ShackledNoMore Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 That brought back some memories... I tried to figure out whether the images would have struck me any differently if I had not lived through it. I think I would have had a similar reaction: either way, it's disturbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutate Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I remember the church youth camps I attended as a kid. Some of them were genuinely fun. There was the "services" in the evening which was a load of horseshit mind/emotional manipulation. The daytime was fun with all the games, activities and swiming and having fun in the summer sunshine. The thing is I do remember the fun parts and have somehow managed to block out the bad. qft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Melodramy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 For me, sad, familiar, depressing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirac Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Guilt and shame for being a sinner. For being responsible for the death of Jesus. For having urges and desires we don't understand. For having wrong thoughts. For having doubts about our relationship to God. For having doubts about what he wants us to do with our lives. For our failures to overcome sins. All of this gets pile on us and on our kids. And thus begins a life of always being aware of what a piece of shit you are and how God has every right to damn you to hell -- for being you. What a wonderful post. I just watched . I've been out of church for... God, years now - when did I join this site? OK, so more than four years - and I still suffer from self-loathing, nil self-esteem, self-harming and so on. I'm just not meant to be loved, I am unlovable. I am a failure, cos God says so. Thank you Jesus, thank you church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Davka Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I've been out of church for... God, years now - when did I join this site? OK, so more than four years - and I still suffer from self-loathing, nil self-esteem, self-harming and so on. I'm just not meant to be loved, I am unlovable. I am a failure, cos God says so. Thank you Jesus, thank you church. This is so strange to me. I had all those self-image problems before I became a Christian - what the church did for me was to tell me that everyone is a loathsome piece of crap, and honestly? That made me feel a lot better about myself. Being a Christian was empowering, it made me feel lovable and worthwhile. 'Cause they told me Jesus loved me in spite of my utterly irredeemably disgusting self. That was the first time I really believed I could be loved for who I am. So yeah, the church healed me of feelings of total self-loathing by telling me that all humans are despicable crap, and welcoming me into the family of sinners and scum. It took me a long time to figure out that they didn't really believe that about themselves (at least, most of them didn't), but by then I had gleaned about everything worthwhile I could from Christianity. Got off drugs and off the street, got my head straight and my self-esteem way up. I look at these pics and I'm kind of torn. Some of those kids need to cry on their friends' shoulders, and this gives them an excuse to do so. If only it wasn't such a hypocritical sham, it could be a wonderful thing. My own daughters (all agnostic/skeptical now) grew up with these kinds of camps, and it seems to have been a positive experience rather than negative for them. But then, they were pre-teens for most of the time. IDK, I keep thinking there's a baby somewhere in all that bathwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Disturbing and all too familiar. Although I never could quite become emotional like everyone around me was whenever we had these sorts of services. I would think, "Okay, everyone around me is crying, I probably should be, but... well... I'm not." Holy spirit didn't want to enter me, I guess. :-P I'm starting to think that deep down I always knew there was nothing to it, even though a part of me wanted to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedah Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 So from what I see your church camp is comprised of playing in mud and getting brainwashed, then playing in the mud some more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtdude Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 For me, sad, familiar, depressing Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight-mindwanderings Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I was sent to Church of the Nazarine summer camp during my decovernsion phase and it was one of the more traumatic experiences I went through. I was told I couldn't wear most of the clothing I brought because it was too "goth" (trip pants, boy's pants, black shirts with fish net sleeves, nothing satanic or anything). I was honest about my disbelief and I was pretty much ostracized from the beginning. I hated how fake and gullible the kids were. We had some activities that were fun - rappelling was awesome, archery was also fun. But that was only half the day. At night they had what they called Fear Factor Challenge. We were divided into teams and every night members of the teams would have to do something gross, usually involving eating something horrific. First night it was breaking watermelon that had been doused in dish detergent and eat as much as possible (it tasted like soap and made me throw up later). Next night memebers of the team had to eat items of food in a small number of bites. A jar of peanut butter in 3 gulps, A jug of Sunny delight in 2 gulps, a box of altoids in 1 bite. Everyone threw up who tried them. The last night (I attended) the groups had to drink a concoction. It started with milk, and after each person, something was added to it. Sometimes something good (like m&ms) usually something gross (cow testicles, cooked pork brains etc). Some people threw up from the smell of it, or just watching it by the end. After these horrific displays, we had a religious service, usually dealing with overcoming fears by trusting in god. I stopped going to the nasty fear factory challenges. I walked to the cafe and drank some coffee alone. The next day, a councilor asked me why I didn't go to fear factory, and I answered, "Because it does nothing for me spiritually to see that sort of thing. It impedes my ability to enjoy the service afterwards." (very PC of me I know, but still true). He looked at me and said, "That's the smartest thing I have heard someone say about it since we started them." He looked mystified at my ability to use my brain. I don't know what was more surprising to me, that they somehow thought these