The infamous Kids on Fire summer camp in North Dakota, made infamous by the movie Jesus Camp, has been officially shut down (for now). The camp’s director, Becky Fischer, said the movie Jesus Camp sparked such outrage that she feared for her safety and that of the kids attending the camp.
Last October, after the film’s release, the camp was hot by vandals who caused $1,500 in damage. Fischer even asked the distributors of "Jesus Camp" not to release the film in Bismarck for fear of reprisal from locals.
While I don’t condone violence against this camp or its patrons, I am very glad to see this freak show closed down. The harm done to these kids is far greater than the $1,500 worth of damage on the campground.
I’d like to hear from everyone on this. Christians, from what you know about this camp, are you glad it’s closed? As for you Atheists, you’re going to hell anyway so don’t bother commenting ;)
Also, if you’ve seen the movie please share your thoughts. And if you’ve been to the camp or know someone that has, please contact me.
Thanks to Humanistic Jones for the tip.
Related posts:
- Camp Out–Where It’s Ok To Drop The Soap
- My Kid Is Going To Jesus Camp!
- The Evolution Of Summer Camp
- Jesus Freaks–The Documentary
- Charles Darwin One-Ups Jesus
November 10th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Don’t like the idea of such a camp myself, but threatening the camp with destruction might not be the best way to say that you have a healthy alternative…
Never mind. After reading that article, if they are going to blatantly try to enforce such ideas without giving the option of choice, let it be done with. I’ll take vandalism over that.
November 10th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
But now where will our children go to be dressed up in camo to do batton and rifle drills to songs about the end of the world?
November 10th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
$1500 in damages? Those are some piss-poor vandals I could do that alone in 15 minutes. Obviously North Dakota has a deficit of disaffected teens. Not that I condone that type behavior.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
That’s odd, she knew everyone was going to ‘dislike’ what’s going on there, and even fears for her live because of it, but still continues…
Either she’s very faithfull and sure of herself OR (more likely) INCREADIBLE NAIVE AND IGNORANT.
“”$1500 in damages? Those are some piss-poor vandals. Not that I condone that type behavior.”"
Depends on the target…. :P
November 10th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
The idea of a Christian camp per se isn’t a bad one. I worked at one and it was a beneficial experience. It wasn’t at all militant as this one appears to be though. If it’s a tenth as bad as it appears then I’m glad it’s gone.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Well, thats some good news…We need that in this blog :).
Gasmonso: what’s up with the google ads? I think they are definately the most badly targeted ads I have seen by google.
I guess The Google System cannot distinguish sarchasm…
November 10th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
The disconnect between the ads and the site content is one of the main reasons for reading this blog.
November 10th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
The greatest add irony was when someone posted debunking all the groups selling miracle water. The google ad in their post? Lourdes Miracle Water!
November 10th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
I saw the movie and when I wasn’t laughing at the absurdities, I was horrified by mental trauma these kids were being put through.
I’m ecstatic that the camp will be closed. I hope it was the outrage from the country more than the vandalism that closed it though. I despise vandalism.
November 10th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
closing this camp will do nothing. as long as people feel the need to put their kids through this, they will find a way to do it. i just hope that the movie provides a different perspective to these people. kinda like when you get drunk, do stupid things, and see a video of it the next day.
November 10th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Hehehe…. drunk.
November 11th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Facts 1 and 2:
1.) Film is released to an uproar of scoffing, laughter, and alarm ranging across the country before it even reaches all of it’s target release areas.
2.) Haggard, a prominant evangelist leader !!!***WHO APPEARS IN THE FILM BASHING GAYS***!!!, leads and represents over 30 million people, and talks regularly with president Bush and his advisors, gets himself into a scandal involving hard drugs and hard gayness which ALSO gains nationwide scoffing, laughter, and alarm.
3.) Facts 1 + 2 = 3. Because of points 1 and two, the film is basicly in a position to compromise the entire evangelical movement in the eyes of the public.
Given 1 2 and 3, it seems a bit strange when suddenly the filmmakers pull the film from showing anymore, citing vandalism of the camp itself as the reason. I’m not saying they did it themselves, but damn… the timing and the nature of the incident was pretty damn conveniant for them. They get to save some face while blaming the hatred of the world and have all the more reason to continue to espouse their philosophy. Praise God!
Also, there were remote controlled vans driven into Jesus camp towers one and two so they could blame it on atheists. Hehe. :p
November 13th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Boris beat me to it! The kind of person that would send their kids to this place to be abused, will proceed to abuse their kids anyway. At least this way it is open to public scrutiny.
Uh oh, I feel a typical Michael tactless statement coming on! I don’t think childbearing should be a right. It should be a privilege. There are just too darn many stupid people out there reproducing, and unfortunately the kids are the ones hurt. Typically, stupid people produce stupid offspring! This is not to say there aren’t exceptions both ways, but in general my experience bears this out. I do not believe general stupidity is in any way a genetic thing, I believe it is 100% learned and they learn it from their stupid parents. At the very least they aren’t given the proper stimulus during their most formative stages, from birth to around 5 years old, because their moron parents don’t know they should be reading to their kids, letting them listen to music (and I don’t mean country music, that stuff probably does more harm than good), etc during that time. Then, they send them to places like this. Because they are too stupid to know they harm they cause.
That was just a setup for this statement though: I am almost convinced people should not be allowed to teach their kids organized religion until they are at least 16! Really, I am ->
November 13th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Man! It lost 1/3rd of my post due to the visual aid I put in there, booo! I can’t even remember the rest of what I said now, but basically it was a long diatribe about how I feel most christians don’t believe in god because they believe, they do because their parents/priest/minister, whatever, told them thats what they believe at such a young age that they can no longer tell the difference. Most, more than likely all, christians will deny this but they are indoctrinated and their view is clouded anyway so what they said is immaterial :)
November 14th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
we need to make an evolution camp….
