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A famous sermon by Reverend Jonathan Edwards called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is one that strikes fear into those that listen to the sermon itself. There is a shortened version of the sermon on YouTube that allows readers to become immersed in the feeling of hatred for those that do not worship God, “The devil is waiting for them, Hell is gaping for them […] in short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of” (11, Edwards). Edwards states that God is the perpetrator torturing sinners in Hell, “Creatures that [God] is now tormenting in Hell, and do there feel and bear the fierceness of his Wrath” (6).
In America, some of the more noticeable and modern fear tactics used include billboards and hell houses.
Around the time of Halloween, hell houses are open to the public and anyone in for a good scare will enter, inexplicably being exposed to Christian ideals. People who attend these are exposed to the fear that religion can put into you, “The customer walks through a sequence of tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion.
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The last scene is different; it is typically a portrayal of heaven. The visitors are then asked to accept salvation by repenting of their sins and trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior” (religioustolerance.org). People are introduced to ideas that having an abortion is murder and pre-marital sex leads to personal tragedies. And there are even worse ideas that these hell houses bring about when they portray people who are LGBTQ+ and the torture they go through in Hell if they continue on the path opposite of Christianity.
Billboards are another way that people from any background are exposed to Christianity.
Unlike hell houses, billboards are present throughout the year and are spotted around the United States. From the infamous “Hell is Real” to “After you die, you will meet God” they are scattered along freeways in order to get people to question their place in the world. Organizations and everyday Christians place these where people can see them clearly. Christian Aid Ministries are famously responsible for making people notice these billboards.
Billboards are on the side of highways in order to advertise things from casinos to restaurants to car insurance. However, across the United States are also billboards promoting Christianity designed to instill fear into the people that read them. Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) has been responsible for many of these billboards. Since 2010, CAM have increased their spending on billboards. These billboards are seen by millions of people and CAM receives hundreds of daily phone calls from people who are curious and want to know more about God and how to convert or just to talk to a Christian as one woman who encountered one of these signs did. In one article titled “Billboards for Jesus (Or, What Kind of Christians Are We?),” Elrena Evans recounts when she and her family visited Florida and came across religious billboards.
Evans is a Christian and she said she felt so much unease at seeing the giant billboard that said “If You Die Tonight? Heaven or Hell?” that she was afraid to call the number: “Perhaps I was afraid that, should I actually dial 855-FOR-TRUTH, I would find the Christian on the other end of the line a very different sort of Christian from me”. Evans mentions that she was uncomfortable talking to her children about the meaning of the billboard. She associates the billboards with extreme Christians, someone who doesn’t tolerate the way she does. In these billboards, God and Jesus are portrayed as figures that people should be afraid of and that they must convert to Christianity in order to be saved. At the end of the article, Evans comes full circle with her doubts and calls the number. Although the article is from someone who is already a Christian, it shows that there is some unease among people who see these religious billboards because the message it sends about converting to Christianity and what it means to be a Christian in America.
America is known for religious freedom, people who immigrate are generally able to continue their culture or adapt to a new one. The separation of church and state is important to note because it allows Christianity and other religious views not to impede on laws and regulations. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” People who live in the United States are able to practice their own religion and that is essentially what America is based on, freedom of religion.
A short series on Amazon called The American Heritage Series explores the idea that America is a Christian nation in episode eight of the show titled “Is America a ‘Christian Nation’?”. The historian David Barton explores a few of the reasons as to why America was always meant to be a Christian nation. He starts out by explaining how the founders of America have always intended this nation to be a Christian nation. This is a very biased point of view by a biased series, but this is important to note when taking in consideration how Christianity is viewed in America. Christianity is a big part of American heritage for those that grew up with the same ideals. There are even some practices that non-Christians take part in, one of the main ones being Christmas; the Pew Research Center writes that eight-in-ten non-Christians celebrate Christmas. There are many ways that people integrate Christian views without actually being Christian themselves and it isn’t uncommon to see this present throughout television and social media.
According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) in the 1830s merchants painted signs and posted outside their establishments to advertise what they sold inside. The larger version of this type of advertising originated in New York by Jared Bell to advertise the circus. Since then, advertising has evolved and there are now regulations in place for the standard size of billboards that we see today. As of today, the number of billboards in the United States is 341,606 (The Statistics Portal). Through billboards, companies are able to advertise to people across the country. And this is also true of Christian Aid Ministries, they advertise God and the idea of Heaven and Hell.
History of CAM Billboards
Between the years of 2010 and 2015 more and more billboards concerning Christianity have popped up across the country. These billboards have such sayings as “If you die tonight? Heaven or Hell? 855-FOR-TRUTH.” When people call this number, they are given an automated voice message telling them what truth means and what Jesus wants from them. The man on the phone also mentions science and how it cannot be explained through God. CAM has been around for thirty-five years but has only started putting up billboards in 2009 paid for by donations. There are Christians that make their own billboards to put on the side of freeways. For Christian Aid Ministries, they put up billboards not only for people to call the number but to remind people of God. On the donation page of their website, it says “Gospel messages on billboards provide the perfect opportunity to direct commuters’ thoughts to God. Through CAM’s Gospel messages, an estimated 8 million people are reminded about God each day—reminded about His love and His wrath.” They instill fear of God in order to get people to believe in God.
CAM has come up with a term for their billboards: “Billboard Evangelism.” This is their way of publicly preaching the word of God, and their way to preach is through fear. Fear is one way to motivate belief in and obedience to God, and many of their billboards include these phrases, “Jesus… Your only way to God” and “There is Evidence for God!”
These types of signs are put there to scare a non-believer into believing in God and convert to Christianity. There are 631 billboards across all fifty states and most of them are located in the south. Their purpose statement is: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins…” Acts 26:18”.
Relating this type of religious advertising in the United States to the gothic theme is possible because of the larger than life billboards the messages are attached to and it captures people’s attention not unlike a person preaching in the middle of the town would. It brings about the innate fear the people have about the afterlife and judgment. According to many of these billboards scattered around the United States, God is all-seeing and always judging, and people should worry about the afterlife and with Christian Aid Ministries showing this type of message it can strike fear into people who are not religious or those that aren’t as devoted as they should be In the YouTube video I found on creating fear into people by priests it does give insight on to the inner workings of religion and how it is used as a tool to create this fear and gain control over believers and non-believers alike. There’s an uncanny feeling people have when seeing these billboards, in the “Hell is Real” billboard there is a feeling of dread that comes with an understanding that and that there is God and Jesus, but also the Devil.
Hell houses were popularized by Reverend Jerry Falwell in the late 1970's. Since then, it has evolved into a type of haunted house. There are different types of haunted houses throughout history, originating in Britain.
Classic Sermon Manuscripts by Great Preachers of the Past. (2021, Dec 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/classic-sermon-manuscripts-by-great-preachers-of-the-past-essay
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