Heavens Gates and Hells Flames: Scaring people into church for years

If you grew up in Kampala, I'm sure you've been to Watoto Church's annual production called Heavens Gates and Hell's Flames(HGHF) . Most of the people my age, went to see the show back when the church was called Kampala Pentecostal Church and we were likely far too young for the imagery. For international readers, you may have seen this evangelistic play in one of your local churches. 

The general premise is that there are ordinary people who die and either make it to the gates of heaven where Jesus welcomes them with open arms for having accepted him as their lord and Savior and those bastards that rejected him as farce, myth or , my favorite, were waiting  for the right time to give their lives to him, are banished to hell to be tortured for eternity. 

Good wholesome family entertainment right there. 

That's what you get for masturbating

While it's easy to laugh at the obvious scare tactic and emotional manipulation such a production is , it provides an insight into the message that George Carlin put oh so well here, (Please I can't recommend enough that you watch it) God loves you, but if you don't love him a specific way or find the story a little iffy, well then he's going to slow cook you for eternity, because love. And to top it off, you're to blame for this because you rejected this love. 

You would think the people being sent to hell would at least be the very worst, irredeemable sort of people. But no, that might leave the door open for someone in the audience to think to themselves, "Well shit, I'm not as bad as Hitler. Sure I looked at that usher's ass and use office internet to download movies, but that's about it" and not feel the need to stand up at the end of the production and give their lives to Christ. So they have people going to hell because they simply don't believe, or they drink alcohol and enjoy themselves in ways the church deems improper. In one scene from the last one of these I watched  mother and daughter die in a car crash and are presented to the angel with the book of life who checks to find the daughter's name in the book of life but the mother's is missing. 

Oh oh . Awkward. The demons come to drag the mother to hell(This goes against any theology I have read but let's just go with it), and she's screaming and trying to stay with her daughter who is reduced to tears. After the mother is dragged off to hell, Jesus comes down to comfort the daughter and carries her in his arms and up into heaven with the hallelujah chorus playing them off. 

So many What the fucks in this but I'll just focus on the main on in my mind. How the heck is the daughter meant to enjoy heaven knowing full well that her mother, by all accounts in this play a good woman who was just too busy to ever have said the sinner's prayer, is burning forever in hell? Does Jesus just wipe out our memories like the guys in Men in Black? 

In another scene, someone who had been a horrible person gave their life to Christ on their death bed and got in to heaven just by saying the sinners prayer. Getting in on the virtue of Grace and forgiveness and not say by the decisions made all through his life up until this point. So a good mother is in hell and this neerdowell gets in because of ...remorse? That's not justice, but I guess that's the point. 

If you're going to see this play at Watoto, please ask yourself certain questions. /beyond the music, the lights and melodrama, is this how you think the all wise creator of the universe would treat his creations if he is anything near good and just? Just think about it....

And watch the Carlin clip. Seriously