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Thoughts on “Jesus Camp”
(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
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This girl looks like she needs to be saved,
but not the way these people are thinking
Tell me something. Would you pay to willingly send your ten year old child to a summer camp where some fat crazy bitch talks into a microphone for an hour telling them they’re a hypocrite, they’re a phony, they’re dirty and bad and need to feel guilty and be made clean? Well apparently alot of Evangelical Born Again Christians would. Just another example of everything that’s wrong with religion in the United States.
The documentary Jesus Camp covers the most confounding people, from the aforementioned fat bitch, founder of the camp in question, talking like a giant creepy child predator about how she goes to playgrounds to "convert" kids and can have them hallucinating and convulsing on the ground within minutes. To some poor kid named Levi with a rat-tail hairstyle I haven’t seen since 1992, saying what people have been saying for the last 2,000 years: this generation is gonna be the one to see Jesus come back for sure.
I finally watched Jesus Camp (on youtube, so sue me) at the encouragement of one of my commentors on my last entry about religion. It had less gay bashing and more children crying than I expected (in fact they seemed more obsessed with abortion than anything else.) I don’t know how anyone can look at the tear-stained face of a child, being told that they’re evil, that they’re a phony and need to confess their dirty little sins, that they need to be able to speak in tongues and roll on the floor to be truly one with their god, and not run up and punch the abuser saying these things right in the mouth, later assuring the child that they don’t need to listen to that crap. And I don’t know what parent would willingly subject their child to this shit either. Then again, looking at most of the adults in the movie, they won’t even let the kids do simple, fun things like play in the rain or tell ghost stories. One little girl, a dancer, even talked about how she felt guilty in times where she accidentally "danced for the flesh" (as in, to just enjoy it) rather than for god (however one does that.)
Another interesting note is the frequency the batshit pastor and the children talked about how the world doesn’t give us anything good, it gives us nothing but trash and evil, and I’d like to go up to them and say "But didn’t god create the world? And isn’t everything he creates and decides on perfect and meaningful and part of some larger plan?" just to see what possible rebuttal they might have for that. Usually I find that people like this don’t have one. They tend to surround themselves with like-minded individuals, all sharing the same regurgitated responses to any criticism or questioning they can foresee. However when separated from their fellows and asked a question they didn’t foresee or don’t normally hear, they stammer, they stutter, or they get angry or even violent all because they have no prepackaged answer.
They also talk a disturbing amount about political and social issues these kids probably don’t even fully grasp. They portray the known booze hound and coke fiend George Dubya Bush as a righteous and holy man, having the kids speaking and praying to a cardboard standee of him (Oh but it ain’t no golden calf, so it’s okay.) They, like many other extremist groups (which seem to be growing in frightening numbers) believe George Dubya is finally going to make America a Christian nation. Or "reclaim" America for the Christians, that is. As if it was ever all Christian to begin with. As usual for these types of groups, they believe America was founded on Judeo-Christian values, probably because other Evangelicals said so and out of a strange, misguided, and somewhat common belief that the further you go back in history the more "Christian" society was, moreso than any real evidence.
The rat-tail kid, Levi, also had said that America was supposed to be "God’s country". No, kid. That’s Israel you’re thinking of. I’ll bet you 10 novelty Jesus t-shirts that your god, the God of Israel, whose Chosen People are the Israelites (better known as "Jews" today) couldn’t care less about any Americans, nevermind Americans of Anglo-Saxon descent.
I also find it very curious that professional crazy bitch and the mental abuser of young children Becky Fischer started her "Kids on Fire" camp in 2001. You’d think after the huge disappointment of Jesus not coming back in 2000, when all these radical groups were dead certain he would, you might consider taking things in a different direction.
Evangelical preacher Ted Haggard.
Shortly after the filming of Jesus Camp
it was discovered that this decrier of
homosexuality enjoys snorting meth
off the backs of male prostitutes
But no, instead it’s just another group of Evangelicals making shit up on the fly and expressing their own opinions as the word of god. And it’s bad enough when adults can’t see this type of manipulation, because even their own holy book says to be wary of people who claim to speak for god, and to test false prophets, and if something the prophet says doesn’t come to pass, it wasn’t god’s word, and they should be killed. But no, they happily lap up whatever these preachers tell them, because something in them needs someone else to tell them what to think, needs someone to seem like they have all the answers. And when one of these preachers disappears because he’s found to have been stealing money from his followers, to be guilty of tax fraud, or gets caught up in a sex scandal they just… go to the next one! Given the frequency of this happening you’d think they’d have learned by now.
