Jesus Camp
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Movie Reviews of Jesus Camp
Movie Review: The scariest movie since The Exorcist.
Summary: 5 Stars
Us against them...Because boys and girls can change the world.
Jesus Camp's first images are of the heart land of The U.S. seen from a car window, as sinister music and hair raising radio broadcasts fill the watcher with foreboding and dread. Believers in God's perfect will are advocating a culture war to reclaim America for Christ. These mean spirited holy warriors make no qualms about wanting to take over our country from those sin practicing liberal minded free thinkers. Within minutes we become aware of an all to real powerful force in our own back yard that will stoop as low as humanly possible and stop at nothing to steal democracy from us like a thief in the night.
Becky is the first one we meet, as she angrily barks her sermon to her captive group of brain washed children about how this world is sick and we need to break out the tools to fix it. Amazingly hypocritical, in that she is built like a hippo herself, she builds the children's urgency and their youthful purpose by shouting "We have too many Christian grown ups that are fat and lazy and don't want to give up a meal!" At the end of her gross sermon the children are encouraged to speak in tongues under fat Becky's guidance.
Smartly directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the movie shifts back and forth between the grown up abusers, and the poor impressionable child victoms themselves. Since any viewer with a shread of reality left in their bones would feel hopelessly crushed under the weight of all the vulgar desplays of adverse behavior, and bombardment of sick fundamentalism, the directors spare us time to time by letting us sit in on writer and attorney Mike Papantonio's on air radio show. He becomes the conscious of the film since it is all too clear that the evangelical adults don't have any conscious left and are actively smashing what little conscious remains in their darling little warriors. He is the very voice of sanity that asks the questions that any responsible adult should be asking, like " Why do you indoctronate children and interfere with their ability to learn and decide for themselves? Don't you realize that you are damaging the progression of mankind?"
He also asks the questions that any responsible Christian that honors America should be asking themselves. " How do we ignor that we are creating children warriors for the republican party? How does that figure in, in any way, with how Christ said we should live our lives on Earth?"
During the course of the film we get to know two of the child warriors pretty well, they are Rachel, and Levi. 12 year old Levi is being raised to become a preacher of the holy word himself. There is a shot of him rehearsing his first ever sermon, a sermon he claims that God really wrote through him. It contains all the familiar elements that he has heard his whole life, like " God is all powerful and good and needs to rule everything", and " Satan is wicked and needs to be watched". His sermon is for his fellow youths so he encourages them to " Rise up and take action by running with the baton!" He has also been home schooled along with his little brother who early in this picture sadly claims that Galileo made the right choice when he gave up science for Christ. For those of you that are not hip as to why Galileo chose to do this, it was because in 1610 he made the discovery that the Earth revolved around The Sun. The Catholic Church didn't like his theory that man was not the center of the universe so they sent the Holy Inquisition to go and correct said theory. Not to be outdone in science bashing, Levi tells his parental unit teacher, that he would not mind going to a public school in which the teacher taught that evolution is stupid, and so are the people who believe in it. Meanwhile he is learning the lesson that global warming is not real, that it is just a political tool used by the enemy party against God's chosen political party. You see, when people actually believe that The Rapture is real and it is going to happen at some point during their lifetime, it makes The Earth's natural resources, and the environment completely expendable. After all, Jesus is already on his way so it doesn't matter. I am not making any of this up, it's an actual fact that 45% of American's believe that The Rapture is going to happen in their lifetime...Where's Becky's fat and lazy speach when we need it?
Just as heartbreaking sad is ten year old Rachel who is shown actually asking God to bless her bowling ball before every toss down the lane. Next she approaches a hot young blonde chick of around 20 or so, sitting at one of the adjacent lanes. Rachel tells this blonde lady that God is thinking about her and she just wanted her to know that. Once back with her family, the grown ups gather around to congratulate her efforts to save a soul glowingly. Later Rachel vacuously tells the camera about the types of churches God likes to go to. They are not the ones in which people prey quietly with no passion, because those are "dead" churches. Then she talks about her desire to run a hair salon, so that her relaxed clients will be more receptive to the Christian music and soul saving she plans to administer along with the hair treatment. All I can think of, is how amazingly warped poor little Rachel really is. Don't most children wish they could be firemen and movie stars? But under the guiding hands of creatures like fat Becky, Rachel and her minion of fellow brain washed future leaders have no hopes of ever becoming normal kids.
