Our conversation about the perfection doctrine as well as our later discussion on various movements in the Pentecostal church made me rehash my experience of watching the controversial film, Jesus Camp. The film documents a summer camp of charismatic evangelicals led by Pastor Becky Fischer in North Dakota. Here, the children are taught to speak in tongues, pray to a cardboard cut out of George Bush, and put on plays dressed in camouflage to represent their identity as “Christian soldiers.”
To be honest, this film terrified me and even moved me to tears at some points. It wasn’t just that I didn’t understand the way they chose to worship, or how they chose to raise their kids, it was that I felt so much hatred and judgment from Fischer, as well as the children, as young as 6 years old. Fischer even goes so far as to compare the camp she has created to Islamic schools which prepare children for jihad. She then goes on to say, “I want to see them radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Pakistan, in Israel, in Palestine and all those different places.” The thought of bringing children up to have the mindset of war and being in ‘the army of God’ seems so obviously far off from what Jesus’ life clearly exemplified and completely blows my mind.
I have had little to no interaction with people who actually believe these things, yet I find it absolutely fascinating that Christianity can be interpreted in such drastically different ways. On the topics of indoctrinating as well as a desire to fuse church and state, Fischer outright admits in the film that this is their goal. The Camp itself is designed to provoke these kids to want to pursue roles in politics later in life in order to “take back America for Christ.”
Ted haggard and new life church is also featured in the film, and interestingly, Haggard comments on homosexuality. The film clip features him preaching in front of his congregation and saying “we don’t have to debate about homosexuality, the answer is clearly written in the bible” and then goes on to jokingly say to one of the cameras who are filming him, “I think I know what you did last night, if you pay me a million dollars I won’t tell your wife.” Well, if that isn’t the most ironic thing I’ve ever heard….
I would highly recommend this film for anyone interested, but I would warn that it might leave you a bit broken and wondering how the life and teaching of Jesus have been and continue to be so misused.
Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNfL6IVWCE
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
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