Jesus Camp

A few weeks ago I watched the Jesus Camp documentary by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. Afterwards I was both shocked and scared.

I was shocked by the way these children were trained, indoctrinated to be judgemental about homosexuals, women who undergo abortion, nonbelievers, modern scientific theories, but also about their sinful selves by the adults they encounter in their homes, in their church and at their camp. Is this healthy? Is this Christian?

I was scared so see how these kids were brainwashed towards changing culture and taking over politics in the United States, all based on a collection of 66 book of which much more can be said than it to be the literal, perfect, infallible Word of God and of which completely different messages can be drawn than just the simplified one they were hearing. (A quick and small example: why are orthodox christian so concerned about a text about presumed homosexuality like Leviticus 18:22, but never speak about the uncleanliness of women during their period or after childbirth in the chapter before that? Or is the message from the Bible contextual after all?)

To be honest, I worry about what fundamentalism in any form could do to human rights. In The Netherlands, the occurence of violence against gays is increasing, especially in Amsterdam, presumably under the influence of islamic fundamentalism. But it's not just happening here: in the US as well, hate crime rates are reported to be going up. Could this have anything to do with the growth of evangelical christianity as portrayed in Jesus Camp? Brian Flemming made a video about his disappointment with this form of Christianity and although I don't agree with everything he says and much can be said additionally, I understand his anger, his disappointment and his desire to finish off religion alltogether. Thinking back of all the impossibilities my grandmothers and greatgrandmothers faced, just because they were locked into a fundamentalist system that preached women were to be submissive, should not teach, should not work, should not vote, should not... I don't want to go back to that!

But shock and scare were not the only things I experienced while watching Jesus Camp. My thoughts immediately went back to the bible camp that I visited when I was young. I most certainly would not want to say it was as extreme as Jesus Camp or that my camp leaders were anything like Becky Fischer, but we as children were definitely encouraged to 'give our lives to Christ' - without really knowing what that meant, of course. We were taught songs like 'To know Christ and then to make Him known' and bible verses 'For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body' (1 Corinthians 6:20) - without understanding what this was all about.

I guess I don't disagree with teaching children spirituality, wonder or awe. But is it absolutely necessary to make 5 to 10 year olds repent over their sins and cry their hearts out in the process? Only to fry their brains with threats about eternal damnation, satans, demons that can only be conquered by Jesus Christ? Is fear the actual motivation to seek God then? I most certainly prefer the outlook of Ecclesiastes - it appeals not to fear, but is a fine, wise expression of human reality.

I am personally struggling with redefining the dogmas of my camp leaders and other christians I've met along the way, in such a way that I might be able to "know Christ and then to make him known" in a new and more rewarding sense. It's a goal I may never achieve, simply because I am the type of person that has a hard time taking definite (eternal) stands on almost any topic.

However, I have concluded that there is a starting point. My first task is to figure out a way to think about God, without creating a God of the gaps or some kind of supernatural Santaclaus. After that, I will probably need to rethink Jesus, who is at the least a remarkable person who even had meaning to people like nonviolent, pacifist Mahatma Gandhi. One outcome of the process is quite clear: I will not be be identified with Jesus Camp.