Evangelical preachers are the equivalent of the infallible Pope, who can say anything and god, supposedly, has to to make it so. The exact reason Evangelicals claim to hate Catholicism is something that they do themselves, but on a much more sinisterly subtle level. But put children into the mix, doe-eyed children who believe whatever adults tell them anyway, subconsciously seeing this crazy bitch and her cronies, who openly express the need to indoctrinate kids before they’re as young a eight years old, as gods… well. You can probably tell that nothing good can come from that.
And there was one last thing that really struck me about these Evangelical churches, they use music and video and all the tricks of mass media advertising and entertainment to influence their flock. The same stuff they usually claim turns people away from thoughts about god. But of course, like science, it’s okay to use the very things they decry as evil when it can aid and convenience them.
(sorry had to remove the clips cause they were messing up the format)
What the fuck is that bitch in the first video talking about?
“other camps are teaching these kids how to use and handle rifles and machine guns” my ass!
My 10 year old cousin just came back from camp and they weren’t tought how to use guns!
(he already knows how so there is no point in trying, xD)
That bitch has got to be on something or she’s just paranoid.
@Sukiko - She’s talking about kids being trained in places like Palestine, supposedly. And how she wants kids intense enough to die for their religion like the kids “trained” by extremist muslims.
I have gone to jesus camp.
They split us up into small prayer groups and made sure we were seperate from our friends. There we were pressured to tell the other people and counselors how jesus affected us and to pray our devotion to god individually, and out loud.
They fed us chiefly tater-tots and fried vegetable cubes.
We went to ‘classes’ everyday where we learned about the church’s opinion on things like, Parents, Drugs, Sex, and relationships. They told us that sex was wrong, that our bodies were wrong, that our drives were wrong, and though our parents were wrong, we should listen to them anyway.
In the evening we got together and sang and prayed. If you didn’t sing, your friends would know. If you didn’t pray, your friends would know. And worse, the counselors and campers from your small prayer group would know and of course, ask about it.
We also went on hikes for hours. In the ice cold water. Wearing shoes.
I came back 15lbs lighter, sick, tired, and dejected because the second you leave you realize that they took you in and took you for a ride and you were stupid enough to drink the kool-aid.
All they taught me was to be on my guard.
But I don’t hate christians.
I hate fundamentalists.
O_o this bitch need to be beaten down with a bat. There is nothing right about telling young kids that they are filthy and hypocrites and all this shit. The only hypocrite is her and she fuckin knows it. People like this disgust me. Although, the fact that the pastor snorts meth off of males backs is very amusing. I mean, just wow. How fucking hypocritical can you get?
Wow, I didn’t know Nestle was the water of The Lord. I wonder if they give those at those stupid Church functions here in town that everyone goes to.
I knew I shouldn’t have read this one =P Saw the title and thought ‘A rant on something I go to and enjoy. Hm…’ Well, granted, it’s not actually what I go to, but meh. Church Camp, as everyone calls it. Funnily enough there isn’t a Pastor, the Councils are college age or a year or so out of such and cool, and um.. Yeah. I have fun anyway XD; I honestly have no friggen idea how the people in that vid, etc, can call themselves Christians. Then again, pfft, humans are hypocritical no matter what they believe or preach.
Ah well. Imago De has always been fun and the foods good, as is the messages spread (my opinion), so I can’t say I can relate or agree with any of the this ‘Jesus Camp’ crap. Seriously. We’re separated by age and stuff, so the younger kids do all the fun stuff like making crafts, roasted marshmellows, games, etc, and the older kids like us get the fun AND cool stuff. This includes hiking, a bike trip, and more. Oh, I think there’s a road trip, too.
Ok. Shameless plug done XD; ANYWAY. I’m done now. It is ze awkward to be a Christian and still fully enjoy your rants (or at least respect them as another’s opinion) and artz. It’s 3:30, I’m not really all here =P
@Lunar - Well keep in mind, where the documentary is called Jesus Camp its about the Evangelical movement specifically, which although growing in numbers is still rejected by most Christians.
