Daft Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I tried to resist, I really did, but after converting some Christians to realism earlier today I caught this program on BBC3. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Someone deserves an award. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j6l77/Deborah_13_Servant_of_God/ Documentary about 13-year-old Deborah Drapper, who, unlike other British teens has never heard of Britney Spears or Victoria Beckham. She has been brought up in a deeply Christian family and her parents have tried to make sure she and her ten brothers and sisters have grown up protected from the sins of the outside world. Deborah is a bright, confident girl who has big ambitions for her life and the film spends a summer with her as she ventures out in the world to see what life outside her family could be and starts putting her beliefs forward to a wider audience. There is just an amazing bit where her brother takes her to a night club and he is dance, Katie Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl' comes on and he says something along the lines of, 'I'm going to sit down now because I don't agree with this song.' Watch out, AUDIO SIN!! You wont regret watching it, it is hysterical. Genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The fish Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 (edited) That's really quite sad and possibly terrifying. Those poor children, they've been brainwashed by their closed-minded parents. What makes it even worse is that Deborah is clearly a very, very bright girl - more so than any 13 year old I know. I suspect her brother may just get corrupted at University. For his sake, I hope he does. The parents are what most worry me. The son's luck of getting into Uni and Deborah's new experiences may just prevent them following the same route as their parents, so there is hope for them experiencing the real world yet. The parents, on the other hand, are closed-minded, ignorant and clearly out of touch with reality. The dad's little rant about what he thinks about life for kids who go to school shows just how ignorant he is - I found it especially annoying as I went to a reasonably (compared to home school) normal school. I wasn't there dawn till dusk. I saw my parents a lot. The state doesn't train kids and neither do parents - parents should teach kids, amongst other things, how the think, not what to think, and schools should teach them facts (which, for the most part, they do). What makes it even worse is that Deborah is clearly very, very bright. It's so...frustrating. Her older brother is the same. I suspect he thinks it's all rather shit, but he doesn't want to disagree with his parents. And Deborah may just be the same. EDIT: Shit, I just saw her watching Kent Hovind on the internet. This just got that little bit worse. EDIT 2: She's be taught Pascal's Wager by heart, and I can tell she realises it doesn't quite work. EDIT 3: It's getting to the point were I've realised the one thing holding her back is her parents, and what they've done to her. I have a massive urge to slap them, especially the dad. And show her round the science museum/natural history museum. EDIT 4: The end, when she starts crying, made me realise something - as she is a 13 year old, I can say with some confidence that her "sins" are actually just everyday normal things that her parents have told her would, without Jesus dying, would cause her to burn for all eternity. How you can tell your child that and still claim to love them is beyond me. I cannot see how they can justify it. If it wasn't for religion's "privilege" that protects it from the real world, child protection would have a field day. Edited April 17, 2009 by The fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReZourceman Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Is it a series? I have to watch this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluey Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 i was this girl. not quote as extreme, but i was definitely as INTO the message as she is, and most likely as annoyingly evangelical. i started to question and subsequently lost my faith when i was about 18... and i've never looked back. to her credit, she's VERY confident... the way she approached those kids when she was out with the youth worker and the way she handled herself around her brother's university friends when they were questioning her about her faith... shes just very confident in the bible rather than in herself, which is kind of a shame in my eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 I was wondering whether her brother knows that he's gay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razz Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I was wondering whether her brother knows that he's gay. Yeah that's what made me laugh the most. Irony at its best. I really can't understand how the parents can do that to their children, like Fish said. It's practically child abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jordan Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Wow... That bit about her saying people who believe in "the big bang" (which i thought was a fairly unproven theory in the first place?) must be mad. What? Seriously? Hmph... Poor kid. She's probably going to live out her life like this. Not really enjoying things because she knows she might be sinning. That's pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluey Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 it's quite disturbing how upset she gets at some points... she really believes she's "wretched" ...faith shouldnt make you hate yourself like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkatronics Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Its not possible to know your beliefs untill youve lived. She only knows what shes been told, so when