November 27th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
You asked anyone who has been to the camp to respond. I am Levi’s father, the boy highlighted in the film. I am also Rachael’s pastor, the one girl of two highlighted in the film. I am not a typical pastor… I have an engineering degree. We have never said we liked the film. We have never endorsed it. There is so much in the film that demands context. For instance, my wife says to my son, “Did you read the part in the book where is says, ‘Science doesn’t prove anything.’?”, but you never hear the book explanation of that in the film. All the scenes where the audience is shown nodding heads or smiling or looking somber or whatever do not actually match what was happening when the speaker was speaking. All audience shots are suspect. We are attempting to put context to as much of the film as possible at http://www.jesuscampers.com and I am writing a book to enter the national dialogue on the movie. I am willing, as time allows, to discuss anything about the movie.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
I don’t care how much of it was taken out of context. There is no context that would convince me that you people aren’t abusing your children. Do you think your child has formulated the decision to become an evangelical xian on his own? What would you do if your child displayed so much as an ounce of doubt about your particular faith?
What about the tirade against harry potter books? What possible context could make you look less crazy there?
November 28th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
aaron was wondering about an evolution camp?
In Richard Dawkins’ latest book, The God Delusion, he mentions Camp Quest, which is self-described as “the first residential summer camp in the history of the United States for the children of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Brights, or whatever other terms might be applied to those who hold to a naturalistic, not supernatural world view.”
http://www.camp-quest.org/
As for Jesus Camp, I’m pleased to hear that it is closed (for now). The psychological manipulation and abuse that went on at the camp (and in the children’s homes, as well) was disgusting. Words can’t do it justice, you need to see the movie.
December 1st, 2006 at 11:59 am
Dear Father Says…
If no amount of context will influence you, then you would be a close-minded person. I suspect, however, that you are open-minded. That is probably why the movie upset you, because you perceived the people in the movie as having no balance. The movie made us concerned also, because it does not represent us.
My son Levi barely knows what the word evangelical is supposed to mean. It is a word used in circles where everyone has to have a label, but it is not one used very often in our Christianity. Levi has experienced God in his own right. He does not want to be a preacher or pastor as some news has stated. He wants to be a doctor. My children go through the high and lows of living just like anyone else. Living is full of victories, doubts, triumphs and confusion. My oldest child… my daughter, believes many of the things I hold dear, but she has also taken a different path on certain issues. We have a great relationship and she is a model of independent thinking.
Becky declares in the movie that “in Old Testament times Harry Potter would have been killed as a warlock.†She was not advocating violence against anyone. I know her personally and she would never do that. None of the kids where confused on that note. I’ve talked to her personally about her statement. She regrets saying it and thinks it is a distraction in the film. She isn’t at war against Harry Potter or the books. Neither is my family. I think she was trying to let kids know that if they read Harry Potter and liked the stories that it was important for them not to get infatuated with witchcraft itself. She was letting them know that, biblically, witchcraft is not a God-thing. Witchcraft as part of fantasy stories is not a problem.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:03 pm
The above note is mine. Jesus Camper and Tim O’Brien are the same person.
December 1st, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Tim,
For myself, I could, theoretically, change my mind about the camp and about the parent-child interactions I saw repeatedly throughout the movie.
I guess if you were to show me the (non-existent) outtakes from the film, where the adults in attendance told the children that what was about to happen might be scary but it was only an act, just make-believe, and not to take it seriously because it’s just so they can make a silly movie… and then afterward calmed the children and apologized to them for making them endure that horrendous torment, and explained that they didn’t mean any of it, etc…
Yeah, that would probably change my opinion. I would, of course, still think that it is wrong to make children unnecessarily endure such things.
Otherwise, the film seems to show, in scene after brutal scene, a process of systematic manipulation of young children based primarily upon ignorance, prejudice and especially fear (with the occasional carrot-reward, of course, as all such systems employ). At the camp, the kids are repeatedly made to engage in group activities designed to break down individual will — classic “brainwashing” techniques. Becky admits as much (brainwashing, not abuse) in the film, on camera.
At other times, Becky tells the children that her goal is to create Soldiers for Christ who are willing to lay down their lives for the cause. It is very clear that she isn’t saying, “you should dedicate your lives to this,” but is literally encouraging them to (be willing to) die for the cause (to fight abortion, spread jeezus, etc). When I heard her saying it, I couldn’t help but think of suicide bombers and jihadists, only they’d have crosses around their necks. The Jesus Jihad? Jihadis for Jesus?
Fiat Luminosus!
(Let there be Brights!)
December 1st, 2006 at 11:25 pm
I think the very fact that such crazed people can rise up out of the evangelical movement is alarming enough. The movement nurtured this and it doesn’t matter how much common sense and respect for critical thinking the rest of evangelicals may or may not have. The fact remains that the supposedly “balanced” people in the movement are referred to as such because they have a semblance of rational thinking that prevents them from going overboard. Imagine the damage that would be done if philosophy, logic, critical thinking, and science were not around to temper these people. I can tell you with great certainty that we would be looking at the dark ages. What you don’t seem to get is that many of us so-called free thinkers fear that this is exactly what is going to happen because of evangelicals (and the numerous other groups of fundamentalists of various religions). From all indications, it has already begun and is only going to get worse unless people can be startled into waking up to the idiocy the evangelical movement promotes.
The movement itself has become a staple source of support and revenue for ambitious political leaders and people who are just generally greedy. They are able to capitalize on the movement because of it’s follower’s will easy accept anyone who can fake their spirituality well enough. People are well aware of this, yet the problem remains.
Unfortunately, nothing can undo the damage at this point. However, something must be done and nothing short of exposing the evangelical movement for the beast it truly is is going to stop the problem. I know it’s hard to hear that because a lot of people within the movement have really good intentions, but that cannot be treated as an viable excuse. The evangelical movement is responsible for the hampering of scientific progress, the censoring of learning materials, and the persecution of minorities. This is just for starters. I could go on for a long time on the subject in great detail. The point here is that the time for apologies and reassurances has long since passed. Now is the time for change. If we ignore that, we do so only to our own detriment.
January 30th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I saw the movie last night and was so angry by what I saw.
