Okay, let me start off by saying how much I truly love watching documentaries. This movie was no exception. I loved it. Now, I will attempt to explain as to why I loved it and why I believe that this movie is extremely important for most of the world to watch. There were parts of this movie that took me out of my comfort zone and made me realize how truly crazy Evangelical Christians are. Let me rephrase that: it made me realize how truly insane any fundamentalist religion is. The concept of the movie was that the Christian faith was basing its survival on this current generation of children. Okay, that sounds all gravy and potatoes to me, but there was a very unnerving catch. They were "brainwashing" these children into this belief and shaping their view of reality before their young minds could even decipher what reality really was. One cannot take an intellectual stance on any subject without fully understanding both sides of an argument. I used the term "brainwashing" because the female pastor in this movie used that as an acceptable term to use towards their unorthodox methods. Most Evangelical Christian families homeschool their children. 75% of all homeschooled children are Evangelical Christians...this is absolutely out of control. I understand that we should allow people to raise their children in the manner in which they see fit, but this is completely mindblowing. The typical problems with homeschooling children are: lack of social skills, bias teaching methods, one-sided opinions, the students are only as smart as their parents, and they do not meet a lot of the standards that the American educational system sets out for our children. I understand that our public education system is showing a lot of vulnerability right now, but it's nothing a few strict guidelines and expectations couldn't fix. Have any of you actually known a homeschooled child? To me, they seem a little off and detached from reality.
In the movie, there were parents who were telling their children that global warming was a huge conspiracy and that creationism is the "only way" and that it defeats all scientific evidence and or research. I'm sorry, but if you were in court trying to prove your innocence...the judge/jury won't be persuaded by beliefs or opinions. Of course not, no. The only thing that proves ones case...is evidence. Plain and simple. I'm friends with Evangelical Christians and I'm related to some as well. From a realistic point of view, the entire creationism theory is a shot in the dark. It was only created to give Christians something to grasp on to besides not debating evolution. Let's face the facts. Evangelical Christians are uncomfortable about debating or discussing their own beliefs and they are unable to look at things from the alternative perspective.
The movie also showed these children, yes children, giving political arguments against abortion. Okay, I'll agree that abortion isn't a pretty sight, but it is a woman's choice. The only reason that abortion and stem cells are passionate subjects for Evangelical Christians is because they respect life. Okay, that makes logical sense. However, name one person (other than Christians) that doesn't appreciate life or respect the decision to live. War is an ugly thing, but the Christians don't seem to have a problem with it. The death penalty is an ugly thing, but the Christians don't have a problem with that either. They only have passion for something with the "potential" of life. I'm sorry, but they believe that life begins at conception. This argument cannot be supported based on what we now know and understand. Life begins, in my opinion, as soon as a child takes it's first breath outside of its mother's womb...and...gets a live birth certificate. If no live birth certificate exists, it wasn't a life. It had the "potential" to live, but it didn't become a living, breathing human being.
Let's take the Evangelical Christian point of view and make the assessment that life begins at conception. Okay, conception occurs when a man's sperm meets a woman's ovum. This creation maintains the status of a blastocyst. It consists of 200 different types of cells which are called pluripotent cells. This blastocyst has the "potential" for becoming an embryo, but isn't an embryo yet. During this point, Evangelical Christians believe that our soul is created. I argue, along with Sam Harris and many other scientists, that a blastocyst has the ability to duplicate itself...thus creating a "twin" cell or the possibility to become a set of twin embryos. Now when this happens, does this one "created" soul also divide itself into another soul? If your answer is yes, then I can argue that you believe that souls can duplicate themselves in the same manner as blastocysts. We as humans can research and study these blastocysts. In doing so, we have concluded that stem cells have amazing potential for healing terrible illnesses and have shown ample evidence regardless of what religious organizations say. There has always been a clash between those who are intellectuals and those who think that the Bible is all they need to know in this world. I respond to that with great criticism. Any religious belief, regardless of its origin, isn't stable enough to be the cornerstone for any civilization. Religious views or morals are fine, but only if they are within the realm of tolerance.
In "Jesus Camp", the ways in which the Evangelical Christians taught their children was beyond comprehension. Taking thousands of years worth of scientific knowledge/research and discrediting it with beliefs and assumptions that cannot and will never be proven is only hurting these children. Children should be raised to understand both sides of the debate, not just one specific side. This is one of the main reasons why intellectuals and Evangelical Christians, Fundamentalist Muslims, etc. will never be able to have a productive debate. They use religion as an excuse to close themselves out from the rest of the world. They claim that anything that challenges their beliefs or places restrictions on their powers are creations of the "devil". How is an individual supposed to expand their ability to think or to become an intellectual if religion has prevented the ability to do so?
I was an Evangelical Christian for roughly 2 years from ages 21 and 23. In church, I felt like an outcast. I always asked too many questions, listened to the wrong music, viewed women as something other than a "weaker sex", and never fully accepted that things were as they were according to the Bible. I respect a person's opinion and choice to choose a religion to follow, but I will never let their narrow-minded points-of-view or opinions shape the way that I choose to live. Religious individuals and I will be fine just as long as their power doesn't affect my life. However, when it does come to that point, I will fight to the teeth to prevent them from obtaining any more power and/or control.
Evangelical Christians claim that "this land" was founded by "Christian men". I, however, oppose that viewpoint. What they did, in reality, was steal the Natives' land, used Africans as slaves for the simple purpose of possessing an economic advantage over other countries, injected the original inhabitants with their "loving" faith, and created what we now know as the status quo. This country was "founded" by the Native people who appreciated the land in which they lived on, created their own religious beliefs, and never belittled any other person by placing them on to reservations. This country was "founded" by "decent Christian men" only because many of these people fail to recognize or acknowledge the evil atrocities of our past. Evangelical Christians are a huge problem in this country.
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