Jesus Camp

[The Freudian Slip]

WARLOCKS ARE ENEMIES OF GOD! (http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=vision&taxid=23855&element_id=2140018549)

[Half Life]

Poor kids, my biggest pet peeve about organized religion is that they force their beliefs on you. And if you get 'em while they're young they really dont stand a chance to learn to think for themselves. Brainwashing at its best.

[The Freudian Slip]

Poor kids, my biggest pet peeve about organized religion is that they force their beliefs on you. And if you get 'em while they're young they really dont stand a chance to learn to think for themselves. Brainwashing at its best.

Couldn't have said it better myself. They efficiently label the small, up and coming ones "cults" and "crazies", and then put out this garbage.

[Sun-Scarab]

It'll happen when those kids are older.
we learn our own truths,after all we all out grow santa.

[Kurai Inago]

Most larger, more money oriented churches do actually employ brainwashing techniques. Don't even have to get em young to do it, although it does make it easier.

[Valcarde]

Most larger, more money oriented churches do actually employ brainwashing techniques. Don't even have to get em young to do it, although it does make it easier.
Just ask Tom Cruise!

[Yin]

That's sickening, and I'm Christian; Baptist if you want to know my denomination.

In all honesty, I cannot stand Christians/churches who conduct themselves in that kind of manner. Absolutely -no where- in the Bible does it say Harry Potter and warlocks are the enemies of God. You're not suppose to practice those kinds of things (calling forth spirits, playing with Wedgie boards (sp? LOL!), etc), because that's tampering with Satan and the dead, and if you've seen any Exorcism movie then you got a pretty good taste of what goes down if you do that stuff. But God says no where are we suppose to be forcing our beliefs onto other people, especially children. For God's sake, let them be imaginative and creative. That's why their generation is the way that it is today. Daddy and mommy says no to Harry Potter, Pokemon, Power Rangers, and everything else, so what else is there to do? Cause mischief. And when the mischief is done all you hear is, "Oh Billy. How could you!" And then that's that. Instead of giving the child these things, and letting them live out their childhood in a fantasy land, or saving the universe, they take them away with brainwashing crap like this only to produce a bunch of low-life degenerate juvenile delinquites.

The part with the little girl listening to Christian rock was alright. It does say in the Bible we're not suppose to listen to secular music. And I agree. Music now and days is full of vulgarity and touchy topics that shouldn't even be on the radio. I listen to mostly rap/hip hop/r&b, and most of the song is on what the person did in a one-night stand explaining every little explicit detail. No good can come from that if I child is listening to it. We got kids running around today pregnant at the age of 11-12.

But for goodness sakes. The little 'camp song' thing was scary. I went to a Christian camp one summer and it was nothing like that. We sang Christian songs, but it wasn't set up like a damn cult. We talked about Power Rangers, Pokemon, X-men, Batman, etc. And no one had a problem with it.

That video is absolutely insane. I feel like showing my parents that. Some people just read the Bible entirely TOO deep into it, and then take what God/Jesus said and make it their own thing, and then try to put THEIR interpretation on others. Thats where the problem starts. If that woman knew anything, she would know gluttony was 1 of 7 deadly sins. She's up their pacin' back and forth lookin' like Shamu with legs and feet, and sinnin' up and down.

And it's sad. Because non-Christians look at this and think we're all the same way. That's how it is with African Americans. Up at school, you see their names in the Police section all the time. Such and such got a fine for whatever amount of money, but it's not their only charge. They're brought up in the report 6 more times, following 4 other African Americans. Then everyone outside of the race develops yet another stereotype to add on to the other 67 million that are out there. Then we, the one's who make 3.0 GPAS and above, go to classes regulary, and conduct ourselves in a manner in which doesn't fit any of the stereotypes, get pegged for being just like the one's in the paper. It's not fair, but it happens, and it'll just keep on happening because that other half, whether you're African American, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or Zen, will just keep on acting out of place.

[razoras]

It'll happen when those kids are older.
we learn our own truths,after all we all out grow santa.

