TokyoNiGHTS

This is a documentary but i'm interested in discussing the idea of the camp

Apple - Trailers - Jesus Camp - Trailer

YouTube - Jesus Camp Trailer

I've seen religious camps before and even known some that have attended. And despite not being a religious person all i've heard and seen have been what you'd think it'd be, you're at a camp and go to daily bible readings and do some other activities also. But this is something completely different and I think rather disturbing. The comment that struck me most was from a kid

"We're being trained to be God's army"

While all through the video you see children swinging sticks around while in army fatigues with face paint. Is that really the kind of language that should be attached to a religion? Isn't that a big reason so many people have bad thoughts about Islam? Jjust the idea that they're getting camped together to teach kids that they're going to war for their religion just seems like its not the right thing to do.

S.A.S.H.A.

Oh, Jesus.

Sasha

Lexis

That sounds a little worrying. Why does worshipping God need to include dressing up in fatigues and practicing battle drills?

TheAngel

I went to bible camps. I was in charge of Vacation Bible School at my church this past summer. There's nothing militaristic about the bible. The phrase "I'm in the Lord's Army" is simply a metaphore for "fighting" for God and Jesus by getting his message out. There's a song actually called the Lord's Army that says you may never fight but you're still in His army. To incorporate anything militarily related into a religious experience is a travisty against everything that a peaceful religion like Christianity stands for. It's just like Muslim extremists fighting a Jihad in the name of Islam. It's a perversion of the basic, peaceful tenats of religion. And while I'm not a super religious person now, I was raised in the church. I don't remember my minister every saying, "And now, let's go beat someone up in the name of God." But who knows, maybe I slept through the sermon that day.

jalapeno_wildchild

i heard about this and it sounds alittle weird to me.

-Kelly-

On tv, it looks like a Cult.

GrhmLz

As a christian myself, i know that christian words/practices get taken out of context by secular society. Anything that doesn't fit the so-called "normal, status-quo" in mainstream society is often labeled as weird because it's not understood. I can't speak for this specific camp because i don't know but i feel the need to play devil's advocate here and give the benefit of the doubt to them after i recently watched a segment where two secular researchers conducted a social study on a Jesus/Bible camp. I watched their video footage and thought their bias mentality influenced their research/project trying to claim it harmfully, brainwashed kids. These kids were merely participating in their faith in song and dance... and they tried to go out and preach the word of God... and i guess they felt that was offensive behavior.

On a side note, we don't need religion to create war! There's plenty of it running rampid on the earth and it's being backed and supported by various governments. And guess what, just like every religion feels they're the "Right one/in the Right" so does every nation or they wouldn't be going to war to begin with!

TokyoNiGHTS

There isn't a bias, the woman that runs that camp openly admits that what they're doing is brainwashing and says she doesn't see anything wrong with it because that's what parents do from the time they were born.

GrhmLz

I'm talking about the video footage i saw on television (i don't know if it's the same one) and the study is bias b/c they are studying it from a secularist mentality? How can that be objective?

The Woman i watched being interviewed regarding the bible camps did NOT agree to the claim that it was brainwashing. She was using their own argument against them when she proposed the question... "they accuse us of brainwashing but if that's the case aren't they guilty of trying to do the same thing?" And she made a good point b/c what these secularist researchers stand in support of is secular indoctrination, not religious; therefore, passing their ideas/views/practices on children could be construed as a form of "brainwashing" too!

When you pass on your beliefs to your children, it's only "brainwashing" to those who are opposed to the teachings.

Lexis

If you're conducting academic research, you put out of our head your own opinions. That's the only way research is considered well executed. Although a researcher may be secular, he knows he has to meet the strict criteria of institution he's working under.

Jacob1983

I have not seen this movie and I have no intention on seeing it. This movie is garbage. These so called Christians that are training these kids to be soldiers for Christ are extremists. These people are a disgrace to Christianity, Christians, and Jesus himself.
I have been to church camps a few times and I've been to Christian music concerts. The church camps that I went to were nothing like the one in this movie. There was nothing militaristic about it. The church camps that I went were actually fun and interesting.
And the teachers and counselors at the church camps I went to didn't brainwash you like the people in this movie.

TheAngel, I totally agree with you about what you said. The phrase "I'm in the Lord's army" is definately a metaphor. It's not to be taken literally. I used to hear that Lord's army song all the time when I was younger in Sunday school. It has a good message eventhough it sounds negative.

This Jesus camp really does come off as a cult to me. And the people that run this camp aren't doing any good for the Christian cause and movement. They are doing the complete opposite. They are giving Christianity a bad, negative, hateful militant image.