I recently viewed the documentary Jesus Camp and I have a few thoughts on the film. First of all, for those who aren't aware, Jesus Camp is a non-religious documentary that focuses on the influence that Christianity has on the political climate of the United States. Most of the film zooms in on a woman named Becky Fischer and her ministry, "Kids in Ministry International." Other aspects of the film include interludes of short clips from the radio show of Mike Papantonio, an extreme liberal on Air America Radio, and some footage of the now disgraced Rev. Ted Haggard taken before his recent exposure. After watching the entire documentary, I have a few thoughts about the film.
First, I found the summer camp that Becky runs to be very familiar to the years spent at Christian summer camp growing up. There was a sense that what was going on in this film was weird and unnerving, but I couldn't help but recognize it was nothing out of the ordinary from what usually went on in camps I grew up going to. It was obvious, however, that the point of this footage was to shock those watching it, and I must admit that if not having grown up in that environment, it would most likely have had a much bigger affect on me.
Secondly, you could tell that whether you agree or disagree with either Becky's beliefs or just her methods, one thing was clear to me- she was sincere. That was something obvious to me while watching the film. Although I personally was not in favor of some of her tactics, which I will speak of later, I could tell she was genuine and sincere. After the Ted Haggard scandal, it is always reassuring to see someone who you can tell is truly genuine in their mission to preach the gospel. One thing, however, that truly bothered me was a comment one of the cute 12 year old girls made during an interview that obviously was something taught to her. She explained how there are "dead churches" and that God only goes into churches that jump up and down and yell. If a church sings quietly or just stands during worship, God doesn't live there.
My third impression was that Mike Papantonio was simply put in this film to stress the beliefs of the documentary's filmmakers. It wasn't a portion of the film to let you see the opposite side of what was going on in the Christian world, but rather a good 20 minutes altogether devoted to slamming the Christian community and their beliefs. He paints a picture of Christians as a cult that seeks to enslave the world and destroy democracy. He even spends the majority of the phone interview with Becky Fischer accusing her of wanting democracy in America destroyed.
My overall impression of the film? Simply put- it was okay. I wasn't shocked by anything shown in the meetings, most likely because I grew up in a Pentecostal environment. It did, however, bolster my beliefs that children should be treated like children. My point being that I did not agree with the things portrayed at the summer camp or back at the church. In the film, we witness children as young as 7 being infused with the belief that it was their duty to change the moral climate of America. There are interviews with 10 and 12 year olds simply spouting off everything they have been taught, things I would question they truly understand. It reminded me of someone who engages in an argument on Politics using talking points from The Daily Show as his whole line of reasoning. We see the children with tears crying to God for abortion to be overturned in America. We see 9 year olds crying as they confess that sometimes they find reading the Bible to be boring and hard. They are made to feel horrible for their actions. The children engage in spiritual warfare and pray against Satan to let go of his power over the government. These are all things that adults can be doing, but to target little children who go to church and are not even teenagers yet, I believe to be a bit much.
I believe that at such a young age, children should be encouraged to love Jesus and to follow the rules of the Bible and their parents. They should be told of how Jesus loves them and how they were created for a special purpose. The film reminded me of an incident that happened this past year with my younger brother who is 12. His teacher was explaining Revelation to his class at school. I don't know what exactly was said, but whatever it was, it scared my brother to the point where he couldn't sleep at night for a while. We must use wisdom when dealing with children. There is a reason that the story of Lot sleeping with his daughters in Genesis is not taught during Sunday school. For the same reason, I believe that it is too much for our children to shoulder the responsibility of overturning abortion, taking on demonic powers, and understanding deep theological mysteries. If the generation in charge right now truly feels like they messed things up, it should be up to them to turn the tide, and not their 8 year old children.
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