REUTERS/JESSICA RINALDI
Exit
to room—from a lesbian suicide to
a rave where a church girl takes ecstasy and dies (the manual suggests
the demon tour guide declare here,
“just another day at the office!”)
The themes vary from year to year,
but abortion and damned gay people are constants.
Not surprisingly, since its inception Roberts’ kits have attracted
criticism, and not just from gay
rights groups and Planned Parenthood. A number of religious groups,
including the National Council
of Churches, have criticized Hell
Houses for their harsh approach.
Roberts hasn’t flinched.
“Jesus was so controversial that
CULTURE
they killed him,” he said. “You can’t
have an impact without a collision.”
Roberts will not provide the media with samples of the kits, which
also include guidance for handling
media (crucial for both getting out
the church’s message and responding to criticism). But over the years,
excerpts have leaked online. For
the abortion scene, Roberts recommends buying “a meat product that
closely resembles pieces of a baby”
to put in a glass bowl and suggests
the actors portraying the medical
staff act “cold, uncaring, abrupt
and completely insensitive.”
Roberts knows of only a handful of times that secular groups
have managed to purchase a Hell
House kit. In 2004, a director
in Hollywood posed as a pas-
HUFFINGTON
10.28.12
Prayer team
members talk
to people who
have chosen
to receive
salvation at
the close of
the Cedar Hill
Hell House.