Jesus Camp

 

After watching the documentary film "Jesus Camp," I was overcome by so many mixed feelings. I was shocked by how straightforward Pastor Becky Fischer and her church were about spreading evangelism. It wasn't just about scaring these children into being saved, but more about completely knocking them off their pedestal. They were no longer allowed to be children (having fun, telling ghost stories, playing pretend, having their world filled with fantasy-such as Harry Potter stories). These kids were forced to grow up and become, in a way, better than the "fat lazy adults" that now incorporates our society. The children that are focused on in the film were shown as being manipulated, by their parents, into their faith. They were forced to scream into the microphone and speak in tongues. They were transfigured into warriors, brainwashed by their own parents and other adult authority. It's not a choice for these small soldiers, but instead, an obligation.

This reminded me of the harsh battles going on in Africa with Joseph Kony, the LRA (the Lord's Resistance Army) and the Invisible Children. The LRA is a group of Africans lead by Kony who have been travelling around East and Central Africa abducting, killing and displacing civilians, especially young children. These children are abducted to join Kony's army and are taught that the only way to survive in this cruel world is to join the army. Although to stay in the group is to kill or be killed, the main idea isn't that much different than Becky's Jesus Camp. She convinces her children that they are filled with sin, and will continue to fill with sin for the rest of their lives, unless if they repent now and praise the Lord. They must join her army to be saved. To her, it's the only way to survive in this cruel world filled with sinners. Becky claims that the Devil is everywhere and he will try to make you sin, and if you do, you'll die. Similar to the LRA, these kids are scared into their faith, believing that they must be good and join, or they'll die. The thing is, we're all going to die. We're all sinners. Our faith mainly changes our mindset of how we should live and where we believe we'll end up after we die. Believing is not going to make a person immortal. We're human. Whether we want to or not, we will probably end up sinning. The Jesus Camp is created for these children to be trained to fight in the war against the sinners. Outsiders debate on whether it's war or worship. The evangelists in the film just see it as a challenge.