Christian video game makes baby jesus cry

[CptStern]

Convert or Die!

Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart, a major video game retailer, should yank it off its shelves.

The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and the Christian Alliance for Progress, two online political groups, plan to demand today that Wal-Mart dump Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a PC game inspired by a series of fictional Christian novels that are hugely popular, especially with teens.

christians hating video games? that's unpossible! but now they've proven they're equal opportunity haters when it comes to video games as they hate one of their own ..but in all seriousness regardless of content I'm not too keen on any special interest group dictating what we can or cant consume/watch/buy ..regardless if they're the ones being affected:

"It's an incredibly violent video game," said Stevens. "Sure, there is no blood. (The dead just fade off the screen.) But you are mowing down your enemy with a gun. It pushes a message of religious intolerance. You can either play for the 'good side' by trying to convert nonbelievers to your side or join the Antichrist."

The Rev. Tim Simpson, a Jacksonville, Fla., Presbyterian minister and president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, added: "So, under the Christmas tree this year for little Johnny is this allegedly Christian video game teaching Johnny to hate and kill?"

about the game:

In Left Behind, set in perfectly apocalyptic New York City, the Antichrist is personified by fictional Romanian Nicolae Carpathia, secretary-general of the United Nations and a People magazine "Sexiest Man Alive."

Players can choose to join the Antichrist's team, but of course they can never win on Carpathia's side. The enemy team includes fictional rock stars and folks with Muslim-sounding names, while the righteous include gospel singers, missionaries, healers and medics. Every character comes with a life story.

When asked about the Arab and Muslim-sounding names, Frichner said the game does not endorse prejudice. But "Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ" -- and thus can't be on Christ's side in the game.

"That is so obvious," he said.

game reactions from press:

Jeff Gerstmann, senior editor at the online publication Gamespot.com, said the game isn't popular. The game itself, which Gamespot rated 3.4 out of a possible 10, has lots of glitches.

"And it's kind of crazy," Gerstmann said. "One of the evil characters is a rock musician. ... If you get too close to him your spirit is lowered."

But Plugged In, a publication of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, gave the game a "thumbs-up." The reviewer called it "the kind of game that Mom and Dad can actually play with Junior -- and use to raise some interesting questions along the way."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/12/LEFTBEHIND.TMP

where the hell is Jack thompson?

oh right, never misses an opportunity:

Reverend LaHaye and Tyndale House have given the Left Behind brand to a video game company that has come up with a violent shooter game called Left Behind: Eternal Forces. The game company, Left Behind Games, headed by a former Tyndale House employee, is marketing this violent game directly to children in ?megachurches,? according to its CEO.

Newsweek says the game has violence levels approaching that of the Grand Theft Auto games. There was a useful expose of this Left Behind game in the LA Times recently entitled ?Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.? Lovely. In this game, you can take on the role of Christian soldier and kill unbelievers, or you can take on the role of the Antichrist and kill the Christians. The killing setting is in Manhattan, of all places. I?m not sure that this is faithful presentation of the Gospel message. In fact, I know it isn?t. It makes a mockery of the witness of all of us.

This is dangerous stuff, not only because it legitimizes the use of violence to Christian kids, but also because the last time I checked we were in a War on Terror, in which the other side claims we are engaged in a latter day ?Crusade? against Islam. Now we have a Tyndale House-blessed killing game that glamorizes just that. What a rhetorical gift to radical Islamists. I can hear Al-Qaeda now: ?America is producing a video game that trains Christian children to kill Muslims and to enjoy doing so.? What did Lenin say about the capitalists selling the Communists the rope with which to hang them?

http://www.talk2action.org/pdfs/Jack Thompson to Rev Jerry Falwell.pdf

 

[CptStern]

too many words intimated some of you didnt it?

ok for you simpletons who have problems with reading comprehension ( ) here's the gist of it:

christian company makes game where you kill people or convert them to christianity ..other christians not happy because it makes them look bad ..hilarity ensues

 

[kirovman]

Science damn them!

 

[The Monkey]

Can you kill jews as well?

 

[zleppelin]

That's the truth :naughty:

 

[Raziaar]

too many words intimated some of you didnt it?

ok for you simpletons who have problems with reading comprehension ( ) here's the gist of it:

christian company makes game where you kill people or convert them to christianity ..other christians not happy because it makes them look bad ..hilarity ensues

It's just a little problematic for us to respond to the same genre of threads day in, day out. Heh.

At most, the most post happy of us on this forum(I'm one of em) make only around 10 posts a day. You pump out that many topics a day, often the same subject matter as yesterdays, or last weeks threads you posted. We just can't keep up!

 

[Stigmata]

I think we ought to vote in some forum legislature removing Stern's monopolistic control over repetitive text media.



I can't really respond to this, except to say that a) I feel exactly the same way you do, so there's not really a much point in responding other than to turn this thread into a liberal think-tank wank-off, and b) for once, I can sympathize with Jack Thompson - even if it's only for four words or so

Ten points to whomever guesses which four words allowed me to mind-meld with Thompson.

 

[Moto]

Ten points to whomever guesses which four words allowed me to mind-meld with Thompson.

"This is dangerous stuff..."

 

[Ome_Vince]

hmm, now why does this topic not surprise me. :angel:

 

[brink's]

Can you kill jews as well?

yes, you throw them down wells

 

[Stigmata]

"This is dangerous stuff..."

