Chronicles of Growing Courage

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Does Jesus go to Jesus Camp?

I just watched a documentary called "Jesus Camp". It's about a woman who started a charismatic camp for kids in one of the Dakotas(sorry, I can't remember which one!). The premise of the film is to expose the evangelical fundamentalist indoctrination of kids going on across the United States. This documentary disturbed me on many levels:

1. The documentary seemed to be somewhat sloppy in its presentation and editing, resulting in the people in the film appearing more kooky and irrational than they realistically probably are(because let's face it, whether you are a non-Christian or a Christian that runs from any association with fundamentalism, no one is going to give them the benefit of the doubt in a film like this!)

2. As the audience in the theater was laughing and ridiculing the devout woman, I cringed to realize they would probably do the same for me, were I to state forcefully what I believed.

3. Even though I related to some of what the woman said, she was a tad extremist for my comfort levels. Some highlights that made me squirm in my seat? Well, apparently global warming is a liberal agenda and there is nothing really wrong with our environment. Besides, we know that Jesus is coming back any time, so why do we care about the earth? Also, the reason for all the problems our nation is having with morality etc. is a result of removing prayer from the schools. One more? What really disturbed me is these passionate kids espousing an inextricably woven mission of both Christianity and nationalism. We could be in trouble, folks.

Yes, I would suggest seeing the film, but you may not want to wear your "I love Jesus" pin to the theater.

2 Comments:

  • Best quote about this movie:

    "You can expect to learn as much about the Catholic Church from 'Nacho Libre' as you can learn about evangelicalism from 'Jesus Camp'.

    Read the whole review here:

    http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/reviews/other/2006/10/jesus_camp.php

    By Blogger Dakota House , at 10:51 PM  

  • Hey that box cut my link off. Why I oughta....

    Just go to
    burnsidewriterscollective.com/

    and click on the Jesus Camp link

    By Blogger Dakota House , at 10:58 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home