Jesus Camp

The Jesus Camp video was very, very interesting to watch. It may be one of the most controversial pieces we have studied, but then again, mostly anything dealing with religion is considered controversial in our society today.

The video sets out to show that our nation is suffering a rough entanglement with religion. "What kind of lesson is that for our children?" seems to be the key idea. Jesus Camp promotes Christ as the only answer to all questions and encourages kids to seek Him and give their lives and ministry to Him.

I couldn't help feeling a negative twist to the film. Although some parts were portrayed in a positive light, others depicted the subjects as off balance and ill-informed. For example, Levi's mother lectures him about how global warming is "not a big issue" but rather a political stunt. Harry Potter was another big topic at Jesus Camp: "warlocks are enemies of God and we do not praise them." Leaders of Jesus Camp encourage campers to stay focused on the truth and goodness of this world (when forbidding them to tell ghost stories at night), yet the main female leader seems to use scare tactics to get her point across. She proclaims that we live in a sick, dark world where the devil uses tactics to destroy our lives.

The argument Jesus Camp makes is that our children under 15 years of age, make up one third of this world's population and they should be educated and prepared to fight Jesus' war: "Take prophecies and do what Paul said to do with them: go to war with them!" This is why the camp introduces them to the "realities" of the world on issues like abortion. I personally felt uncomfortable viewing this part of the film because I do not believe that 4-10 year old kids should be overwrought and preoccupied with the issue of abortion. I believe children need to maintain their innocence for as long as possible, and that introducing children to ideas like premarital sex and abortion only hinder their chance of remaining a child for as long as they can.

Jesus Camp seems to breed "small adults." During the process of camp these children learn to surrender themselves to God and speak and act like apostles. The negative undertone may come from children like Rachael, who obviously still has a childlike mindset (which she should, at her age) and who speaks to the fallacy of finality: "God just won't enter your church if you don't jump and act and sing."

Overall, Jesus Camp pits itself as "us against them." The children are new recruits "from Jesus" who are instructed to "break the power of the enemy"--- the government. Although I am Catholic and agree with many points in the film, I still feel a bit uncomfortable after viewing this film.