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For the Love of Christ
by Newsweek
Thanks to J. Marshal for the link.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/78181
For the Love of Christ
Justin Fatica yells, threatens and humiliates teens into finding Jesus. You got a problem with that?
Justin Fatica has a cross to bear, and last year he did it in front of more than 60,000 American teens. The 27-year-old self-proclaimed prophet is hellbent on "raising up warriors for the Lord," and finds his recruits on the fraying edges of the MP3 generation. In "Hard as Nails," an HBO documentary by David Holbrooke (producer of the documentary "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" and son of former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke), Fatica's MO is more akin to the "Scared Straight!" phenomenon of the early '80s than the traditional Roman Catholic sermons he grew up with in Erie, Pa.
The pumped-up proselytizer—he looks more like a white rapper than an evangelist—sports a tough Jersey accent and a swagger that would make Tony Soprano proud. He screams, taunts and humiliates half-filled rooms at spiritual retreats across the country, hoping to "motivate" teens into accepting Jesus into their lives. Though his ministry, called Hard as Nails, is aimed at Catholic teens, he sounds like an evangelical. His tactics include drill-sergeant-like assaults: "If you sin, you better have the courage to bash Jesus' face in!" Fatica screams at one cherubic girl, pushing her to the verge of tears. "Have you sinned in the last 24 hours? Have ya?! HAVE YA?!" Fatica wants his disciples to feel the pain that Christ suffered for their sins. At one session, a kid picks up a metal folding chair and whacks Fatica—at his direction—on the back, as the minister repeatedly screams to another supplicant, "Jesus took all this pain for you!" He re-creates Calvary, ordering teens to carry heavy crosses up a hill, or asking them to stand, arms extended against the wood, while their peers pound the cross with a hammer and scream insults.
The film rarely challenges Fatica's unorthodox approach, though there's a scene near the end where the diocese of Burlington, Vt., bans Hard as Nails. Elsewhere in the Catholic community, he's able to raise money to expand the organization (at a single benefit dinner in a private home, he nets $30,000) and is even invited to Barbados to spread his aggressive version of the word. But the most telling part of this documentary comes when Fatica visits Mom and Dad at their affluent lakeside home. His street demeanor and religious zeal seem so out of place that even his middle-of-the-road parents are at a loss to explain their son's religious fervor and career path. His father claims he's just happy that his son—once a failing high schooler—has found a way to make a living.
Fatica is more intriguing than he is likable. He has the ego of a demagogue, raging one minute, hugging the next, then testifying passionately about his own life changes (he claims he was "cured of masturbating" by working out three times a week). There are rare moments when we can relate to Fatica's own struggles—but it's the kids' stories of sexual abuse, depression and bullying that prove most moving. It's difficult to know if Fatica truly helps these vulnerable teenagers in the long run—but who's brave enough to challenge this warrior for Jesus?
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/78181
For the Love of ChristJustin Fatica yells, threatens and humiliates teens into finding Jesus. You got a problem with that?
Justin Fatica has a cross to bear, and last year he did it in front of more than 60,000 American teens. The 27-year-old self-proclaimed prophet is hellbent on "raising up warriors for the Lord," and finds his recruits on the fraying edges of the MP3 generation. In "Hard as Nails," an HBO documentary by David Holbrooke (producer of the documentary "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" and son of former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke), Fatica's MO is more akin to the "Scared Straight!" phenomenon of the early '80s than the traditional Roman Catholic sermons he grew up with in Erie, Pa.
The pumped-up proselytizer—he looks more like a white rapper than an evangelist—sports a tough Jersey accent and a swagger that would make Tony Soprano proud. He screams, taunts and humiliates half-filled rooms at spiritual retreats across the country, hoping to "motivate" teens into accepting Jesus into their lives. Though his ministry, called Hard as Nails, is aimed at Catholic teens, he sounds like an evangelical. His tactics include drill-sergeant-like assaults: "If you sin, you better have the courage to bash Jesus' face in!" Fatica screams at one cherubic girl, pushing her to the verge of tears. "Have you sinned in the last 24 hours? Have ya?! HAVE YA?!" Fatica wants his disciples to feel the pain that Christ suffered for their sins. At one session, a kid picks up a metal folding chair and whacks Fatica—at his direction—on the back, as the minister repeatedly screams to another supplicant, "Jesus took all this pain for you!" He re-creates Calvary, ordering teens to carry heavy crosses up a hill, or asking them to stand, arms extended against the wood, while their peers pound the cross with a hammer and scream insults.