Yep, yep. I was as blindly faithful as anyone else and was born again in 7th grade.

I'm still keeping the faith, but it isn't blind. I don't think willful ignorance or blind faith is as common as the non-religious think. The insane ones just get the most coverage.

[Druid]

Sheesh, Harry Potter isn't even a warlock, he's a wizard. And Wizard's are like frat brothers to Jesus.

[Solario]

If that woman knew anything, she would know gluttony was 1 of 7 deadly sins. She's up their pacin' back and forth lookin' like Shamu with legs and feet, and sinnin' up and down.

:D Threshold for teh win.

Seriously though, view this stuff, as a foreigner in a country where religion usually isn't a dominating as the US, this stuff really frightens me. Much like that God Warrior woman from a while back.

I'd like to know though how fundamentalistic Christians can praise stuff like the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and then condemn Harry Potter, which could also be interpreted in a more Christian manner than the whole Satanic angle.

Then again I don't really care, I'm more of a Lewis Caroll fan.

[MajorMarvel]

you know, it reminds me of a line from Family Guy
"Ahh, just like Religion. Do What I say or I'll Hurt you"

[Jade_Dragon]

Seriously though, view this stuff, as a foreigner in a country where religion usually isn't a dominating as the US, this stuff really frightens me. Much like that God Warrior woman from a while back.

And the really frightening thing is, this is supposed to be the country of religious freedom.

I guess to those guys "All religions are created equal, but some are more equal than others"...

I'd like to know though how fundamentalistic Christians can praise stuff like the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and then condemn Harry Potter, which could also be interpreted in a more Christian manner than the whole Satanic angle.

Because it uses all the right words, and all the right symbolism, while Harry Potter uses words and symbols that they don't understand.

And I agree with you totally. If you accept the idea that in Harry Potter's world, all those things are normal, and ordinary, and it is after all fiction, then there's nothing "good" or "bad" about it, except as defined within the story. It's no different than turning on a light switch and having an electric light come on. It's when Harry discovers how people are using that power for evil that it turns into a morality fable, and in that Harry shows that he is on the good guys' side.

There's just as much magic and the occult in the Narnia books, and just as much of the struggle between good and evil, too. But the message is lost when it's not important whether you do good or do bad, but simply what side you're on. Which unfortunately seems to be something that keeps popping up out of the human psyche, much as we try to stop it.

[The Freudian Slip]

I just don't understand why Zeus throwing lightning bolts is crazy magic mythology, but a guy turning water to wine, multiplying bread and fish, a guy living in a whale, a man building a boat that held two of every animal, etc. is historical fact to some.

I'd rather watch five little kids fight over who has a cooler imaginary friend than the whole world.

[Graphite]

Not to pick a fight or anything, but I feel most Christians violate the First and Second Commandments on a daily basis. My opinion is believe what ever you wish to believe, just don't force your beliefs on to others. Its not like we can prove ether side right anyway. I enjoy Christian Rock, especially when I need a break from to much dark emo stuff. However, those kids just looked silly.

[Kinetix]

Tori doesn't believe in guys or girls!

We kickin it fo' Christ!:lol:

As Penn and Teller put it if you're going to follow the bible literally, not as a book of morals, but as rules and history, you should follow it cover to cover. Do not pick and choose. Soon after the bible says that men should not lie together, the bible instructs us to stone disobedient children and tells us that it's okay to sell your daughter into slavery.

The bible is filled with prejudice and violence, we need to update religion.
If a doctor from Cryo's time came to ours and started working they'd have no clue what to do, and would be astonished at the changes. The changes were necessary to fit with our society and it's diseases.
The same should be true of religion. Times have changed, and so should beliefs.

[The Freudian Slip]

Think about how Jesus would be viewed in this time...long haired, bearded, Middle-Eastern man in a robe and sandals telling everyone to forgive each other and love each other. Your average American would either think he was a terrorist or a pussy.