"J.C. In the house!"
At the Jesus Camp its self, Becky goes around and does something that goes beyond mere stupidity. She blesses the seats, the electricity, the electrical equipment, video projectors, power points, presentations, and microphones, all in the blood of Christ...Christians sure do love their blood...Then during the presentation to the captive kiddies, she condemns that evil monster Harry Potter for being a warlock.
" He would be put to death by past Christians!" she spats hatefully.
In the pause that fallows a single childs voice can be heard shouting an "AMEN!" Fallowed by complete fellowship applause for that lovely morally righteous comment. Meanwhile the PA plays Christian rap, heavy metal, and rock, along with the appropriate subliminal atmospheric stuff at the most effective moments of the mind numbing sermon. This includes some lady who moans her spirit ladened head off into a hand held microphone...And what in the world is some Australian Preacher doing telling American children that they have to replace the morally corrupt government officails with righteous ones? Meanwhile, Fat Becky makes references about MacDonald drive through windows, ( which I am sure she knows all about ) and tells the now tear stained children to do as The Apostle Paul said and take the scriptures and make WAR with them.
There are a couple of telling moments that fallow, in which a few of the children actually say something human despite all the brain washing. The first is when a little boy tells the adults that he sometimes feels that God really isn't there listening to him pray, and that he wonders if The Bible is actually the writen word of God or simply something writen by people. He is given a book and forced to go sit by himself outside and read it. The other moment is when a group of boys are sitting around a table with Levi. One of the boys says that his mother will not let him watch Harry Potter because it has witch craft in it, but he watches it anyway when he goes over his dads house. This is fallowed by an amazing look of shear stunned shock on the faces of all the other boys. Had this scene been played with no audio, a person watching it might have been convinced by the looks on the other boys faces that he just told them that he was in love with fat Becky.
Now unlike Mike Papantonio, I do not share America's one nation under God beliefs. In fact, I don't believe that Jesus Christ even existed at all. I am for all practical purposes, a card carrying atheist, but that is alright, that is peachy creamy. What is not alright, is that there is a group that actively messes with the lives of other people. They don't want anyone in this world to even have thoughts that are different then their own. They are building an army of foot soldiers to eradicate the seperation of church and state, and they have already achieved a strangle hold on many of the government and media bodies that rule this country. Yet on the other side, us rational people are just not like them. We still believe in being courteous and respectful of the boundaries of our fellow humans. We still listen to what others have to say and try not to hurt their feelings. Basically, we are asleep at the wheel because we actually believe and practice decency and kindness. Sadly, this will not do anymore, because their side practices agression, and their side has declaired total genocide on us. That is why I refuse to find an easy escape the next time I am approached by a soul saver. Unlike that blonde girl in the bowling alley who acted all sweet and courteos to Rachel, I would of told that little girl exactly why I don't believe in God, and if I have to I will get into an unholy discussion with her entire gang. I will refuse to back down or walk away, because I plan to keep my personal freedom intact.
Jesus Camp should be shown to everyone who is of voting age, it is a five star must own film because it lets us know that we are indeed under attack and have to actually act like we are under attack. Jesus Camp is the scariest film I have seen since The Exorcist blessed cinema's around the world on boxing day 1973, because it shows that not only is God dead, but so too is kindness.
Movie Review: Present thought provoking argument about religious brainwashing!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Christians have held the main character of the New Testament, Jesus "the Christ," in high esteem for centuries. Even many who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus think that he gave an admirable example of moral living. Although we have no evidence that the Biblical Jesus ever existed, we can still examine the words of the Bible to extract the wisdom and morality of this character, regardless of whether he actually lived or not.
