Religious intolerance breeds hatred

Friday, June 22, 2007

Look....I'm not one to sit and preach about religion nor to protest religion. I'm not a holy roller or an uber devout anything. Being fanatical about anything scares me.

So then....imagine what happened when I watched Jesus Camp last night? For the first time in awhile, I was left with the sensation of wanting to puke violently. As I watched this movie, featuring three children, I began to increasingly feel bile crawl from my belly and into my mouth. I was flabbergasted, floored and just utterly stunned by the lack of intelligence as well as lack of respect for all things sacred! It was like.....waiting for something WACO (TX) to happen.

And these poor kids......their eyes were cold, their demeanor was jumpy and mechanical......I have never seen anything like it.

Anyway.....For those who have not seen the movie, let me break it down for you....via Wiki.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jesus Camp is a documentary about the "Kids On Fire School of Ministry," a charismatic Christian summer camp located just outside Devils Lake, North Dakota and run by Becky Fischer and her ministry, Kids in Ministry International. The film focuses on three children who attended the camp in the summer of 2005--Levi, Rachael, and Tory (Victoria). The film cuts between footage of the camp and a children's prayer conference held just prior to the camp at Christ Triumphant Church, a large charismatic church in Lee's Summit, Missouri; a suburb of Kansas City.

All three children, despite their youth, are very devout charismatic Christians. Levi, who has ambitions of being a pastor, has already preached several sermons at his father's church, Rock of Ages Church in St. Robert, Missouri. He is homeschooled (as are many of the campers), and learns physical science from a book that attempts to reconcile the creationist account with scientific principles. He is also taught that global warming is a non-issue and that it is political propaganda. At the camp, he preaches a sermon in which he declares that his generation is key to Jesus's coming back. Rachael, who also attends Levi's church (her father is assistant pastor), is seen praying over a bowling ball early in the film, and frequently passes Christian tracts (including some by Jack Chick) to people she meets. She doesn't think very highly of non-charismatic churches (or "dead churches," as she calls them), feeling they aren't "churches that God likes to go to." Tory is a member of the children's praise dance team at Christ Triumphant Church. She frequently dances to Christian heavy metal music, and feels uncomfortable about "dancing for the flesh." She also doesn't think very highly of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

At the camp, Fischer stresses the need for children to purify themselves in order to be part of the "army of God." She strongly believes that children need to be in the forefront of turning America toward conservative Christian values. She also feels that Christians need to focus on training kids since "the enemy" are focused on training theirs.

Becky Fischer, directer of the Kids On Fire School of Ministry
In one scene shot at Christ Triumphant Church, Lou Engle, the chief "prophet" (a term not used in the film) for Harvest International Ministries (the "apostolic network" with which both the church and Fischer's ministry are affiliated--an affiliation not advertised in the film) and founder of the Justice House of Prayer, preaches a message urging children to join the fight to end abortion in America. He prays for George W. Bush to have the strength to appoint "righteous judges" who will overturn Roe v. Wade. By the end of the sermon, the children are chanting, "Righteous judges! Righteous judges!" In another, a woman brings a life-sized cutout of Bush to the front of the church, and has the children stretch their hands toward him. Some media reports misinterpreted this as "worshipping" the president, but the children were actually "praying over him." Indeed, the woman clearly says to "pray for" and "speak a blessing to" Bush. Stretching hands toward someone is a derivative of laying hands on someone, which is a very common practice in Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

There is also a scene at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Levi and his family go on vacation to hear its renowned pastor, Ted Haggard (who has a Monday morning call with President Bush every week). Less than two months after the release of the film, Haggard became embroiled in a high-profile scandal involving, among other things, homosexual prostitution. Afterward, Levi, Rachael and their families take part in a Justice House of Prayer rally held by Engle in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Additionally, there is a debate between Fischer and Mike Papantonio (an attorney and a radio talk-show host for Air America Radio's Ring of Fire).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First off, these kids are being severly brainwashed. I am TOTALLY apposed to anyone who brainwashes children. It's one thing to lead a child to Jesus (or any religion/faith) but they aren't leading the lamb into the field of the shepherd here. They're using Jesus' name to create a sadistic world with their political and religious motives fully vested into the minds of children.....little children.

Can you imagine training (militantly) children to go up to strangers and ask them if they know where they are going when they die? Yes...a little girl did this and then accused the folks of being Muslim......without even asking them what they were or what their beliefs were. She just assumed. WTF?!?!?!

Folks, you need to be aware that there are some severe fundamentalists out there who want to remove your right to the freedom of religion as well as your freedom of choice. Be very cautious of this and DO NOT LET IT IN TO OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM! Separation of church and state must remain. Morals are important but thrusting religious motivations is not. Just ask Jesus.