I found it funny how she compared what she was doing to these kids with the training of terrorists overseas. Hmmm… Ok that must make it ok then if the terrorists are doing it. Yes kids are very impressionable when young but that is all the more reason we should not take advantage of them. I have been conflicted by the amount of political influence my church has had on its members but seeing what was being said in the film is really disturbing. I see some dark days ahead of us. We already have seen what blindly following a supposed evangelical christian can do to a country(Bush). Its time Christians wake up and remember that Jesus didn’t try changing the government when he was on earth, he just showed love to everyone and that was all that is needed for the world to become a better place.
April 5th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I just finished watching Jesus Camp after a friend recommended it to me and was moved to superimpose Becky Fischer’s face on an old communist propaganda poster and e-mail it to everyone in my address book. The woman acts like a dictator! Years ago I told my mother that the Evangelical denomination scared me due to the fact that they had the making of an extremist fundamentalist group and were taking over a majority of the country’s religious population, and that they, unlike all other religions, denounce people who worship the same god as they do. This film shook me to my core at how much they have progressed in just a few years; and now they are taking hold of the government! It scares me most that it resembles the way the Nazi party seized control of the Reichstag in Germany. The primary reason they were able to gain control was that people dismissed them as a simple anti-semitic group with no political power until they slowly took over the government and elected Hitler to power. I’m glad something has been done to stop this brainwashing and building of “god’s army,” although I do not condone the violent acts that led to it. But, unfortunately, that isn’t enough to end the threat of an fundamentalist, Evangelically controlled government. Someone, especially other Christians, needs to stand up and defiantly declare, “We won’t let you continue to use God as a weapon” and end this madness before it spirals out of control and sparks religious warfare and events like that of the French Revolution and the Holocaust. We need to learn from the past and stop them before they go too far.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
“I just finished watching Jesus Camp after a friend recommended it to me and was moved to superimpose Becky Fischer’s face on an old communist propaganda poster and e-mail it to everyone in my address book. The woman acts like a dictator!”
Skylar, I hope you realize that there was a “religion free” policy in basic communism. Also, it is an equality system, just nobody can understand that. There is no “leader.” Everybody is equal. There has been no true communism since government was created.
On topic though, even if you ignore my status as an Atheist, this movie literally made me want to find that camp and let them know just how insane they were making themselves look. This is just as bad as the Islamic extremist fundametalists who think they need to wipe out all the non-Islamic people in the world.
They are both saying they need to be “Soldiers,” whether it is for Allah or God. Both religions preach PEACE, LOVE, and ACCEPTANCE… so why use the term soldier? Why become so militant? Why so radical, when both religions speak about how you should be a humble, giving person?
Religions make no sense. :(
May 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
i just watched this movie and i am a catholic.
this does not reflect all christians. i am roman catholic, or as they described in the movie, on of those people who attend “dead churches”. they are episcopal, way different.
they believe only “born again” people can go to heaven and we believe in universal salvation, or if you are a good person you will go to heaven no matter what religion or race you are. this movie reflects EXTREMEISTS. its sad for people to have twisted ideas about a religion that, yes, has flaws in the system, but also brings love and unity amoung people.
what shocked me the most was about them praying for president bush. its good to pray someone makes a good disicion but to pray to a cardboard replica? i dont think so. he meets with that pastor every monday???
i was shocked, and less than pleased.
-laura
May 29th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
i dont think anyone thinks that what a normal christian is like. all my family are methodists and i am always suprised how openminded they are. But the fact is these people get the most attention, and they should because frankly they need to be wiped out, interpret that however you like.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
First of all, I’m agnostic. I am not of any religion, and am still searching for one to satisfy my needs. Therefore I feel as I have the right to respond to such a comment.
This camp is one of the most outrageous things I have ever seen. Not just the camp, but the kids too. The kid with the rat-tail was talking about how it’s only warmed up 0.6C within 5 years or something. He probably doesn’t know that it’s only warmed up 6C since the Ice Age. The main thing that bothers me is that the kids don’t know their facts, or even the whole story.
This entire movie is proof of self-serving bias and group polarization (basic behavioral psychology). They don’t believe in anything anyone else says, they take all blame for their successes (a generic one being getting rid of Muslims, although that’s not in the movie), and their views are strengthened by the camp (ie the kids crying because of their sins and forever accepting this “god” person into their lives).
It just really bothers me to see this type of brainwashing going on. These radicals are the main reason I hate religions. Nearly all beliefs force you to say that yours is the only correct one. So there are about 30 correct religions, and all of them are wrong due to each other… it’s a mess. That’s all religion is. A giant mess.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
[...] just read here that the camp is closed down fearing the kids [...]
August 12th, 2007 at 12:09 am
aww, I love Evangelofascists, why’d they have to go and close it down
October 6th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
I’d say its a form of child abuse. The movie scared me, and I felt sad for the children being brought up to believe such extreme views, without a chance to see the outside world and other veiws (note that the kids they interviewed were all in homeschooling) It’s sad that doing this to children is legal, but religion will always be a very contriversial debate. I am only 16 and I can tell you I was taught very minimal religion as a child and I can now become whatever religion I want if I chose, I do not think that my foster parents would say anything.
December 29th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
this is my favorite movie of all time, it just shows how poweful and unconventional God can be with little to no money….i am an evangelist covered in tats and a testimony designed to overcome the devil..i been delivered straight from the mental ward to authority in Christ by choosing his will over my own….i been on the lost’s side and utterly selfish and perverted most my life and now i am very powerfully moved in the spirit by these people simply trying their hardest for Jesus….it’s easier to be against it then for it, and there’s an example of the truth rite there…i dont know anybody that really digs the movie as i….all i gotta say is wide is the path to destruction….and by the way God showed me a vision of hell on pcp, no one in their right mind can fathom it or wants to taunt it…..Life is like a beast, u play with it, and play with it, and then one day it bites u….helping u appreciate it all the more….and then there will prolly still be alot of folx burning and yet STILL in denial at the same time….what can ya do….GODBLESS EM…..PEACE AND JESUS CHRIST YA’LL….GOD’Z THE MOST GANGSTER.