Does the Biblical Jesus merit the honor bestowed upon him? Unfortunately, preachers, ministers, and clergymen have given us biased, one-sided stories, emphasizing and inflating what they see as positive while subverting or ignoring the negative. Biblical scholarship of the last hundred years has not reached the common man. Instead, we see political ministers and televangelists making absurd biblical claims without anyone calling them accountable. Although over 90 percent of households in America own a Bible, it usually goes unread, or at best sanitized or bowdlerized to what people want it to say.
Unbeknownst to many Christians, many times the Gospels of the New Testament portray Jesus as vengeful, demeaning, intolerant, and hypocritical. In one section Jesus calls for love of enemies, yet in another to slay them. He tells others to not use hurtful names, yet he called others fools, dogs, and vipers. He calls for honoring parents in one verse, yet demands hate toward family members in another. Some of Jesus' words against his adversaries depict what some would call anti-Semitism. Indeed, the verses of the New Testament have fueled the flames of anti-Jewishness for centuries.
Curiously, Jesus does not give a command to love all people, only neighbor's and enemies, and above all, to love God (but not the other thousands of gods and goddesses). And although it might sound admirable to command one to love, the problems here stem from the fact that humans simply cannot turn on the emotion of love at will from a command. Love does not work like a light switch where one can simply turn it on at will. Love describes a complex emotion, a biological feeling, not a correct method of morality. Love can generate jealousy and greed just as easily as it can selfless acts. If, instead, the Biblical Jesus had requested us to respect, this would have stated something that might work. Respect does not require unreliable emotions but yet allows tolerance to flourish. Many times respecting others will in time lead to affection or even love. The character Jesus never even used the word respect and abstained from the concept of tolerance.
The command to love your enemy also does not fit with human nature. Just how can one will oneself to love an enemy of yours that threatens you or your family with death or destruction? Of course one can pretend to love or act as if one loves, but this cannot possibly serve as actual love. How many American Christians, priests or ministers have you known that claimed to love Osama bin Laden, Hitler, or Pol Pot? And those that do claim to love their enemies, do they do it with sincerity or do they simply act as if they do?
Some theologians try to escape this problem by claiming that Christian love doesn't mean the feeling of love but the will of love, but people can't turn on and off will any more than they can any emotion. Moreover, even the will has everything to do with mental faculty. You simply cannot separate any form of love (however you want to define it) from brain chemistry.
As for love of God, the Bible's description of its jealous God and his vengeful actions which include the slaughter of men, women, children, and animals, hardly inspires one to love him. If you can't understand this, try to imagine your father treating you like a dog, offering you love or reward only if you obey his commands and demanding that you ritually flatter him every day, killing your friends, and sometimes ordering you to kill, and all the while threatening you with everlasting fire if you speak ill of him. Do you really think such a father deserves respect? Do you actually think that this would make you love him, even if your father held ultimate power over the universe? Even if such a god existed, it would not inspire love. Rather, it would trigger fear and loathing and I would do everything I could to stay away from such a monster. Moreover, given that many Christians believe that no one can know or understand the mysteries of God, how can an unknown entity inspire the human emotion of love? And given that virtually anything can fit into that unknown (including devils, falsehoods, and deceivers), what moral advantage can love of an unknown possibly give to its believers?
Jesus' command to love and his lack of knowledge about human emotions deserves no reverence, and inspires no love.
Although a believer might find comfort in some of Jesus' words, it should serve as a reminder that just because a man appears righteous does not necessarily mean he always practices it. Imagine observing a man who tells the truth most of the time but occasionally tells a hurtful lie. Should we not feel wary of such a person? Or if someone breaks his promise, should we not feel cheated? Especially if that person calls himself the Son of Man, we should expect him to act perfectly all the time, not just some of the time. His saying should reflect consistency, giving no hint of hypocrisy. However, the main character of the gospels, Jesus "Christ," gave no hint of consistency. The performances of Jesus describe the actions of a con-artist, gives obvious half-truths and then promises them salvation for their sacrifice. Moreover, the Biblical Jesus gives wrongful information, breaks promises, lies, calls people unsavory names, orders killings, and threatens to kill children. He gave questionable advice about income, marriage, and future plans and he ended his short life in tragic suicidal death.
