# Jesus Camp: Evangelical Christians "taking back" America **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118 "2006-09-10T01:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/41 "2006-09-10T16:34:39Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] You know, I don’t think kids EVER went away for weeklong religious camps before Bush II was elected. I bet he’s sending 'em federal funds under his special Black Ops program that previously was devoted to Roswell crash research. [/quote] Whereas **I** don’t think that anyone has mentioned Bush _fils_ until post #17. Y’know, the one that came from you? O’course, I’m always willing to be corrected, so why don’t you rush to do so? And as anyone with an iota of common sense can tell you, the Roswell project has been shelved for decades. Black Ops is all about Bigfoot again. [QUOTE=nano8track] They picked one of the more unusual Vacation Bible Schools they could find and made a documentary about it to scare liberals everywhere lol. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure that “unusual” does justice to this particular VBS. Hell, “more unusual” seems to miss the point by several degrees. And **asterion** : Now that’s thinking outside of the box. So terribly sorry, but teaching children that they should be willing to lay down their lives for any cause sounds a great deal like the sort of crap that was spouted by the Hitler Youth, with an end result that seems too similar to suicide bombers for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/42 "2006-09-10T16:49:36Z")
[QUOTE=nano8track] A. Not that I’m a conservative, but I missed the part where they were pushing a political agenda. Maybe there’s another clip out there that is all prayer in schools, pro-life, and capital punishment? I didn’t see that one. B. All kids in this camp are there because they wanted to be there or their parents did. I get far more nervous when a political party tries to push their message in a public elementary school whether it be Republican or Democrat (or Communist or Nazi). C. It’s obvious to me that they picked some type of charismatic denomination. IMO this is a cheap shot because to anyone not familiar with this type of denomination it can can seem really weird. (I know it seemed really weird to me when I first found out about it.) They could have easily found a Vacation Bible School where the kids were falling asleep in the pews, but I bet that would have made much less entertaining film, lol. I don’t think this VBS is representative of a typical VBS in the US and may or may not be representative of a charismatic VBS. It like a sensationalist documentary, which is why I said, “it was made to scare liberals”. (I watch a fair amount of documentaries and the theatres seem to be about 70% liberal, 30% moderate, and 0% conservative.) [/QUOTE] There is a section from a link about training them to be leaders > [@](#): > > Through a combination of evaluation tools, mentoring/coaching, character formation, skill development, leadership teaching, hands-on experiences, team building, networking, apprenticeships, peer clusters, prayer, and feedback and assessment, we pray that the Lord will allow us to help raise up a mighty army of strong and courageous young leaders who will help our nation to honor God more completely. Maybe this means just leading people to be better people, as in, more Christ like. I hope so. It isn’t blatently political language but it hints doesn’t it? How about this. > [@](#): > > There is a major spiritual revolution brewing in our society. God has already begun to do some amazing and unprecedented things in our nation, and it appears that the next twenty years will introduce ministry approaches and spiritual outcomes that are radically different than that which we have been anticipating. It’s an exciting time to be alive and serving God. Stay tuned as we continue to share some of the insights we’re gleaning from our studies regarding the reformation of faith and culture in the U.S. And thanks for allowing my team and me to join with you in serving Jesus." I have no problem with people wanting something better for our society. Lord knews we need it. {pun intended} I get concerned when people who claim to worship Jesus and God use language that seperates 'us" from “them” When describing “Our Purpose” on the site it does not mention a political agenda. from the section on beliefs I have a few problems. > [@](#): > > We believe according to scriptural example (Judges 16:26/Matthew 2:2-7) that children will play a major role in ushering in the last great revival and the soon return of Jesus > [@](#): > > We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, was buried, was resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and is true God and true man. > [@](#): > > We believe the Bible in its entirety to be the inspired Word of God and is our infallible guide of faith and conduct. > [@](#): > > We believe in personal salvation of believers through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If they are focusing on the principles of love and brotherhood that Jesus taught then great. I hope that is their first priority. I just think that people who claim to worship the truth ought to activly seek it, and people who believe these things haven’t spent much time doing that. Thats just me. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/43 "2006-09-10T17:09:22Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Liberals SHOULD be scared. So should conservatives. The religious right has been getting progressively more and more theocratic, anti-social, hostile, fanatic and anti-American in its rhetoric for years now. It’s easy to say they’re a minority but they’re becoming less and less of a minority all the time and some of their theocratic beliefs are almost mainstream. A majority of Americans would like to teach a creation myth as “science” in public schools, for instance. A majority also believes that homosexuals should be denied equal rights because they believe (wrongly) that their Bible tells them so. The brainwashing that goes on at those Bible camps is frighteningly similar to what happens in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The more light that’s thrown on them, the better. [/QUOTE] What exactly makes you so sure that the people in this trailer represent the Religious Right? I didn’t see anything in it about wanting to take the teaching of evolution out of schools or homosexuals, but I might’ve missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/44 "2006-09-10T17:17:17Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Bloody hell, I googled “Kids on Fire” - [look at the pictures](http://kidsinministry.com/Current.PastEvents/WavesOfGlory.html). That’s frightening. Poor wee kids.:dubious: [/QUOTE] Whoa. Usually a summer camp doesn’t advertise with prominent pictures of the little ones _crying_. ---
