Not a week ago, I found myself unable to say what the best movie of 2006 was. That's no longer true -- nothing I saw last year moved me as much or made me laugh as hard as Jesus Camp. Holy shit, do I love it. In retrospect, I can't believe I waited till DVD to catch it -- I guess maybe I thought it would be too disturbing? It is in parts, but it's also hilarious, an effectively absurd peak into a world I'd never enter. (The speaking in tongues! The worship of cardboard cutouts of the president! The anti-warlock diatribes! The apple-cheeked proselytizing! Fuck what I said about Intervention, this is some mondo shit.)
The moment I realized that I loved Jesus Camp occurred 15 minutes into my first viewing, when the extremely Lisa Whelchel-esque home-schooling mother of the ape-draped principal character Levi looks over to her son's friend during a "lesson" and says, "Did you get to the part on here where it says that science doesn't prove anything?" Ha!
Ha! A creationistic good time! What's not to love?
[Spoilers abound from here to eternity. For God's sake, please see the movie for yourself instead of letting me ruin it for you. Also, Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion had a profound influence on my rationale regarding a lot of what I say in this post. In other words: my views are probably better stated elsewhere. But isn't that always the way?]
The freak-show factor is high in Jesus Camp -- I like to think that the way these people carry themselves is a product of many factors and that they in no way represent the Midwest, or Christians for that matter, as a whole (the titular camp, actually called the Families on Fire Summer Camp, was in North Dakota and has since closed). Regardles, here are a few of the superficial things that I found gawk-worthy:
The dancing
Who needs a budget when you've got God warriors banging sticks?
This loop is sort of a lie -- this move is part of a larger dance that, unlike the gif, doesn't seem to ever repeat itself. It is extremely interpretive as only movements to a song called "Kickin' It for Christ" could be. I detect a strong "Who Let the Dogs Out" influence. Frankly, the people in Jesus Camp (Pentecostal evangelists) have so many damn rules, I'm shocked that they're even allowed to say, "Kickin' it" or "homey." You know, Jesus probably wouldn't, so...
Here's another dance:
This little girl is into "Christian heavy metal, rock and roll." It must be some heavy shit if a 10-year-old can get down like that to it. Just in case that it isn't clear that she's dancing for Jesus, Tory schools you on her moves: "When I dance, I really have to make sure that that's God, because people will notice when I'm just dancing for the flesh. And I do that sometimes, and I must admit that I really need to get over that. So, I'm not the only one who makes that...people out there, you're not the only one who makes that mistake." I find it very reassuring that a 10-year-old is right there with me with each godless grind. But really, what does "dancing for the flesh" even mean? Are there times when Tory like busts out gets bucknasty? I don't even want to hypothesize on what that means practically, seeing as she's 10. Not that I fault her -- I figure it's better to be bizarre than lame. Whatever she needs to do to keep from resorting to the "Who Let JC In" lameness above her should be praised.
Levi's hair and smugness
At one point, Levi, another principal character, is referred to as the "young man with the long hair." The split-level nature of his 'do, however, makes this a half truth. Also, that smug look on his face above comes from telling someone that he became bored with everything at 5-years-old and thus accepted Jesus as his savior. Yeah, because repeating the same prayers, sentiments and general dogma every single day as per your religion isn't boring or anything. Whatever! Also, Levi seems extremely impressed with himself about all of this, as though he's used to impressing others with such a reveal. Self-righteousness at such a young age -- imagine that!
Here's a better look at his hair, because it really is amazing:
Do you think if someone told him it was serpent like, he'd cut it off?
Levi's preaching
Just repeat "this generation," "I believe" and "God" a lot. So easy a child could do it!
...and really why wouldn't a child do it when she's applauded for merely chanting, "No more!"?
You know, this little girl is actually more articulate than Ted Haggard, as we're about to find out. (The MP3 above makes a good ringtone, btw.)
