Soul survivor- DN's strange experience

[DalmationDots]

My sister and her niece came over yesterday, DN has recently come back from the Soul Survivor camp. I have heard of it before but thought it was a sort of music festival, big church services etc type event. I am not christian.

DN went with her youth group, she wasn't particuarly religious before - she went to the group to socialise. On Monday she spent the whole time telling me about how God cured people there of things like cancer, blindness and other disabilities. She truly believed this had happened. She said she went up to the front and committed in front of thousands her faith. She said she felt like she fainted and that was god taking over her life and body.

My sister later, away from DN, said she was a bit concerned how intense the experience was, and perhaps a bit brainwashing. Apparently the talks were also so intense she cried.

Both me and my sister have no problem whatsoever with DN being a Christian, she loved her time there and I'm glad she is such a sensible, lovely girl. I'm not trying to be anti-religion in any way, but I was just shocked this scale of event happens and how they look after the young people who could get really worked up about it all. Is DN's experience usual? How do they stop (accidental) brainwashing occurring and let the young people make up their own mind with such drastic and extreme worship?

Anyone got more experience? Thanks

Maybe SS should employ a team of neutral people who can take the attendees to one side before the concerts and teach them critical thinking and go over the basics of crowd psychology.

They are more likely to employ an imam and a rabbi for a balanced view

Haha, maybe I was being optimistic! I more mean that they train the volunteers or have counsellors available in the medical tent ...but of course, as you say, that is against their agenda.

Maybe there should be a priest present at every psychology lecture to give a balanced view? Make sure people are aware of the spiritual significance of claims such as 'There is no such thing as free will'.

Interesting thought...

Seriously though you can't have a representative of every belief at every public event. There is no such thing as neutral, the closest you can come to is 'Don't know...'

What is the the spiritual significance of 'there is no such thing as free will?'

I don't mind if the person is Jewish, Muslim whatever, so long as they can teach the basics of crowd psychology and critical thinking without.

Without bias sorry

Maybe there should be a priest present at every psychology lecture to give a balanced view? Make sure people are aware of the spiritual significance of claims such as 'There is no such thing as free will'.

Any psychology lecture I have been to, which has been a few in my lifetime, has not been as intense and full on as the SS experience.
I am not saying an unbiased representative should be at every religious talk/ceremony/worship, just at events where such extreme and intense preaching is occurring as described earlier in this thread.
I'm not saying this neutral person should provide to opposing argument, just be there to provide non-religious counselling and remind the child they have a choice and that this event is a very hyped up atmosphere, things will be different once they are home.

I am also saying this neutral person should only be available because of the children's emotional reactions at these events and so for child protection reasons.
I am sure Derren Brown has such people at his filmings and also does not allow children to be present...

There is spiritual significance in everything. This is my belief, as a Christian, is this belief represented, at every event? No it is up to me and others to represent it.

Hyped up atmospheres are everywhere. Political debates, pop concerts even at an aerobics class. How do you define neutral? Does there have to be a non-exercising doctor at circuit training? A non dancer at dance class? Would you feel the same if DN had a woo moment on a ghost walk?

I do think you have to question what is most frightening to you. Christianity does involve belief in the spiritual which is supernatural. A religious experience might be the result so you have to accept this as a possibility at Christian events.

Go along to be the neutral person if you are worried about what this might mean for DN. You would go along to a pop concert if you it might be too much. I don't think they provide counselling there either. Medics yes, they attend all bid events.

Yes, but I am talking about the type of extreme and big event such as Soul Survivor. I am saying there should be a counsellor available, in the medical hut, to talk to any highly distressed or emotional children who are struggling to cope with the extremeness of the event.
They should be a trained counsellor who can appropriately cater for the child's mental health in a very gentle and way. Literally just calming them down if they are feeling overwhelmed and giving them a chance to talk if the child wants.
Similarly, I am shocked at the lack of care/medical staff that seemed to be around. If a child faints in a school setting, the teacher would have a responsibility to send them to the first aider/nurse. At SS the child is told it is God's work and wasn't even asked if they were feeling OK.
I am talking about this from a Child Protection and welfare point of view that I was surprised, given the nature of the event, that this medical service did not have to be on site by law.

^ that should be big events.

Well if that is the case, inadequate medical care, you should investigate further.

With regards to other hyped up atmospheres, as I said earlier in the thread:

'Yes I agree the excitement and buzz (similar to a music festival/concert) played a huge part but surely this extreme atmosphere shouldn't be created in order to change/persuade religious belief when it is young people involved?
I am approaching this from the point of view of what measures were in place to stop children finding it all a bit much and overwhelming as my DN did.'

I think we are talking about a whole new level of 'hyped up' here..

I understand what you are saying but religious experiences are often overwhelming. You can't just 'ban' them.

What do you think it was exactly that affected her in this way?

Do you know it was unscrupulous?

As I have said I think further investigation is necessary before a judgement is made.

From what she told me, and my DSis told me having talked to DN at length. It was the simple overwhelming of it all, her whole beliefs of live being changed quite suddenly. And IMO this all got a bit much because she didn't have much understanding of it all, she has been exposed to different religions, especially Christianity, before but not this side of it. The healing and them asking children to come to the front and to commit their lives to god, scared her. She felt very pressured by both the leaders and her peers. She felt inadequate because she was a newbie to it all and everyone else seemed to know more. She said the atmosphere was so crazy and so extreme.

It is having heard all this, combined with my own look at it all online, that I am shocked. I am a Deputy Head so know a lot about Child protection and child welfare. I am just so surprised, not that this is allowed, but that children are allowed to attend without, what appears to be, appropriate supervision, counselling and medical training of the leaders who take them and available there considering the nature of the event.

The brainwashing, to me, is a whole other issue but I guess down to religious opinions so not worth going there.

And yes, I believe it is unscrupulous but I also accept to the people running it, they believe it is an incredible thing which opens up many youths to their faith. And that with their faith there is no potential for harm.
I am just surprised religious groups are allowed to slip under common child protection laws and good practice.

Well I guess you have to speak to the leadership, other Christian leaders to gauge what provision there is and whether it is adequate or acceptable.

I personally do not know enough about the event in question to judge. However do think the problematic nature of providing a genuinely neutral person to provide counselling has to be considered when questioning whether they do 'enough'.

religious experiences are often overwhelming

To the Christian parents who are too concerned; would you be as equally okay if a different religion was holding hyper concerts like SS to recruit new believers in your town? Why not?

Posters keep likening it to other emotionally charged events but One Direction don't promise eternal life or ask the kids to come to the front to promise to follow them or suggest they have the ability to heal cancer.

OP, ultimately the responsibility for your DN lies with her parents. It is up to them to check out the event, supervision of the group and assess if it is suitable for DN. I don't know about SS, but any large gathering I have attended (music festivals/ foodie matches etc.) have emergency medical assistance, usually St. John's Ambulance where people can be treated for any medical problems including panic attacks and people being overwhelmed by the event.

I understand that you are worried about your DN. Specifically, what questions do you wish to pose to the organizers?

That should be footie matches.

headinhands My point is that you cannot discredit an event just because somebody is overwhelmed by it. You have to investigate further than this. Faith can be overwhelming but also life affirming and life saving.

The op said her DN felt pressured by the leaders and the other kids to go up at the end. It wasn't just that she felt overwhelmed.

Well you have to do something to ascertain how genuine the pressure is then.

I felt pressured by my school to take up a number of extra curricular activities for CV enrichment purposes, however I did benefit from doing some of them.

Not saying the pressure in OP's nieces's case was not unfair just that further investigation is warranted.