The film rarely challenges Fatica's unorthodox approach, though there's a scene near the end where the diocese of Burlington, Vt., bans Hard as Nails. Elsewhere in the Catholic community, he's able to raise money to expand the organization (at a single benefit dinner in a private home, he nets $30,000) and is even invited to Barbados to spread his aggressive version of the word. But the most telling part of this documentary comes when Fatica visits Mom and Dad at their affluent lakeside home. His street demeanor and religious zeal seem so out of place that even his middle-of-the-road parents are at a loss to explain their son's religious fervor and career path. His father claims he's just happy that his son—once a failing high schooler—has found a way to make a living.
Fatica is more intriguing than he is likable. He has the ego of a demagogue, raging one minute, hugging the next, then testifying passionately about his own life changes (he claims he was "cured of masturbating" by working out three times a week). There are rare moments when we can relate to Fatica's own struggles—but it's the kids' stories of sexual abuse, depression and bullying that prove most moving. It's difficult to know if Fatica truly helps these vulnerable teenagers in the long run—but who's brave enough to challenge this warrior for Jesus?
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
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Posted: Thursday, December 20, 2007 | PermalinkComments 1 - 50 of 78 | | View Alternate Comment Thread
Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers2. Comment #101699 by TylerJames on December 20, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Could you imagine the furor of the religious if this were some atheist guy evangelizing with these tactics? It would be seen as a horrific abuse of children by a coercive, overbearing, and intimidating adult.
But since it's Jesus that he's selling with such force it is tolerated and all the intimidation and coercion are forgotten. After all, this is religion we are talking about, where apparently the ends justify the means.
Other Comments by TylerJames
3. Comment #101706 by Goodwithwood on December 20, 2007 at 7:39 pm
WTF? Another freak show abusing children. "(he claims he was "cured of masturbating" by working out three times a week)."
I was cured of sloth by masturbating 3 times a day.
GWW
Other Comments by Goodwithwood
4. Comment #101708 by Bonzai on December 20, 2007 at 7:45 pm
WTF?!!Edit: Just saw that Goodwithwood beats to my brilliant and well thought out comment.. shit..
Other Comments by Bonzai
5. Comment #101710 by Socrates on December 20, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Justin Fatica is a fatuous, cowardly bigot whose head is emptier than his meaningless Jesus speak. Instead of kindness and intellectual honesty, he has aggression and gusto. As Voltaire said, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Fatica is a man who is passionately fighting to brainwash kids so that they can repeat this cycle of absurd belief and atrocious conduct. If he has any sanity or any morality that hasn't been fully deranged, you can't see it from behind his muscles.
"Christian soldiers armed with virtue- hearts afire with blind obsession, cannot see the difference 'twixt compassion and oppression." -Sabbat
Other Comments by Socrates
6. Comment #101711 by Plan 9 on December 20, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Hey, what a radical idea...use fear and intimidation to press religious beliefs on others...instead of logic or rational argument I guess.I'd be more impressed if he tried this in a roomful of whacko muslims instead of a roomful of frightened kids.
Other Comments by Plan 9
7. Comment #101712 by dweebs on December 20, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I wonder if he's a little frustrated-if you get my drift.Especially with the whole "cured of masturbating" thing.