Many Christians object to any criticism of their religion where they see only the bad without the good. But imagine that I saw a friend about to drink a poisoned glass of milk, even if the poison represented only a small percentage of the whole. Should I include the nutritious aspects of the milk in my warning? Of course not. And although I might replace my friend's poisoned milk with a glass of pure milk, this cannot be done with the Bible without acting dishonestly or ignorantly to the alleged infallibility of its words. And mind you, the problems do not come from a small percentage of the whole, but the majority. One obvious solution exists, as difficult as it may seem, but that means a rejection of the Bible as an honest attempt to get at the truth. It must come with an honest and brave look at the flaws of its central protagonists: Yahweh and Jesus.
Jesus claimed to have performed miraculous cures, turned water into wine, raising Lazarus to life, etc., but even a mediocre magician could perform the same "miracles." The education and world knowledge of Jesus does not remotely compare with that of an average high-school graduate of today. Although the peasant Jesus supposedly read and spoke Aramaic as well as Hebrew and possibly Greek, no writings from the alleged Jesus exist. He originated no new information, no new morality or solutions to the world. His most original aspect, perhaps, went towards expanding the horrific idea of the damnation of Hell, a dubious honor to behold. He had only rudimentary knowledge of his world and certainly no scientific sophistication. In short, nothing about Jesus appears extraordinary and the words of the Bible give no reason for any special esteem.
Belief and faith can have such a powerful hold on many Christians that it sometimes resembles an addiction to a powerful drug. In such cases, nothing can shake the addiction to their belief in Jesus, regardless of the teeth of Biblical evidence against him. But remember that just a few decades ago, a man named Hitler also held a fascination by faithful followers. Although, Hitler fought against Jews and created war, many followers dismissed these things for what they saw in him as "good." Hitler himself said "I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." (Mein Kampf). He held a love for the German people and brought them out of poverty, acted kindly towards pet dogs, and ate as a vegetarian. Should we ignore the atrocities from Hitler and honor him? Of course not. And neither should we do the same from a character from any book, including Bibles.
The problems of belief do not come from Bibles, Jesus, or Satan but rather from human gullibility. We have a tendency to believe that ideas and words equal great truths. But words cannot convey ultimate truths anymore than a map can serve as the territory. Our beliefs play out a dangerous aspect of humanity and the responsibility for them must lie with ourselves. Megalomaniacs like Hitler could not have gotten into power without the faith of millions of people. So also, the beliefs in the Biblical Jesus can influence the trigger of the greatest destruction of all: the self-fulfilling prophesy of the end of the world. Let us hope that we gain the ability to use our reasoning ability instead of naive unexamined belief for such a flawed character in a book.
Movie Review: What Does The Bible Say About Abortion?
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolutely nothing! The word "abortion" does not appear in any translation of the bible!
Out of more than 600 laws of Moses, none comments on abortion. One Mosaic law about miscarriage specifically contradicts the claim that the bible is antiabortion, clearly stating that miscarriage does not involve the death of a human being. If a woman has a miscarriage as the result of a fight, the man who caused it should be fined. If the woman dies, however, the culprit must be killed:
"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
"And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth . . ."--Ex. 21:22-25
The bible orders the death penalty for murder of a human being, but not for the expulsion of a fetus.
When Does Life Begin?
According to the bible, life begins at birth--when a baby draws its first breath. The bible defines life as "breath" in several significant passages, including the story of Adam's creation in Genesis 2:7, when God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Jewish law traditionally considers that personhood begins at birth.
Desperate for a biblical basis for their beliefs, some antiabortionists cite obscure passages, usually metaphors or poetic phrasing, such as: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5 This is sexist, but does nothing other than to invoke original sin. It says nothing about abortion.
