Jesus Camp

So, the movie "Jesus Camp" is still on my mind. I've got a few things to think out-loud, so get a beer and join me.

The movie is about three kids, Levi, Rachael and Tory. They're all from Missouri. Is anyone really surprised? OK, on with the ranting.

List of things I actually shuddered at:

First: Levi, Rachael, Tory. In case you didn't know, Biblical names. I was going to guess that only an idiot would name their kid after a pair of jeans, but I did some research and found out that it's not an idiot, but a religious parent. Close enough.

Second: That happenin' mullet young Levi is sporting. Wow!

Third: The idea that Levi, Rachael and Tory discovered Jesus. Lets look at this one in depth.
Levi - his father is a preacher and an employee of the US Army. Levi was "saved" at 5 years old and has been preaching ever since.
Rachael - home schooled all her life. Trying to convert her neighbor and plans on being an international missionary.
Tory - home schooled as well. He father, a former US Marine, went to Iraq for religious reasons. She's 11 now, but already very vocal against abortion.

Is there something cropping up in here? Do these poor kids have something in common?

Saying that a person in the Bible Belt has found Jesus is saying that I found water in the bathtub. That's where it is! If a person, without the "help" of missionaries or the very effective brainwashing of their family, can find Jesus, on their own, then that's something. The fact that after years of Jesus being thrust at them these kids have taken up arms in the "Christian Army" should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Religion, unless arrived at of your own volition, is nothing but brainwashing. Have you noticed that Catholic societies create Catholics, Muslim families create Muslims, predominantly Hindu countries create more Hindus? Atheists come from everywhere, however. Hmm, something to consider.

Sure, people convert. Ever hear this joke:
A rabbit "attacked" president Carter. The LAPD was sent in to find and apprehend the fiend. The LAPD went into the woods and half an hour later they dragged out a grizzly bear by its hind feet. The bear didn't have any teeth left and both its eyes were swollen shut. And it was screaming over and over: "All right! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!"

Fourth: The movie also had Becky Fischer saying that Palestinian kids are being sent to camps too, ones where they hand out grenades. It's curious that she knows enough to mention something that's remotely true, but more interesting is the fact that she can't draw the parallel between the evil done by "them" and the evil done by her. I find it incredibly fascinating that a very religious person can admit that there are equally religious people on the other side of the fence. That there are Muslims (or whoever) who believe in their point of view just as strongly as she believes in hers. She is certain that she is right. So, isn't the other person just as certain? Isn't there an issue at hand? Or am I missing something so fundamentally simple as "my belief is right because it is mine"?

"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw

Good ol' George never fails to deliver his point. Now, the recipient just has to sign for it.