Jesus Camp (2006)

The documentary Jesus Camp is built around a debate between fundamentalist Christians and liberal Christians. On the fundamentalist Christian side is Becky Fischer, a Pentecostal Children's Minister. On the liberal Christian side is Mike Papantonio, host of the Ring of Fire radio show. The debate, in essence, is the role the church should play in the state. Becky Fischer is training a child army to make war against the godless aspects of American culture - for example, abortion. Mike Papatonio, on the other hand, maintains that though parents have the freedom to indoctrinate their children any way they want, the church should not try to conform the government to the fundamentalist Christian belief system.

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady do a commendable job of remaining neutral. By the end you don't know whether they are more on the side of Becky Fischer or Mike Papatonio. This is perhaps the greatest strength of the film.

As a born again Christian myself, I found myself agreeing with much of the beliefs the fundamentalist Christians espoused in the film, such as the following:
1. God loves all persons and has dreams for each one;
2. The devil's first strategy against Christians is to get us to sin;
3. This is a messed up world;
4. Democracy is the best government in this messed up world, but the only perfect government will be the government ruled by Jesus Christ, the servant-master, when He comes again.

But while I found myself believing what Becky Fischer and her colleagues espoused in this film, I was distressed by their practice of their beliefs. I was uncomfortable with the speaking in tongues and the war-like interpretative dances. I was particularly uncomfortable with the children's experiences of being "slain in the [Holy] Spirit" - for example, falling to the ground in convulsions or breaking out with moans and effusive weeping. I cannot help but think most of these "slain in the Spirit" experiences are emotionally generated.

All in all, I'm grateful for Jesus Camp's even-handed presentation of these two sides - the beliefs of fundamentalist Christians vs. the beliefs of liberal Christians. I hope and pray that Christianity - a very real part of our world - will continue to be explored by documentary filmmakers.