December 31st, 2007 at 9:46 am
I think the movie is great to. It made me laugh a lot harder then Epic Movie did.
I wanted to taunt your preaching more, but i’ve decided to go argue with my wall instead, It’ll have more effect.
December 31st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
[...] The name does raise a few eyebrows, doesn’t it? From what I’ve read, the camp was closed down about a year ago because “the movie Jesus Camp sparked such outrage that [Becky Fischer] [...]
January 1st, 2008 at 10:03 pm
That is frankly the scariest thing that I have ever seen. Those kids have been brainwashed out of their minds. Like skylar said, this is what lead up to the Holocaust, and before people knew it, they had been taken over by extreme radicals. These kids will be strongly encouraged to go into politics and control our nation until all common sense is lost. This movie reminded me of Borat, because in both movies they filmed people’s real opinions. I highly doubt that the people in the camp would “pretend” to believe, judging by the fact that they seemed to be ready to kill an abortionist. Shutting it down was a good decision.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
i couldn’t entirely tell what the movie makers were trying to get at, like, what was their stance
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:36 am
That’s right! A-man! Tell the truth. All those crazy Christians know the truth deep down! There wasn’t some brilliant mastermind behind all of this. We all know that a supernatural all knowing god doesn’t make any sense.
What really happened was that an itty bitty partical that came from somewhere and was floating in something blew up some time for some reason and a mess of stuff came out. That stuff condensed somehow into something that eventually cooled off into a ball of dust with water on it. Then lightning struck the water and made some soup that the fish came out of. Any rational person knows that cousin flipper grew some legs and decided to crawl out of that dang water.
THEN he climed in a tree and became a chimp. THEN the chimp start going bald and decided to walk on land because he was self conscious about his little hair problem. One day he came up with a bunch of ideas…tools, music, art, oh and god too. That’s how we got religion. All of us good ole athiests, the Christians, Jews, etc. all come from the dot that made the sun that spit out the earth that had the water that got hit with the bolt that spontaneously generated the cell that made the fish that swung from the vine and became Darwin! The other ideas are silly. It’s so simple why don’t these folks get it?
BTW…”we need to make an evolution camp”…we have those already. They’re called public schools.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I’m a christian, a true christian, not some nut job. I’ve seen this documentary and the way it was filmed and edited makes it seem more like a cult than a retreat to grow close or closer to God. This documentary was so poorly done that I felt sick at the misrepresentation of christianity. There was a scene that showed children crying because of their convictions and guilt of sin, and I don’t dispute that children that young could understand the realization of sin, or having a Godly sorrow for the dirty things in their life. But the way this film depicted it, it seems like the adults have brainwashed the children and that they’re following what the adults are saying blindly. I just need to clarify that I wasn’t raised in a christian home and my family still does not serve the Lord, but by my own understanding and searching, I was saved at 18 years old. I wasn’t forced or brainwashed and I still came to the same choice. And the children that I teach in my youth group are given a choice. We encourage our kids to read the bible and search for answers for themselves. We may teach them, but to believe us they should understand what we teach and find out the answers on their own time.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:28 am
“And the children that I teach in my youth group are given a choice”
You give them a choice? LOL yeah Im sure you do. How is being told to believe in Jesus and God a choice? If you sat them down and said “this is what some people choose to believe” and “other people dont believe in Jesus and God and choose science instead” then I’d say that was giving them a choice.
Kids are too impressionable and will believe anything you tell them - the kind of stuff going on at Jesuscamp IS brainwashing, pure and simple.
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
This movie was like a horror film inside the horror film. These people were brainwashing children. I’m glad this camp has closed down I wouldn’t want to leave my faith as a Catholic.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Anita, it’s not about a religion it’s not about being a catholic it’s about having a personal relationship with God who is Jesus Christ.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I believe Jesus Camp and it’s Founder Becky Fischer are meeting a huge need in America today. Children all over america are becoming aware of the fact that 1/3 of their classmates and friends are being slaughtered to the tune of 60 million children. Since 1973 when abortion became legal in this country, it has been their genreation that has been decimated! I believe these kids have the right to cry over this Holocaust. I believe they have the right in “Free” America to protest the murder of their generation. I watched the film and I am a Christian and I am outraged at the fact that in America a woman with a godly love for their generation took on the task to teach these kids to pray against the injustice that has been done against their generation and now she is being accusted of horrendous things, it is unbelieveable. Islamic children are trained by thier own parents from as young as 3 years old to strap themselves with bombs to blow up christians and anyone else who is not muslim and the liberal media in this country says “We need to be tolerant”. It seems clear to me that the liberals “tolerant” only applies to muslims who want to brutalize thier children physically, but not to Christians who want to teach thier kids to pray and peacfully protest injustice. Has America gone nuts or what??
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:45 pm
If you look on the internet for information about Muslim child abuse you will find unbelieveable pix of fathers slicing open thier 3 year old son’s scalp and teaching them to beat themselves with thier fists until the blood dreches the little child’s face. In the Uk this practice was reported to child protection agency and the Muslim community became irate. The liberals in Uk put pressure on the government to leave them alone and let them burtalize thier kids. Is that what we have to look forward to here in America, while at the same time Christians safety is threatened for teaching kids to pray???
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
As for Jayman who says “Kids are impressionable they will believe anything you tell them.” You don’t have much faith in children’s ability do you. I sure hope you don’t have kids the poor things will be stunted for life by your bias against thier intellectual abilities.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
After his fire and brimstone speech, Pastor Ted ended up being gay and premiscuous all over national news haha. And Pastor Becky isn’t married, morbidly overweight, and look at that hair. Could she be more butch lesbian? Pastor Becky is just a homophobic and xenophoic (including non-christians or more laid back christians) crazy woman and everyone at that camp should be arrested for child abuse or forced to move to ANY non-hick town in America where people wouldn’t put with that crap. Anywhere outside bumblefuck you’d get laughed out of town for that garbage.