she gets to the real world shell be slaughtered. You think a group on the street corner are going to let her put ehr views forwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I don't see what wrong with not dancing to a song you don't like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 I would feel sorry for these people but the parallels with society and just amazingly poignant. As she knows no better than what her parents tell her, many people in society know no better than what they are dictated by social and state institutions. I don't see what wrong with not dancing to a song you don't like... It wasn't that, it was that he didn't dance to it because he didn't 'agree' with it. Along with the fact the song was 'I Kiss a Girl' and that he seemed gay. The irony was wall bouncing. Whether that is the case or not is a different matter. Still funny, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arab_freak Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 It says I can't watch it because I'm not in the UK. Any way to get around this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaggis Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 (edited) I was wondering whether her brother knows that he's gay. I just started watching, an that was my first thought as soon I started watching it. He's so gay...and I don't even think he's realised. I love it. The bit with I Kissed A Girl was hilarious, that's so sad. Why would parents feel the need to do this to their kids? Edited April 17, 2009 by Slaggis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 It says I can't watch it because I'm not in the UK. Any way to get around this? You can use a web-proxy, they can get around many things. Google one, and find one that way. Back onto the subject. I may take a look into this over the weekend, from what i've heard of this so far, it reminds me of a previous g/f i had who is into her religion stuff etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arab_freak Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 You can use a web-proxy, they can get around many things. Google one, and find one that way. Done that, but it tells me I need to enable Javascript and I don't know how to do that using a UK-based proxy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris the great Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I was wondering whether her brother knows that he's gay. my thouhts exactly when i watched it like a month ago. you also beat me to the point on that whole not dancing to i kissed a girl not because of religios dissagreement, but because he was clearly a cock fan. what i didnt like was how fucking messed up there belife is, beliving that a lie will take you to hell? i got accoustered by some christian union members at uni last year, they tried to tell me that if i told a lie and didnt belive in god to say i was sorry then id go to hell, but if ian huntly had a death bed conversion and was like "sorry god, my bad" hed go to heaven. i argued that if god was that petty he wasnt god at all. the problem was they took the bible as solid, indisputable and the final word. you can argue that the bible contains incorrect information (claiming rabbits mulch food like a cow is wrong) but they wont accept that. ive always said that i'll belive what ever has the most evidence, im open to different ideas and honestly dont mind what you chose to belive, as long as its a choice and you dont force it onto outhers. clearly these parents forced thier belifes onto outhers, and onto their own kids. it was clear that the kids had no clue about the outside world, lived totaly issolated. they are missing out on so much in life. also, if the only people i ever saw were my family, id have shot myself in the face a long time ago. the bit when she cried at the end was pretty messed up, i can't imagine any one being more devoute then her, yet she seems to think shes full of sin. im pretty sure god would be faily happy with her. hell, im fairly sure hed be ok with me, and im a bit of a twat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arab_freak Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 edit: fuck that, I found it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduMIK4u65s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Thought that was great, and highlighted without OTT bias against God the obvious shit. Like, the father being megalomaniac. Anyone else disturbed by the final image, when she's crying? If you notice, she's pricking her fingers on barbed wire at the same time. EMO. I loved the bit in the cliub. "If Jesus were here, I wouldn't be dancing this way." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 It's so sad that her whole life is governed by fear of living in hell for eternity. They talk about eternity like it's something they can even comprehend; ''What are you training them for?'' ...''Eternity'', it's just ludicrous. It saddened me also that she said her faith was not influenced by her parents, it's like they've even brainwashed her into thinking she's made this choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I watched this yesterday too - I always wonder most about these documentaries just how they come to be in the first place; do the people contact the TV companies, or did one of the student's friends suggest it, or what? I think it can be easy to view the modern civilisation as if it's sodom and gomorrah all over again, but I worry about it being indoctrinated from a young age as gospel. Mainly her father. There was a point when the student was saying goodbye and he clearly looked to his dad to see if he would get a hug from him too... and his dad turned away and walked off. I've never really understood the whole kid-seeking-gratification-from-parents thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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