Becky
Becky runs the titular camp and otherwise rants. I'm going to talk more about her later. For now, realize that this composite of Divine, Jo Anne Worley, a patron at that pulled-pork restaurant they opened during the later years of Rosanne, Large Marge and a dyke on a bike is asking the audience what they think of her appearance. She is doing so in a "Ha ha, I'm fat...no but really, I'm hot, right?" kind of way.
And speaking of that pride (do Pentecostal evangelists not care about the seven deadly sins?), it's very convenient that someone who's part of a group that seems to collectively balk at the notion of global warming would be such an aerosol addict.
Count the number of times she sprays her head. It's unbelievable. How much you wanna bet she had that hairspray shipped from Mexico just to ensure that she'd be releasing CFCs into the ozone layer, whatever that is.
Becky gives these prop-filled sermons that are definitely corny, but pretty smartly constructed, since this generation is "so visual" (so, class, if you're taking notes: biology does not evolve, but epistemology does). At one point, she's in the closet (her props one!) and she's explaining her different lessons. After a jump cut, we see that she's holding...
...a sickle and a model of a heart. No explanation is given or needed. It's so morbid that I love it in the same way that I love reading The Passion of the Christ as torture porn.
The singing
Well, really, this singing. It's supposed to signify she's touched and all, but I can't help but wonder why God didn't endow her with a nicer melody. Or some conditioner, for that matter. Uh, Becky, could you get Mexico on the phone, please?
The Bush worship
During this scene, the children are told to talk to cardboard. "Talk to him, say, 'Welcome, President Bush. We're glad you're here.'" Toward the end of the film, Becky makes some barely reasoned mention of not having a political agenda in her ministry (or whatever you want call what she does). This is actually true, because an agenda has to be thought out, planned and articulated. How is that even possible when the chance of tongues busting out lurks in every corner?
This little girl
I think she's trying to whistle in response to something someone said from the pulpit, but I think I detect some cynicism shining through. Love that!
So hahaha, different cultures are funny and zealous religious people lack a certain cosmopolitan polish and style. This is amusing enough, and key to the documentary's appeal, but what I find most helpful about Jesus Camp is its fairly straightforward way of illustrating these people's set of beliefs (which can be hard to wrap your head around in the first place if you don't take part in their way of worship -- it's to the credit of directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that we get such a tangible idea of what goes on in these people's heads). And here's why I don't feel bad for insulting these people on any level, superficial or ideologically -- they're paradoxically self-righteous. They seem to feel that willful ignorance (from homeschooling to keep kids away from non-Christians to denouncing the warlock that is Harry Potter) is not only right, it's the only way to be. I don't care if you want to worship a teapot in outer space -- that's your business, but if you make it mine, I'm going to have a comment. This isn't an attack on religion or religious people (not that I can't help, as a gay man, to be cynical toward what so many people use as an excuse for hatred). What I take offense to here is the way that people base their beliefs on a poorly translated book and then think everyone who prefers logic is wrong. At times it's like refusing to carry an umbrella solely because of what the weatherman said yesterday, and disregarding the fact that it actually did rain today.
"If you look at Creationism, you realize it's the only possible answer to all the questions," says that home-schooling mom who holds her children's world view in her clutches. But, I wonder, why does there have to be one possible answer? Isn't the universe too awesome for that by evangelist God's standards, anyway? Isn't there supposedly stuff that he just doesn't want us to know? Isn't there some cliché about wisdom meaning not knowing (or, is that too Buddhist)? It only follows that a sign of great ignorance is being too ignorant to know that you're ignorant.
"I want to see young people who are as committed to the cause of Jesus Christ, as the young people are to the cause of Islam. I wanna see them as radically laying dowin their lives for the gospel, as they are over in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine and all those different places. Because we have, excuse me, but we have the truth." Speaking of condescending! I find this intolerance as inexcusable as racism. Does this fairly articulate woman not realize that religion is a birthright? That the religion you're born into will most likely determine what you believe for the rest of your life? Believing that what you're born into is the only right way is as foolish and scary as, say, believing that blue is the only right eye color. If Becky were born in Iraq, she'd likely be an ardent Muslim. I suppose the answer to that from Becky's kind would be that God chose Becky to be born into Christianity. Why, then, I wonder, would God choose anyone to be born into Islam or Judaism? Why wouldn't he just deny those heathens the right to reproduce? Oh right, there's no answer for that, because it's a logical question!
