.
3 Normal people: all white and dressed in normal clothing
2 Tormenting demons: both black and dressed in black
8? Masked demons, including satan: races concealed but presumably white based upon the racial makeup of the troupe in the other video, all dressed in black.
Now the chances of all the white people either getting the parts of the human and divine rolls and the two black people getting the roles of the only two demons that did not conceal their race is pretty small.
Now i dont think the message that the creator of this skit was trying to get across is that black people are demonic I think he used to contrast or the races(along with the color of the clothing) to heighten the visual appeal of the skit.
But as Justin mentions above, white is often associated with purity and black with evil so to use the performers racial identity so causally, in Birmingham Al, a city that has so recently struggled with racism and racial segregation is insensitive to say the least.
Myles… haha… you have no idea about this ministry. They are called the basement, and frankly, and one of the most unracist groups of people imaginable. Check out thebasementonline.com if you want to know about them. And when I said the black/white purity comment, I was not referring to race. I was referring to costumes. I don’t think race was the reason the “demons” played that part, but I agree that changing it up would have been more culturally sensative. There is a difference between not realizing how something could be taken and being racist though. I encourage you to go to the basement’s website. They have spoken out against racism. Frankly, a lot of the people who attend their events are not white.
I knew what you were referring to Justin, my point is that is insensitive to identify white and black with good and evil then to go as far as to have the race of the performer match up.
Ive read about their message of racial unity and believe that they probably are sincere. I think they would be more successful in bringing people together if they were a little more careful with their imagery.
Do you have a response to my last comment about the hell houses?
I don’t have a strong opinion on Hell houses, but I imagine that it – like a lot of things – would depend on how it is done.