Reason Takes A Vacation At Jesus Camp

by Nicole

I wrote a recent post on blind faith and how faith without reason is taking its toll on education, science, the environment, and ultimately our nation as a whole, and it reminded me of a report I saw on Go Left TV a few months ago about the documentary Jesus Camp. The film ventures behind the scenes at a North Dakota Evangelical Christian "Kids On Fire" summer camp, which targeted children between the ages of 7 and 9 and was organized by a group called Kids In Ministry.

In one of the many disturbing scenes we see young children being asked to kiss the feet of a cardboard cut out of George Bush. The "reasoning" behind it, as Kids In Ministry Director and Pastor Becky Fischer explains, is that "the bible tells us to pray for those in authority over us, to pray for all those in government, whether they're good leaders or bad leaders, so that we might live in peace." Also shown on the video is a group of kids who are taken on a field trip to a political protest. “I feel like we’re kinda being trained to be warriors only in a much funner way,” says one blond haired young girl.

I guess the question is are these kids being educated or brainwashed? Watch the clip, peruse the Kids In Ministry website, and if you're inclined watch the full Jesus Camp documentary, and then, armed with knowledge come to your own conclusion, a process, personally, I don't think the kids had the option of on this (blind) faith camp.

| 01/14/08 | Religion

I had to stop the video. I actually saw the entire documentary. I saw some good things, and some bad things. Instead of sharing my every thought, I'd like to share a general impression.

There were lectures on themes I found age inappropriate. The use of hand held manipulatives for the abortion service was not just age inappropriate, it was grotesque. I'm sure that was the intention. Why do they always pray that abortion be made illegal? Why don't they pray that people find the strength and character to wait until they are ready, or use the good sense God gave them to use birth control? Seeking a loving human connection, these young girls are the very ones who will have sex at an early age, and not have abortions, because they are "Christian."

Who wrote this book called the Bible? How does this lady know how Harry Potter would have read in the Bible? He's pretty much a good guy. What if I said, "If Harry Potter had been in the old testament, he would have been right up there with John the Baptist." Oh my. But seriously, he's a good guy with powers! I noticed a while ago that kids today don't trust in "good." I was raised with super heros, and they fought, and won over evil everytime. I was never afraid, because I had an understanding that good always won. That was also part of my Christian upbringing.

Guilt and Fear. Guilt and Fear, and tons of it! They have these kids on the floor crying in the fetal postion. The idea is to break them down, educate them, and the Lord will lift them up. These kids went there with their hearts open. They're kids. The first step is to break them. Yea, that's nice. I'm sure Jesus is all about that. He put us, as adults in their lives to help lift them up, not to tear them down, and say, "Yea, you need to pray more. I really hope Jesus brings some good into your life." You are the "good" thing in your child's life people, so act like it.

My daughter is grown, but if she were still young... I'd want her to go to the camp where they use crayons to draw long, fat stripes of different colors, and cover it with black, and use a stick to write Jesus Loves Me, so that it comes out looking like a rainbow.

If you do watch this film, carefully watch the young, blonde boy. He is already dealing with so much in his life. This was not a good thing for him. It's sad, because I think these people care, and they are trying, but they missed the point.

Comments

I was showing this video to my 23 year old daughter today, when I remembered something. I'm sorry I forgot to include this in my previous post.

The conclusion of this film has the woman in charge stating that she is sure all "liberals" watching the program are scared now. She seemed to feel that the "conservative, right wing, Christian" community was making a leap forward. This is where I got confused. So, if you vote a democratic ballot you're not a Christian? The closing credits had Spirit In The Sky playing. Now I was really confused. Isn't that a song associated with the hippy movement?

I LOVE irony! That song was written by a man who is reported to be of Jewish faith. By using that in the closing credits, they must now give royalties to a man who doesn't believe that Jesus was the son of God.

Comments

This violates the constitution. We are not allowed to mix religion with politics. I don't agree that president Bush should be there. These kids are too young, they can't make up their own mind, they are still babies. How can these people brainwash them? This is sick.

Comments

I can't believe these people are doing that to those kids. Just another reason why I'm Atheist. We have parents and adults brainwashing kids into believe in something thing that at that age they really can't understand. All those kids are going to do is grown up and believe in god ONLY cause that was what they were taught. Let your kids grown up and then let them make their own choice when they get to an age they can make up their own minds on things. Let them do the research and decide if they believe.