Having your head up your religion's ass leads to woefully embarrassing flashes of being out of touch like this:
(In response to being videotaped and otherwise getting attention, as she does): "It's almost like being on the cover of Rolling Stones!" We have a word for this pop-culture cluelessness in my world: blasphemy.
This guy, on top of having no bones about showing the pre-pubescent young and impressionable his crotch, on top of referencing protoplasm in his anti-abortion speech and then following it with, "...whatever that is," on top of carrying around fetus models in a jewelry case...
...on top of all this, astounds further by complaining, "Since 1973, up to 50 million babies never had a chance to fulfill the dreams God had for their lives. That's sad isn't it?" So, like, dreams of poverty and neglect (neglect that can easily spill over into a nonreligious upbringing)? Did God eat something weird before he went to bed when he dreamed that up?
And these kids just parrot everything back, this sense of senseless entitlement and intolerance. Like bitching about "dead churches" and looking down their nose at the way people choose to express what is essentially the same system of beliefs. Again, the intolerance is absolutely infuriating.
Ted Haggard, in an outtake included on the DVD bonus features, does some anti-Catholic ranting himself. But he proves himself to be an asshole in the film, too. First of all, his routine seems to be based in humor, which would be a fine hook were he capable of saying anything remotely funny.
Sample Haggard joke: "I have a 10-year rule about dating. For those of you that married someone 30 years older than you, I hope he dies, so you can get his money." If he weren't preaching to the converted, you'd be able to hear crickets chirping or, more likely, locusts rattling.
Even further into his asshole existence, he and many others in the film seem so wrapped up in dogma and principle that they utterly fail when it comes to anything, anything in the realm of the practical (case and point: his sex life).
When Levi introduces himself and tells Haggard that he likes to preach, Haggard seems to feel threatened. By a child. "Is it your content, or is it because you're a kid?" he asks Levi on his appeal. When Levi says he doesn't know, Haggard says, "Yeah." It's almost as though he's such a cockface that he can't help but undermine his organization's objective to create future zealots.
And speaking of that...
...this is what they do to protest abortions. They shut up! How is that going to get the message to anyone? Note to Jesus Campers: people who disagree with you would rather you didn't yammer on and on about converting then and how wonderful you are because of your religion. If you're willfully shutting yourselves up, you're actually rewarding them. And when you reward them, they do more of the desired behavior. In other words: abortions for all!
The fairness exhibited by Ewing and Grady is what inspired me to put together this post in the first place -- it almost feels necessary to point out absurdities that Ewing and Grady don't. For example, in one of the deleted scenes, one of the parents weakly explains that their children aren't forced into practicing religion. Any reality show editing team would have kept this scene in tact and intercut it with imagery like this:
Ewing and Grady prefer to take the high road. It's admirable and really good for discourse, but I wonder just how high the road is. The only anti-gay sentiment we hear in the entire 90 minutes is that now-famous "I think I know what you did last night," spiel from Haggard, which, as usual, doesn't make very much sense anyway. Furthermore, it's soft stuff compared to the, "God hates fags," sloganeering that easily tumbles off the lips of the indignantly ignorant. I wonder how much of that type of stuff Ewing and Grady had to cut to make for a easier viewing experience. Certainly, they cut plenty that would have clearly highlighted the extreme wackiness that this zealotry yields: deleted scenes contain a 42-year-old father talking about volunteering to go fight in Iraq (he says he considers it an "all-expenses paid military trip"), Rachael, another principle character, telling the camera she's endowed with the gift of prophecy and some more demon talk. I understand leaving this out to a point, but I what I don't quite understand is how Ewing and Grady gush about their subjects on the movie's commentary. Yes, interpersonal communication does a lot to sway opinions -- bonding with someone for however brief a time can make you unshakably biased. Still, the point when you tell me that you're endowed with the gift of prophecy is the point when I look start looking at you cockeyed and never stop. And yet, they lavish Rachael with praise, going as far as to call her "so articulate"...
