Anyone remember "A Theif in the Night"

[southpaw]

or "A Distant Thunder" ?

I recall being profoundly traumatized by these fundamentalist "Rapture Films" in my early teens. There is an excellent article on these and other films of the genre to be found here: http://www.jesus21.com/content/movies/rapture1.html

Growing up in a fundie baptist church in Piedmont, AL. I was subjected to horrid crap like this at youth retreats and 'lock-ins' at the baptist church...

Anyone else have tortured memories originating from such fundie shock-propaganda?

[lazarus]

1. For some reason

they didn't traumatise me so much as amuse me, and help push me down the atheist path.

I grew up in Alabama, too. I remember "lock-ins" (we all basically tried to have as much sex as possible in church) and going to Christian summer camp (ditto), and seeing the films there. They were so damned funny, cheesy production values, horrid acting, gaping plot holes.

[trotsky]

2. F'in A, man, why didn't I get to go to your church?

We were all a bunch of prudish Lutherans. Our bible camps really WERE spent entirely singing Koresh-awful songs, making goofy crafts, and generally spending the time with corncobs up our asses.

[lazarus]

4. Oh, we did all that

during the day....

Disclaimer: I was a geek, so was unable to partake in the illicit proceedings. But proceedings did proceed, illicitly.

(Stupid codeine, I know that doesn't make any sense.)

[southpaw]

3. The lock-ins and church-camps were rife with sex

and some drug use as well. I recall a fellow youth-choir boy bringing a decent bag of weed to a lock in when I was about 16...

Damn... there are actually SOME things I miss about church.

[progressoid]

5. Lock-ins? Were they really called that?

That's creepy.

Didn't anyone in the church see any of the obvious parallels to the methods of cults?

[southpaw]

6. Yep... lock-ins... I shit you not!

(Or as an old baptist church buddy would say 'I wouldn't shit you; you're my favorite turd :-) )

We were basically locked in at the church for the night. At my particular church, lock ins were relatively loose in structure so there was lots of free time to grope and make out in a dark sunday school room. Still, the viewing of frightening fundie propaganda films was almost always part of the package.