Review of Jesus Camp (2006) by Arend R — 17 Apr 2013

Even as a Christian I found this to be slightly disturbing. I am all for youth ministry and teaching kids about the Bible, but there comes a point in which people take it too far and I think "Jesus Camp" starts to show the point of extremism. I have been to many church services in which they talk about the 'hollow Christian': the Christian that follows the faith blindly or because that's how they were raised. There was no point of discovery, no 'personal relationship' that was formed between the person and God. Just a hollow servant, who chastises the world around them without knowing why others believe what they believe. It's a blind morality and it is brought to light in "Jesus Camp". I appreciated the movie for giving that viewpoint, however, I do wish there was a bit of a balancing act. The person that stands in contrast to the camp advisor, radio host Mike Papantonio, is clearly just as judgmental but comes from the direct opposite side. I wish they would have found someone who holds many of the same political views as the 'camp people', but had a stronger root in reality.

However, I think there is a great dialogue for Christians to be had after having viewed a film like "Jesus Camp" and for that this film is Arpke Approved at 4 out of 5 stars.