Documentary "Jesus Camp"

I watched the documentary "Jesus Camp" a couple of nights ago and was completely appalled! This film explored a camp run by evangelical Christians in which children were - I can't avoid the word - brainwashed into following some pretty shocking evangelical teachings. I understand that in this country we have the freedom to worship as we wish (for the time being, anyway) but at what point do extreme religious teachings become child abuse?

A lot of these kids were home-schooled by parents who didn't know anything outside of their religion. It makes me despair for the state of education in our country. The film showed footage of a parent teaching her son to regard evolution with contempt and to doubt or disregard any scientific evidence which contradicts biblical teachings.

Children in this film were taught to pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, not the American flag. I didn't know there was such a thing as a Christian flag, but it was frightening.

Children were forced to pray to a cardboard cut-out of President Bush. I don't even know where to start with THAT one. How about the hypocrisy of praying to a false idol, against the specific instructions of the Bible?

Children were instructed in ways to approach strangers and question them about their religious beliefs. Whatever happened to stranger danger? There was no mention whatsoever of any safety measures. One girl of about 7 was shown approaching a strange woman in a bowling alley, and later approaching a group of men in Washington DC. She was praised for her actions, not warned about the dangers that children can face from strangers. If one of these brainwashed kids falls into the hands of a pedophile, would the parents consider it "God's Will"?

The people who run this camp openly admit they are preparing their children to be soldiers in a holy war. Apparently their training was quite effective because these kids reminded me of the Hitler Youth, except they were chanting "praise Jesus" instead of "Heil Hitler".

The leaders rationalized preparing kids for holy war by saying that Muslims were doing the same thing, teaching their kids to become suicide bombers. What really irritates me about statements like that is these people believe (and want us to believe) that all Muslims are extremists. Rampant ignorance! Saying all Muslims are extremists is like saying the Christian sects that handle snakes are representative of all Christians. In actuality, extremists make up a very small subset of all Muslims, just as these extreme evangelicals make up a small but highly vocal subset of all Christians.

This film was made in 2005, prior to the Ted Haggard scandal. It features an interview with Haggard, who at the time was the pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Some of his comments are highly amusing considering the subsequent revelations about his personal life.

Some footage was also shot at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, which was the site of the shootings in late 2007. When the shootings happened I wondered just what kind of a church would arrange for armed security? Now I know why.

One of the principal leaders of this camp was a woman who prided herself on being able to "convert", i.e., beat down into submission, any child she encountered. Her methods were powerful and included fear, guilt, shame and peer pressure.

I felt so sorry for the children profiled in this film because they may never be able to have one independent thought their entire lives due to the brainwashing they've received "in the name of God". I believe it is wrong to use children, who are vulnerable and unable to make objective, abstract judgments for themselves, as pawns, tools or weapons in the first wave of a holy war.

Later,
AuntieM