Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite is a religion blogger for the Washington Post. She’s also a professor. Let’s look at her bio page from the WaPo.

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite – Professor, Chicago Theological Seminary – Former president of Chicago Theological Seminary (1998-2008), Thistlethwaite is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Now that you’ve read that, you won’t be surprised by the article below. Hat tip to News Busters.

Five Christian theologies scarier than Halloween

Halloween is now more a creation of Gothic and horror literature like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Hollywood horror movies, and the candy and costume industries.

But if you do want to be frightened this week, here are some Christian theological themes that actually are scary:

1. Christian Dominionism

Christian dominionism is the idea that our nation should be governed by Christians according to a conservative understanding of biblical law, and was, I believe, the theology behind the recent government shutdown. This is the “scariest” Christian theology to me because, as Chris Hedges so well argues, it is fueled by “sanctified” rage…

2. Hell and Damnation

Scary images of Hell and damnation have been part of religions for millennia, as Alice K. Turner demonstrates in her beautifully illustrated text, The History of Hell. These include biblical themes, as “ “Sheol” is where sinners go (Psalm 49:13–14), and hell is “everlasting fire” presided over by the Devil (Matthew 25:41)….

3. Women Should “Submit”

Theologies that emphasize a hierarchy in creation, i.e. that women were created second, and Eve is to blame for the sin that got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden, are scary to me because they are literally responsible for a lot of violence against women….

4. God versus Evolution

One of the scariest places I have ever been was the Creation Science Museum in Kentucky. As I walked in, I was greeted by a pineapple eating velociraptor in an animatronic Garden of Eden. Yes, according to this museum that presents the “young earth” idea that creation is 6,000 years old, this famous meat-eating hunter-type dinosaur, so scary in the movie Jurassic Park, was a vegetarian before the fall into sin….

5. God Doesn’t Love You If You’re Gay

Homophobic Christian theologies that condemn people who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender are scary dangerous, and they need to be continuously countered…