A nasty day is brewing here in London. It’s just after 1:00 p.m. here and there is thunder and heavy rain here. My holidays thus far have been very relaxing and enjoyable—some reading, corresponding with people, hanging out with friends, and spending as much time as possible with Caitlin (which is tough because she is working a lot).
I have been spending lots of time talking with people about the intersection of faith and culture lately. A friend of mine, who doesn’t profess to have any faith, told me about how she had seen a documentary that had been made recently called Jesus Camp and how, because I am a Christian, it made her think of me. Caitlin and I have been dying to see this thing forever, but it looks positively frightening. This is the plot synopsis from allmovie.com:
The youngest foot soldiers for the Lord are shown in their native environment in this documentary. Becky Fisher is a children's pastor who runs "Kids on Fire," a summer camp for evangelical Christian children in North Dakota. Fisher believes in the political and moral importance of a Christian presence in America, and uses her camp to reinforce the religious training most of her charges are already receiving at home (the majority of the campers are home-schooled by their parents). Using video games, animated videos, and group activities to help put her message across, Fisher encourages the kids to pray for George W. Bush and his Supreme Court appointees while urging them to help "take back America for Christ." For the most part, the children seem reasonably ordinary beyond the fact they pray with uncommon fervor and sometimes speak in tongues. Along with Fisher and her cohorts, Jesus Camp features interviews with Ted Haggard, an evangelist and advisor to George W. Bush, and Mike Papantonio, a Christian talk show host who believes the right-wing slant of many Christian evangelists is taking the church into a dangerous direction.
It’s tough to know how to respond to someone who looks at this thing and wonders how I can be part of the same ‘religion’ (though I don’t consider myself a 'religious' person--religion is man-made rules used to control people). The idea of training little kids to be the future “Army of God" is pretty darn scary. I KNOW that George W. Bush, the Moral Majority,Ted Haggard and their brand of 'Christianity' don't sit well with me. I have not had the chance to see this documentary, but it seems to be pretty sketchy. Any thoughts? Have any of my loyal readers seen it and do you wish to comment on it?
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7 comments:
good thoughts mr. bing but there's no way i'd see the documentary. why? probably the same old predictable tripe spewing forth from most secular media outlets - evangelicals are a bunch of crazy wackos. not exactly an ingenious thesis, and one, quite frankly, that i'm getting rather sick of.
as far as training kids to be the future army of God, this stuff used to be orthodox (in some circles, i guess - remember singing 'onward christian soldiers'?). and, as far as believing in the moral and political importance of a christian presence in any country (thriving democracy), i couldn't agree more with this particular wacko. it's pretty easy to pick on some bizarre camp that's way out in left field - there are many, however, that make extremely cogent, relevant and persuasive arguments for exactly the type of thing that fisher's doing. although this, too, is probably a little far right for you, read through some of the recent posts on www.firstthings.com - a spot where law professors, theologians, philosophers and some leading american intellectuals argue for the same types of things, but perhaps in more acceptable language (also, i've recently been rekindling a love for what chuck colson is doing with breakpoint - his arguments about the importance of ideas and the need for christians to engage culture are excellent).
but, as long as you're riding the'emergent church' - bryan mclaren - bandwagon this stuff might not be too appealing. at any rate, check out what the other side is saying. and i don't mean tim lahaye or ted haggard. and, as always, have fun and keep blogging.
br
Dear br ...
As an evangelical Christian, I have to say that perhaps we should stop judging the secular/liberal media for their portrayal of us and start asking, “Do they have a point?” In my opinion, there has not been enough self-examination toward the way we think about politics, society and community. Judgment should begin in the house of God and it’s sad that it took the secular media to expose the abuses happening in this camp. Where were the churches and the Christian leaders challenging Fisher’s methods?
I would also take issue with the charge that the “missional/emerging church” is politically uninterested. Most missional theologians are well versed in the writings of Hauerwas, Yoder, Ellul and N.T. Wright and would tell you that Jesus’ message of the kingdom was inherently political: political BUT non-partisan (something that Colson can’t seem to figure out). The customs and the habits of the kingdom are neither right nor left but ought to be prophetically incarnated and voiced through the life of the faith community. Most contributors to “First Things” (and I’m a huge fan of Richard John Neuhaus) certainly wouldn’t posture themselves against this kind of thinking.