Of course, with the way you describe your camp, it still seems a little odd to me. It sounds like a normal camp. Why do people feel such a burning need to send their children to camps that specifically define themselves as Christian if its just like any other summer camp environment? It just seems kind of silly and a little misguided to me.
And well sorry its akward, but my opinions are my opinions :p I did try to find a way to split my blog, so there would be site updates running on the top and religious and political rants and everything else running on the bottom, but it made going back to earlier blogs not work @_@
@ Airmax Maybe to them if someone blesses it, its holy water. All I know about holy water is Catholics keep it in a weird looking vat.
…oh my fucking god O_o;
That bitch’s insane and loads. The way she puts it, it sounds to me like “They brainwash their children with their religion, which is evil. We have to do the same to fight them, but we’re doing the right thing because we’re RIGHT.”
The whole thing seems to me like a lot of brainwashing shit. The kind of shit you see in movies concerning satanists, witches and stuff. But this is fucking JESUS we’re talking about, so it’s alright to brainwash the kids.
The hypocrisy of this whole thing is so damn enormous I’m surprised the adults who send their kids there don’t see it. Then again, I’m guessing they’re just as cracked up.
Oh. Dear. Me. Lookit all the little zombie children.
I think the thing that scares me most about this group people is their obsession with teaching the wee kids that they’re “soldiers in god’s army, fighting a spiritual war,” and if they think anything than what they’re told to think, they’ll be lost. It’s all quite terrifying. I mean, what happens to those kids?
That woman needs to take a look in the Mirror of Hypocracy. Then she needs to be beaten with it.
@Hiroshine - The painful irony there is that “Satantic Cults” are pretty much a myth. And the most dangerous cults (that also display this behavior) tend to have a Christian base to them: Jonestown, the Branch Davidians, even Charles Manson claimed to be Jesus. I’m sure this “Kids on Fire” camp could have become a cult had it not been shut down. Of course the Christian base doesn’t always true, case in point: Scientology.
Good lord… This woman needs to be thrown in front of a 18-wheeler going 100 mph down an empty backwater highway… I feel SO bad for those kids. This may as well be a cult. If I knew where to look, I’d find SOMETHING in the Bible and Book of Mormon that I could say here, but I still haven’t fully read either.
I generally agree with what most Christian camps, those kids are way too young to try and understand what that lady is trying to say, and even if they were older, she shouldn’t use such harsh tones like calling them all hypocrites. They should be more focused on bible stories than the kids going to Hell at that point. Even if they did all croak at once, the Bible says that they wouldn’t be old enough to know for sure what their sins are and therefore not be accountable for them.
But seriously, she is being very manipulative, even if she means well. People like her are the reason I don’t like fanatics.
@Kumori Honestly where exactly does the Bible say the children will get auto-Heaven cause they’re so young?
I guess that confuses me cause its all Catholicism and Baptist in my area and they kinda have this “you don’t get baptized you burn in hell” policy.
@Mangapunksai - Oh yea, I forgot about those camps, would it be funny if a very dedicated atheist went to one of those camps and told that lady the truth about god? That battle will be so friggen awesome to watch! xD
someone gimme a golf club I wanna beat her with a driver D:
“come children wash your hands with the holy water!”
shes washing them with Nestle bottled water D:
man i wish I was there she can call me the devil, I can punch her in the face, lets see which hurts more >D
Sai: We had worships services, prayers, worship songs (gathering songs), etc. But it was overbearing, which is what I liked about it. You could crack a joke and the Counselors would laugh with you. I dun know. I just haven’t had any bad experiences that are like, life altering. I’ve had old school Pastors get on my case, Super Christians tell me I’m going to hell, and atheist argue with me. And I just generally keep moving how I move.
The point that’s always expressed there is to have fun with other Christians and not be all crazy serious.
Mr. Seahorse: “I think the thing that scares me most about this group people is their obsession with teaching the wee kids that they’re “soldiers in god’s army, fighting a spiritual war,†and if they think anything than what they’re told to think, they’ll be lost. It’s all quite terrifying. I mean, what happens to those kids?”
