Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp is a film that was created last year in the U.S. directed by Heidi Ewing. Jesus Camp is a documentary that follows Evangelical Christian Youth and the revival of their role in advocating their religious movement. For a person who is not very religious, watching this movie was a little difficult. I am familiar with what goes on in a church but the church experiences that go on in this movie are unlike anything I have ever seen before. It seems unbelievable that their is actually a place where children are being taught that there is no separation between church and state, taught to worship George W. Bush, taught to speak in tongues, and taught that abortion is pretty much the worst thing in the world. It is all very unsettling. It is hard to believe that a place like this actually exists and this is actually a documentary and not fiction.
Throughout the film we follow children at an Evangelical camp called 'Kids on Fire'. They seem innocent enough but they hold some pretty powerful religious beliefs that you would not expect them to. They appear at first to be average kids but if you look closely you may see a cross around their neck and then witness them advocating their evangelical message to strangers on the street. These children are on a mission. Again, for a person who isn't very religious and does not attend church on a regular basis it all can be a little overwhelming. What makes this film so powerful is that these advocates are so young. It's amazing to see kids at such a young age so devout with their religion that believes in some intense things. Children are very impressionable. You are easily influenced when you are young therefore it is no surprise that Evangelists would want to target kids to teach them their beliefs and through them get their message out. However in this movie this is done in a such a way that these children look as if they are being exploited. I think that the average viewer will watch this movie and feel sorry for these children. I am a person that respects others opinion even if I do not necessarily agree with them. But this movie depicts evangelists in such a way that I have no problem disagreeing and not respecting what the children are being taught in this film.
The average viewer's saving grace in this movie is the radio hosts who offers apposing views of the Evangelists. He seems to offer the only sane perspective on religion and politics. He makes me believe that there is still hope for America as long as there are still people who think somewhat like me in their beliefs on these issues. It would be a lot harder to watch this film if their were no other views expressed throughout the film other than those of the Evangelists. This film was a hard pill to swallow.