**Author:** ![baronsabato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@baronsabato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baronsabato)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/45 "2006-09-10T17:18:45Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] Yeah, and I’m sure they edited it to highlight the most extreme quotes. [/QUOTE] That’s what I figured, that this documentary is probably biased and shows only quotes taken out of context and in the most extreme light. But then I read a few reviews online, all of which praised the movie’s “well-rounded” portrayal, and unbiased viewpoint. And it seems that Pastor Becky Fisher, the minister who leads these things, had [this](http://www.indiewire.com/people/2006/05/beyond_the_ideo.html) to say about the documentary: [QUOTE=Pastor Fisher] I’ve only seen [the film] one time, and I was still processing what was left out and left in. [But from] what I’ve seen, I think [Grady and Ewing] did a great job. I think they captured the beautiful concepts of what we represent. [/QUOTE] For those who don’t see anything political about the camp, we have this (from the same article): > [@](#): > > A particularly inflammatory scene that heightens the political overtones for viewers takes place at a revival meeting lead by Fischer and her associates, in front of well over 100 children. In the scene, Fischer takes a life-size standup photo of President George W. Bush to the stage, and with a large American flag in the background, asks the crowd to raise their hands towards him in prayer. [QUOTE= Pastor Fisher] When we took out [an] image of Bush, it turned political, but to us, it’s not political - it’s Biblical. [/QUOTE] Look, I went to a very conservative church as a kid. I attended VBS every summer, including camp retreats. They were never like this. This not only scares me, it worries me, because I fear this is now the face of American Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/46 "2006-09-10T17:40:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Those first two clips have to be about the scariest things I’ve ever seen. I have seen TV documentaries on similar camps run by the Ku Klux Klan–back in the 1970’s and more recently (maybe 10 years ago). There have always been a few fanatics running around. American society seems to have survived. We need to be aware of them, but not scared of them. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/47 "2006-09-10T18:16:15Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] Whoa. Usually a summer camp doesn’t advertise with prominent pictures of the little ones _crying_. [/QUOTE] Not summer camp. Jesus Camp. And if anything was gonna make me weep copiously, it would be the thought of spending any amount of time listening to someone talk about Jesus and laying down my life for him. Little pisher hasn’t done a damned thing for me of late. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/48 "2006-09-10T18:30:49Z")
Jesus doesn’t blog. Can’t type. Can’t swim either, according to reports. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/49 "2006-09-10T18:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=chappachula] I have seen TV documentaries on similar camps run by the Ku Klux Klan–back in the 1970’s and more recently (maybe 10 years ago). There have always been a few fanatics running around. American society seems to have survived. We need to be aware of them, but not scared of them. [/QUOTE] There’s a big difference between a group that’s held a well-earned pariah status for the last 50 years and evangelical christiandom, which has a solid foot-hold and undue influence in American politics today. I’d say we need to do a little more than simply “be aware” of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/50 "2006-09-10T19:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong] Granted, I’ve only seen the trailer, but there seems to be a political component to the teachings of this particular camp. In the trailer, amongst other things, there is a sequence in which the kids are reciting a reworded, more “Christian” Pledge of Allegiance, \ [/QUOTE] Not exactly. They were pledging allegiance to [the Christian flag]([Christians - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian) flag), which is entirely different than the US flag. When I was a kid, I learned te pledge to the Christian flag which goes something like this: “I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands. One brotherhood, uniting all Christians, in service and in love.” I believe there are other versions, as well. As a child, I recited the pledge and thought nothing of it. But now, I absolutely hate it. It serves to subconsciously tie the Christian and American flas together, which in turn ties Christianity to Americanism in the eyes of the kids. The message, as I understand it, is that patriotism isn’t possible without Christianity (and vice versa). And so many Christians spew this sort of bullshit that it has become the mainstream Christian view. “God bless America” et al. I’ve read the Bible, and I’ve found no mention of America yet. And this intermingling of what it means to be an American and what it means to be a Christian has lead to a confusion between the two which is the reason we have so many stupid debates about Ten Commandments monuments and “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance (to the US flag). And the “kids on fire” camp