Jesus Camp

Here's the trailer, but see the complete documentary [here].




Jesus Camp is about children who are being raised up as a part of "God's army." I had seen bits and pieces of this documentary before, and it really hit home with me. It took me 25 years to grow out of this mentality that I grew up with, because it's a powerful force. At one point in the film, a little girl talks about how there are "dead churches" because the power of God isn't in them. I completely understood why she was saying that. This belief [which is really more of a powerful feeling] is all-consuming for people who are involved in churches where the people are fanatical, and kids are completely vulnerable to the power of this hypnosis. I don't identify with Christianity much at all anymore, but because of my experiences, I have an understanding of the power it has over people who consider it their life, their calling, and their purpose for living. A lot of people think that individuals who are prone to fall into this fanatic way of living are weak minds, but I think it's more likely to be the most passionate people with strong minds who have misfocused passion. The feeling of having a sense of purpose is overwhelming at any age.

When I finally broke away from everything I'd ever been taught growing up, it was like I had been living in the Matrix. I'd never even realized how closely related Christianity and the Right had always been. The first time I really thought about it was when I bought the book "Mind Siege" by Tim Lahaye and was like, What's all this crazy talk? I actually bought several copies at a Christian book store because they were on sale and I was really interested in how the brain works. I thought it would give some validation to the struggle between learning and faith that I was having. Rather, it validated the vital need to re-examine everything I thought I stood for.

I'd say I'm one of the resilient ones, who was lucky enough to eventually cross paths with people who challenged my beliefs and helped me to develop more of a world view. Not every child will be given that luxury. Many of them will take up their position in "God's army" and be surrounded by this mentality for the rest of their adult lives and will continue to fight to keep our country full of bigotry and hate disguised as "God's love."