Before you write me off as a granola left wing nut, let me add that, in a very real sense, there is nothing wrong with the use of militaristic language in the life of discipleship. The problem is how this language has been and continues to be abused to justify partisan politics and state warfare. And this is what the movie exposes. For an in-depth understanding of this unfortunate kind of thinking, I would encourage you to read theologian Walker Wink.
Randy Hein
Jesus' non-partisan approach no doubt stemmed from the fact that the Roman Empire didn't have an acceptable centre-left alternative on the ballot. seriously, since the days of Christ there has been a lot of ink spilled on the proper relationship between christianity and politics - particularly partisan politics. and while the debates are interesting, the discussion certainly has not ended with the arrival of the 'emergent church' and missonal theologians. i think most would agree that 'beyondism' is something to shoot for - christians have long held that the politics of the kingdom are neither conservative nor liberal (some even suggest they're wholly 'other worldly' which opens a whole other can). so on that, you're preaching to the choir. but, of course, living in a modern liberal democracy, that doesn't end things. and, as contributors to first things have continually pointed out, the problem with most contemporary american beyondists (wallis etc) is that personally holding to beyondism is different than demanding it from others. in demanding it, wallis and others offer an ironic way out: the way to get beyond the partisan divide is for all of you on the other side to agree with me. you're right in that RJN would support this in theory, but, i think his strong - almost dogmatic - support for the president is revealling. as is his distaste for wallis and others on what he would call the radical left.
i'd also love to give props to the secular press for showing us the error of our ways, but something terrible deep within is grabbing me tight and forcing me to refrain (on that note, the sarcastic coverage of the catholic church putting the kibosh to 'limbo' was fabulous). i belong to a reformed church (crcna), and i like to think that for all of our denominational faults, we are very self aware and hotly debate/discuss the public role of the church in north american culture. but then again, we just might learn something about ourselves from watching a film about rabid evangelicals inculcating the youth of today with outrageous values (what happened to mtv during summer break?).
Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions re reading - wink eh? i haven't read him since that historical perspective stuff. btw, i describe myself as a lapsed granola left wing nut (well, the granola part is still going strong). thanks.
br
Great point being brought up here and I thought I would just add a few.
I think one of the great problems for the "non-crazy evangelical" when they hear of a film like this is how to respond. Often, like Byng, we are frustrated by it because it does not represent the Christianity that we know. It's not loving, it distorts scripture for it's own gain, etc... On the other hand it's tough to refute because we know that side. We see it around us, we know the crazy things that have been done in the name of Christ. We understand why people have a problem with Christians and struggle with how to show them the real Christ in the midst of this.
Unfortunately, many of these right wing examples come from politics. As Randy said, Christ was inherently political; as was his message. He did not shy away from political challenges (Give to Caeser what is Caeser's). But I don't think 'beyondism' is what we're looking for (though I'll admit I haven't seen the term before.) Christ calls us to engage with the world. We can't escape the liberal democracy we live in and we shouldn't. We also shouldn't be caught up in it's games. Christ was political in his actions - by loving the ones thought to be untouchable, by talking with prostitute, etc... This is how we should be interacting. This is the voice that should be heard by the world around us. Forget the rhetoric and the tirades against Spong Bob and DO something. LOVE someone.
I don't know how corehen this is (just got up) but I, like Byng, have struggled with the right-wing of the Church and how to deal with it in a world that is tired of so-called Christianity. How do we show them to Christ? The best answer I have seen/heard/found is in the active love of Christ.
The 'religious right' are 'Christians' in the same way that the Nazi's were Germans.
Unfortunately that does not bode well for those of us 'Germans' who are not 'Nazis'.
hey guys, miss you both lots. am going to vic this week for davidson's wedding and you won't be there. poo.
we're buying a house. y'all better come and visit now.
muchas love from central texas.
I rented this one with some other librarians a couple months back; it's both disturbing and captivating.
I understand being passionate, but I think when people choose to indoctrinate children, it is a bad choice, no matter whom or for what purpose. My parents always gave me choices in what I believed, options and when questions came up, we had a conversation. That's my 2 cents.
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