Other Comments by dweebs
8. Comment #101713 by dweebs on December 20, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Oh! bugger, goodwithwood, I think I just accidentally trolled you! Sorry, I don't suppose I can undo it?Other Comments by dweebs
9. Comment #101716 by Spinoza on December 20, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I'd either break that guy's confidence in 5 minutes, or he'd just ignore me. Other Comments by Spinoza
10. Comment #101717 by Bonzai on December 20, 2007 at 8:09 pm
See the guy in action.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R4k302AYpk
working out cures his masturbation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3N6wKH77V4&feature=related
Other Comments by Bonzai
11. Comment #101718 by BAEOZ on December 20, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Spinoza, is that a false dichotomy? Isn't it possible he'd open up a can of christian bigotry on you? Or become your best pal? Or disolved into amino acids....???? Other Comments by BAEOZ
12. Comment #101720 by robotaholic on December 20, 2007 at 8:16 pm
snake handlers are more coercive lol Other Comments by robotaholic
13. Comment #101722 by Chris Bell on December 20, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I remember going to an aggressive Sunday school on the invite of some Baptist friends. (The church was having some guy like this speak and they wanted a crowd.) He asked everyone to close their eyes and then invited those of us who didn't have Christ in our life to stand. He promised that no one would look, he just wanted to see the work before him. I stood. He waited a few seconds before yelling, "Everyone look! These are the people we have to save!"As a 12 year-old in rural Georgia who didn't discuss my unbelief with friends, I was mortified.
Other Comments by Chris Bell
14. Comment #101724 by Goodwithwood on December 20, 2007 at 8:29 pm
9. Comment #101713 by dweebs on December 20, 2007 at 7:59 pm Oh! bugger, goodwithwood, I think I just accidentally trolled you! Sorry, I don't suppose I can undo it?
Fuck it. Ain't no thing.
Other Comments by Goodwithwood
15. Comment #101746 by Arcturus on December 20, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Schizoid? mentally deranged?edit: Definitely not an epicurean.
Other Comments by Arcturus
16. Comment #101749 by quill on December 20, 2007 at 9:38 pm
The case that we atheists need to be making in the courts of public opinion is that it's unethical to allow someone else to be punished for your sins in the first place. Presumably, if you thought someone else was going to be punished for a crime you committed, you, as an ethical person, would not allow it to happen because it would be unjust. You would certainly not accept such an offer. Being an adult means taking responsibility for your own actions, not looking for someone else to accept your punishment for you. Making that argument, I think, takes the wind out of these guilt-tripping appeals of theirs. I think it can be an effective counter-meme against this indoctrination technique.I'm ashamed to admit it, but it was exactly this kind of emotional browbeating that led me to accept Christ (briefly) as a teenager.
Other Comments by quill
17. Comment #101753 by NormanDoering on December 20, 2007 at 10:14 pm
He sounds like a dangerous and deadly psycho to me.Other Comments by NormanDoering
18. Comment #101754 by kintaro_crab on December 20, 2007 at 10:18 pm
hmmmmmm im seeing a bad trend here. I think this guy might be a ticking time bomb. Doesn't masturbate, catholic, deals with children....
I'll make a prediction, 10 years down the line the fondling and molestation charges begin to surface.
Other Comments by kintaro_crab
19. Comment #101756 by Mango on December 20, 2007 at 10:28 pm
He reminds me of the guys you'd sometime see on TV who, with strength from Jesus, would break handcuffs or tear in half telephone books. Very entertaining stuff. Other Comments by Mango
20. Comment #101757 by Bonzai on December 20, 2007 at 10:30 pm
He reminds me of the guys you'd sometime see on TV who, with strength from Jesus, would break handcuffs or tear in half telephone books. Very entertaining stuff.
Popeye?
Other Comments by Bonzai
21. Comment #101758 by FightingFalcon on December 20, 2007 at 10:37 pm
OK, watching that first YouTube video - how is that anything but child abuse? Or at least physical violence? Can I beat the shit outta people in the name of Atheism? O I forgot....we aren't violent psychos.
Other Comments by FightingFalcon
22. Comment #101759 by nogodsever on December 20, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Look at that face. That face, my friends, is the face of a great, big douchebag. Other Comments by nogodsever
23. Comment #101767 by NormanDoering on December 21, 2007 at 12:06 am
kintaro_crab predicted:I'll make a prediction, 10 years down the line the fondling and molestation charges begin to surface.