[Kinetix]

Jesus wouldn't have ben long haired or have a beard. He would've been a short haired, dark skinned man. How many white hippies do you see in Middle Eastern history? It was disgraceful back then to have long hair.

[Druid]

I just don't understand why Zeus throwing lightning bolts is crazy magic mythology, but a guy turning water to wine, multiplying bread and fish, a guy living in a whale, a man building a boat that held two of every animal, etc. is historical fact to some.

I'd rather watch five little kids fight over who has a cooler imaginary friend than the whole world.


That's an easy one. Simply because few to none worship Zeus anymore, but a whole hell of a lot of people worship God, and his son Jesus.

[Malibu Sally]

:I'd like to know though how fundamentalistic Christians can praise stuff like the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and then condemn Harry Potter, which could also be interpreted in a more Christian manner than the whole Satanic angle.
CS Lewis took quite a bit of heat when he first published the Narnia stories for using magical beings and such. It's just that with the passing of time, the outrage has faded. Likewise, the furor over Harry Potter will be next to nothing 50 years from now.

[Plasma Wisp]

Just to say some things that are not in the bible that people think are true.

The Rapture aka Jesus Teleports all Christians to heaven. FALSE!

A 18th century English Monk or Abbot found several lines and came up with it.

Anti-Christ. FALSE!

John calls him, The Beast, not the Anti-Christ. The term was coined during when Martian Luther was around, and called the Pope.

End Days aka The Book of Revelations. Mistaken and Misused.

This was written by John the Baptist while banished on an island. This was more of a "Don't worry my fellow christians praying underground, the Roman Empire will someday fall, and we will be free." The Four Horsemen are really representing a fierce opponent of the Romans back then.

Major Worldly Catastrophies and the ilk described and laid onto today's current bad weather is like laying the human body diagram ontop of Operation.

Katrina hit a section hard, but didn't Andrew hit just as hard, and farther north, where it really becomes a problem?

Tsunami's Happen every year, as do Earthquakes.

Don't ever freak out if a Earthquake happens on the east coast, because there are two faults here. One in NJ, the other in Harlem.

[The Freudian Slip]

The Rapture aka Jesus Teleports all Christians to heaven. FALSE!


Jesus took group TP? What a n00b...

[Moon Jump]

Christan Music? Everybody knows all the best bands are affilaited with Satan! -Bart Simpson


Wow, brain washing at it's finest. Harry Potter is evil! It takes time out kids could be reading the Bible! :mad:

[Graphite]

As Penn and Teller put it if you're going to follow the bible literally, not as a book of morals, but as rules and history, you should follow it cover to cover. Do not pick and choose. Soon after the bible says that men should not lie together, the bible instructs us to stone disobedient children and tells us that it's okay to sell your daughter into slavery.

The bible is filled with prejudice and violence, we need to update religion.
If a doctor from Cryo's time came to ours and started working they'd have no clue what to do, and would be astonished at the changes. The changes were necessary to fit with our society and it's diseases.
The same should be true of religion. Times have changed, and so should beliefs.

Actually, in a way it already is. As time and cultures evolve, so does a people and their beliefs. The New Testiment is in many ways very different from the Old. That doesn't mean the Old is unrelavent, simply that it needed an ammendment. Even the historical interpertaions of the 5th, 15th, and 20th centuries of the Bible are different, as reflected by the people. To me, it is a living, breathing document simular to the Constitution. So it begs the question, are we changing or is God. Most importantly, every person of faith should ask themselves what is truely Fundamental to thier beliefs. Unfortunately, there haven't been any new large stream profits from some time with to many people blindly following everything they are told.

[Yin]

Jesus wouldn't have ben long haired or have a beard. He would've been a short haired, dark skinned man. How many white hippies do you see in Middle Eastern history? It was disgraceful back then to have long hair.

Yep. The Bible says Jesus' hair was textured like wool. Now I have no clue on how you take that, and interpret it into the shoulder-length, brown-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian we have today. If anything, being that it's the Middle East, he would have probably look like Osama bin Laden, and I'm not saying it to be funny. Even if you were Caucasian, you'd be 67 shades darker then normal.