The Commandments, Moses, Jesus and Paul ignored every chance to condemn abortion. If abortion was an important concern, why didn't the bible say so?
Thou Shalt Not Kill?
Many antiabortionists quote the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13) as evidence that the bible is antiabortion. They fail to investigate the bible's definition of life (breath) or its deafening silence on abortion. Moreover, the Mosaic law in Exodus 21:22-25, directly following the Ten Commandments, makes it clear that an embryo or fetus is not a human being.
An honest reader must admit that the bible contradicts itself. "Thou shalt not kill" did not apply to many living, breathing human beings, including children, who are routinely massacred in the bible. The Mosaic law orders "Thou shalt kill" people for committing such "crimes" as cursing one's father or mother (Ex. 21:17), for being a "stubborn son" (Deut. 21:18-21), for being a homosexual (Lev. 20:13), or even for picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-35)! Far from protecting the sanctity of life, the bible promotes capital punishment for conduct which no civilized person or nation would regard as criminal.
Mass killings were routinely ordered, committed or approved by the God of the bible. One typical example is Numbers 25:4-9, when the Lord casually orders Moses to massacre 24,000 Israelites: "Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun." Clearly, the bible is not pro-life!
Most scholars and translators agree that the injunction against killing forbade only the murder of (already born) Hebrews. It was open season on everyone else, including children, pregnant women and newborn babies.
Does God Kill Babies?
"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."--Psalm 137:9
The bible is not pro-child. Why did God set a bear upon 42 children just for teasing a prophet (2 Kings 2:23-24)? Far from demonstrating a "pro-life" attitude, the bible decimates innocent babies and pregnant women in passage after gory passage, starting with the flood and the wanton destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, progressing to the murder of the firstborn child of every household in Egypt (Ex. 12:29), and the New Testament threats of annihilation.
Space permits only a small sampling of biblical commandments or threats to kill children:
Numbers 31:17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones.
Deuteronomy 2:34 utterly destroyed the men and the women and the little ones.
Deuteronomy 28:53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters.
I Samuel 15:3 slay both man and woman, infant and suckling.
2 Kings 8:12 dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
2 Kings 15:16 all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
Isaiah 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished.
Isaiah 13:18 They shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.
Lamentations 2:20 Shall the women eat their fruit, and children.
Ezekiel 9:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children.
Hosea 9:14 give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
Hosea 13:16 their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
Then there are the dire warnings of Jesus in the New Testament:
"For, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the womb that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."--Luke 23:29
The teachings and contradictions of the bible show that antiabortionists do not have a "scriptural base" for their claim that their deity is "pro-life." Spontaneous abortions occur far more often than medical abortions. Gynecology textbooks conservatively cite a 15% miscarriage rate, with one medical study finding a spontaneous abortion rate of almost 90% in very early pregnancy. That would make a deity in charge of nature the greatest abortionist in history!
Are Bible Teachings Kind to Women?
The bible is neither antiabortion nor pro-life, but does provide a biblical basis for the real motivation behind the antiabortion religious crusade: hatred of women. The bible is anti-woman, blaming women for sin, demanding subservience, mandating a slave/master relationship to men, and demonstrating contempt and lack of compassion:
"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."--Genesis 3:16
What self-respecting woman today would submit willingly to such tyranny?
The antiabortion position does not demonstrate love for humanity, or compassion for real human beings. Worldwatch Institute statistics show that 50% of abortions worldwide are illegal, and that at least 200,000 women die every year--and thousands more are hurt and maimed--from illegal or self-induced abortions. Unwanted pregnancies and complications from multiple pregnancies are a leading killer of women. Why do antiabortionists want North American women to join these ghastly mortality statistics? Every day around the world more than 40,000 people, mostly children, die from starvation or malnutrition. We must protect and cherish the right to life of the already-born.
Do Churches Support Abortion Rights?
