c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) Parents want their children to think for themselves. Just not yet.
Before their offspring come to that stage, most mothers and fathers lay down some no-nonsense, no-argument essentials. They raise their sons and daughters according to their own beliefs. They try to instill specific moral values. They try to make them the person that they themselves would like to be.
Is that guidance? Or indoctrination?
The question hovers over “Jesus Camp,” a new documentary about an evangelical summer get-together that’s dedicated to turning out “soldiers for Christ.” Are the children being given tools to examine and express their faith, or merely being brainwashed into their family’s? Are the scenes of 9-year-olds reduced to quivering, crying supplicants for divine forgiveness proof of the power of the spirit, or merely evidence of a form of child abuse?
Reasonable adults can disagree.
The children themselves, however, have no doubt. As hip-hop gospel tunes blast in the background (“You take him high/You take him low/You take J.C./Wherever you go!”), grade-schoolers talk about their urge to preach the Gospel, “take back” this country and save it from Satan.
“America’s supposed to be God’s nation,” one baby preacher declares. “But then it got twisted around.”
“Use your cute-kid thing,” one adult minister says, giving some preaching tips. “They’re so usable,” another adult says, looking admiringly out over the half-pint crowd.
Yet the wealth of the movie’s snarky details _ the Christian musical-theater revues, the preacher’s gift shop, the exorcism of the audio-visual equipment _ tend to make “Jesus Camp” more camp than Jesus. These kid services, with their snappy songs (“We’re kickin’ it for Christ!”) are easy to ridicule. But how much more absurd are they than any rallying cry? Are these children any more indoctrinated than the ones taken on PETA marches? If not, why not?
That’s the start of a good debate, but you won’t find it here. Nor will you find the stories of 20-somethings who’ve turned away from the evangelism of their youth, or any interviews with child psychologists or even basic information _ such as, for example, how much this Bible camp actually costs, or whether any of the texts being taught include verses on forgiveness, or charity.
Hard facts are few. We see the camp’s director, Pastor Becky Fischer, but we don’t know much of her story. We hear constantly from Mike Panantonio, an Air America radio host _ and a Christian who strongly supports the separation of church and state _ but we don’t hear anything about how he came to where he is now. We just get long scenes of him doing his own secular preaching on the radio _ contrasted with the shrill shouting at the revival camp.
“Jesus Camp” might spark discussion if people went to it with an open mind, but you get the feeling _ right from the start, with its ominous soundtrack music _ that its mind is already made up. It knows what it’s looking for and, having found it, serves it up to its own chosen audience of Blue Staters. It’s the flip side of its own subjects.
“Jesus Camp” is not rated and contains mature themes.
(Stephen Whitty is film critic for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)
KRE/JL END WHITTYEditors: To obtain photos from “Jesus Camp,” go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