January 18th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I saw this documentary and I was disgusted. Firstly, I’m going to make it clear that I don’t mind religion at all and I am not biased against any particular faith. However, I do abhor fundamentalism. It is this kind of raving by lunatics that drags down all other religions, giving rise to universal slander. Children are extremely impressionable. This so called “Jesus” camp (shut down thankfully) basically lobotomised those kids and filled them with hate, intolerance towards others, injected them with far right politics and implored them to take up a pro-war stance. If these young children grew up and formulated this mentality independent of the fundamental Evangelical influence at a young age, then that is fine. To quote Voltaire “I may disagree with what you say but I’ll defend your right to say it”. What a minority of the Muslim population has done in terms of the radicalisation of their young does not reflect Islam as a whole. One cannot justify camps like this because of other existing extremists. These religions teach love, tolerance and peace. To any fundamentalist Christians reading this (not normal, reasonable and intelligent Christians), do you really think that Jesus is looking at this favourably? He espoused peaceful, non-violent, loving messages that were intended to liberate mankind from hateful dogmas. He would object to all of Becky Fischer’s screeches to serve him as soldiers. There are NO enemies of Christ. From what I’ve read (and I try to understand as much from all different faiths), he loves everyone. Fundamentalists have no rational explanation for their actions. They terrorise children, hinder the progress of things that can cure diseases and disabilities like stem cell research, fight wars, hate gays (who are supposed to be equal children in the eyes of God right?) and just inhibit any progressions made towards a better society. I’m deliberately trying to be calm and therefore I am not ranting in a vitriolic, caustic manner. Also if one looks at the variation of Christianity they practice, one finds numerous inconsistencies. They warp the text, picking and choosing at scripture and adopt stances that reek of hypocrisy. I am 17 years old, I thought about this and gave a considered opinion. I am not Godless, Satanic or narrow minded. Fundamentals really are proud to be backwards.
January 18th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
As for you Kim Birowski, you are everything that is wrong with America. You cannot believe everything you see on the internet you naive cretin. You have no evidence whatsoever to substantiate your claims. You’ve just taken a brush and tarred the entire Muslim population, most of whom are decent, hardworking, loving and benevolent people, and likened them to extremists.
Children are intelligent, but they cannot endure the constant bombardment of biased views every hour of every day. Teaching children to pray is one thing, getting them to pray to George “The Imbecile” Bush is another. Disguising Republicanism as Christianity is shameful. It works both ways. The Bush Administration disguised fundamentalism as politics for 8 years. Thankfully he’s out and change has come to America.
Don’t even get me started on abortion because I’ll annihilate any pathetic, flimsy argument you send in my direction.
Hope you find the light,
Eleu
January 19th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Kim Birowski:
“As for Jayman who says “Kids are impressionable they will believe anything you tell them.” You don’t have much faith in children’s ability do you. I sure hope you don’t have kids the poor things will be stunted for life by your bias against thier intellectual abilities.”
WTF?!
Its not about having FAITH in my children’s abilities, its about KNOWING how their brain pysiology forms during their early years and how exactly certain forms of education (or in the case of jesus camp: BRAINWASHING) affects their intellectural abilities later on in life. There are evolutionary reasons as to why children listen to their parents and copy their behaviour (its a bit tedious and dangerous for children to learn everything in life by themselves)
For the record, my 22 month old daughter can recite ‘the owl and the pussycat’ - how many children less than 2 years old can even string together full sentences at that age, let alone remember long poems? So yup, kinda blows your theory out of the water (no surprises there).
January 21st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
22 months and can recite poetry? I’m impressed - maybe your daughter is some kind of child prodigy . . . See if she could recite “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” - such an awesome piece of children’s literature.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:40 am
Ha, i dont think she’s a prodigy, but she is language-advanced for her age and loves books and us reading to her so often that she begins to remember them! She’s moved on from The Hungry Caterpillar (still a favourite of hers though) and can also finish our sentences/recite most of ‘where the wild things are’!
The bible certainly wont be getting much of a look in with her though, lol - only perhaps to point out what a horrible and mostly tediously boring fairytale it is!
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
That’s awesome - books are such a positive influence on children especially if introduced at a young age. If I’m lucky enough to have kids when I’m older, I’ll read to them as much as possible (oh and good music is essential too . . .)
As for the Bible and other religions, definitely not as a young child. If he/she grows up and finds it, then I guess that’s fine. Certainly no radical camps anyway. “Harry Potter would be stoned to death if he lived in the time of the old Testament!” - I mean wtf?! Fundamentalists are like book-burning Nazis sometimes.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Jayman said,post 50 “only perhaps to point out what a horrible and mostly tediously boring fairytale it is!”
Jayman, the most important research book you can find and you completely ignore it. i would tell you that the beginning of knowledge and understanding in putting the bible as your cornerstone in your life. The wonderful precious life you talk about is the way life you wish for these girls to have in this world. if you say you have an open mind then the truth in knowledge would be found in the bible and therefore should be one. i would be happy to send you a colourful bible for kids that is “exciting”.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Hyrocket - I know that last post was directed at Jayman but I wanted to interject. The Bible does provide an array of good morals. However it doesn’t have to be the foundation for a good lifestyle. One can lead a contented, happy and knowledgeable life and teach their children to do the same without basing all of it upon Biblical teachings. Don’t misunderstand me, I think that the Bible can be helpful - but it isn’t the beginning of all tolerance and education.
The one major flaw that religion has is that it tends to radicalise small groups of people. These people then stray away from the teachings of their scripture and come to despise all that is different. Most followers are impervious to this however some people might be unwilling to chance this. They raise their kids in the absence of religion to avoid such problematic traits from ever surfacing in their young. Of course they might offer many other reasons, such as a general distrust of religion, to explain why they don’t expose their kids.
Well the bottom line is that you don’t have to be religious to be a tolerant and loving person.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
“Jayman, the most important research book you can find and you completely ignore it. i would tell you that the beginning of knowledge and understanding in putting the bible as your cornerstone in your life.”
