Children
April 9, 2008It made me sick to my stomach. It gave me a headache. It made me want to turn off my computer. I didn’t want to see this, and yet, I continued to watch it.
These are children we’re talking about. CHILDREN. Tabulae rasae. Doing this to them is, as far as I’m concerned, child abuse. I hope that whenever the time comes that this sort of religious programming of children sets foot in my country, my government will act strongly and swiftly and declare it illegal.
Children must not be brainwashed like this. Adults - I don’t give a rat’s ass, adults can make whatever decision they want. But children. CHILDREN. CHILDREN!
Film | 
That movie is sick. The part about Harry Potter when all the children begin to cry. Really f-d up. And one of the main characters is also called Levi. I’m ashamed.
Comment by Levi — April 9, 2008 @ 10:12 pm
Where you find the promise of eternal life you will also find scum.
Comment by Phil — April 9, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
Jesus Camp was screened at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival? That’s all I need to know.
Thom, you should know better to watch such films.
Comment by Ronaldst — April 10, 2008 @ 4:28 am
Ronaldst, read the Wikipedia page, and stop spreading misinformation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Camp#Controversy
Comment by Administrator — April 10, 2008 @ 5:25 am
This kind of religious and political culture seems very much an American-only thing to me… Well, at least in the western world of welfare societies.
I very much doubt anything like those Jesus Camps could ever gain any real popularity in the European welfare countries? Among conservative European Christians either?
Maybe only in the USA you can find such political and ideological polarization and naive trust in black and white propaganda.
The American politics is often portrayed, by the Americans themselves, to be a militant fight between we, the good against them, the bad - like such a naively black and white scenario could ever summarize complicated political problems. At least to me it seems that many American political groups seem incapable of negotiating and cooperating with other political groups for the benefit of all (=democracy). It is an all or nothing fight for them..
Also, I dare to suspect that if the USA was more a truly democratic welfare society too - where all parties are listened to, and the society tries to take care for people’s real needs more - like the western European societies at least try to be, also America could have much less such extremism and political paranoia.
Comment by irbis — April 10, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
You have to remember who was on the Mayflower to understand all this religious zealotry :) What’s scary indeed is that all this stuff gets into the political arena. However, US is a big country with a heterogeneous populace, don’t put all Americans in the same bucket. This is not Finland by any means.. I’m not a native, but I can see clear differences between North and South, East and West.. Not to mention large demographic immigrant islands.
Comment by Stefan — April 10, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
What makes me laugh is the outspoken preacher ‘Ted Haggard’ in that movie. He latter got busted for drugs and gay sex prostitution scandal, and then resigned from pastorship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard
Yes, that is a really disturbing movie though. I hoped that after their preacher was busted, they would ’see the light’.
Comment by Greg — April 10, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Yes, you are right about that. The USA is a huge cultural melting pot that has almost everything we have elsewhere on the planet too. Also many people and things I appreciate a lot are of American origin too.
Well, it was from Europe that Mayflower and its people left - so it was all European cultural heritage that they took to the New World, and the same culture stayed in Europe too. That was hundreds of years ago, and during those times also Europe was very different and had, then and later, its many extremist groups too, maybe also in worse forms than ever in the US later…
But after the Second World War western Europe seems to have learned its lessons concerning the dangers of extremism and the importance of democracy and welfare.
There just seems to be no such big market for political extremism and militant paranoia in western Europe anymore, unlike still sometimes in the US. What ever all the reasons for that may be?
Comment by irbis — April 10, 2008 @ 6:24 pm
That I disagree with.
In The Netherlands, we have our own bible belt, and the people in that belt are what I call extremists too. They do not want their children to receive medication (goes against god’s will and plan), believe in things like predestination, are 100% suspicious against any outsiders, do not believe in equality, and consider the bible the only true word - the word a country’s laws must be based on.
I consider that extremist too. The difference between Europe and the US is that in the latter, it is much easier for those extremists to come together, since they share the same language, constitution, and government. In Europe, we still (luckily) live in a divided world, despite the EU. It is not easy for Christian extremists in The Netherlands to congregate with those in Poland, for instance.
Comment by Administrator — April 10, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
Ok, I see: Dutch Bible Belt. And it seems that both Reformed/Calvinist Christianity, and the Roman Catholic church (as far as I know the major denominations in the Netherlands) have traditionally been relatively active in politics too, when compared to, for example, Lutheranism, dominant in Scandinavia.
But I’ve not seen news about the Dutch religious conservatives also taking actively and aggressively part in the politics too, trying to change the whole society, unlike lots of religious extremists in the US do nowadays. (Or do they and are there just no news about it elsewhere?) Do they share the political and Millennial mission of such movements in the US? Do they aim to take the political power in their country, and to build a political utopia lead by divinely inspired political leaders?
When religion and aggressive politics are mixed it is not always the result of the degree of religious zeal but often of political reasons. I think the popularity of the extreme right wing religious politics in the USA has grown from some other background than the teachings of Jesus…
Often western religious extremists, like, for example the Amish movement in the USA, are not interested in politics almost at all but rather distance themselves from such secular things. Their main goals are mostly religious, and social goals are restricted to their own social context. They do teach their values to their children too, of course - but so do all parents do everywhere because they can’t avoid it.
Comment by irbis — April 10, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
It’s mockumentary just like Farenheit 911 and Bowling for sucke… I mean Columbine. It’s promotes distorted views.
Thom, you should know better than to watch this slop.
Comment by Ronaldst — April 11, 2008 @ 1:57 am
Yes Michael Moore, who had nothing to do with this film, is truly an evil man.
How dare he speak out against our War On Terror !? He’s never said one true thing. He defend Satanist rockers like Marlyn Manson, who worships Satan. Why if Jesus were alive today, Michael Moore would be the first to drive the spikes through his feet and hands. Plus, he’s fat and eats to much.
Comment by mikesum32 — April 12, 2008 @ 7:06 am
At least they aren’t being taught to murder like these Palestinian children
http://www.isratv.com/video/filmpmwadsl.asx
Comment by Adin Aronson — April 19, 2008 @ 9:12 am