My prediction, man slaughter or murder in eight years.
Other Comments by NormanDoering
24. Comment #101769 by Richard Morgan on December 21, 2007 at 12:17 am
Work-outs AND masturbation cured me of frustration! Until I got married - at which point I had to eliminate the work-outs.I never cease to be amazed at what people will do to get on television. Does he know there are specialised private clubs in Paris where he can get whacked with chairs (or anything else) whenever he wants? Heck, for a dollar and a kiss, even I would whack him with a chair.
When do we get our "Wankers for Jesus" t-shirts?
Give a new meaning to "the laying on of hands?"
(Ha! My spell-check didn't recognise the word "wankers"! Among all the words it suggested was "bankers". I'll go for that!)
Other Comments by Richard Morgan
25. Comment #101772 by Guillaume on December 21, 2007 at 12:45 am
He claims he was "cured of masturbating"
Maybe that's where the problem comes from with this freak...
Other Comments by Guillaume
26. Comment #101783 by Dog Boots on December 21, 2007 at 1:18 am
I would love to see Dr. Dawkins debate this guy....(isn't that what we say in this forum? :))
Other Comments by Dog Boots
27. Comment #101785 by Tyler Durden on December 21, 2007 at 1:27 am
At one session, a kid picks up a metal folding chair and whacks Fatica—at his direction—on the back...So, he's a failed WWF wrestler?
His father claims he's just happy that his son—once a failing high schooler—has found a way to make a living.I'm sure fathers of drug-dealers and pimps feel exactly the same way!
Other Comments by Tyler Durden
28. Comment #101787 by Corylus on December 21, 2007 at 1:36 am
Anyone else suspecting 'roid rage'? Other Comments by Corylus
29. Comment #101789 by irate_atheist on December 21, 2007 at 1:36 am
Is this prick the first valid counter-argument to Poe's Law? Other Comments by irate_atheist
30. Comment #101790 by GodlessHeathen on December 21, 2007 at 1:36 am
His father claims he's just happy that his son—once a failing high schooler—has found a way to make a living.So... proselytizing is a job for losers who can't manage anything else.
Ok, so, not really news, right?
Other Comments by GodlessHeathen
31. Comment #101791 by epeeist on December 21, 2007 at 1:38 am
Comment #101769 by Richard MorganHaving worked in the industry, you do realise that the collective noun for bankers is a "wunch"?
(Ha! My spell-check didn't recognise the word "wankers"! Among all the words it suggested was "bankers". I'll go for that!)
Other Comments by epeeist
32. Comment #101796 by yogibear on December 21, 2007 at 1:50 am
As someone already said, if this wasn't in the name of religion this nutjob would be up for abuse.Seems like the kind of guy to lose it, grab a high velocity rifle and do some damage. Anyone who stops masturbating is asking for trouble!!!
Other Comments by yogibear
33. Comment #101807 by rod-the-farmer on December 21, 2007 at 2:06 am
All this yelling and annoying behaviour calls for one of those electric dog collars. Once he starts, some objective person should zap this guy, to get him to shut up. As for his parents liking that he found a way to make a living, watch for him next on those commercials advertising the orange cleaner, whatever it is. Other Comments by rod-the-farmer
34. Comment #101820 by Duff on December 21, 2007 at 2:21 am
This clown is no different than all the other televangelists. He's found a way to make a living off the simple people, and I might add, in the process find the girls who are sinners. Pretty good scam, actually.Other Comments by Duff
35. Comment #101829 by Tyler Durden on December 21, 2007 at 2:29 am
watch for him next on those commercials advertising the orange cleaner, whatever it is."This is BARRY SCOTT for CILIT BANG and I can CLEAN YOUR SOUL for only $4.95 a bottle" :)
Other Comments by Tyler Durden
36. Comment #101854 by irate_atheist on December 21, 2007 at 3:10 am
Further to my comment #101789, may I observe that there isn't a matchbox small enough for this retard, if you get my drift. Other Comments by irate_atheist
37. Comment #101856 by eno on December 21, 2007 at 3:15 am
I find it difficult not to have a cognitive superiority over morons like these.I wonder how Hitch would deal in a debate with this chap?
