Jesus Camp film review.

Photos from the documentary.

www.jesuscampthemovie.com


Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have struck gold. If you have seen "Boys of Baraka" (another very special documentary), you know that their style is to let the kids and the stories unfold before your eyes without adding narrative. Never before have I seen a documentary so willing to let the subject matter speak for itself, nevermind the fact that the subject matter speaks huge volumes no matter how it is presented. Do yourself a favor and watch "Jesus Camp" immediately.

The film introduces you to Pastor Becky Fischer, an extremely passionate woman who teaches kids both at her home church and at an annual Summer camp in North Dakota. We see her preaching, teaching, and interacting with some of the kids who we eventually follow home and then to the camp itself. The kids tell their stories, explain their faith, and justify their beliefs, while their parents sit down and tell us their philosophies as parents. When we get to camp we see for ourselves what they are teaching their children to believe, to say, and to do. If you haven't seen the film, reading any further might spoil some parts for you--just a warning.

As I sat down to watch this film, I did my absolute best to practice epoche: the willing suspension of judgment for the sake of learning. But what I saw stirred too much of my soul to keep my convictions at bay. I saw a huge caucas of children being brought up as soldiers--Fischer's justification is that Muslim children are being raised up as soldiers for Islam all over the world, so Christian children should have that same passion and fire, except in the name of Christ. Need I point out what a narrow and ignorant view of the Muslim world this is? I'll fight that battle some other time. Anyhow, Fischer's camp includes programs that lead the children in militaristic chanting, and at one point she leads them in shouting "This means war! This means war! This means war!" A full-fledged pre-pubescent army for Jesus.

Along with their soldier-mentality, the kids have a purely Evangelical Christian education. The parents homeschool their children, explaining that since "God has been removed from public schools," they are in despair. The now infamous Rev. Ted Haggard even remarks that they are evil, because they teach evolutionism, but not creationism. One mother teaches her son that science is purely phony because nobody can truly prove anything. She later tells us that she would never send her kids away for eight hours per day to be told lies when she can keep them at home and teach the truth.

The children themselves are confident, bright, and so good-natured that it is very difficult to look at them with a critical eye. The exception is one young girl named Rachel, who carries so much of that "Christian swagger" that I found myself very angry at her arrogance. She speaks with the same swagger and cocky brashness that she has no doubt heard from her beloved Christian talk radio pastors, megachurch speakers, and President. You want to see them as children: bright eyed, open-minded, naive, no matter how intelligent or confident. Unfortunately they have been so indoctrinated that they have lost much of that innocence that they were blessed with when they were born.

So is this all wrong? The Camp, the homeschooling, the swagger, the soldier-mentality? My heart says no. My heart tells me that God is present in the root foundation of the children and their parents. But my heart also tells me that that the Beliefs that are being taught are wrong. I see Faith and Belief to be quite exclusive, especially in this case. The children are being taught to be soldiers in "taking back" this country and government. They are being oppressed with anti-Evolutionism, anti-abortionism, and bringing prayer in to public schools. At one point a speaker at the camp tells them to pray for "righteous judges" so that government can rule against abortion. As you can guess, the kids shout "Righteous Judges!" repeatedly with great fervor, but with minimal comprehension. The children are being primarily taught exclusively American, hot-button issues that are causes that supposedly support righteousness. They are being taught to pray, read bibles, preach, vote, and spread the word that Evolution is a convoluted lie, Abortion is an abomination, and that government should be a democratic Theocracy (if it can be done). These things are black-and-white issues that one can claim to be one or the other. The kids have chosen the NAE/GOP sides of the issues. Chosen?

I got to the end of the film and felt very sad. I wondered if those children had ever felt truly loved. I wonder if those kids' parents give them love conditionally--as a duty, or a reward for righteousness. I wonder if those kids know that God will give them grace and mercy whether abortion is outlawed or not. I wonder if, after they leave their homes/churches/camps, and interact with the rest of the world, if they will have the ability to interact with people who did not have the same upbringing they did. I wonder if they will be able to love those people. I wonder if we picked up the kids from Jesus Camp in a 747 and flew them to Darfur and dropped them off, if their passion and fervor would remain unwavering. Faced with situations that are not dominated by contests of partisan American political influence, will their faith stand up? When they hit about 27-28, post-college, a few years out of their parents' care, will they be able to see the world objectively? Will they be able to love the world as Jesus did? Or will it still be war? I wonder how influential this generation of Evangelical children will be. We have seen how influential their parents have been. I just wonder completely: where is the love? The grace, the mercy? The redemption for all that Christ promises? Do these children really believe that they are the only one's who will receive it, because of their righteousness? Very sad.

See the film. Watch it objectively (if you can). Let it stir around. Ask God what He thinks, but don't listen for an answer. You won't get one.

-HVC