Depth in Shallow Water

    As I mentioned in my last post, I recently went canoeing for the first time. One of my friends - whom we’ll call Ardelis - invited me to join her on a group camping trip. Her ex-boyfriend was originally supposed to accompany her, but (due to his recent status as ‘ex’) she had no one to go with her. Being that I haven’t been camping for a few years, and I’d never been canoeing, I decided this would be fun change of pace. If nothing else, more time to bond with Ardelis, one of Warden’s friends from early childhood on who has become a fairly close friend of my own in the short time I’ve known her.
   
    I had little to no idea of what to expect - I didn’t even know if we were going to be way out in the wilderness, or at a camp site with electricity and water (we were) - so I packed only what I felt were necessities, and whatever I’d need to get by. Supplies-wise, I did more than fine (I had leaned towards the idea of being nowhere near bathrooms or running water and so on) but when it came to our fellow campers, I wasn’t sure how to feel.
   
    While Ardie had warned me about her brothers, I had taken most of the descriptions I’d heard as hyperbole. I quickly learned my mistake. I commented at one point, laughing, that I felt like I was in ‘hostile territory.’ When she asked what I meant, I replied, “Well, remember: I’m kind of a witch, so…” She nodded, understanding quickly: the portable sound system which blared near constantly the duration of the trip was at the moment playing a song about wanting a ‘country-music Jesus’ to come and “save us all.”

I was, after all, camping with a large group of service men and their women - men who, at a glance, could pretty quickly be identified with one word: rednecks.

Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp (2006), a documentary following the lives of some fundamentalist families and their children while attending an evangelical camp, caused a something of a stir when it came out, and I wanted to see it then - but being that it wasn’t a movie theater release and wasn’t available in rental stores in the area I lived in then, I didn’t get the chance. Having finally gotten a hold of it recently, I had to wait until after the hustle of the Holiday and settling in back at home to watch it, and I have to admit, I felt weird watching it.

 During the opening, following footage of a Christian political radio show, children in darkly colored face paint dance to thumping music, waving rods during a choreographed number. I could see how some might see the scene as a bit ominous - but having grown up attending musical events at my own church, I could see the other side of the situation as well. I was fine up until the point they showed a couple hundred kids, hands in the air as they reached for God, being cried to to open their mouths and start speaking in tongues. It was creepy to say the least.

    Now, I don’t have an issue with people who speak in tongues - a Christian who speaks in tongues is told in the scriptures that the gift of tongues is a blessing and a sign of true faith. Tongues and convulsions as a result of spiritual ’God’ possession are phenomena that appear across cultural borders, both in some forms of Christianity and many instances of Voodoo or tribal witchcraft. What I have a problem with is Children - kids, immature human beings who have no perspective regarding spirituality - being pressured to accept radical ideologies without being given a choice or perspective.