Who Are They Saving?

Preachers and tourists argue in Salem, MA.

As kids, we celebrated Halloween with such sweet innocence.  A lot of thought was put into choosing a costume and our parents went above and beyond helping us create something wonderful to wear.  Trick-or-treating was magical and we traveled down as many streets as we could in the pursuit of free candy.  Neighborhoods were alive with activity and it lasted pretty late into the night.  Upon our return home, we were filled with joy as we looked over our haul of treats.

When I got too old for trick-or-treating, handing out candy was nice because I knew how much fun these kids were having.  Then at some point, the number of trick-or-treaters dwindled significantly until our street saw no visitors at all.  After a couple of years of waiting for nonexistent trick-or-treaters, I decided to check out the Halloween festivities in the city of Salem, MA.

Nicknamed “the witch city” for its connection to the infamous witch trials of the 1690s, the community has capitalized on its spooky notoriety with Halloween-themed festivities throughout October culminating in a large gathering of costumed revelers on the holiday itself.  Dressing in costume and seeing so many others joining in recaptured some of that innocent childhood magic from long ago and I have attended Halloween in Salem ever since.  Sometimes a friend tags along but even if I go by myself, it's a lot of fun.  You basically spend the night walking around a few streets in the downtown to people-watch.
  

I fail to see what is so sinful about this intricate Hawkgirl costume.  Source: Flickr

The only thing that mars this wonderful time is a very confrontational group of evangelical preachers.  They proclaim the Word of God by shouting into a bullhorn and holding strongly-worded signs.  They talk about how we are going to burn in hell if we don't repent and follow Christ.  Instead of gaining converts, however, their approach completely backfires.

Their scornful proselytizing takes a lot of people by surprise and soon a crowd gathers not to listen but to argue.  Some even mock these evangelicals with satirical costumes and placards.  Atheists come forward to challenge their beliefs while others including a few Christians simply express disapproval of the preachers' fire and brimstone tactics.  Videos on Youtube show how negatively people react including a little girl who tells them to shut up.

Some people come prepared to confront the preachers with satire.  Source: Flickr

Of course, this does not phase any of the evangelicals and they continue to yell into their bullhorns.  I'm sure swirling in the back of their minds are verses like, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.”  However, the passage they should pay attention to is “be as harmless as doves.”

The preachers are doing much harm in the name of Christianity but in their arrogance, they just can't see it.  In their stubbornness, they refuse to stop.  If strangers walk by who know very little about Jesus, what are they more likely to respond to...kindness and compassion or yelling and condemnation?  (If you don't know the answer to that question, then I feel sorry for you.)  What if someone visiting Salem that night was open to learning more about Christianity but got turned off by all the harsh rhetoric?  If the goal of these evangelicals is to reach people, then they don't seem to care about the end results.

There comes a time to call out evil and stand firm against sin.  Halloween in Salem is not one of those times.  Most people who visit the city in October just want to have a little fun and escape the drudgery of daily life by channeling their God-given creativity into marvelous costumes.  There's NOTHING evil about that.  Yet these preachers are far too quick to condemn us without even getting to know who we are.  I go to church every week and pray regularly but I'm sure they would lump me into the same handbasket of damned souls.  By doing so, they are thoughtlessly judging others and that's not very Christ-like. 

Apparently, these preachers travel to college campuses and have even staked out the White House.  Sadly, they devolve the act of spreading the Gospel into a circus sideshow.  They stoke confrontation and cause ordinary people to lash out against them.  I doubt that little girl on Youtube would react this way if they were espousing Christian love. 

These preachers give Christianity a bad name.  They need to humble themselves and realize what they are doing does very little to propagate the faith.  Just stop it.