Numerous Christian denominations and religious groups agree that the bible does not condemn abortion and that abortion should continue to be legal. These include:
American Baptist Churches-USA
American Ethical Union
American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee
American Jewish Congress
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Episcopal Church
Lutheran Women's Caucus
Moravian Church in America-Northern Province
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Association
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
United Synagogue of America
Women's Caucus Church of the Brethren
YWCA
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Catholics for Free Choice
Evangelicals for Choice
Belief that "a human being exists at conception" is a matter of faith, not fact. Legislating antiabortion faith would be as immoral and unAmerican as passing a law that all citizens must attend Catholic mass!
The bible does not condemn abortion; but even if it did, we live under a secular constitution, not in a theocracy. The separation of church and state, the right to privacy, and women's rights all demand freedom of choice.
http://ffrf.org/nontracts/abortion.php
Movie Review: "Jesus Camp" invites viewers to decide for themselves: immoral indoctrination, or sincere ministration of Christ's teachings?
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the principal techniques of human existence is disarmingly simple and can be summed up in this axiom: before you destroy your enemy, you must dehumanize your enemy. A salve is applied to the human conscience if one can visualize one's opponent as evil, inhuman, dangerous, or just plain wrong. Hesitation enters the game, however, if you realize that perhaps your opponents are sincere in their beliefs. Can you really belittle, despise, and dismiss the beliefs of someone with a differing viewpoint if you know that they came to their conclusion via--in their view--honest and valid methods? The makers of this riveting look into the universe of fundamentalist Christianity seem to accomplish just that: we are able to grasp the true sincerity present in the aims of these pastors who "indoctrinate" children, while also understanding the opposing opinion--that perhaps these techniques, however sincere they are in their goal of bringing people to Christ, are yet profoundly wrong.
"Jesus Camp (JC)," a documentary following the journey of evangelical minister Becky Fischer and her flock, is an amazingly impartial analysis that sheds light on a growing movement flowering in America which seeks to turn young Christians into "born-again" believers forsworn to the literal Bible truth. Through the lenses of our chaperones' (directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady) cameras, the viewer is taken on a tour into the fundamentalist Christian movement. We are introduced to several of the congregation in Lee's Summit, a hamlet proximal to Kansas City, where we find Ms. Fischer preaching to her congregation about the evils inherent in complacency. She urges the parents and children in her place of worship to attend "Jesus Camp," a workshop of sorts meant to amplify the teachings of Christ. This camp, located in the rather inauspiciously-entitled Devil's Lake region of North Dakota, is a place where children, parents, and pastors can congregate in a meeting place free from distraction.
Prior to the congregation's pilgrimage, Ewing and Co. allow us a brief glimpse into the home life of one of the children. This child, befitted with an engaging smile, "rattail" haircut, and somewhat-unsure demeanor, lectures the audience, via forced "discussion" with his mother, that the impact of man's contribution to global warming is unproven, because, to paraphrase, "...well, an increase of 0.6 degrees Fahrenheit in one-hundred years is like, pretty much nothing." Before this, the child was viewing a fundamentalist-leaning "instructional" videotape, entitled "Creation Adventure," in which the host and narrator expresses amazement that anyone could believe humans come from "goo."
Scattered throughout the film, in typical documentary fashion, we witness interviews with one or more personalities. We witness one rather disturbing interview with the pastor revealing her desire to create levels of belief in her congregation to match the perceived fervor found in young Islamic fundamentalists. She reveals a brilliant understanding of the nature of belief--that the earlier a belief achieves concrete form in one's mind, the more strongly that belief will be held. Throughout the film, several snippets from her monologues and sermons illustrate several of Ms. Fischer's deeply-held opinions:
1. That fundamentalist Christians have the right to proselytize because the world requires a counter-force to radical Islam.
2. That fundamentalist Christians have the right to aggressively proclaim their views because, to paraphrase the pastor, "...because, well, excuse me! We are the ones who have the correct Biblical interpretation, after all!"
3. The fundamentalist Christian's duty is to reach as many minds as early as possible to counter the Devil's power in this materialistic world.