activities were spiritual, or that me speaking common sense was shocking to them. Its horrible to be on the outside when attending these camps. No one listens to anything you say, or cares about your emotional state. If you would just believe in Jesus, everything would be okay! My roommates went to my school though I didn't know them before hand. They were incredibly popular and conceited bitches. When I told them what group of people I hung out with, they asked if we were all druggies and satanists. Um no, I was never offered drugs or alcohol by any of my friends ever throughout high school. We played DnD and ditched class to sit in the cafeteria and play Magic the Gathering or Vampire Masquerade. We had no money for food and usually ate nothing or survived off of what the cafeteria head lady would give us at the end of the lunch period. We certainly had no money for drugs. We weren't Christian (by and large), yet we were all virgins (out of sincere respect for each other) and the "Christian" popular bitches had all had sex, done drugs and been stinking drunk more than once. But, sorry, we were the wicked ones... right. People who send their kids to those camps are just awful. I don't find anything funny about it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nixie Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Just a tad disturbing. The camp 2 pictures are disturbing to me. It looks like pics you see after a natural disaster or a traumatic event where lives have been lost. People are huddled together bawling and crying consoling eachother and looking like they are in shock and have been traumatized. Very odd and scary. I took a second look at the camp 2 pics. You're right!! OMG, how disturbing! These pics would easily pass for post-school shooting pics Actually, the first thing that came to my mind when I saw people lying face-down was Jonestown. And that all started with a very charismatic preacher... Any other thing you could to to a kid that would make them this distraught would probably land you in jail. But it will be the mental health services that will be looking after these kids in a few years' time. I know because I was one of them and I became suicidal for years because of all the religious crap/guilt/etc in my head. A lot of that came from church camp. Thankfully, I'm a pretty happy nutter now - what's a bit of psychosis among friends? But these camps should all be shut down for all they damage they cause. Oh yeah, in addition to all the normal abuse that goes on at "Jesus Camp", we also had a male member of staff who was molesting the younger girls there. He worked there for years before he got sussed out. Wanker... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendybabe Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 After I was "saved" at 15 I attended Hume Lake Christian Camp. I think it was a great way to get kids away from "The World" and into an environment where they could be indoctrinated. We were in this beautiful place in the Sequoia forest. Singing at every meeting! Sunshine, hiking, competetive sports, love, acceptance, careing, companionship, The wonder of God! But then we had to go home to the real world. For a person who lived in an abusive home it was like visiting Disneyland and then coming home to Aushwitz. after that first summer I was sold! http://www.humelake.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 What do you think? Scary or hilarious? This is the religion that I'm familiar with. While it is not funny I don't find it as disturbing as others report. That might be because there is no audio. What disturbs me is that most of these kids get disillusioned some time later and can't talk to each other because it is taboo. So they suffer their emotional distress in private and feel that they are to blame for all their misery. Mongo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenhunter Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 In the photos of the activities, they look like normal kids having fun. I like those shots. In the photos of the worship services, many of the kids look like they have been worked up to an emotional frenzy and they mistake that feeling for god. It is really sad to see these good looking young people being manipulated they way they apparently are. back during the day i was a "christian" we used to call it, the "church camp high" which was a load of shit, we had tons of teens go with us and i thought i felt "god" when it was just an emotional high, the "youth pastor" told us that most of you will "plateau" off and stay at that level. again it was total manipulation, once i found out the "real" truth this "youth pastor" had. i had/have no respect for him, and he's still a total asshole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decafaholic Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 "These pics would easily pass for post-school shooting pics" The cheerleader outfit on the hot pink sheets...was she sacrificed? lol, no, here's the thing with the cheerleader outfit: Campers are required to make their bed and put their things away before they go to the first assembly of the day. If your bed is messy, the team you're on will lose points. On the flip side of that, there is a chance to be an overachiever and decorate your bed in order to gain extra points for your team. Some campers have left candy and money on their beds for the person doing the checking as a bribe attempt. Others have done an elaborate biblical theme. I guess this girl did a cheerleader theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanna Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 It's hysteria. They feed on raging hormones. Creepy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrydingo Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I noticed when I watched the documentary Jesus Camp, they get the kids to cry an awful lot in these types of "camps". Why is the "good news" so damn sad to them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddlingAround Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I noticed when I watched the documentary Jesus Camp, they get the kids to cry an awful lot in these types of "camps". Why is the "good news" so damn sad to them? Well, in any group that size, you'll have a few with real problems. You get them in an emotionally intense situation, tell them that somebody wants to make everything ok, emotions come out. The rest of them, adolescence is an emotional time; they're in that same intense environment; Sally from down the street is crying and..and...I think I'm going to cry, too! Kind of a combination of hormones, a group experience, and the right spark, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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