Left Behind: The Game
I can't decide if this is hilariously bad or... No, wait, laughably bad. That's it.
From talk2action:
Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission — to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.
The game, slated for release by October 2006 in advance of the Christmas shopping rush, has been previewed at video game exhibitions, and reviewed by major newspapers and magazines. But until now, no fan or critic has pointed out the controversial game's connection to Mr. Warren or his dominionist agenda.
Yep. That's it.
More from the game's creator.
Permalink • Posted in: gaming, religion • Comments (9)
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Comments:
Parmeter Jun 5, 2006
I have to wonder if the set of people who bought into the "Left Behind" series has any overlap with the set of people who think that the "DaVinci Code" wasn't a piece of fiction.
And if it as large of an overlap as I think it might be I have to wonder what it is which allowed this situation to come to be in the first place. Is it a lack of theological knowledge in the foundations of the Christian Faith? Is it a lack of ability or desire to think critially about such things? A combination of both? A drive to embrace a fiction which is wholly different and better than the life these people experience every day? If so, why choose this particular one over a choice of many, many others (a al Trekkies)?
Joshua Jun 5, 2006
I don't think there's a lot of overlap - generally speaking, the "Left Behind" crowd are millenialist evangelicals, while the anti-"Da Vinci Code" crowd are fundamentalist catholics. Not a lot of mixing there. And I'm sure that are a whole lot of Lutherans out there who couldn't care less, on either issue.
Elizabeth Jun 6, 2006
Oh yeah - machine gun toting Christians going on a slaughtering spree.
Jesus must be so proud.
Joshua Jun 6, 2006
Yeah, that must be one of the lesser-known parables - the one about the gun-toting slaughterer of the infidels.
Was it Jesus who said, "Suffer the little children who were Left Behind but are now among the Kinda Alrightish to go forth and slaughter in my holy name"? I forget.
SJR Jan 11, 2007
This statement is posted from an employee of Left Behind Games on behalf of Troy Lyndon, our Chief Executive Officer.
There has been in incredible amount of MISINFORMATION published in the media and in online blogs here and elsewhere.
Pacifist Christians and other groups are taking the game material out of context to support their own causes. There is NO "killing in the name of God" and NO "convert or die". There are NO "negative portrayals of Muslims" and there are NO "points for killing".
Please play the game demo for yourself (to at least level 5 of 40) to get an accurate perspective, or listen to what CREDIBLE unbiased experts are saying after reviewing the game at www.leftbehindgames.com/pages/controversy.com
Then, we'd love to hear your feedback as an informed player.
The reality is that we're receiving reports everyday of how this game is positively affecting lives by all who play it.
Thank you for taking the time to be a responsible blogger.
Joshua Jan 11, 2007
Hi Sandi --
I suppose you're right; I *should* judge the game on it's own merits, rather than the religious philosophies it's associating itself with, but that's the flip side of the branding coin, isn't it?
At any rate, do you have a link where I can download a demo of the game? Is it PC-only, or is it available for my Macs?
Joshua Jan 11, 2007
Also - it looks like your link should be:
http://www.leftbehindgames.com/pages/controversy
But that takes me to a 404 page?
SJR Feb 7, 2007
The Game and Demo are only available for the PC not the Mac at this time.
A Demo can be played from the www.leftbehindgame.com/pages/controversy.htm
You can also find it at www.menofgod.us
Thank you,
and I do apologize for the previous typo!
NYC Feb 7, 2007
Hey, with so many people having an opinion about this game, how many have actually played it? And what credibility do they have? Focus on the Family has publications which can set the record straight for everyone - at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002989.cfm.