Jesus Camp documentary

[suzer1013]

You will see the reason I put this in the Faith and Nonviolence thread. Watch the trailer. All I can say is

http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnol...scamp/trailer/

Susan

[HarmlessEccentric]

That reminds me of my childhood, and summers at church camp. Good times, believe it or not, which I have entirely happy memories of.

[suzer1013]

I had many wonderful years at church camp, too. But mine was a wee bit different. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love." No camouflage paint or "this is war" propaganda. And certainly no pseudo worship of a cardboard cutout of the President.

Susan

[pnggrad79]

Ok pardon my natural pessimism, but a Jesus Camp is eerily reminiscent of Hitler's Youth. Am I the only one who thinks this?

I, too, grew up in church camps and they were harmless. But I turned out a lesbian, so, in their minds, it was a futile attempt to make me a cookie cutter Christian. I refuse to live in a box, especially one constructed according to the precepts fundamentalists live by.

[midtnscott]

That is exactly like the films from the '30's documenting the Hitler youth movement! Brainwash central! No mention of learning to think for oneself.

My own memories of church camp are fantastic: fun, loving, learning, non-judgemental. Nothing like that! It was way too organized, with choreographed dances, war paint and all and the chanting. Just like the Hitler youth!

[fm1119]

I am interested on what other people think of this movie. My take on the movie was surprising, at least to me. While it was filled with (what I believe to be) lots of "fake" toungues, spoken by the adult counselors at the camp, I feel like many of the things expressed by the young children featured in this documentary were genuine and of the Holy Spirit. It got me thinking that even despite the ignorance and misguided intentions of these perpetraitors of the the radical religious right, it still could not stiffle the actions of the Holy Spirit in these pure, and as yet innocent children! Now, Im not saying that every reaction from the kids in this movie was a genuine enbodyment of the Holy Spirit, but I think that I did see it on several occasions.

I think one of the best examples of the blind ignorance personafied by the adults in this movie was when they were passing the supposed accurate models of the fetuses around at the pro life assembly. The one of the 7 week old fetus, in particular, made me laugh out loud! You see, it was this half inch long model of a perfectly full term baby! Now, Im not in favor of abortion, but I at least still know that a 7 week old fetus more closely resembles a "womb booger" than a full term baby! My guess is that, if they believe that, they probably think the 14 week old fetus is already potty trained and can say "mama", hehehe!

I would be very interested in knowing what others thought of this movie, even if you disagree with my point of view.

God bless!

[keltic63]

I watched this movie yesterday





my thoughts were not so much about these kids growing up to rule the world; instead, I kept thinking about how screwed up they're going to be as adults.

Levi accepted Christ at the age of 5 because he "wanted more" than his life already was??????? how does a kid know that at age 5? all through this movie I kept thinking about how these kids were simply parroting things they've heard the adults say.

[MCstudent]

I've been interested in watching this movie, but haven't yet. I consider myself to be a conservative, evangelical Christian, and the previews I've seen take even me aback.

When I do see it, I'll let you know what I think...

[Britt.]

I've seen it. I honestly felt like those people were pushing the line between just being crazy & child abuse.

[davidb]

I saw the movie and was mesmerized. The contrast between the sincerity and transparency of the children, their parents, and camp leaders, with the absolute violence and hatred in their message was almost impossible to comprehend.

But I can't be judgemental--I experienced that exact same dynamics of coersion (save the speaking in tongues and the pentecostal worship) at Sunday School, VBS, Bible Camp, and Good News Clubs when I was a kid. I think the Radio Show host captured it best, when he spoke on the difference between education and indoctrination, and how easy it is to manipulate children in that kind of environment.

I live in a gay ghetto in a big city, and I must confess I hardly ever leave my cozy confines. It was shocking to hear how harsh the rhetoric has become, and the chants of "THIS MEANS WAR! THIS MEANS WAR!" brought tears to me eyes. I would love to see another documentary with the same children in 10-15 years.

_______________________________________
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us...
--Emerson