Oh, what an unfair documentary is "Jesus Camp." Unfair and riveting and alarming and highly watchable -- but outrageously
unfair. It's the kind of documentary where you assume the subjects didn't know what the finished product would look like when they agreed to be filmed. That, or they subscribe to the philosophy that there's no such thing as bad publicity. The general topic is evangelical Christians, or what most of us call fundamentalist Christians. Specifically, the subject is Becky Fischer, a stout, friendly pastor in Missouri who runs a youth Bible camp every summer. She and her parishioners are Pentecostals, or what some call "holy rollers," where the services are marked by speaking in tongues and by loud singing, praying and weeping. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the film is concerned with how powerful evangelical Christians are becoming in this country. Ted Haggard, a superstar pastor from Colorado, meets with Pres. Bush every Monday, we're told. Haggard tells the filmmakers that his people are numerous enough that "if the evangelicals vote, they determine the election." All he and his fellow ministers have to do is get the word out on how they ought to vote.
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