Even though she tends to ramble incoherently. She's young, I don't expect much, but I certainly wouldn't call her articulate or note that she talks like an adult. Although, maybe you get used to hearing nonsense babbled all around you when you're filming at an evangelical camp in North Dakota. Maybe Rachael does talk like an adult, though that's more of a reflection her older counterparts than actual praise for Rachael.
Becky also gets major compliments from Ewing and Grady. During one of her speeches, they call her "skilled."
I tend to disagree. She tells the kids, during that speech that, "The devil goes after the young, those who cannot fend for themselves." An utter lack of self-awareness aside, what she's using primarily here aren't skills, but fear. That isn't a great feat -- in fact, it's totally cheap.
They also compliment Becky for being "contemporary" for using a computer for her presentation.
She's designing in Word, you know? I mean, yeah, she can use a computer, which brings her up to date with thinking society of, what, 20 years ago? Although, to be fair, that's seemingly more progressive than most of her brethren.
The most telling scene that was left out of the film concerns Rachael and her neighbor, who isn't evangelical.
The neighbor, a seemingly friendly and good-natured child, explains that genuine curiosity led her to accompany Rachael and her family to church. The neighbor doesn't have any bad things to say about it -- she merely notes that the repetition gets a bit annoying. This child has not converted, nor does she show any signs of wanting to -- she merely wanted to absorb a culture outside of her own. You can rest assured that none of the evangelical children Jesus Camp follows would do the same thing. They want so badly to be heard that they can't be bothered with listening. I wonder if Ewing and Grady are being kind to subjects who rarely afford the same courtesy.
[I'm tempted to close the comments up front. Religion-based ping-pong tends to result only in sore elbows and sour attitudes. But then, I think not allowing others to say their peace would be hypocritical of me. So be respectful or go away.]
Oh god, I grew up KINDA like the jesus camp people and it freaks me out to no end.
I'm STILL trying to find my personal equilibrium as far as belief in all these things but DAMN....
scary! also....
"she's in the closet (her props one!)" <-------HAHAHAHAH!!!
Posted by: theidlereceptionist | February 02, 2007 at 02:09 AM
Had to chuckle at the fetuses in the jewelry box. Went to a Jesus Camp-type school growing up and another "rebellious" kid like myself stole one of the plastic fetuses and turned it into a pin he wore on his lapel, complete with a tiny top hat.
When I was a kid I said I was going to marry Jordan from the New Kids on the Block and have pizza at my wedding. I pray these kids grow out of this stuff as I did.
Posted by: Leanne | February 02, 2007 at 08:35 PM
just a question -- did anyone catch the lord of the rings book on the table during the "creationistic good time" homeschooling session? i returned the movie today, so i can't double-check to make sure that i'm not just making shit up. if anyone still has it, i'd really like to know. i'm sure after becky's wizard rant they'll be throwing those books away.
anyway, great review.
"I suppose the answer to that from Becky's kind would be that God chose Becky to be born into Christianity. Why, then, I wonder, would God choose anyone to be born into Islam or Judaism?"
exactly. and to bmad's comment about how the point of being born-again is that they don't look at it as a birthright -- maybe levi and many adult born-again christians think it's that way, but becky said very clearly on the radio show that they are indoctrinating their children with these beliefs, and that it's "what religions do" or something like that. this is why becky's beliefs are flawed. if this is how those little muslim children are being raised -- being indoctrinated instead of choosing to believe -- why do they deserve hell? what happened to their "stories"? did god get drunk and forget to write them? if everything is predestined in our "stories" then why are we able to break away from them so easily? if i'm going to hell because god doesn't know how to write a damn story and stick to it, then so be it. i'll see you in hell.
