I just finished watching a documentary, Jesus Camp. It was nominated for an Oscar in 2007, but lost out to (a deserving) An Inconvenient Truth. However, that doesn’t mean that this documentary was less of a film; the other one just happened to be a bit better tied together.
The documentary mostly follows a Jesus camp that takes place every year for kids. Basically, the kids go there, learn about Jesus, and dedicate their lives to God. Sounds admirable, perhaps even fun. But unfortunately, there are far darker issues at play.
First off, before I continue, I’m curious as to how evangelical Christians (or even fundamentalist Christians) would view this movie. As in, what would their thoughts be on the subject? Would they have a different outlook on it than I do and feel that everything that is covered in the documentary is right? I wonder how much my own prejudices ‘color’ the effect of this film.
To put it bluntly, what you basically see is fundamental Christianity brainwashing children to believe that there is a war coming, and they are the foot soldiers of this brave new fight. And although the idea of a ‘war’ isn’t new to religion, it makes pointed references at Islam, abortion, and other conservative political issues. And that’s the crux of the film; using religion to influence politics. America has long been a country of the separation of church and state, and it has worked well for it. However, according to the documentary, many fundamentalists believe that Bush is a ‘holy warrior’ sent by God to govern the country. A newfound zeal in Christianity in America is changing laws not just for Christians, but for everyone.
Now allow me to explain brainwashing a little bit, and the way in which it applies. First off, read this article about brainwashing if you have some time. The basic idea is, you break down the prisoner/victim by breaking down their sense of self and demolishing their own set of values. After this process is over, the brainwasher begins to ‘rebuild’ the victim according to his/her own views, and by praising them for how they can be saved by these new values. Sound familiar?
Well that’s exactly what’s espoused by many fundamentalist Christians. First they say, “You are a SINNER! God CONDEMNS your sin!” The person is heart-broken after hearing this for an extended period of time, and in the movie you see little 5 year olds confessing to sins that I can’t imagine would cause them to go to ‘hell’. “Now REPENT,” the pastor glowers. Kids — mere babes– are taught to speak in ‘tongues’ as if it was something that can be easily passed on from one person to the next. Now that the child has repented, “JESUS LOVES YOU and WANTS YOU.” Once again, the child is back in good graces, indoctrinated with the beliefs of the pastor. This time, they stick with it, because they don’t want to go to hell. (After all, that’s where all bad people go.)
To be honest, I watched this documentary and shook my head time and time again, feeling absolutely sorry for the children. They are precious and adorable, and it’s not the idea of Christianity itself that sickened me- I believe that there’s definitely a middle ground where you can raise a child Christian and open-minded- it’s the idea that these children were becoming slaves to an all-powerful ideal set forth by Evangelical Christians. It’s even more ironic that Ted Haggard) is in this film condemning homosexuality, just a few months before he was found to have had an extramarital affair with a man.
All in all, it’s definitely worth a watch. As I said, I’m curious as to how more right-wing leaning people would view this. But for my money, when a documentary causes me to think, it’s headed in the right direction.