[Jade_Dragon]

Actually, in a way it already is. As time and cultures evolve, so does a people and their beliefs. The New Testiment is in many ways very different from the Old. That doesn't mean the Old is unrelavent, simply that it needed an ammendment. Even the historical interpertaions of the 5th, 15th, and 20th centuries of the Bible are different, as reflected by the people. To me, it is a living, breathing document simular to the Constitution. So it begs the question, are we changing or is God. Most importantly, every person of faith should ask themselves what is truely Fundamental to thier beliefs. Unfortunately, there haven't been any new large stream profits from some time with to many people blindly following everything they are told.

From what I understand, the root of the problem grew out of the Protestant Reformation. The forward thinking religious leaders of the time, Martin Luther and the like, realized that the Catholic Church had become too large and dogmatized, and in many cases corrupt. It was really the same sort of thing that led Jesus to criticise the Pharisees in the first place. So they felt, rightly, that the Church had moved away from Jesus's teachings, and had interpreted them for their own benefit.

A large part of the reason for such questioning was the invention of the printing press, which enabled everyone to have their own copy of the Bible. The Renaissance was also a big part of it, and people just starting to think for themselves, and the birth of the scientific method, but it had more to do with accessability. More people were reading the Bible and beginning to decide for themselves what was actually in there, and what was just the priests SAYING it was in there.

Unfortunately, in rejecting the Catholic Dogma, the Protestants left themselves with nothing to stand on. If each individual person can interpret the Bible however they feel like, you have chaos. So the Reformers went about creating a new Dogma that did not put all the power in the hands of the priests, but still left a certain uniform interpretation of the Bible that everyone could agree on.

The largest problem was that it was the role of the priests to reinterpret the Bible for the present time, much as it is the role of the Judiciary to reinterpret the laws and the Constititution. So by eliminating that system, because of the fear of the corruption it could lead to, many of the Protestants eliminated the ability to reinterpret. Their Dogma became static, just as dogmatized as the Catholic original, just reinterpreted for that particular time period. It worked fine during the Renaissance, but the world has continued to develop.

The concept that the Bible is the unchangable, inarguable Word of God is part of that Reformation. It's born out of a need for continuity and security, and in fact proposes that you should NOT interpret the Bible, even though that's what the Reformation said each person SHOULD do, on his own. The conflict inherent in that is what makes a lot of Fundamentalist religions difficult to understand, sometimes.

What's really sad is that many Protestants are not aware of that part of their own history. Or even worse, don't care.

[Graphite]

Exactly right Jade. Nail, Hammer, Head.

For instance, the Purtians were fundamentalists who attempted to purify the Church in order to restore it to the percieved earlier roots. However, they did it around a central dogma/creed/codes/beliefs that could not be questioned. At the same time, they encouraged literacy so that all would know what is in the Bible, creating a well educated yet still effectively brain washed puppet. The result of course was an extremely strick way of life, followed by a my way or the high way philosophy. They rose in power in England only to be kicked out by a more liberal majority. The problem has also become cyclic and is back again. Its been going on in America for centuries, usually being dubbed 'Awakenings' by historians. It could also be argued that the modern church has become too liberal even in the eyes of Martin Luther, a reformist in his time.


Why else do you think Spirituality has such a strong following in our "godless liberal age"? People are recongizing the existance of some thing, just not sure what it and feel it can not be defined by the current Church. It is also why I'm a UU which always seem to be ahead of the curve by a few generations.

[razoras]

I was taught by my pastor grandfather and the rest of my family that my religion was a personal one. Priests and pastors were there to try to help us understand the Word, but that ultimately only personal Bible study and a personal relationship with God would reveal anything to me.

I don't think as many people are told what to think as non Christians think. My own personal experiences, not to mention the experiences of the rest of my family (who all live in a variety of regions and environments, be it rural farms to urban wastelands), doesn't jive with the popular "group think" and "lock step" people believe Christians experience.