Kids At Jesus Camp

[RICHARD]

I went ot Catholic School for 8 years..

"nuff said!

[signorelli21]

i found it interesting that so many people responded by saying that they would give their lives for jesus because he is their lord and savior.

anyway, sounds like a few of the camps i went to as a child.

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

I don't think it is at all extreme.

You have to consider the author of that article.. which very much paints it to be extreme with their choice of wording.

I went to a penticostal church for about 4 years... and I can't tell you the number of times i was on the floor literally crying and praying for something i was passionate about. They were praying about abortion... it could have been a pet lover praying over a picture of their terminally ill cat... would it have been so extreme then?????

I get excited hearing about kids so passionate about Jesus!!!
And the lady telling them there is a war... well there is. A war against good and evil..... God and the Devil.

[jackie]

"It's no wonder with that kind of intense training in discipling (sic) that those young people are ready to kill themselves for the cause of Islam," Fischer said. "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 want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are over in Pakistan and in Israel and Palestine and all those different places. Because we have, excuse me, but we have the truth."

This sounds sick, just what the world needs, more religious extremists.

[mugsy]

I wonder is she is a member in good standing of Pychos R Us!

[Miss Z]

Because we have, excuse me, but we have the truth."

And there is the reason why I *personally* steer WELL clear of religion!

[popcornbird]

But these paragraphs in the article made me cringe, it has a very bad choice of words:

I agree with that completely. Those paragraphs were absolutely disgusting. As a Muslim, I know very well that hardly anyone of my faith sends their kids to any camps that teach kids to kill themselves. PUH-LEASE...

As to crying? It all depends on what the crying is about. Tears come out from sincere feelings, passions, beliefs. If it is fake crying and wailing, there's a major problem, but if a believer sheds tears while praying to God, it only shows the extent of their faith.

I am a Muslim, and...when I read the Quran, certain verses make me cry. When I pray during the night, I sometimes find myself in tears. It has nothing to do with extremism. It has to do with the beauty and depth of God's words, in that it just grasps your heart. If you believe, then there are no tears more beautiful than those shed because of your faith and sincerity to God. Those tears are uncontrollable. They just come. When you love someone, sometimes, you shed tears because of that love. I cannot count the times I have shed tears over my husband, just out of my love for him, and for no other reason. Likewise, when a person deeply loves God, when they remember Him, the tears come out. It happens to me, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Throwing yourself to the ground and crying loudly doesn't seem very 'real' to me though. Tears that come out of deep faith usually come out when you are alone, praying, feel an individual, strong connection with God, and cry.

What bothers me about this camp is not that they cry for their faith. Its what is written in their article. Seems like a camp that spreads hate against other people.

[Pam]

I don't think it is at all extreme.

You have to consider the author of that article.. which very much paints it to be extreme with their choice of wording.

I went to a penticostal church for about 4 years... and I can't tell you the number of times i was on the floor literally crying and praying for something i was passionate about. They were praying about abortion... it could have been a pet lover praying over a picture of their terminally ill cat... would it have been so extreme then?????

I get excited hearing about kids so passionate about Jesus!!!
And the lady telling them there is a war... well there is. A war against good and evil..... God and the Devil.

Sara thank you for that. Although I have never heard of the Jesus camp, I believe there is probably more to it than we are reading. The only war I have ever heard of as a Christian is, like you say, the war between good and evil. I would have to know a lot more to judge them. There is an old hymn we sang years ago in church and is probably still sung today - - *Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.* It refers to the war against evil and that is all there is to it. I think the story is written to create hype and stir up criticism. Believe me, if it was teaching anything else I wouldn't agree either.

[popcornbird]

I don't think it is at all extreme.

You have to consider the author of that article.. which very much paints it to be extreme with their choice of wording.

One more thing. I don't think anyone would ever give that benefit of doubt to Muslims when they hear things on the news, portrayed by the author in an extreme way...

A war against good and evil..... God and the Devil.

Isn't that what war is about? Its a matter of perspective. In a war, both sides are fighting 'evil' on their part, and based on their perspective. Why else would they fight if they didn't believe they were fighting evil, or the people on the side of the 'devil'?

[caseysmom]

One more thing. I don't think anyone would ever give that benefit of doubt to Muslims when they hear things on the news, portrayed by the author in an extreme way...

PCB...I always look at the news as sort of being slanted toward muslims because I know many and know they are portrayed unfairly. I hate not being able to trusy any news.

[Karen]

If this is the case, then we cannot believe anything anyone says as everyone has a "point of view."

My point is not that we can never believe what anyone says, because everyone has a point of view.

My point is that, before forming a strong opinion, one should to get to the facts of the matter, which probably means gathering information from different sources. Yes, that's "work," but it is the responsibility of thinking human beings.

My mother was a journalist who belived that opinion belonged on the Op Ed pages, and nowhere else in a newspaper. A true journalist should never taint the story with their own opinions, should cover, for example, candidates from both parties without you - the reader, being able to tell whether the reporter writing it was a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. She was sad to see the huge increase of "opinion" creeping into news stories, and that was back in the 1980s and 1990s!

[Edwina's Secretary]

My point is not that we can never believe what anyone says, because everyone has a point of view.

My point is that, before forming a strong opinion, one should to get to the facts of the matter, which probably means gathering information from different sources. Yes, that's "work," but it is the responsibility of thinking human beings.

My mother was a journalist who belived that opinion belonged on the Op Ed pages, and nowhere else in a newspaper. A true journalist should never taint the story with their own opinions, should cover, for example, candidates from both parties without you - the reader, being able to tell whether the reporter writing it was a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. She was sad to see the huge increase of "opinion" creeping into news stories, and that was back in the 1980s and 1990s!

A documentary film maker is not what I would call a journalist!

The guy who made the documentary on the evils of fast food (Supersize Me, I think???) had an agenda as well... but I don't believe I need to study the publications of the trans fatty trade group in order to be a thinking human being about the issue...or before forming a strong opinion on the subject!

And why do you assume creep in the report about the documentary?

[Catty1]

[Luvin Labs]

Camps like that are exactly why I will be teaching my children in my own home about religion, and not some teacher or church or person...

just reading parts of that are wiggin me out.

[cyber-sibes]

At least the kids at this camp are NOT being taught to use rifles, blow themselves up, or chop people's heads off. I was raised Catholic and remember being told that if we die for God that we are martyrs and go straight to heaven. This really appealed to me as a 9 year old, but did I have any idea what the priest really meant? NOT! At least they didn't strap bombs on us and send us on suicide missions to blow up atheists.
Extremism is never good, it is a warped version of passion. If people truly wanted to follow in the paths of God-Jesus-Buddha-Mohammed, there would be no violence against anyone.