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Original poster

Deborah 13 Servant of God

85 replies

UnquietDad · 12/03/2009 09:51

So didn't anybody watch this? I thought you'd be all over it!

I felt very sad for her. I thought her big brother touched on an element of the truth when he said that she shouldn't be dwelling on stuff like eternal damnation when she is just 13.

I found her questioning creepy - the way she painted people into a corner to make them admit they are "a bad person". As was the "what if one of them was hit by a bus and you hadn't spread the good news?"

One scene got me angry - Deborah and her brother leaning on the gate looking at the fields and mocking the Big Bang and saying you had to be "stupid" to believe such a belief. They sounded about 7. Hopeless.

I can understand her parents' desire to protect her from the ills of the world, but you don't do that by never letting your child actually go out and have a life. The way the documentary presented it, it's as if there are only two choices as a teenager - be an evangelical Christian not doing any "normal" teen things, or hang round the bus shelter smoking and drinking like that crowd she tried to spread the "good news" to. Hmm, funny how she didn't go round any of the orchestras, choirs, music groups, sports teams, youth clubs and so on which thousands of teenagers are involved in during the evening.

I also had to laugh at her father's touching naivety - no TV in the bedroom (which I approve of) but they can have computers. Ever heard of iPlayer, mate??

(Oh, and I don't have the world's best gaydar, so I may be totally off here, but I reckon Matthew is going to give Mum and Dad a bit of a surprise in a year or two...)

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KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 14:37

Didn't see it, sorry, though I've read a few reviews, but you might be interested to know the young lady in question has a blog. She sounds like a 13 year old with naive, but lively faith, and from all I can see, she acquitted herself as well as I would expect a child in that situation to do.

Puts me to shame on some things, that's for sure.

Ripeberry · 12/03/2009 14:45

Did you see the part when they did a puppet show at the local campsite?
They were telling little kids that they were going to hell if they did not believe in God!
You should have seen the faces of some of the parents...they were too embarassed to walk out!
Reminds me of the nutty woman in our town who used to stand in the town square EVERY DAY with a megaphone telling us all that we were going to hell.
She would have been great in Luton!

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 12/03/2009 14:47

Oh yes UnquietDad I thought exactly that about Matthew!

It was really sad to be honest. I thought mumsnet would be all over it too, especially the home eders

Original poster
UnquietDad · 12/03/2009 15:09

I didn't find the home ed aspect that disturbing, although I am sure they are not typical home-ed children in that they don't get any interaction with other kids at all.

KayH, don't you find that lie of questioning disturbing and counter-productive? And isn't it depressing that she hasn't been allowed to think for herself? Thanks for the blog link...

I almost hope she goes away to uni, gets blue hair and a piercing and an unsuitable boyfriend.

(Actually, maybe people aren't discussing this much yet as it was on BBC3...?)

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KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 15:22

From what I can tell, she's using the 'Way fo the Master' method, which you can probably look up, they have a website. It's a popular method in America, but I personally think it's sometimes too aggressive and 'one-size-fits-all'.

The idea is to use Jesus' way of asking questions to get people to examine themselves, but if it's done in too hurried and rushed a manner, it doesn't actually give people time to think, it just looks like brow-beating.

But she's 13. When I was 13 I was full of opinions and would argue with anyone who came across my path. I think it's a bit much to expect adult nuance and tact from someone that age, really. She seems a nice girl from the blog. I noticed they use ACE HE curriculum - I have a few friends who use it, but I found it too much like school actually.

KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 15:23

sorry, that was 'Way of the Master'.

Original poster
UnquietDad · 12/03/2009 15:29

Just to clarify, I meant to type "line" of questioning and not "lie"!

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Original poster
UnquietDad · 12/03/2009 15:30

I don't think anyone appreciates being told that they are a "bad person". That surely shouldn't be what religion is for.

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KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 15:46

Nope, I can agree that no-one likes being told they're not a good person. But, like it or not, that's one of the foundational pieces of Christian belief - that judged by a perfect standard, we all fall short.

As to what religion is for, well, you can ask 20 different people and they'd all give different answers, wouldn't they? It's not so much about what religion is for as to what a certain religious belief is.

TeenyTinyToria · 12/03/2009 18:18

I was wondering why no-one seemed to have watched this. I thought before hand that it would be really weird, but I found the family ok, not too extreme. Deborah herself was a bit extreme, but I respect that she has such firmly held opinions - although the students she spoke too had a point when they said she should respect other people's beliefs.

I agree that there was no middle ground represented - either you're evangelical or on the streets drinking. And Matthew definitely seemed gay!

It was a bit daft that they had no television but were allowed unfettered access to the internet. There's nothing wrong with no TV (I didn't have one till I left home four years ago), but if they wanted to limit what the children were exposed to, then the internet should have been the first thing to go.

KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 18:34

Did they not have any net nanny style software?

KayHarkersHeartBelongsToTen · 12/03/2009 18:35

Actually, dunno why I'm asking, I'm going to watch it on Sunday anyway

Original poster
UnquietDad · 13/03/2009 00:07

It was unclear. Deborah lulled herself to sleep with Internet creationist sermons (ideal for doing so, I'd have thought), but no mention of any of them trying to access iPlayer. Or indeed bigjugs.com or similar.

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EffiePerine · 13/03/2009 18:56

Saw this last night and thought she and her brother seemed like pretty nice kids. She's a tad obsessed with hell and damnation, but surely not far from a typical teen painting her nails black and listening to gloomy music.

The parents on the other hand...

Original poster
UnquietDad · 14/03/2009 00:00

I think going round the bus shelters at night and handing out leaflets and telling everyone they are "bad people" and are going to hell is a little more than a tad obsessed. Oh well, maybe she will turn into a Goth.

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TheFallenMadonna · 14/03/2009 00:04

I wanted to be her Science teacher.

And hell yeah about the brother...

Califrau · 14/03/2009 00:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
UnquietDad · 14/03/2009 01:00

I found myself thinking it would have been quite fun if she had been one of the Child Of Our Time or 7Up kids, so we could come back to her every few years and see how she had changed. (Wrong age, of course, but still...)

As she is still a child, I tried to tell myself that her simple certainties were sweet rather than terrifying. They won't seem quite that way in ten years' time.

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candyfluff · 15/03/2009 18:13

where can i see it online ?

Yurtgirl · 15/03/2009 18:19

candyfluff - Its on BBCiplayer atm

PenelopePitstops · 15/03/2009 18:23

its on this evening again on bbc3 if people missed it

I watched this, she was slightly sheltered to say the least. Some of her views were bordering on wierdly obsessive but she did seem like she had been brainwashed. I thought it was odd how little contact the whole family had with the outside world, surely this isnt good for the children.

and the brother is 100% gay!

Yurtgirl · 15/03/2009 18:28

Having looked at her Deborahs blog, as they dont have tv and are apparently unaware of BBCiplayer, it seems that they havent watched the programme as a family

We havent got tv either but I cant imagine allowing my family to be filmed for a documentary and then not previewing the show or watching it on tv!

PenelopePitstops · 15/03/2009 19:42

just read the blog, does she really write that herself?!

nannynick · 15/03/2009 20:11

Watching it on BBC3 right now.

giraffescantdancethetango · 15/03/2009 20:14

Me too