are right at the front of this movement. They’re trying to return America to a Christian nation, to the point that they’d be willing to die. But that’s not the true call of Christianity. The goal of all Christians should be to do Christ’s work and spread His message. It should NOT be to force a country to believe as you do (and forced belief is not true belief anyway) and act as you think they should. It should NOT be to indoctrinate children who can’t begin to undertand what it truly means to be a Christian. The kids in the movie aren’t waving their hands in the air because they’re moved by the Holy Spirit; they’re waving them because they’ve seen adults and other kids do it. And that’s how the vast, _vast_ majority of Christian churches in the US act: do this, don’t do that (can’t you read the signs?) The message should be “Love God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, love your fellow man, try to show others how Christ works through you, do good works, never stop trying to understand God and get closer to Him, and live the most Christ-like life you can.” And that message doesn’t require “taking back a country” ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/51 "2006-09-10T19:30:26Z")
I only intended the above to give information about the Christian Flag to **El\_Kabong** , not go into a rant about the state of Christianity in America. Feel free to ignore the rest. ---
**Author:** ![nano8track](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@nano8track](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nano8track)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/52 "2006-09-10T20:04:16Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Is the purpose of this documentary actually to advocate this sort of religious indoctrination? Or to shame it? Or is it sorta neutral? [/QUOTE] I believe it’s meant to be for the most part neutral, but you also have to understand who the primary audience is. I live in Tennessee, i.e. Red State USA. We have about 8-10 movie theatres in my city, and only one of them ever shows documentaries. When they do show a documentary it stays for only one week. If you talk to any of the other people in the theatre, which I often do, you’ll find they are mostly liberal or some of them are moderate. Conservatives do not watch these movies. If I mention a documentary to any conservative I know they usually have never heard of it. (Notable exceptions are “Farenheit 911” and “An Inconvenient Truth”.) These documentaries may be more popular in the Northeast or West Coast, but those are more liberal areas of the country. In the end you have to realize that for the US this movie is made to be watched by liberals. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/53 "2006-09-10T20:25:39Z")
Actually, the primary audience is intended to be as much red staters as blue, and not just your arthouse/urban types. When Michael Moore’s documentary film festival announced, per their prior agreement, that they would be showing _Jesus Camp_, the filmmakers protested, asking that it be pulled–specifically because they thought that having Moore’s name associated with the film (even though it wasn’t an endorsement) would hurt its prospects in more conservative communities. Moore showed the film anyway and the “controversy” fizzled out after that, but I think that’s a clear indication that they’re hoping to aim just as much for the _Passion of the Christ_ demographic as any other (though screen count will still play a big part in how effective that strategy is). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/54 "2006-09-10T20:34:39Z")
[QUOTE=Mayo Speaks!] I only intended the above to give information about the Christian Flag to **El\_Kabong** , not go into a rant about the state of Christianity in America. Feel free to ignore the rest. [/QUOTE] That’s fine. I hadn’t heard about this Christian pledge before, heathen that I am. Thanks for the info. ---
**Author:** ![nano8track](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@nano8track](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nano8track)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/55 "2006-09-10T20:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong] Likewise, I don’t see how the line quoted at various points about “taking America back for Christ” can be considered anything but a political statement. [/quote] I’m still not convinced that it’s political, but I’m not convinced you’re wrong either. I’m just not willing to jump to that conclusion either way until I get more info. > [@](#): > > Well, perhaps you should be a bit more nervous. Authoritarian cultures with political agendas are quite fond of indoctrination sessions for impressionable children disguised as youth groups or summer camps. Not to Godwinize, but everyone from the Nazis to the Soviets to today’s far-right _Front Nationale_ have made youth programs of this type an important part of their strategy of popular indoctrination. Yeah we have that in the US. It’s called elementary school. Unless you have the resources for private or home schooling your kids have to learn what the state wants to teach them. To me the most scary thing is that both conservatives and liberals often want the state to teach some part of the party message to little kids: Pro/no prayer, pro/no gay, creation/evolution, etc… Is it really imperative that little kids be faced with these issues? Once they reach middle school age they can certainly discern a lot better what they think is right. Is it really imperative that we have the state teach conservative/liberal propganda to little children? That scares me far more than anything from those video clips. This is a small group with far less power than the state has. > [@](#): > > I disagree with your assessment, and I object to your veiled insults toward liberals. As far as I can see from the trailer, the doc is composed of factual material about one specific Christian camp that happens to be on the more radical political end of the spectrum. I do not personally believe that this sort of thing is necessarily widespread or of the majority and I am not personally ‘scared’ in any way, but