Jesus Camp

If anyone glanced over in my direction during any point in the movie, they most likely would have seen my jaw completely dropped. I found that documentary to be extremely fascinating yet unsettling. I have been raised without major emphasis on religion; my mom tried to teach my sister and me some things about Christianity and God, but we never went to church or really practiced it. My main religious influence has been Buddhism, since both my parents have found solace in that practice. I have personally found Buddhism to be a way of life that I feel the most connected with. Therefore, I don’t really understand much about Christianity, so seeing these children who are completely consumed by it is absolutely mind-boggling to me. It reminded me of a scary movie in which the minister Becky was brainwashing these children who would believe anything she said, and using them to start an “army” against non-Christians and the government. As a non-Christian I find this a little freaky.

I guess to me Becky just seemed like a huge hypocrite. She kept talking about fasting and focusing all one’s attention on God, yet she obviously hasn’t fasted in a while and she didn’t look too concerned with God while she was using all that hairspray and make-up. It really troubled me to hear that boy Levi say that his soul felt “yucky” whenever he was around a non-Christian. I don’t understand how they he can claim to be accepting of people, when all others who aren’t exactly like him are considered “yucky?” I don’t think it’s fair for these kids to be put under such pressure at such a young age. Like for example that boy who felt so guilty for having a hard time believing in God that he stood in front of the whole crowd crying and repenting his sins. I personally don’t think a child should have to deal with stress like that! These kids aren’t even allowed to act like kids (tell ghost stories… read Harry Potter- come on, really!?). It seems to me like these kids are going to have a lot to deal with when are older and have to face the real world. I’m really sorry if my analysis of this movie has offended anyone who is Christian. I am very accepting of all religions (especially since I believe in different parts of many); I just found this documentary to be very shocking.

My Writing Process

For me, the hardest part of writing a paper is starting it. I sat for such a long time on this paper thinking over and over again about which prompt I should do, which protest I should write about, and what I should say about the protest. Once I finally decide what to write about, the next hardest part is to write a thesis. I like my papers to be really organized, and having a good thesis is the best way to make it so. My high school English teacher used to say we needed three “thesis pieces” and that phrase has stuck with me ever since. I try to make a thesis that has three “pieces” so I know exactly what I need to talk about in the body of my paper. Once I get my thesis down, I usually write a really brief outline. I break down each part of the thesis into its own paragraph and then write a few points under each topic. This really helps the organization of my paper, and gets my ideas flowing. After writing a short outline, I just start typing and let my ideas pour out. When I am done, I usually re-read my paper over and over again out loud to see if I notice any mistakes.