Other Comments by eno
38. Comment #101857 by Ian on December 21, 2007 at 3:15 am
A distant memory and a search engine provides the antidote to this 'bright young thing'.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeRjdrcKdzg
Other Comments by Ian
39. Comment #101860 by Szymanowski on December 21, 2007 at 3:20 am
I'd love to see Hitch hit this guy over the back with a metal chair.:)
Other Comments by Szymanowski
40. Comment #101863 by USA_Limey on December 21, 2007 at 3:35 am
Sigh...My only thought; this guy really needs to get laid.
Other Comments by USA_Limey
41. Comment #101865 by Matt7895 on December 21, 2007 at 3:43 am
I'm not a violent person, at all, but if this guy screamed in my face I'd be very tempted to whack him one. Other Comments by Matt7895
42. Comment #101876 by alexmzk on December 21, 2007 at 4:06 am
"If you sin, you better have the courage to bash Jesus' face in!"
fuckin' right!
Other Comments by alexmzk
43. Comment #101883 by Vaal on December 21, 2007 at 4:21 am
That's Chuck Norris without his beard, isn't it? Other Comments by Vaal
44. Comment #101885 by Mercurius on December 21, 2007 at 4:24 am
I'm with USA_Limey here, my first thought was he really needs to get laid. But who would want to with such a nutjob?! Other Comments by Mercurius
45. Comment #101889 by Divineosaur on December 21, 2007 at 4:43 am
I must be in a bit of a melancholy mood as right now I find this more depressing than anything else. It is so much easier for people like this one to fill ignorant (no pejorative intent) minds with this stuff than it is for us to fill them with the desire to work to learn things for themselves. I will, however, not only continue to hold the line but to push forward. I got the chance last night to tell my 6 year old niece (who is taken to church each Sunday) about fossils and the coelacanth and my final point was to make sure to find out things for herself because you never know for sure. I doubt she understood but there may be a seed now.
Hmm, I guess I feel better now! Yay science!
Other Comments by Divineosaur
46. Comment #101896 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 21, 2007 at 5:31 am
Why would a debate with a "failing high-schooler" serve any purpose? RD and Hitch would be wasting their precious time. But if he's getting through to the young, perhaps he's showing us the new way to get the young to listen to evolutionary biology talks."Alright - down on the ground and crawl like a slug. I said GET DOWN! Because you and slugs have alot of DNA in common." etc, etc.
Other Comments by clunkclickeverytrip
47. Comment #101897 by Philster61 on December 21, 2007 at 5:40 am
Perhaps he should resume masturbating in order to relieve some obvious frustration.Im sure Jesus wouldnt mind.Other Comments by Philster61
48. Comment #101898 by Nighttripper on December 21, 2007 at 5:47 am
"If you sin, you better have the courage to bash Jesus' face in!"
Yeah, cause Jesus would catch your fckin' fist in mid-air, rip off your arm and beat your face into a bloody pulp with it.
Cause he's just brutal like that baby!
Other Comments by Nighttripper
49. Comment #101909 by 3legcat on December 21, 2007 at 6:26 am
why would anyone let this guy near their children?oh wait, he said jesus, never mind.
in any other context it would be abuse, say jesus a couple of times and parents let their children be terrorised by a crazed self hating loon.
with god, all is possible.
i wonder just how uncomfortable this guy makes the priests, what can they say to him or to the parents? they are stuck with him i guess.
Other Comments by 3legcat
50. Comment #101910 by RickM on December 21, 2007 at 6:31 am
What are the chances of some really big dude walking in on one of these sessions attended by his kid and discovering it's a nutcase snake oil deal?Would it be moral justice to see the snake oil Jesus freak get the "holy" crap beat out of him?
Me thinks ... perhaps ... possibly.
Other Comments by RickM
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1. Comment #101696 by Inferno on December 20, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Hmmm, coming soon to Fox?
Other Comments by Inferno