4. Separation of church and state is an unsuccessful and doomed enterprise which must come to an end; thus, she and fellow pastors encourage her students to pursue public office, with Christian precepts firmly in mind.
Arriving at Devil's Lake, Becky and her assistant ministers pray over the electronic equipment, seeking to preemptively expel the Devil and thus prevent diabolical interference. During the opening sermon, she lambastes the children for their inconsistency: how can they nod at the teachings of Jesus in church, yet also reject Him in the home and in school with their embrace of mainstream music, books, and movies? Harry Potter, the wizardly protagonist of J. K. Rowling's series of books, is a "warlock" and thus, is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ, Fischer proclaims. She speaks of the importance of activism, and urges the children to apply Christian dogma to all aspects of their lives, not just in the house of God. A cardboard effigy of George W. Bush is brought before the children, and they are encouraged to bless the President and pray that he puts America on the path to Christ. Children cry and wail as they are told they hold sin inside themselves; nevertheless, they quickly convert to a state of rapture when instructed to allow Jesus into their hearts, as they begin "speaking in tongues," "collapsing with Christ," and producing more tears, only now in jubilation. One little girl, complete with pressured speech, wide-eyed enthusiasm, and multiple "umm's," details her joy at allowing Jesus into her life and her dedication to teaching others in His name. The viewer wonders how this little girl's thoughts could possibly come from internal contemplation, so immersed in religious doctrine they plainly are.
A recurring viewpoint, voiced by liberal Christian radio-host Mike Papantonio, raises the disturbing idea that these pastors are actively engaged in the brainwashing of America's youth. Throughout the film, Mike cautions listeners to understand the real importance of separation of church and state, to see that some techniques of fundamentalist ministers are three parts indoctrination and one part life-enhancing, and to realize that America stands in danger of becoming a theocracy. The film closes with a debate between Mike and Becky on the air, as they argue the consequences of religiously-guided politics, the advantages and pitfalls of early indoctrination of young minds with beliefs regarding ultimate truths, and the future of religion in America.
As this is a documentary, the maker's of this film deserve great praise for their flawless maintenance of an objective slant. This film allowed me to hear the very real sincerity in Ms. Fisher's voice. Her beliefs, which brook no compromise on what makes one "damned" versus what does not, allow room for the deep compassion she truly feels towards those who die without being "saved." Similarly, Mr. Papantonio speaks his mind with passion and verve, begging Americans to see the inherent danger in an even partially-religious American government. What to do with two equally-sincere and absolutely-opposed opinions? Is tolerance even possible, or is someone, regardless of sincerity, still absolutely wrong? In the extremely polarized environment of religious opinion, representing two positions without bias is a vanishingly-rare accomplishment, and renders this movie a "must-see" for any student of religion, indoctrination methods, political maneuverings, or the "American culture wars (an altogether overused, and eyeball-rolling phrase)."
Movie Review: YOU DON'T MAKE HEROES OUT OF WARLOCKS!!!1!
Summary: 5 Stars
Although Magnolia Pictures purchased JESUS CAMP from A&E Indie Films in 2006 and subsequently attempted to pull it from Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival because, according to Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles, "I don't want the perception out in the public that this is an agenda-laden film," JESUS CAMP is indeed laden with agendas. Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have produced a blood-curling documentary that reveals all too clearly the dangers that fundamental Christianity poses to our secular American democracy.
JESUS CAMP follows three Kansas City area families as they travel to Devil's Lake, North Dakota, to attend Kids On Fire School of Ministry - the summer "Jesus Camp" of the movie's title. Brothers Levi and Luke live in St. Robert, Missouri, and attend Rock of Ages Church. Levi sports a rocking mullet and enjoys preaching. Rachael attends the same church, and is quite the precocious proselytizer. Rounding out the group is Tory (short for Victoria) of Lee's Summit, Missouri; she's a member of the children's praise dance team at Christ Triumphant Church. While she tries to dance for the Lord, she admits to sometimes succumbing to sin and dancing for the wrong reasons: "dancing for the flesh". She's ten.