it is a subject worthy of discussion. Do you not see any parallels at all with youth indoctrination schemes by various political groups or religious cults? I can. Yeah I can see parallels, but the difference is I don’t see any message of hate being portrayed, nor do I see a political agenda being pushed. To be fair though I don’t really see any positive message either (love, tolerance, charity, etc…). Either they didn’t really show the camp’s message in this clip, or they’re simply stirring these kids up, but not giving them any direction. It’s not great, but it’s not horrible either. > [@](#): > > Such Christian factions do exist even if they are relatively small, and this by no means the first doument covering this wing of the evangelical movement. The doc raises what I think is an important point, were I a parent: were I to send my child to a camp advertised as providing Christian activities, what precisely would these activities consist of and would I agree with the message they are conveying? I imagine this VBS is affiliated with some church. Like I said before I don’t know if this is typical for Pentacostals or not, but I’m fairly certain that it fits with along with the message of the church it’s affiliated with. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/56 "2006-09-10T21:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=nano8track] Yeah we have that in the US. It’s called elementary school. Unless you have the resources for private or home schooling your kids have to learn what the state wants to teach them. To me the most scary thing is that both conservatives and liberals often want the state to teach some part of the party message to little kids: Pro/no prayer, pro/no gay, creation/evolution, etc… Is it really imperative that little kids be faced with these issues? Once they reach middle school age they can certainly discern a lot better what they think is right. Is it really imperative that we have the state teach conservative/liberal propganda to little children? [/quote] Dunno what elementary schools are like in your particular red state, but every one that I’ve ever encountered has such secular boogeymen as reciting the pledge every morning. As to your list: fates forfend that the “party message” should be in line with the Constitution of the United States (pro/no prayer) (just in case anyone missed it, there exists the separation clause); one of tolerance (pro/no gay); or in line with actual science (creation/evolution). As a matter of fact, here in my neck of the woods, the whole issue of creation v. evolution is a non-starter in the elementary grades. It’s only, “Once they reach middle school age,” that it is even lightly touched on. And as I have pointed out, one is science, the other, well, most assuredly is not. So, do you have any instances of the state teaching elementary school students that prayer is a baaaad thing? Or that creationism is a load of crap? If so, I would like to see them. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/57 "2006-09-10T21:49:45Z")
[QUOTE=nano8track] Yeah we have that in the US. It’s called elementary school. Unless you have the resources for private or home schooling your kids have to learn what the state wants to teach them. To me the most scary thing is that both conservatives and liberals often want the state to teach some part of the party message to little kids: Pro/no prayer, pro/no gay, creation/evolution, etc… [/QUOTE] With all due respect, I simply do not believe many public schools teach for or against prayer and “gay.” I really, sincerely doubt that any public school is actively teaching kids that prayer is wrong or ineffective. You are welcome to provide evidence to the contrary. As to evolution, it is scientific fact, irrespective of what your political affiliation is. If the schools aren’t going to teach scientific fact in science class, what do you propose they teach? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/58 "2006-09-10T21:50:25Z")
I’ve been debating on another board with a guy who is a youth pastor and is (I’m not counting out-and-out nutcases like Phelps) the most extreme Christian right-wing fundamentalist I have ever encountered (and I’ve met quite a few, so that is saying something) - he’s actually more or less impossible to engage in discussion, because he reflexively brushes aside any dissenting opinion as not worth dealing with because it is the work of liberals and atheists. how does he identify liberals and atheists? why, by their dissenting views, of course! One thing he said that actually physically sickened me was that people _shouldn’t think_; the only human thought that is actually necessary is the absolute bare minimum required to read the Bible and do what it says (or rather, what _he claims_ it says). And this guy is in charge of young impressionable people. Shocking, sad. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/59 "2006-09-10T21:54:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] One thing he said that actually physically sickened me was that people _shouldn’t think_; the only human thought that is actually necessary is the absolute bare minimum required to read the Bible and do what it says (or rather, what _he claims_ it says). And this guy is in charge of young impressionable people. Shocking, sad. [/QUOTE] Sounds as if our Ms Fischer has a potential new employee. And just think, _you_ could be responsible for their coming together. Makes ya kinda tingly, dunnit? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118/60 "2006-09-10T22:12:43Z")
Yeah, kind of. Thing is, these folks have a diminished sense of connection with day-to-day reality. For most ordinary people out there walking the streets, there are probably at least half a dozen inbuilt checks and balances that, if they went just a bit loopy in the head, would serve to prevent them becoming the next [insert name of charismatic fruitbat cult-leader/serial killer here]. These folks, on the other hand, have set about systematically excising those checks and balances from themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-camp-evangelical-christians-taking-back-america/372118.md?page=4)