Ask-it Basket

Q. Is going to amusement parks and getting on terrifying rides a sin?

A. A while back I (Art) took my son to a popular amusement park. He had been looking forward to going for a long time , but when we finally got there , it turned out to be a disappointment.

First , let me share a couple things I observed. We paid a total of $70 to get into the park. Thousands of people were there , and the wait in line was 60 minutes or more for every attraction. We hardly felt like we got our money's worth that day. When you calculate the park's earnings for the day , however , it adds up to thousands and thousands of dollars.

To top it all off , when we left the park my son said that he had an empty feeling. He said that he really did not have a good time and that it was not all that it was cracked up to be. I'm not going to say that it's wrong to go to an amusement park , but I will admit that we did not feel any closer to Christ during our time there. In fact , the park's theme at that time was death , murder , ghosts , and vampires , which is the opposite of what we as Christians believe in. That didn't make us feel very comfortable.

We learned the hard (and expensive) way that there is a difference between recreation and amusement. Recreation leaves you feeling satisfied and refreshed , but the thrills and chills of amusement can leave you with an empty feeling. Jesus came so that we could have a more abundant life. But we doubt seriously that anyone is likely to experience it at an amusement park.