Jesus Camp (2006)

Verdict:  10/10

This is one of the most terrifying horror documentaries that I've seen in the recent past. Leave aside your exorcists, grudges & halloweens. I've seen Gin gwai 2 a couple of days ago & as far as horror is considered, Jesus Camp actually beats it. If this documentary doesn't send even a single chill through your brain, I promise I will stop seeing any horror movies in the future. 

A couple of quotes from the documentary.

Becky Fischer: It's no wonder, with that kind of intense training and discipline, that those young people are ready to kill themselves for the cause of Islam. I wanna see young people who are as committed to the cause of Jesus Christ as the young people are to the cause of Islam. I wanna see them as radically laying down their lives for the Gospel as they are over in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine and all those different places, you know, because we have... excuse me, but we have the truth!

(If I erase "The Book" from your mind Becky, Where/What is the truth that you are talking about?)  

Becky Fischer: I can go into a playground of kids that don't know anything about Christianity, lead them to the Lord in a matter of, just no time at all. They are so usable in Christianity.

(Usable! Since when did Kids became some junk stationary.)

Jesus Camp directed by Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing is a critically acclaimed documentary film which received an Oscar nomination but lost the award to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.

In a nut shell the documentary is about a radical summer camp for Evangelical Christian kids run by Becky Fischer who is a Pentecostal children's minister. While showing the various activities being carried out at the camp, the documentary mainly concentrates on three children 13-year old Levi, 9-year old Rachel & 10-year old Tory. It also gives the views (which are very fundamental) of Becky & shows how children are systematically brainwashed into submission to god.

A few minutes into the documentary, I saw my 1st shocking image which is of a 5 year old kid crying while praying. What kind of an intense brainwashing should make a child do that? When Becky was watching the tape and said the following words about the crying/praying child "She is not in a trance. She is well aware of what is going on. She is just hooking up with the spirit", I really wanted to cut Becky's tongue. I mean, Come on! What does a 5 year kid know about spirit? What does she know about sin or deliverance? My foot. You actually have to see the documentary to know how the above mentioned 3 kids talk & think. Their views & thoughts are unbelievable for a person of that age. Another disgusting image is the distribution of small plastic pieces of unborn fetuses to children. You can see how far they are going in order to destroy the minds of kids. In the righteous government scene, I dearly hoped for one of the kids to use the given hammer & broke the head of that idiot instead of a cup.      

If you are thinking that I have something against Christianity, you are wrong because I follow no religion & more importantly I think every person on the planet is related to every other (including me) albeit by a distance.

One more reason the documentary was so shocking for me is that while watching it I couldn't stop thinking about the simple yet systematic brainwashing of kids that happens in every home of every religion of every country. Is only radical brainwashing dangerous? I think indoctrination of any kind is harmful because no matter how much you shout that your particular belief system teaches "love everybody", at the end of the day it only acts as another layer of separatism among people.

See my other short note regarding the same subject.

After the release of Jesus Camp, this is what happened to that summer camp. But you really have to think above a single summer camp because this is not the question of a summer camp. This is the question of corruption of a young mind which happens in most of the homes.

Read what a person says about his experience in a Pentecostal Christian School.

I have another thing to say. People, WE are in a right time of human history where we can see what is true & what is false. In 1800 a.d there is not much against religion to disbelieve. If I was born then, I would have been a strong believer. In 2200 a.d, there will be nothing going for religion & very few will be believers. But 2010 is at the centre, with the choice in your wise hands or should I say wise brains.

This would be a sample conversation in 2200 a.d

Person ABC: I always had this doubt.

Person XYZ: What doubt is it ABC?

Person ABC: I can understand that people of 1800 or before are strongly religious because they didn't know much about say evolution, astronomy or germ theory. But how can most of the people of early 21st century, with all the knowledge at their disposal, couldn't take a proper decision? What were they afraid of?

Person XYZ: Oh ya, I too am having the same doubt.

On a finishing note, If someone's sentiments are hurt by this or my previous post, I'm absolutely unapologetic. Once again Please don't brainwash your kids. They are your responsibility not property. If you are unable to come out of your blind beliefs, it's fine but at least spare the kids.