Film Festival Part 2-Politics and Religion

The next film we saw is called "Join Us" about a cult in South Carolina and several of the families who left the cult and their struggle to rehabilitate themselves after years of psychological torment, physical abuse, and financial abuse. What is so scary about stories like these is that we are all at risk for this type of thing. Most of us think that we would never get involved with anything crazy like that, but these people thought the same thing. They got invited to a new church-and, thinking that church is harmless, started to attend. Religion can be such a personal and passionate belief that people often don't realize when it starts to become extreme. Add mind control, along with every aspect of your life being controlled by the church-where you live, where you work, how you spend your money, how you raise your children-and you are no longer able to make any decisions on your own. It always seems to affect the women more deeply than the men-maybe it is just that women are more likely to open up about their feelings and experiences-but the women in this film were emotionally wrecked. Their guilt over the things they allowed to happen to their children drove most of them to suicidal thoughts. The children told of the disturbing ways that they were punished by the pastor when they were "rebellious."

I think what may have struck me the most about the movie was a little montage at the end that took one or two liners from various Pastors and church leaders about God or religion or something-all things that sounded totally crazy when just listened to as one line when you have no idea what the sermon may have been about. But, it makes you realize that most religious groups have the potential for crossing what is a very thin line between faith and extremism. It also made me think of the current "scandal" about Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his "inflammatory" remarks from the pulpit. Since this story began, I have been in some ways defending him-not necessarily his exact remarks, but his freedom to speech as well as the fact that the context of most of these comments being pulled out and splashed across the media is not being presented as well. (I also think that there are some African-American church culture issues here that not everyone has taken into consideration.) So, they do seem extreme-but maybe some of the things my Pastor or yours has said during a passionate sermon would also seem extreme if you took out one line. But rather than supporting a man he obviously respected enough to attend church with for more than 20 years, Obama threw him under the bus in order to distance himself from what he knew would be bad PR. This disappointed me-because I don't expect him to agree with everything his Pastor says just as I certainly don't agree with everything my Pastor says. Unlike the families that are in these cults-I can think for myself make my own decisions. In my opinion, Obama's denouncement of Rev. Wright only seemed to make it look like he AGREES with those who are trying to say that Wright leads a cult-like congregation. I would have much rather Obama said that while he may not agree with all his Pastor's ideas, but that our country gives him the right to say what he thinks, that people attend this church voluntarily, and that many of the comments being reported may be taken out of context. I mean, he kept going to church there for years, so you know he was never that offended by anything the guy said! So come on-now all of the sudden we are supposed to believe that you were disturbed by his remarks? No...because either culturally or in the context of the day's lessons, the remarks either made more sense OR Obama felt he could disagree with the Pastor and the issue was not enough of a moral conflict to leave the church over. For example-one of Wright's comments was actually him quoting Ronald Reagan! Was he quoting him in agreement or quoting him to disagree? No one seems to want to take the time to find out. This is what is dangerous-whether in religion, politics, culture, etc.....people closing their minds to an idea or a person without first trying to understand what the big picture is.

So....Whether you agree or disagree with me on all of the political stuff, "Join Us" was a thought-provoking movie and quite relevant with current political stories and all of the FLDS/Texas child abuse stories in the news.

You can read all about the film, cults, mind control, and the families featured at:

http://www.joinusthemovie.com/all.php