The film captures scenes of children as young as eight speaking in tongues, sobbing as they contemplate the magnitude of sin, and writhing on the ground in the supposed grip of the Holy Spirit. They are shown smashing ceramic mugs intended to represent "corrupt government", praying fervently to God to end abortion in America, and poking holes in the argument for global warming. And they are also shown speaking openly and honestly about the all-powerful love of God and their ardent faith in Christ.

It is a film that is at times disturbing, at times laughable, at all times thought-provoking - and I think that it left us all more than a little unsettled. I, for one, found myself uncomfortable because I actually agreed with some of the positions being advocated by the children and the adults who minister to them. The sanctity of life? Check. Faith in Jesus Christ? Check. Global warming as a political conspiracy and creationism as the only possible explanation for life on Earth - not so much... But, I started thinking, if they got the big stuff right, why quibble about the details? What could be so wrong about indoctrinating kids, if they were being told the right things?

And that's just the problem, of course - the indoctrination part. There's no room for questioning within that camp, no room for spiritual exploration. No room for the love of Christ to blossom naturally, in God's time, in those children's hearts. There's only the saved and the not-saved, us vs. them, those who are within the circle and those who are outside of it. I tremble to think of what would happen to one of those bright, Spirit-filled children if she one day started to question her faith, started to wrestle with the more nuanced aspects of belief. Would her struggle be accepted as a normal part of spiritual growth? Or would she be stigmatized and burdened with guilt, made to feel as though she had stepped outside the sacred circle into the darkness of damnation?

I don't know enough about charismatic evangelical Christianity, or those children's particular faith communities, to have the answers to those questions. But at the very least, I was reminded tonight of the vital importance of respecting each individual's personal journey to God, regardless of the valleys of doubt and disbelief he might venture into. I have faith that God loves us all tenderly and unconditionally, even if we get it wrong on some of the political questions of our day, even if we struggle with some aspects of our faith, even if sometimes we can't believe at all.

And honestly, what good is it to have all of the right answers, to vote in all of the right ways, to believe all of the right things, if we forget how we are to treat one another? As a kind priest once said to me, after I had confessed to him my persistent struggles with certain aspects of Church teaching: the first law is love. Love of God and love of neighbor. A love that is to permeate all aspects of our beings - hearts, minds, bodies, souls.