Wednesday 11 January 2012

Response to 'Christian teen camps are wicked, innit'

I've just read an article on the Guardian website written by a guy named, Thomas Prosser.  I did wonder when reading it whether he had some form of biased, already formed, opinion on the subject of religion...and he does. Clicking on his name, his description is, 'Dr. Thomas Prosser is a lecturer in sociology at Trinity College, Dublin. He has spoken at the World Atheist Convention on the subject of children and religion.'  There lies what I had assumed.  Just a quick jibe, but a convention which has "World" in the title would suggest something of a massive attendance... the venue they hosted it at can cater between 10-400 people.  A conference which is for the UK, for UK Christians, for UK Christian students, for UK Christian students in a leadership role (specifically) sees an attendance of around 1000.  Just saying.

Anyway, onto the article he wrote.  And let me just say, I have not just come back from a conference so the buzz of being away is not present, but it just so happens that I'm in a reflective mood.  I shall continue. The article is very generalised, first and foremost.  I didn't read anything about people he had interviewed (if he interviewed any?), and instead he seems to have attended (or perhaps just been told about) the conference, Soul Survivor.  He mentions the three chord songs, fair dos, Christian songs usually contain three chords, but famous atheist John Lennon in the majority of his songs used three chords.  Using comments in a derogatory fashion when it applies to both sides is just an easy way to divert attention from their own flawed theory to try and make a dent in a growing faith.  It may gain a few smirks from other atheists, but those few smirks won't really gain you anything of significance.

I have not been to Soul Survivor myself, but I have been to Christian conferences.  Yes, sometimes the music, the atmosphere, and the emotion are incredible and give you an amazing buzz, but who's to say that you've lost your mind?  Perhaps, you have pent up emotion and you're in an atmosphere that is so open and honest that you can show your emotion.  You haven't lost your mind, but you're expressing what's on your mind.

I've never been to a conference where altar calls and contracts have been used.  I think the author did a fairly bad job in researching 'teen camps' as there are loads more to speak of.  Altar calls, in my opinion, would pressurise people.  I've been to a places where if you would like to give your heart to Christ, just go and see the speaker after the session has finished.  It's a personal commitment.  I wouldn't be comfortable beginning that close, personal, walk with God, with a thousand people behind me.  It's not for me.  The author says that the youth accept an altar call, or sign a contract or whatever...but these are not legally binding documents.  Once the buzz dies down (which it does - you go home, you get stuck into your lives, etc), that person can very easily just say "It's not for me".  They aren't cast out, or imprisoned, or killed.  They are given an opportunity which they can accept or reject.  It's up to them.

The author writes, 'young people have a right to choose their religious beliefs without being subjected to strategies that emotionally exploit them.'  Of course they do.  However, I'm sure the author would like to back up his statement and interview a few people who attended and ask them whether they felt emotionally exploited, or whether they felt a true, genuine feeling of hope.

However, once the buzz dies down, and that person reflects on the conference they've attended, reflects on what they've heard, reflects on their lives, and they go back to school or college, and they think "This is for me".  They then continue their lives as a Christian, with faith in Jesus dying for their sins and restoring their relationship with God.  It's always a personal relationship with God.  No contract will take away or add to that.  If it were me, I'd take away the use of the contract, but I'd have a form saying 'If you'd like to keep in contact, write your email'.  It's a personal commitment, but we have other Christians around us to encourage and support us.

Finally, just to end.  The author has gone out of his way to show this conference as some sort of cult with words like 'threaten', 'initiate' and 'practices'.  I'm a Christian, and if a conference was sold like this, I wouldn't go.  Youngsters are threatened with divine judgment.  They are initiated into the world of charismatic Christian practices, apparently.   Please let me unpack his attempts of describing the Christian faith.

God created a perfect world.  Absolutely perfect.  There was no death, there was no pain, there were no tears.  Everything was beautiful and perfect.  He created humans too, and gave us free will to look after the world and to be in a perfect relationship with the God who created us, and everything else.  However, Adam and Eve took for granted that free will, and wanted to be God, thus rejecting their Creator.  They live their lives for themselves, and rebel against God day by day, and we continue to live in this world where politician upon politician think they can make the world perfect, and they fail.  God cares about humanity, and God cares about what choice we've made seriously, and calls us to account for our actions.  God pulls away from us, giving us what we want which is a life where we are in charge.  But, as God is perfect, the source of life, and where everything good comes from, God gives us what we want and pulls away, meaning that death and Hell remain.  The author of the article says that youngsters are threatened, no, they are warned of the situation which humans asked for.

However, God loves us.  He loves his Creation, and he loves each and every one of us.  Instead of sitting back and allowing humanity to suffer the consequences of their own actions.  God, in his great mercy, sent his divine son Jesus into the world to become a man.  To walk the very same earth we stand on today.  Jesus didn't rebel against God, he led a perfect life.  Jesus was God in human form, therefore, the only person who could be our substitute.  God sent himself, in human form, to pay for the rebellion and rejection we had done to him.  This was a perfect payment for us, so we no longer face our own fate of Hell.  Jesus' death and resurrection offer us new life, now and forever.  We don't have to be rebels any longer, as God wants us to accept his amazing gift, and call us friends.  We are completely pardoned.  We can either choose to accept God's gift of rescue, or we can choose to continue towards a life, and death, without God.

Remember the author said youngsters were threatened?  We aren't threatened with anything.  We're either given a way out, or to continue on the path we've chosen for ourselves.  It's a bit rude of us to want to continue our lives for ourselves, rejecting God's gift that is right there for us, and yet complain that there is a Hell and it's God's fault we're going there.  No.  We rejected God, and God pulled away as we wanted, leaving a Godless death (Hell) for us.  He loves us, and paid the sacrifice for us, and gave Himself in human form, so we could have a restored relationship with him so we don't have to have a Godless death.  This is amazing news.  We've been given a second chance!  This is why at conferences if you see people with raised hands, maybe crying, it's because we've been given a chance of rescue.  We don't have to face Hell, as God has rescued us.  Youngsters aren't initiated into anything... I've never had an initiation where I've had to raise my hands, clap three times, spin around, or whatever you do at initiations.  You get emotional because you remember just how great a gift we have been given, we've done nothing to deserve it, and yet God gave everything so we could have everything.

Mr Prosser, you may think that you have discovered some amazing insight into these teenage camps, but you've tainted what you've heard and been told with your own opinions and made it into something it isn't.  I would like to challenge Mr Prosser to interview some people that went to Soul Survivor and see what they feel about the conference, and whether his claims would stand true, or whether he'd discover there's more to the conference than three chords and going to bed before midnight.