It opens with a bit of voice over: “I love Uganda…But something frightening is happening that has the
potential to destroy Uganda. And it is coming from the outside.” The film
then traces the source of the troubles, going to Kansas City, Missouri, to a
place called International House Of Prayer. The sign outside the building says,
“24/7 Worship & Prayer For Global
Harvest.” Inside, people are jumping with their hands up to the ceiling,
while a Christian rock band performs on a stage.
And we meet some of the folks involved with this church,
including Lou Engle, who says he is excited about the religious possibilities
in Africa, and Jono Hall, the media director who talks about how they broadcast
their sermons, which reach 160 to 170 nations regularly. The film actually has
footage of a meeting of the Uganda Missionary Team.
Balancing this perspective is Rev. Kapya Kaoma, who went
to Uganda to research the Christian Right. After supporting gay rights there,
he had to flee the country and has not been able to return. American
evangelicals have built churches across Uganda, as well as Christian
universities, schools and orphanages.
We are treated to footage of the Miracle Center
Cathedral, Uganda’s largest church. And right away we see the similarities
between the service there and that of the church in Kansas City. It’s eerie.
The film also interviews Pastor Robert Kayanja, who is thankful to the United
States because it was U.S. money that built the church. And we soon see why
he’s thankful. There is a shot of the exterior of his residence, and it’s a
gorgeous mansion (that shot, by the way, is positioned right after a shot of people
putting money into a basket at the church).
The Christian religion seems pervasive there. There is
footage of people preaching with megaphones to those stuck in traffic. There is also a series of shots of signs for
shops, places with names like Party For Jesus Shoe Maker And Repair, Holy Face
Of Jesus Pharmacy, and Born Again Brokers. It’s so ridiculous as to first seem
hilarious. Except no one there is laughing.
And we also meet the missionaries who travel from Kansas
City to Uganda. These are mostly young people, including Jesse and Rachelle
Digges, a couple that married at the age of eighteen. Rachelle says: “There is a very strategic position that
Uganda is in. Fifty percent of the population is under fifteen years old. This
is a youth nation. What Jesse and I could do is so limited, but we can multiply
ourselves in these young people, and they can reach multitudes.” And we see
the missionaries leading children in songs about Jesus.
The film doesn’t jump right into the subject of
homosexuality. It sets the stage first, giving the background information about
the U.S. missionaries and introducing us to many of the people involved. The
film also provides information on the abstinence programs there (when George W.
Bush forced his way into the presidency he cut all funding, except for those
programs preaching abstinence). So we’re basically up to speed when the film
turns to the subject of a bill which would criminalize homosexual acts, the
proposed punishment being death for repeat offenders.
Scott Lively, a pastor, preaches against homosexuality, saying
“We need public policy that discourages
homosexuality.” He is a guest on Spotlight,
a television program there, and on that show he spouts the belief that gay
people recruit children. Insane stuff, to be sure, but stuff that is listened
to there. Lively was actually able to address Parliament and help create
policy, resulting in the anti-homosexuality bill.
Lou Engle says, “If
you throw God out of the picture, then everybody has rights to do anything, and
you get moral chaos, and that’s really what’s going on, I think, in our nation.”
He was a supporter of Proposition 8 here in California, which outlawed gay
marriage, but was eventually overturned because it’s unconstitutional.
This entire film is completely engrossing. One segment
that stuck out for me is part of an interview with Joanna Watson, one of the
few older missionaries there. She says that when she was in her twenties, she
was “involved in acting – you know, that
whole scene is full of homosexuals.” She continues: “I had some male friends, and we would go to the homosexual bars and
dancing…I really started to be attracted to other women. I am one been healed
from sexual brokenness, and it took a long time.” No surprise there. It’s
so sad, really. Here’s a lesbian who is denying a core aspect of herself, and
instead wrapping herself in layers of warm, comforting hypocrisy. Earlier in
the film she says that God wants homosexuality stopped. She clearly hates
herself.
That’s a shame. But that’s a personal issue for her. The
problem is that people like her are causing policy to be implemented which will
destroy lives. And, as one of those interviewed in the film says, “The Americans, when they preach hate here,
they forget that they are preaching to people who will just take the law into
their hands.”
Bonus Features
The DVD includes quite a bit of bonus material. The first
is “Out In Malawi,” footage of a screening of the film which brought together
gay people and religious folks. It’s definitely worth watching. “The Pastor
Wars” has information about how the money involved in religion leads to one
pastor accusing another of being gay. “Gospel Of Intolerance” has more footage
with the missionaries, including Joanna Watson (here identified as Jo Anna
Watson). And there is footage from the question and answer panel at the
Sundance Windrunner Forum. All of that totals approximately twenty-five
minutes.
There are also a few deleted scenes, including footage of
Bishop Christopher Senyonjo touring the U.S., as well as a scene of Joanna
Watson conducting her fundraising and talking a bit about her life and
marriage. The deleted scenes are approximately ten minutes.
God Loves Uganda
was directed by Roger Ross Williams, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on
May 19, 2014 through First Run Features.
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