I'm so scared: Jesus Camp and the Evangelical insanity

We’re living in a society in which the barrier between church and state is wavering. Our president is an openly religious man, who tends to put the Bible before our nation’s constitution when making decisions. The neo-Conservative movement is in full swing, backed by the millions of Evangelical Christians thriving in the South and Mid-West. Slowly but surely, brick by brick, the wall between God and our nation’s capital is being torn down.

So, as a Liberally-minded young man, “Jesus Camp” is a truly terrifying film. Like, a so-scary-you-poop-your-pants type movie. And this isn’t a review so much as it’s me heartily voicing my disgust.

I happen to hold quite a few reservations concerning organized Christianity. As a lifelong churchgoer, I’m not exactly in favor of the current Christian mentality, particularly as far as Evangelicals go. It’s become less about peace and love and more about judgment and victory over others, and the Evangelical movement is responsible for a great rift in our society.

Nothing in this world has portrayed this rift better than “Jesus Camp,” a documentary about children who attend an evangelical extremist bible camp.

A large, spiky-haired, terrifyingly narrow-minded woman named Becky Fischer heads the camps. Throughout the film, she makes allusions to Islam, and how they begin teaching their children to fight for their God at an early age. Children from all over the country gather in August for her camp, for a week of preaching, professions and relative brainwashing.

Yes, brainwashing.

These children are herded into auditoriums by their parents and church leaders. They’re informed that they are soldiers in God’s “army” and that they must wage “war” in order to retake America from the “enemy” ( the enemy, to clarify, includes Democrats and any non-Christian religion).

So much for love thy neighbor, huh?

The children cry, speak in tongues, fall to their knees and confess their sins out loud. These are children, no older than 10 or 11. What heinous sins do they have to confess? They traded their Lunchable for a slice of leftover pizza even after their mom told them not to? Or maybe they pushed a girl at recess? Why should they be told that they must be prepared to die for the glory of God? It’s truly horrifying.

And the parents sit by and watch, beaming with pride as their 8-year-old daughter convulses on the floor, speaking in tongues, “possessed” by the Holy Sprit.

In one of the most unabashedly disturbing scenes, the children, now completely and utterly brainwashed, bow down and worship a cardboard cutout of George Bush, tears streaming down their face. The Bush cutout stares lifelessly out at them as they pray before him.

For me, “Jesus Camp” was one of the most psychologically jarring experiences I’ve had in a long while. I always assumed that such militant, close-minded idealism didn’t have a place in the ideology of Christianity. But here’s these young, innocent children, conditioned to think just like their church leaders and stripped of their free will, dancing about with painted faces for the glory of God.

I fear for the future of this country with maniacal groups like these running about, with enough power and influence to swing any vote. It’s petrifying to even imagine. Because they’re all required to think alike, act alike and vote alike, their sheer numbers could determine any election.

It’s the stuff of nightmares, it truly is. It’s bad for America, and it’s bad for Christianity.

Oh, happy February, everyone.