After
watching Jesus Camp and reading Blankets, I can see a lot of different comparisons
between the movie and the book. The one big issue that I noticed was these kids
are basically told what to believe and not believe when they are growing up.
Adults and parents tell them to believe in God, or not to. In the beginning of
Jesus Camp, the woman asks who believes in God, and some of the kids raise
their hands. A little girl who is about three or four doesn’t, so the mother
raises her hand for her. Right there is a perfect example of putting your own
beliefs into your kids. These children in a sense, have no say in what religion
they want to have. It’s whatever their parents want for them.
In the book Blankets, it can be compared to Jesus Camp.
In the book, Craig isn’t one hundred percent what he wants to do with his life.
He wants to be an artist when he is younger but the teacher at church tells him
you can’t impress God by doing that. The teacher is basically shutting down
what Craig wants to do because she thinks that God will not be impressed with
him. Now I am a Christian, and I was told that no matter what you do when you’re
older, you will impress God. Don’t be afraid to do something you love. Also,
later on Craig still isn’t really sure about what he wants to do. He talks to
some people about being an artist and this guy tells him his brother went to
art school and eventually became a homosexual. These people again are shutting
down what he loves and telling him to become a preacher or to do something
involving church. They’re saying what’s wrong if Craig becomes an artist.
Comparing Craig becoming an artist and the kids in Jesus
Camp is pretty easy. As these kids grow up during Jesus Camp, they are
basically taught that Creationism and Evolution are wrong. These kids aren’t
able to make up their own minds and that is a problem. The kids are told that
they are hypocrites and they’re going to hell if they do certain things. All
kids get their beliefs from their parents or an adult.
Both Blankets and Jesus Camp are eye opening. I am a
Christian but some of the stuff that is said during the movie and book, can
upset me. Why should I drop everything I love because someone thinks that God
will not approve of it? It’s pretty messed up but it’s good to learn about
these kinds of things.