Kids on Fire was founded and is run by Becky Fischer and her ministry, Kids in Ministry International. Fischer plays like a funny-yet-frightening fundie stereotype, what with her Harry Potter rants ("WARLOCKS ARE ENEMIES OF GOD!!!1!!"), obsession with sin and fits of hysteria. Much of the film focuses on the summer camp itself, and these scenes are the most chilling. Imagine, if you will, an auditorium filled with children and teens - kids speaking in tongues, rolling on the floor, convulsing as if from epileptic seizures, tears rolling from their Precious Moments eyes, faces red with exertion. At times, some of the children seem almost delusional or in trance-like states. Scary stuff.
More frightening still is all the militarized, warmongering imagery invoked by adults and children alike: "God's warriors." "God's Army." "This means war." "Foot soldiers." "Will you sacrifice your life for Jesus?" Fischer justifies her army-building - the younger the soldiers, the better! - by comparing American Christians to Middle Eastern radical Muslims: the children of Islam learn to become martyrs at an early age, to fight and lay down their lives for their religion. Rather than recognizing the abusive nature of such indoctrination, Fischer reasons that Christians must do the same. After all, this is war, is it not? (To up the ante, the DVD has a deleted scene in which Tory's father says of his pending deployment to Iraq, "I see this as an all-expenses paid missionary trip." No wonder we never got those flowers dubya promised us.)
At Jesus Camp, the children also receive political instruction: there's an eerie pro-life lecture, complete with plastic feti and strips of tape reading "life" to cover the children's little mouths for a moment of silence; a speech about "godly" judges; and much talk about those supposed core values shared by this Judeo-Christian country. All is presided over by a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, for whom there is much prayer. The rituals resemble miniaturized, child-sized versions of those in Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE: indoctrination at the Red Center; the Birth Ceremony; and Prayvaganzas, Salvagings and Particicutions. It's at once terrifying and hilarious.
The children all inspired a mix of pity and revulsion in this atheist's cockles, but doe-eyed Rachael really stole the spotlight. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to call Child Protective Services or throttle her, shake some sense into her arrogant Christian self. Rachael spends much of the movie trying to "save" others: a stranger in the bowling alley, other children, her neighbors, random African American men on the street ("I think they're Muslim"). Her parents, of course, think her proselytizing is just peachy; there's no consideration as to whether others, Christians and non-Christians alike, might find this insulting or offensive. Not that this is surprising, when her parents are off doing more of the same. In a deleted scene, Rachael admits to "working on" her young neighbor while her parents simultaneously "work on" the girl's parents, trying to lure the family into their church ("cult" is really a more appropriate term). Another deleted scene shows Rachael bragging about all the gifts God has given her: discerning of spirits, prophecy, speaking in tongues and hearing, talking to and understanding THE LORD.
In short, Rachael's parents are successfully molding her into an insufferable little snot.
In addition to the Jesus Camp footage, there's also some film of the families at home before the summer trip (for example, we see Levi being homeschooled by his mother, who "teaches" that creationism is the only means of explaining the mysteries of life and that "global warming" is a lie) and afterwards, during vacations to Colorado Springs (here, Ted Haggard makes a brief but glorious cameo) and Washington, DC (for a small but disquieting anti-choice protest). This is all set against the backdrop of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation and Samuel Alito's nomination and confirmation. Radio talk show host Mike Papantonio (of Air America Radio's Ring of Fire) provides the sole voice of reason, and p0wns Fischer in a one-on-one interview - in which she freely admits to "indoctrinating" children, and claims that she loves democracy but says that "democracy is going to destroy us." Make no mistake - this is war, and fundamentalists of any and all stripes won't rest until they've remade the world in their image.
Watching the horror that is Jesus Camp, I was reminded of two pertinent quotes:
"I want to get down on my knees and start pleasing Jesus. I want to feel his salvation all over my face." - Eric Cartman
"Such labelling of children with their parents' religion is child abuse." - Richard Dawkins
And there you have it - JESUS CAMP in three sentences.