Its ok hyrocket, ive read the bible and have decided that its largely self-contradictory gibberish with lashings of dangerously narrowminded dogma. I’d no sooner give her a bible than i would give her a koran or occultist/satanist writings - i dont wish to brainwash my daughter thanks.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Jayman, fair enough. the offer stands if you ever change your mind. just ask PW for my email-ok’d by me PW.
Thanks Eleu, point taken but things i talk about are from the eternal stand point we all will face. The value of life runs deeper than just the now.-that’s all.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Hyrocket - The eternal life and judgement stance is one that does unsettle many people. Can I ask you a question - do you embrace or reject one of the Christian beliefs that is centered around universal salvation? (Universal salvation meaning that the judgement will concern only how you have lived your life, where it is irrelevant which faith you have followed.)
I just want to clarify what kind of belief you hold. You are very vocal across all topics on this blog. Just wanted some context, that’s all . . .
January 27th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Hello Eleu, on post 53 you said,
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
[...] after the documentary was exposed to the public Jesus Camp closed its doors. [...]
May 24th, 2009 at 11:58 am
This is the definition of a cult, plain and simple. These kids were being brainwashed into an army of mindless sheep. The same tactics were used by Hitler and Al-Qaeda, where fear is the main ingredient used to strengthen the message and mold behavior. If this camp hadn’t been closed these kids would have ended up starting a Holy War like Al-Qaeda or dying in a mass suicide/murder like the victims of Jonestown and the Branch Dividians.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Just watching the doco again. I have to say it was scarier the first time funnier the second. I hope all those kids grow up to be real human beings. Thank goodness for the internet huh?
Agree with Thecults here. This is brainwashing 101. Basic psychology. Good on that young blonde kid for having doubts. Shame on the camp for making him feel guilty for it. But that’s how you control people. Peer pressure.
All fanatics are the same no matter the religion. And adults abusing kids this way are not doing it for God. They do it to make themselves feel important. I am sure this does not represent the bulk of the religion. But very scary anyway.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:27 am
I know that it may look scary, to you of course if you have not experienced the love of God, or how it feels for him to be in your heart, it may seem as though. The way those children acted, I believe with all my heart, was the spirit of God. Not hurting them, but healing them, being with them, loving them. And I have experienced that love many a time. I am about 15, and will tell you right now that I am a very open minded person and have had my doubts about things. But when I look at these kids I cannot help but to trust in God that he is going to use these children and he has a plan. The first time through that I watched this movie I didn’t once think that this was “mental abuse” because, in fact, I have seen and experienced it myself. But when I read what people have to say on this page I can kind of see where you guys are coming from. And I just pray that God will bless everyone on this page that has doubt in their heart.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Emily, it seems your notions of god are at odds with what the Christian bible claims.The Christian god of the bible myths is rather obviously violent and vengeful, as presented in detail here. This point comes up often on this site, and really isn’t in question.
Just to cite a few examples of the sheer nastiness and brutality of the Christian god-myth, we have from the above reference:
# God is angry. He decides to destroy all humans, beasts, creeping things, fowls, and “all flesh wherein there is breath of life.” He plans to drown them all. 6:7, 17
# God repeats his intention to kill “every living substance … from off the face of the earth.” But why does God kill all the innocent animals? What had they done to deserve his wrath? It seems God never gets his fill of tormenting animals. 7:4
# God drowns everything that breathes air. From newborn babies to koala bears — all creatures great and small, the Lord God drowned them all. 7:21-23
# God sends a plague on the Pharaoh and his household because the Pharaoh believed Abram’s lie. 12:17
# God tells Abram to kill some animals for him. The needless slaughter makes God feel better. 15:9-10
# Hagar conceives, making Sarai jealous. Abram tells Sarai to do to Hagar whatever she wants. “And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled.” 16:6
# “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”
I guess God couldn’t find even ten good Sodomites because he decides to kill them all in Genesis 19. Too bad Abraham didn’t ask God about the children. Why not save them? If Abraham could find 10 good children, toddlers, infants, or babies, would God spare the city? Apparently not. God doesn’t give a damn about children. 18:32
# Lot refuses to give up his angels to the perverted mob, offering his two “virgin daughters” instead. He tells the bunch of angel rapers to “do unto them [his daughters] as is good in your eyes.” This is the same man that is called “just” and “righteous” in 2 Peter 2:7-8. 19:7-8
# God kills everyone (men, women, children, infants, newborns) in Sodom and Gomorrah by raining “fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven.” Well, almost everyone — he spares the “just and righteous” Lot and his family. 19:24
# Lot’s nameless wife looks back, and God turns her into a pillar of salt. 19:26
# God threatens to kill Abimelech and his people for believing Abe’s lie. 20:3-7
# Sarai tells Abraham to “cast out this bondwoman and her son.” God commands him to “hearken unto her voice.” So Abraham abandons Hagar and Ishmael, casting them out into the wilderness to die. 21:10-14
# God orders Abraham to kill Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham shows his love for God by his willingness to murder his son. But finally, just before Isaac’s throat is slit, God provides a goat to kill instead. 22:2-13
# Abraham shows his willingness to kill his son for God. Only an evil God would ask a father to do that; only a bad father would be willing to do it. 22:10
# Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is “defiled” by a man who seems to love her dearly. Her brothers trick all of the men of the town and kill them (after first having them all circumcised), and then take their wives and children captive. 34:1-31
# “The terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them.” 35:5
# “And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.” What did Er do to elicit God’s wrath? The Bible doesn’t say. Maybe he picked up some sticks on Saturday. 38:7
# After God killed Er, Judah tells Onan to “go in unto they brother’s wife.” But “Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and … when he went in unto his brother’s wife … he spilled it on the ground…. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; wherefore he slew him also.” This lovely Bible story is seldom read in Sunday School, but it is the basis of many Christian doctrines, including the condemnation of both masturbation and birth control. 38:8-10
# After Judah pays Tamar for her services, he is told that she “played the harlot” and “is with child by whoredom.” When Judah hears this, he says, “Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.” 38:24
# Joseph interprets the baker’s dream. He says that the pharaoh will cut off the baker’s head, and hang his headless body on a tree for the birds to eat. 40:19
# God brought a seven year, “very greivous” famine on the whole earth for no apparent reason (except maybe to make Joseph wealthy). 41:25-32, 54
Exodus
