I think I was unconsciously waiting to see a documentary like Jesus Camp. In the last decade,
religious extremism and terrorism often have been associated with Islamism, if
not the entirety of Islam. Though I knew there were fundamentalists around the
world from other religious backgrounds, my assumptions were most likely based
on the view given by the press. In retrospect, I saw countless documentaries
and news reports on islamist training camps and acts of terrorism before seeing
Jesus Camp. During the same time
period, I barely heard of other sectarian activity.
Scenes of young children taking part in passionate implorations
chocked me. I couldn’t understand how these preteens assimilated the words
delivered by their pastor, Becky Fischer. It soon became clear that these children were being manipulated. In
an iconic shot, a mother is seen holding her children’s hands and raising them as
they pay attention to something. She makes her son and daughter raise their
hands after Fischer asks: "Is there anyone here who believes that God can do
anything?" I believe this acts truly shows what is being taught to these
children. They are being told what to say and how to act. Emphasis is put on
implanting ideas in these children’s minds rather then help them interpret
biblical writings and preaches their own way. 
I hadn't thought about the scene with the mother raising her child's hand like this before. I think you are definitely right; these children are being manipulated. I don't know if I personally would be able to claim such a strong faith as these children do to Evangelism. Would you be able to?
ReplyDeleteThe scene with the mother holding her child's hand up for her to answer the questions makes me ask, why do these adults think the kids are old enough to make their own decisions? These kids barely know what they are doing. In my Developmental Psych class, we are learning how growing up, a lot of kids use imitation. Personally, I think that this is all imitation because all kids want to be just like their mom or dad and they work for rewards or punishments. If they do what they are told they get praised and if they don't they get scolded enough and get fear put into them that they eventually do what they are told.
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