Some atheists refer to the religious indoctrination of children as being "child abuse". I wouldn't call it "child abuse" per se, but I do think that a parent and/or other legal guardian raising a child to hold the same religious beliefs as them can have its complications. What if the child questions the beliefs of their parents or legal guardian at some point in their lives or never able to buy into the beliefs of their parents? Some children are manipulated with threats of eternal damnation or eternal death by annihilation if they don't believe what their parents or legal guardian raised them to believe. Sometimes they can be thrown out of their owns or even be subjected to emotional, psychological, physical or even sexual abuse, which I am sure happens, though the sexual abuse aspect of it is probably rare. The issue of child preachers is very controversial.
Have you ever seen the documentary film "Marjoe"? Marjoe Gortner was the youngest ordained minister, was a part of the Pentecostal movement but he never really believed in it. He was subject to physical abuse if he wasn't able to convince his congregation to offer up enough financial donations. I think he said that his mother held his head under the water when he was taking a bath. It's been awhile since I have seen it. The 2006 documentary "Jesus Camp" deals with a group of children at a fundamentalist Bible camp associated with the Evangelical and Pentecostal movements in Devil's Lake, North Dakota that is also associated with a branch of the Christian Dominionist movement known as "Joel's Army". The Joel's Army bit isn't mentioned in the films, but the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote an article on this group a few years back. That Becky Fischer woman who runs a ministry for children known as "Kids on Fire" when comparing training children to be "soldiers for the Gospel" to children being trained to be Muslim jihadists is disturbing. Her claim that all parents "indoctrinate" their children is absurd. Raising your child to have good values like to be kind, and considerate towards others, keep their living space tidy and to pay attention in class is one thing, telling them that they have to believe in supernatural claims that are currently not supported by any s testable or verifiable scientific evidence under threat of eternal punishment or annihilation is another issue altogether.
In Ms. Fischer's eyes, they have the "truth". She even describes in one scene how she can go onto a playground, start proselytizing to children and have them speaking in tongues in matter of minutes. She shames the children at the camp for acting "hypocritical" when they are with their friends at school and has them wash away their "sins" symbolically by pouring water from a water bottle over their hands. Some of these children get some into the speaking in tongues ritual like their adult counterparts that they start crying. It's very disturbing. Three of the children that the film specifically focuses on such as a boy named Levi, Tori and Rachel Elhardt really make feel sad.
Rachel says that Yahweh doesn't like visiting "dead" churches where people are jumping up and shouting "Hallelujah God!" with enthusiasm. Tori comes from a military family and only believes in dancing to Christian-themed "rock music" because "dancing for the flesh" is supposedly a "bad" thing which is what is implied. She and her siblings are taught to salute the Christian "flag". Levi was "saved" at the age of four, I believe and he dreams of becoming a preacher at even preaches at the New Life Church which was formerly ran by Ted Haggard before he was caught smoking marijuana and having sex with a male prostitute despite claiming that he "isn't gay". Sure, Ted, whatever you say. Levi's mother who homeschools her children and has them watch DVD's promoting young earth creationism, teachers her children lessons from their religiously-based curriculum that don't view climate change as much of an issue, listens to "Focus on the Family" radio shows hosted by James Dobson, this woman insists that there are "only two kinds of people in the world, people who love Jesus and people who don't". There is a liberal Christian radio host who tries to be a voice of reason within the film, but his words go unheeded if you ask me. One scene deals with Lou Engle talking to the kids about the "evils" of abortion and that these fetuses could be sitting in the church building with them and the camp even takes the children to Washington D.C. to participate at an abortion protest march in which the children participate in.
One scene has Rachel and other children who go up to a group of black men and ask them about where they think they will go when they die. The men think that that they will go to "heaven". As Rachel and her friends are walking away, Rachel wonders if these men are possibly Muslim. One scene at the near the end has Rachel and Levi talking about how "cool" it would be to give up their lives for Jesus, a call to "martyrdom" essentially if necessary. The early church made up many martyrdom stories involving the early Christians and most Christians that were killed for their beliefs, I am sure didn't intentionally try to go out of their way and provoke an angry response in intolerant Romans to illustrate the "truth" of their religious preference.
What do you think?
Sincerely,
B.W.
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