# Moses murders an Egyptian after making sure that no one is looking. 2:11-12
# “I will … smite Egypt with all my wonders.” 3:20
# God threatens to kill the Pharaoh’s firstborn son. 4:23
# God decides to kill Moses because his son had not yet been circumcised. 4:24-26
# Moses and Aaron ask the Pharaoh to let all the Israelites go into the desert to pray for three days, or else God will kill them all “with pestilence, or with the sword.” 5:3
# “Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.” 6:1
# God will make sure that Pharaoh does not listen to Moses, so that he can kill Egyptians with his armies. 7:4
# “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” Who else could be so cruel and unjust? 7:5, 17
# God tells Moses and Aaron to smite the river and turn it into blood. 7:17-24
# The fifth plague: all cattle in Egypt die. 9:2-6
# The sixth plague: boils and blains upon man and beast. 9:9-12
# “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” Who else but the biblical god could be so cruel? 9:14
# God gave power to the Pharaoh so that he could show off his own power by killing him. 9:15-16
# The seventh plague is hail. “And the hail smote throughout the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast.” 9:22-25
# God wants to be remembered forever for the mass murder of little children. 10:2
# These verses clearly show that the mass murder of innocent children by God was premeditated. 11:4-6 (see 12:29-30)
# God will kill the Egyptian children to show that he puts “a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” 11:7
# God explains to Moses that he intends to “smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. 12:12
# After God has sufficiently hardened the Pharaoh’s heart, he kills all the firstborn Egyptian children. When he was finished “there was not a house where there was not one dead.” Finally, he runs out of little babies to kill, so he slaughters the firstborn cattle, too. 12:29
# To commemorate the divine massacre of the Egyptian children, Moses instructs the Israelites to “sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix” — all the males, that is. God has no use for dead, burnt female bodies. 13:2, 12, 15
# “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” 14:4
# After hardening Pharaoh’s heart a few more times, God drowns Pharaoh’s army in the sea 14:4-28
# The LORD shall fight for you 14:14
# “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour.” 14:17
# “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.” 14:18
# “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians.” 14:26
# “And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians.” 14:31
# Moses and the people sing praises to their murderous god. 15:1-19
# “The Lord is a man of war.” Indeed, judging from his acts in the Old Testament, he is a vicious warlike monster. 15:3
# God’s right hand dashes people in pieces. 15:6
# “For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them.” 15:19
# “Horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” 15:21
# If you do what God says, he won’t send his diseases on you (like he did to the Egyptians). But otherwise…. 15:26
# Joshua, with God’s approval, kills the Amalekites “with the edge of the sword.” 17:13
# “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 17:14
# “The Lord has sworn [God swears!] that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” 17:14-16
# Any person or animal that touches Mt. Sinai shall be stoned to death or “shot through.” 19:12-13
# Like the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, nobody can see God and live. 19:21
# God gives instructions for killing and burning animals. He says that if we will make such “burnt offerings,” he will bless us for it. What kind of mind would be pleased by the killing and burning of innocent animals? 20:24
# A child who hits or curses his parents must be executed. 21:15, 17
# An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 21:24-25
# If an ox gores someone, “then the ox shall surely be stoned.” 21:28
# If an ox gores someone due to the negligence of its owner, then “the ox shall be stoned, and his owner shall be put to death.”. 21:29
# If an ox gores a slave, the owner of the ox must pay the owner of the slave 30 shekels of silver, and “the ox shall be stoned.” 21:32
# “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Thousands of innocent women have suffered excruciating deaths because of this verse. 22:18
# “Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.” Is it really necessary to kill such people? Couldn’t we just send them to counseling or something? 22:19
# “He who sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.” If this commandment is obeyed, then the four billion people who do not believe in the biblical god must be killed. 22:20
# If you make God angry enough, he will kill you and your family with his own sword. 22:24
# “The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt give unto me.” (As a burnt offering?) 22:29
# God promises to “send his fear before the Israelites” and to kill everyone that they encounter when they enter the promised land. 23:27
# Moses has some animals killed and their dead bodies burned for God. Then he sprinkles their blood on the altar and on the people. This makes God happy. 24:5-8
# Get some animals, kill them, chop up their bodies, wave body parts in the air, burn the carcasses, and sprinkle the blood all around — in precisely the way God tells you. It may well make you sick, but it makes God feel good. 29:11-37
# Have your killed and offered your bullock for a sin offering today? How about the two lambs you are supposed to offer each day? 29:36-39
# Wash up or die. 30:20-21
# Whoever puts holy oil on a stranger shall be “cut off from his people.” 30:33
# Those who break the Sabbath are to be executed. 31:14
# God asks to be left alone so that his “wrath may wax hot” and he can “consume them. 32:10
What do you have to say to these examples of the sheer brutality of the Christian god of Christian dogma? Rather obviously, your god would be a brutal entity, if it actually existed, and furthermore, the guidance that the bible provides is brutal to an extreme, including animal sacrifice, and brutal punishments for what many today do not consider to be crimes.
Furthermore, no prayer has ever been answered, and no miracle has ever been proven. So, please save your prayers and do some reasoning about your claims about your god fable instead, considering the above statements from the bible that show that your god-myth is rather different from what you think it is.
Religion is ridiculous.
June 30th, 2009 at 6:48 am
If you pay attention, the film was produced by the LOKI FILM company, with such an evident name, this is really allarming.
It looks like nobody have ever noticed it, becouse busy with thinkingonly about the movie itself.