so sick of these people. i should pity them for never learning how to think rationally and logically, but this goes too far. they are willfully ignorant, and they are teaching their children to be willfully ignorant. more than a half a degree over the past century (CELSIUS, BY THE WAY -- about ONE degree fahrenheit) is considered "NOT A BIG DEAL". AGH PUNCH PUNCH PUNCH. i want to punch them all to death. this kind of ridiculousness just solidifies my belief in nothing.
okay, sorry. i'm done.
Posted by: hf280 | February 03, 2007 at 10:59 AM
I missed the LOTR thing, but someone I watched it with didn't. I believe (and there's a lot of shit floating around in my head, so this could be just a total lie) that the directors address this on the commentary, saying that Tolkien (and of course, C.S. Lewis) are considered OK Christian reading because they were Christians themselves and their books are allegorical. It's some kind of lazy reasoning like that.
Posted by: Rich | February 03, 2007 at 12:31 PM
I was so happy to see this review, as Jesus Camp just arrived in my mailbox.
3 observations:
1. The creepy lady (who runs the "women's center" next door to planned parenthood) who talked about how kids learn most of their beliefs by age 7, and basically it's 'whoever gets to these kids first', and went on to call them 'radical kids'. That was really the only time that anyone talked about the brainwashing/indoctrination going on.
2. When the guy with jewelery fetus was on, all my g/f and I could do was think of cute little Winston. Thanks for that.
3. The "Ring of Fire" radio host gave me some hope. I felt like he was the voice of reason in a sea of crazypants.
Posted by: bex | February 03, 2007 at 12:34 PM
Rich, it was a relief to see your blog after watching the "crazypants" (as Bex put it) in this film. Thank you. In fact, I was so thankful that I was moved to leave my first comment, though I lurk here regularly.
For me, watching the movie was unsettling on a number of levels. I grew up American Baptist (which is "Northern," as opposed to Southern Baptist, and typically less conservative) in the midwest and went to a church camp for several years. But it was NOTHING like this movie, thank you. Wow.
Even with a less Evangelical upbringing, I can relate to the passion that some children who are raised in a religion (and not just Christianity) have about what they feel are their beliefs. But they're just babies. So many adults don't really *learn* their religion; how can we know how to work out what we actually, personally believe about ANYTHING at 14 or 8 or 5 years old?! It hurt most to see the emotional scenes -- like the one of the kids with tears rolling down their faces while being berated for being sinful hypocrites who are one way at church and another at school.
What gives me hope is that I've met many progressive, liberal Christians, more like the AirAmerica host, who are passionate about peace and justice and inclusion and having open minds. They really do exist. I know a bunch right here in NYC. I also know some compassionate Christians back in the midwest whom I would NOT describe as liberal, but who I think would be just as creeped out as I was by this movie. And I'm going to suggest they watch it, just to make sure! ;)
p.s. I thought the same thing as Atlantic Vamp -- "Thank God for college!" I hope these kids get out of their cocoons.
Posted by: Jen | February 03, 2007 at 10:44 PM
I grew up in this EXACT environment. My father was a Pentecostal preacher, and this is old hat to me. The speaking in tongues, the 'demon' talk, the home schooling, the 4-5 hour sermons, etc.
I still have my core beliefs in God, and that has not changed. I'm pro-choice, for gay marriage/adoption and I'm also bipolar and have been stable for a number of years now. (mental illness is considered as having a "demon" in the church, they do not believe in chemical imbalances.)
Point is, even someone who was entrenched in this ideology can see the inherent hypocrisy in it. There is hope out there.
Maybe they will stop looking directly into God's light, and just let it illuminate their surroundings.
Posted by: MDP | February 05, 2007 at 03:18 AM
This is one of those movies that really makes you think...about moving to Europe, or somewhere equally not-American.