/Moto-x_Pat "points" "+10"

 

[GiaOmerta]

Sounds pretty gay.

 

[CptStern]

for once I'm defending the right of a religious group to make whatever game they want, I thought some of you would get a kick out of that

 

[Hapless]

for once I'm defending the right of a religious group to make whatever game they want, I thought some of you would get a kick out of that

You better watch it. Next thing you know you'll be TASE'ing people indiscriminately.

 

[CptStern]

hey sure why not ..but I'd like to think I'd be a bit descriminate in my choices

 

[theotherguy]

Although I do not support the game and think it is idiocy, I support the rights of the company to publish it if they want to. We live in a free democracy, with a supposedly free media, and I don't care how wacky or stupid the media is, it shall not be censored.

 

[15357]

for once I'm defending the right of a religious group to make whatever game they want, I thought some of you would get a kick out of that

Then.... why are you against America's Army-type games?

 

[Geogaddi]

Then.... why are you against America's Army-type games?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that AA is different because it's government sponsored.

 

[15357]

What's the difference? The goverment is made up by human beings, too. With the same rights and previleages of any other citizen.

 

[Azner]

Im christian and i dont surpport this. Hilarity? Erm mabye you guys laugh. i dunno what to do besides play CS and CS And CS And CS and CS

 

[CptStern]

Im christian and i dont surpport this. Hilarity? Erm mabye you guys laugh. i dunno what to do besides play CS and CS And CS And CS and CS

I dont play CS

What's the difference? The goverment is made up by human beings, too. With the same rights and previleages of any other citizen.

please numbers that's not even remotely the same thing ...AA is a recruitment tool, Left Behind is a retail game. And dont give me that bullshit about rights especially when you only extend those rights to whom you see fit: military/government/uber-patriotic

 

[Razor]

Left Behind is a recruitment tool for Christian extremists.
America's Army is a recruitment tool for the American Army.

 

[15357]

please numbers that's not even remotely the same thing ...AA is a recruitment tool, Left Behind is a retail game. And dont give me that bullshit about rights especially when you only extend those rights to whom you see fit: military/government/uber-patriotic

AA is sold in retail stores, which would mean that it's a retail game. :rolling:

And so, you are denying that rights are universal?

 

[Puzzlemaker]

AA is sold in retail stores, which would mean that it's a retail game. :rolling:

And so, you are denying that rights are universal?

Goverments arn't religious organizations.

They are composed of people in a country who are in charge of running the country smoothly for everyone else. However, because of nationalizm, I would say sometimes it seems more like a religion.

Goverment propaganda isn't liked by a lot of people because of how it was used in the past to controll and suppress people, especially in communistic and religious countries.

I agree that AA has just as much of a right to be out there as that left behind game, but because of my personall beliefs I don't think either of them are morally right; violence doesn't solve much, and when it does solve something its best to use as little as possible.

 

[Ome_Vince]

Wasn't AA a free game?

 

[CptStern]

AA is sold in retail stores, which would mean that it's a retail game. :rolling:

no it is free

And so, you are denying that rights are universal?

where did you get that from?

Left Behind is a recruitment tool for Christian extremists.
America's Army is a recruitment tool for the American Army.

not in the least, LB is a game for the already converted ..it features prayer as a weapon to stop "evil" (we all know how effective prayer as a weapons is) ..it is no more based on reality than quake or doom ...so unless you're arguin gthat Doom is a recruitment tool for space marines I dont see how that's a valid comparison

 

[repiV]

What's the problem with the US military using computer games as a recruitment tool, anyway?
Their job is to ensure that enough people are joining every year to maintain staffing levels, and it seems to me that a very intelligent way of accomplishing that goal would be to tap into the mindset of the people they are targeting - the youth - by packaging their message in a format that means something to them.
What the **** is your problem with that? Seriously. Is it wrong to recruit people into the military now? Perhaps they should just run an undermanned military because it's "more moral". Jesus...

 

[<RJMC>]

seriously thats to dumb in the future if you font believe in jesus they will bring you to a church to be tortured and everyone singing chorus while you bleed haging in the roof

 

[GiaOmerta]

I've read through the Left Behind Series, several years ago... was a decent read, I see little connection between this new game and the series. A marketing scheme no doubt...it all about the $$$, but yeah, it looks like garbage.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Books were garbage too.

 

[B_MAN]

religion ftl

 

[Angry Lawyer]

It's a shame, as this could have been a rockin' game, if made properly (i.e. being able to win as the Antichrist, and being not shit). I mean, who wouldn't want to be the antichrist, lead an army of rock musicians, and kill Christians?

-Angry Lawyer

 

[kineaesth]

I'm totally hilarity! Insane level! That's just another example of political and I guess religious uber correctness gone mad.

 

[15357]

no it is free

So are internet news sources, so are mmorpg games.

where did you get that from?

From the same place you get mine.

 

[CptStern]

So are internet news sources, so are mmorpg games.

? what does that have to do with anything?

From the same place you get mine.

pardon?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

LOUD NOISES?

-Angry Lawyer

 

[CptStern]

loud noises are always a sign that satan is nearby

 

[PvtRyan]

a PC game inspired by a series of fictional Christian novels that are hugely popular

The Bible?

 

[jondy]

The Bible?

Snap!

 

[15357]

? what does that have to do with anything?

Whatever AA being free has to do with.

pardon?

Yes, your 'interpretation' of what I seem to say.