Today we're going to talk about the movie Jesus Camp, a documentary on a radical kid's camp that focuses around training kids to be "conservative, pro-life warriors of faith and love". The methods used by the people and the reactions the kids have are rather strange, but the ultimate goal is Biblically sound. So what do we think about this?
Let's look at the pros and cons of this camp:
Pros! :D
1. The kids are learning something about God on a personal level.
I can't tell you how many times I wish that my early childhood years had been spent on growing in and nurturing my faith with God. One of the most valuable things to do is make sure that kids understand what they're believing. Young kids sometimes don't really understand the bigger points of Christianity (complicated things, like predestination and such), but when they do it's huge, because it gets stuck in their brains forever. If you can teach kids from a young age how to experience God personally, it has a huge impact on their later life.
2. The kids are getting good thoughts put into their brains from the start of their lives.
In a culture where ads feature everything from naked women to dirty jokes and beer bottles, and where "kids" shows feature sexual innuendoes and other sundry references, getting a say in what your kids learn is pretty hard. It's good that someone at least is trying to make sure kids know what's right and what's wrong at an early age.
3. The kids are learning how to be radical in their faith.
One of the biggest problems facing Christians today is the fear of their faith. Lots of times we are afraid to do what's right because we fear what people might think of us. This is brought about most likely by early experiences as children where we do something right and people look down on us for it. It does my heart good to see that someone has the balls (pardon the expression) to get out there and teach kids that there's nothing wrong with believing something and being passionate about it!
Of course, with good comes the bad, so let's go to the...
Cons! :(
1. It comes off as sort of scary, almost cultish.
Something that the leader of this camp, Becky White, said really struck home to me: "If you look at every other religion or organization, you will see that they also go after the kids." And that's true--take a look at the Muslims. From an early age, Muslim kids rigorously learn and memorize the Koran daily, even if they're not in one of the infamous "terrorist breeding grounds". Does this mean that we should stoop down to the Muslims' level? Should we brainwash our kids into becoming broken records that spew what we want them to? It's the simple phrase "everybody's doing it" that leads into sin and debauchery. Why should children's ministry be separate from that unwritten law of the world?
2. The thoughts that kids get put into their brains might also be the wrong thoughts.
While the motivation behind the camp may be sound, caution should be taken with how and what is taught to the kids. Christianity is already a hard enough religion for many people to accept. I mean, look at it--the main teaching is that since some guy a thousand years ago was perfect and atoned for our sins, and because He loved us so much, we need to give our lives to Him and serve others, even unto death? That's not something that many people want to believe. Now, we could go the route that many people take, that is, sugarcoating it. But I am no fan of sugarcoating things. If the truth is there, and it's really as important as we say (which it is), the ugliness of the truth is something that shouldn't block us from telling it. But make sure that what you're teaching is really the truth. Don't make it too ugly. For instance, telling kids that they are warriors, and that the "sinful government" is the enemy, isn't a good idea. Government and politics, for all their faults, are preferable to anarchy. I would rather live under Communist rule than a society where every man is equal in power. Such a society only leads to destruction, and surprisingly, it leads to destruction faster than others.
3. Beware of false prophets.
One of the most basic principles in a person's mind is that he is sane. Without this realization, a man's life is meaningless. The single-most frightening realization for me is not that there are crazy people in the world; rather, that the utmost conviction in a crazy man's mind is that he himself is sane. You can tell someone who is doing something wrong a thousand times that they are doing it wrong, and human pride will usually tell them they're doing it right. Likewise, if you tell a radical teacher that they're not teaching their kids right, they will come back swinging with accusations and evidence of their own. Sometimes, the evidence is good, too. You can give Biblical evidence for the early indoctrination of kids, and make it sound good. Heck, I could give you a few verses and make you believe that God supports murder! The important thing to do is make sure that you're reading verses in context, and make sure that your principles are based on Biblical principles. And remember--Biblical principles are prevalent throughout the whole Bible, not just parts of it.
Well, that about does it for me today--hope you've come out of this with a more educated view on life, Christianity, and the human mind!
With love and Turkish Delights,
--JesusFreak
P.S. Here's a funny picture, because I'm a good person:
Long enough for ya, Mr. M?
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