I've never seen anything like it...and I hope I never have to deal with this breed of people in any way more personal than seeing them on TV.
Harry Potter forever!!!
;)
Posted by: Nick | February 05, 2007 at 09:37 PM
I waited to read this until I saw the movie which I did last night. Rachel scared me a lot. I saw so much of myself in her. If I was evangelical, that could have been me. I also am not sure if I should feel sorry or happy for Becky. Something about her makes me feel like she is secretly miserable. Thanks for recommendation!!
Posted by: Mer | February 07, 2007 at 01:43 PM
you forgot the part where becky started swinging around the stuffed animal, saying something about having a tiger by the tail, but it was clearly a lion... and also the bit with the homeschooling mom teaching her child that galileo gave up on science and turned to the lord - which is a flat out lie.
moral of the story: apparently, religion makes you stupid.
Posted by: she-ra | February 08, 2007 at 03:30 AM
i just watched this last nite ... hilarious and frightening. of course kids are going to believe whatever you tell them. when i was six, my mom convinced me not to go near the river in our new jersey backyard because alligators would eat my face. if she'd told me not to go near the river bc god would send me (and the gays and liberals) to hell, i'd probably have believed that too! i loved how telling some kid he looked like harry potter was the bible camp equivalent of a heinous insult.
Posted by: beezelbub | February 21, 2007 at 02:05 PM
Ayn Rand said it best: "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone." You may as well beat your head up against a wall rather than try to reason with these wackos. Great review!
Posted by: Jay | March 01, 2007 at 11:24 AM
I actually grew up in this kind of atmosphere-- I prayed in tongues as a kid and sang songs about The Army of the Lord, so Jesus Camp was half terrifying and half nostalgic. The best part, though, was during the song "Who's in the house? J.C.!" and my atheist roommate looks over at me quizzically and asks, "Why do Christians like Jay-Z so much?"
Posted by: mainon | March 08, 2007 at 10:07 AM
I just wanted to say that I can't wait to see this movie. I think they should sell this and Saved in a two pack! I was also brought up as a southern baptist as some other people have mentioned and I do feel that to a degree I was sort of brain washed by the whole thing. But I do want to say that people in OKLAHOMA aren't this crazy religious like some mentioned earlier. I am surround by people here at OU that have brains and like logic and make fun of religion. I didn't like that okie remark, but what can I say? I do live in a more conservative and religious state. Just don't assume we are all like that!
Posted by: soonerborn | March 29, 2007 at 12:50 PM
I watched this movie and I found it really depressing. I think it might have something to do with my experience with highly-organized religion like the one depitced in this movie. My parents were not at all religious and I am not baptized. My mom's sister married a religious zealot when I was about 9 (I won't say what religion, because I don't want to offend anyone, and besides, assuming that all believers in that particular religion would do the same thing as my uncle did is beyond ignorant) and he made it his sole mission to convert me and my mother (single parent family). He started innocently at first, coming by the house for family gatherings (I lived at the time in rural British Columbia, Canada) and talking about his faith. When my mother said she was not interested, he started cornering me off at said gatherings and talking to me about it. He would leave me with books and so forth to "educate myself with the truth". I accepted them and my mother told me that I could listen and talk to him about anything that I wanted, but if I felt uncomfortable to tell her or him. I didn't - yet.
As I said, my mom was a single parent, so she would be at work most of the time. He would plan special visits to my house when she was not around to talk more about this religion and I could not get rid of him. He would talk and talk and leave right before my mom would come home. This went on for about 5 years.