1. I think I’m more a ninja in God’s army. Maybe a samurai? D=
2. I’ve never heard it taught QUITE that way. The only time army and God have been in the same sentence in my lessons was that we were to bare the “armor of God” to help us fight against sin and temptation. Sadly, I’ve forgotten the names of the armor pieces XD; I’m pretty sure the Word was in there somewhere though.
WASN’T overbearing. I meant WASN’T. Sorry for the double post but that was bugging me…
@Lunar lol. When you said “Armor of God” all I could think of was this: http://www.armorofgodpjs.com/
Sai: *snort* The sad part is that it’s accurate as far as the wordage XD I’d feel so sorry for any kid who had to wear that. Hell, I feel sorry for the kids advertising it.
scary Oo poor children…she’s a real crazy bitch who shoud be burned…in the name of god of course for saying all those horrible things in his name XD it’s really brainwashing OO army of god…army of zombies I say, but nobody important did anything to stop all this madness after seeing the documentary?? I don’t know, close the place down,burn the bitch, something at least!!
Glad to see your comments about this and I agree fully with your statements, in particular the comment about how they view the world as completely evil, even though God created it. I really don’t have much to add to your commentary.
By the by, while at the Vatican I took an unholy plethora of photos of any and all angels I could find. I’m putting a few in a zip for a friend and since you seem interested in this sort of thing I figured I’d extend the offer to you as well.
@Meg That would be totally awesome!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N4KHAISA Here’s a zip file of the photos. Most of them are from Rome with a few from the churches in Florence I visited. Feel free to IM me on LayOffTehGoober if there are any you want more info about in terms of location or something.
Thanks alot, Meg, those are some great photos!
Don’t mention it, I’m always glad to share the stuff I take. Especially if it involves an unhealthy amount of angel spam. Ironically enough, I’ve named my digital SLR Raziel. (I am a giant dork.)
I know I’m bumping an old thread but I’m new to this forum so humor me. Ok first late me state two things. One I am a Christian. Two I think this story is absolutely disgusting. Im literally pissed right now at the idea of anyone using the name of God to make small children cry. However, like Lunar, I happen to know that this is not a good example of all christian camps. There are many camps in this country that provide a perfectly safe and comfortable environment for children without harming them. But to tape the word life over a childs mouth and use him/her as a political poster is infuriating.
I would also like to clarify the line where the girl “felt guilty in times where she accidently “danced for the flesh” (as in, to just enjoy it) rather than for god (however one does that.)” Dancing for the flesh is where one dances to secular music for the sheer fun of it. Praise dance in a form of dance designed as a form of praise to God. It’s usually done to christian music. My church has two praise dance groups. However I happen to know that every member of both groups also dances to whatever other music they hear outside of church. This is not really frowned upon xcept by those few extremists like the ones in this article.
Well for starters, you’re not “bumping” anything, this is a blog not a forum. =P
I think I tried to make it clear my criticism was of Evangelical Christians only, in this instance at least, whom I really don’t care for. I’m not a big fan of religion regardless, but the Evangelical sect in particular infuriate and disgust me to no end.
What I find even more terrifying then the fact that they make these children TALK to a Bush cut out is that they make them PRAY to it. Isn’t it, like, a sin to pray or worship anyone other then your god? (If I’m wrong, don’t mind me, haven’t been to church since I was 6)
One thing that really bugged me when I saw the adverts for this documentry is that the woman was saying that their “enemies” were pushing thie faith onto the children, in a scolding manner as if this is the most disgusting thing in the world and yet at the same time shes doing exactly the same thing to these kids but acts as if shes doing the whole world a bloody favour!
I could help but laugh at that Bush cutout! I mean seriously, doesn’t that come under worshipping a false idol(read as; “not God”)? Yes, lets thank Bush for killing those poor people living in the fucking desert for oil while we sit in our giant hall/church/mindwashing-centre. All praise Mr Cardboard-Bush-man?
Personallyt I think it’s disgusting that they are trying this on kids barely primary-school who probably don’t understand a bloody word this woman is staying and only cheer because their scared of the crazy-lady with the heavy mircophone…
One of the many reasons why I don’t like organised religion.
I apologise now for my terrible typing abilities ^^;