As we approach the horizon of the high holiday "Halloween," I thought it would be helpful to put together some theological reflections on all the secular festivities surrounding our society's annual celebration of the underbelly of life.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "oh great, here's another ultra conservative, counter-cultural, kill joy who thinks that dressing up my daughter as a lady bug to score some candy from the neighbors once a year is somehow Devil worship or something." For sure there have been many to make such half-baked claims; but don't lump me in with them just because I'm writing here "against Halloween."
This harangue is not intended to parochially pooh-pooh the good ole gaiety that occurs at office/church/block costume parties, trick or treating, or carving jack-o-lanterns.
Rather, what I've recently been most disturbed by this Halloween is the ubiquitous glorification of violence, sadism, torture, and other horrific and heinous acts to the image of human beings in the horror movies that are being released these days.
How our society, much less Christ's Church, became so unreflective and desensitized to such things is absolutely baffling!
Parents of teens and children, PLEASE understand this: today's horror movies are not your father's oldsmobile type of scary films. Today's hit horrors (eg, "The Hills Have Eyes", "Human Centipede", "Texas Chainsaw", "Saw", "Hostel", etc...) make Hitchcock, "Halloween", and Fredi Cruger look like "B" rated parodies of their contemporary counter parts! The modern genre has pushed the envelope so far and benefitted from advances in digital graphics that its movies now even shock veteran horror movie directors!
Listen, if you're not the type to think theologically about life most of the time, at least employ some common sense for yourself and especially your teens/children: know what you are about to watch and stay informed (yes be "nosy") about what your kids are watching at their friend's sleepover. There are simply things in this world and in the perverted imagination of man that you (and especially your kids) never need to see and may indeed attach themselves indelibly to your memory.
This is the part of the argument where I would normally give a few examples and cite evidence for my case, but even brief or vague descriptions of such films is beyond the propriety of what even a consciously candid conversation can allow. Therefore I'll simply say that after viewing one such a film Roger Ebert reported, "The film is reprehensible, dismaying, ugly, artless and an affront to any notion, however remote, of human decency... It's simply an exercise in terror." Oh yea, did I mention he gave it zero stars?
Should the Church — ya know, the people who are baptized into a covenant that says we will "renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God, [and] respect the dignity of every human being" — fund, watch, be entertained by, or allow our children to be psychologically scared by films that are "an affront to any notion of human decency?"
My sentiments exactly, Steve. Thanks for sharing your insight; I hope all our parents read this and remain vigilant.
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