Then, when I was 15, my grandmother, who I was very close to, passed away of cancer and I was with her when she died. The whole thing had a very profound effect on me and I was depressed and shocked. To this day I still don't who in my family or school told my uncle about the death, but when he found out, he mobilized the troops and launched a full-scale religious war on me. There were lots of students at my high-school who were of the same religion, and he gathered them all together and essentially told them to never let me out of their sights. I had cards dropped in my locker, people I didn't know sat next to me in class and on the bus, and they would non-stop talk about this religion and how much better I would feel about my grandmother if I came to their church. I was already fucked up enough about my loss, I didn't need this shit. It got so bad that the PRICIPLE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL HAD TO ASK THE RELIGIOUS STUDENTS TO LEAVE ME ALONE. A call was placed to my mother who fucking lost it on my uncle, and told never to come to the house that we shared again. True to form, as soon as I moved out he came sniffing around again to my new apartment with literature and such, but by this time I was old enough to know what to do about my uncomfortable feelings and told him to hit the road.
I only tell this story not to launch an us-versus-them mentality, but to underscore the point that some of the subject matter and methodology used by some extreme religious people can be downright abusive, violating, traumatic, and scary. If you have a religious member of your family that seems to pay a lot of attention to your children even after you have expressed your disinterest in the subject matter, watch out, ask questions, pay attention. This kind of manipulation and insistance can really warp a kid. I would honestly say to the best of your ability, when it comes to religious fanatics, live and let live, but when they begin to affect your family in negative ways, that's the time to take action and stand up for what YOU believe in.
Posted by: stellakowalski | May 11, 2007 at 05:40 PM
I rented this with a couple of (gay) friends, who gleefully pointed out that Ted Haggard says "Fabulous" no less than two times in as many minutes.
Posted by: Jessica | May 21, 2007 at 06:01 PM
Great article, man. I found it by googling "jesus camp" and "funny" because I just saw it and thought it was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and up to now I hadn't heard anyone else who had the same reaction. I especially agree with your criticisms of the filmmakers; I listened to about five minutes of that commentary before realizing they are as full-of-shit as their subjects. It figures. This film will be a late-night stoner classic for the ages. And I'll definitely be reading the rest of your shit and watching for you on the cover of Rolling Stones.
Posted by: Shamalamadingdong | June 02, 2007 at 04:50 AM
Why did I leave the church? Oh yeah, now I remember! I think it was after my three cousins were molested by priests, two priests at my Catholic high school were arrested for molesting children, my confirmation teacher was arrested for molesting children, my swimming instructor was arrested for molesting children, and just after Cardinal Law of Boston admitted he knew of over 30 priests raping children--but since he said he was sorry for his actions the Pope gave him a job at the Vatican.
Posted by: bostongirl | October 31, 2007 at 04:07 PM
Stellakowalski, thanks for telling your story. Wow.
Posted by: Univgurl | December 31, 2007 at 12:59 AM
Wow... how brave.. making white trash Christians out to loook stooopid.
Lets see some real groundbreaking work... how about a look into the lives of people living at the places mentioned here
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/paul-williams051107.htm
"The idyllically remote Jamaat ul-Fuqra company town of Islamberg, New York features a sentry post, obstacle course, firing range, snake infested terrain, small explosions, and is home to the “International Quranic Open University.” Nearby residents rave, “They have armed guards and if they shoot you, nobody will find your body,” and, “The place is dangerous. You can hear gunfire up there. I can’t understand why the FBI won’t shut it down.” "
quote from http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/05/a_walking_tour_of_muslim_lane.php
Posted by: Vince | January 10, 2008 at 04:25 AM
Love this movie. Your thoughts are totally in line with my own. Great article!
Posted by: Lex | March 22, 2009 at 01:08 PM
What a frightening song.
No snow just lots of sunshine! Should be a beautiful Halloween night~
Posted by: kid tricycle | November 14, 2011 at 04:15 AM
Thanks Mary! I remember that night like yesterday when they were all sitting in the dark with flashlights. Some how our kids turned out okay! Hahaha!
Posted by: trikes for boys | November 14, 2011 at 04:17 AM
You are so funny! Though I'm not an expert, your descriptions of the French perfectly matches my perception of them, especially the fear of embarrassment.
Posted by: used adult tricycles | November 14, 2011 at 04:19 AM