If noone seems to be able tyo understand this kind of hints, then it is obvious that there is no one left.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Korgan,
Notice that your proof that god is angry comes directly from the OLD testament. I have taken many theology courses in my life and am a christian. Need I remind you that the old testament is actually a jewish text (the torah). Of course, Christians must know the stories in the old testament because they are important to our spiritual heritage, but it is not the whole story. Notice that the god of the NEW testament is forgiving and loving, It is a new vision of god, That vision which is directly elucidated through his son Jesus Christ. That is the beauty of Jesus’s message of love and compassion. Jesus is the new path, the light of the world. READ THE WHOLE BIBLE BEFORE YOU START QUOTING. meanwhile it may help if some of you read saint augustin.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:54 am
“For I am the Lord, I do not change.”
- Malachi 3:6
Hmmm, seems rather off that you would speak about the God of the Old Testament differently than the God of the New Testament. I thought they were the same…
July 21st, 2009 at 11:25 pm
What did my husband and I take away from this film? Stay the hell away from Colorado Springs.
August 13th, 2009 at 8:12 am
to #19
How do you expect your kid to become a doctor if you are filling his head with nonsense and telling him science is wrong? The Evangelical position on science is just ignorant. Dont you want your kid to be able to make his own educated decisions?
August 13th, 2009 at 9:05 am
The answer to that is most definitely “no.” Religious Freaks care more about teaching their kids what they view as the “right” decisions and less with teaching them to make their own decisions. I’ve got a girlfriend with this problem. It’s amazing to see the product of such abuse try to function in the real world. I end up helping her a lot with real world issues that aren’t addressed in the Bibble.
September 17th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Did anyone else find it ironic that the camp was held at devil lake lol. I call myself a christian who does not attend church after I realized they don’t have any deeper knowledge of the bible than a person picking it up for the first time, Ie know your anthropology, (and kick anything done or said by the apostle paul out of the bible and that makes for a true teaching of Jesus). As for the camp being closed it really won’t make any difference they are going to raise the kids the same with or without it. I have a feeling that if Jesus came back to this world so many radical christians would deny that it is really Jesus because he accepts and loves everyone and sadly they are to busy hating (oops I mean saving) homosexuals, non-christians, and anyone and everyone that does not fit their mold. anywhoo my post is pretty far down so I doubt it will be viewed not to mention this thread is old. sorry for run on sentances.
September 17th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
ya ya ya
sorry you are so stupid. christians are dumbasses. evolution rocks.
September 17th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
no no no,
I don’t know where I said anything about evolution, I very much beleive in evolution.
however I don’t quite understand why you call me stupid because you did not elaborate, I am sure you have a good reason but if you are to bring my intelligence into question I would have perferred something more. I will respect whatever you have to say because as I said in my post like I said love everyone accept everyone, that is just a better way of life Jesus knew it, siddhartha (buddha) knew it, I am working toward it. I know it is not a lifestyle for everyone it is right for me.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
he respect you after too. feel good.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
As Becky Fisher proves, he’s not about love.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
[...] after the documentary was exposed to the public Jesus Camp closed its doors. [...]
January 15th, 2010 at 6:09 am
thinking form the christian point of view about God for a minute….. do you think that the being that created everything is so small that the old test. and yes even the new test. put together can give you a whole picture of who God really is? and with that i believe that there are many faces of God. we were made to be like him so why wouldn’t God feel anger, love, disappointment, etc… i believe that there is truth in science and given enough time science will prove the legitimacy of the bible. i understand what everyone has said on this blog. yes i sat here like a noob and read it all with an open mind. you have made me rethink my decision to follow christ and i thank you for that. i love jesus christ with all of my heart. i am not a religious person. in fact you could probably go as far as saying that i hate religion. i believe it confuses and entangles many people in search of knowledge. i believe that we were created for relational purposes and that we all must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. i believe that there is only one way to heaven and that is through jesus christ. i agree with what pretty much everyone thought about this movie. it scared the hell out of me. i have not been forced down the path that i have chosen. and when i doubt my faith and nothing else seems to help i think about the incredibly smart men and women that i look up to through out history and i am strengthened to know that some of the most intelligent and free thinking people found themselves at Christianity’s door.
May my God be seen for what he truly is. AMEN
January 15th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Re 75, provide any proof at all that your jezeus of your particular stupid sky fairy tale exists as a divine entity. No one else has ever done that.
January 15th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
“fierce of fath”, it is easy to see your god story for what it “truly is”: a horrific fairy tail about a mythical creature, a purported “god” that has serious violence and vengeance issues and would be quite the asshole if it actually existed. Fortunately it is only a myth.
A convenient reference for you re your god-asshole of your Christian myths:
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/nt_list.html
And netyahoo, LOL at “jezeus”. Good one. I’ll remember it next time the xtians claim that their particular mythology is any different in veracity from the (more interesting) Greek mythology.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
#1
using war as an analogy (which they do throughout the movie) for children is awful.
I had an experience as a child at a christian camp (that was more radical than I was used to) where during a sermon, the youth minister started calling out for children to be saved and kids were being dragged up to the front of the auditorium, and it scared me so much that I started crying and confessed, “I don’t believe in god, I know I went through confirmation, but I didn’t mean it” and the people around me interpreted this as me being “saved” or “born again” and I was dragged to the front of the auditorium to be saved with a handful of other children, and it was one of the most traumatizing things I ever went through. I felt so manipulated and violated.
After that I turned away from christianity.
Even though I believe there are good lessons in the bible and that if people were “christlike” the world would be a better place, I think the christian church is flawed in design and destined to always be twisted into the shit you see in this movie.
The whole idea of cramming this stuff down kids throats is terrible, and its not just in the evangelical right… I went to a methodist church which was pretty lefty (we had a female pastor), and yet I was pushed to stand up in front of my church congregation and “proclaim the lord as my savior” at the young age of 13. As a child I also went to a catholic school (as a protestant) and was forced to sit away from the rest of my friends as we went by class to confession, where all of my friends were able to confess their sins and I was not. Every Friday we had practice mass where all of my friends were able to receive the sacrament of communion and I was not…
I think I would have had a more fulfilling childhood if I had not been raised a christian. And I think the children of Jesus Camp were robbed of their childhoods.
You don’t have to have a religion to teach your kids morals and for them to turn out caring and kindhearted.
I hope my generation can prove this to the past and future generations.