This essay was written after watching the film "Jesus Camp."
The assumptions made about communities are that your community should fulfill your needs, accept you for who you are, and provide you with stability. The movie “Jesus Camp” depicted that the community “Kids on Fire” doesn’t fulfill any of those assumptions. “Real” communities, not cult-like religious camps, function by listening to the members of the community, taking their ideas into consideration, and changing the things that need to be changed. In the “Jesus Camp” community, they bombard these children with all these ideas and religious beliefs that they shouldn’t have to worry about at such a young age. It’s great that they have such strong faith in God, but the way that “Kids on Fire” educates them is just wrong. Their community functions on fear of God, fear of burning in hell, and fear of Pastor and founder, Becky Fischer. The “Jesus Camp” community, I believe, is depicted way worse than it actually is. These people are not violent, they feed the children, and they have the right motives. The way they are teaching them is wrong. It shouldn’t be all about fear of God. It should be about open discussion, having fun, and praising God any which way you want. The first assumption, that community should fulfill your needs, is true in most cases, but in “Jesus Camp,” these children’s needs aren’t even being taken into consideration. Becky Fischer basically brainwashes these children into thinking that they have to be part of God’s Army to be saved from “the fires of hell.” She preaches to children, who are such a vulnerable audience, and scares the living daylights out of them. “Jesus Camp” was almost cult-like. These children are worshiping someone they’ve never even met, seen, or heard. Most of these children are home schooled, which is taking a huge part of their childhood away from them. Socializing in middle school and high school is one of the most important aspects of education. It forms your social and people skills. I feel that home schooling children is almost like robbing them of an adolescence. These “camps” mold these children’s fragile minds, and as a result, they think that Evangelical Christians are the only people they should associate themselves with. These people should be teaching their religion, but also teaching acceptance of other’s and their beliefs. Another example of that is in my high school, they used to preach about abstinence and try to scare you with STDs, when they should be teaching safe sex as well. These kids need to be exposed to different religions and different backgrounds and they’re just not getting it at those camps. The second assumption about community is that it accepts you for who you are. This is obviously not true in the “Jesus Camp” community; they are trying to turn these kids into something they’re not. Whether or not they agree with what they’re being taught, they are changing these children, and it’s really sad to watch. Young children are so impressionable and when something like Evangelical Christianity is being pounded into their heads, they are obviously going to soak it up like sponges. The third assumption about community is that it provides stability. This is also untrue in “Jesus Camp.” Reason being, these kids are so young and are getting involved in something so huge. Becky Fischer is preaching war with the government, but government isn’t something young children should be involved or worried about. The fact that they are getting involved with things so beyond their age level alone is making them less stable. It’s not that I believe that children shouldn’t be involved in any aspect of the government, but I do believe that the things they’re teaching them, such as religious warfare, are very unhealthy. “Kids on Fire” believe that children should be the forefront of turning America toward conservative Christian values. Becky Fischer was filmed saying, “Christians need to focus on training children in religious warfare because ‘the enemy’ is focused on training his.” These kids shouldn’t be preparing to go into God’s Army! They should be preparing to go to their first day in the 4th grade! Towards the end of the film, one of the main characters, Levi, goes to see Ted Haggard preach at one of our nation’s many mega-churches. This man preaches about gay marriage, and little do people know, he has male prostitute charges against him. The hypocrisy of the church and the hypocrisy of the film absolutely enrages me. In conclusion, the community depicted in “Jesus Camp” is definitely not a positive one. The things they are preaching remind me a lot of Iraq and Iran. They teach these children to love God, but hate people who are different. There is not only one religion, and they need to be taught that. Normal, functioning communities accept people, whether they’re an Evangelical Christian, Jew, or Roman Catholic. They listen to members of the community’s ideas and try to work to change the community for the better. All “Jesus Camp” ever did was brainwash those poor children into believing everything the “prophets,” or camp counselors said.
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