Wednesday, May 31, 2006

"LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces" -- the Video Game!

This is not a spoof.

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.
When I came across this link at Blogsnow I was sure it had to be something on the order of The Onion, but no, it's serious. I don't know what to make of the Talk to Action site, but it isn't hard to discover the real thing.
[Left Behind Games] is developing products to include the same types of compelling elements that have made interactive games popular for years, and yet offer a less graphic experience to the sexual themes and gratuitous violence currently found in many titles. We plan to make all games visually and kinetically appealing. We anticipate our titles will be classified as both action, strategy and adventure genres, and will likely receive either an "E" rating (appropriate for ages 6 and up) or a "T" rating (appropriate for ages 13 and up).

Descriptive details follow. ("kinetically appealing"?)
This is all the space I aim to use on my blog for this phenomenon.
Maybe I'm some kind of crazy old man, but this enterprise strikes me as obscene.
According to their SiteMeter the Talk to Action people are getting some thirty thousand hits a day.

4 comments:

Layman said...

It may not be a spoof, but it is an example of liberal paranoid delusions.

This report was very inaccurate. The game does not have the player try to establish a theocracy or kill people who don't convert. In fact, you are penalized for killing people, even though Christian forces are fighting against the anti-Christ's army.

See more about the nature of the game, with quotes from secular reviewers who have actually played it:

http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2006/06/truth-about-left-behind-video-game.html

Hoots said...

Let me get this straight.

The video game by Left Behind Games is legit, coming from a respected Christian source.

The description by Talk to Action is a terrible mischaracterization by a group your site describes as "anti-Christian RIGHT."

But that description is "an example of liberal paranoid delusions."

The delusion came from the right but liberals get the credit...right?

Oh wait. I almost forgot. The "liberal" part is ME.
My mistake was taking note of the two and saying "lookit what I found!"

Got it. I stand corrected and won't do that again. Thanks for clearing that up.
And thanks for stopping by.

Layman said...

"The video game by Left Behind Games is legit, coming from a respected Christian source."

Well, the game is real, if that is what you meant. I don't know what you mean by "legitimate." Do I think its a good idea? I have some concerns. Does it advocate what you said it did? No.

"The description by Talk to Action is a terrible mischaracterization by a group your site describes as "anti-Christian RIGHT.""

Yes, the description is very inaccurate. Yes, I said they are anti-Christian right. They are fairly explicit about the goal of stopping the "religious right." So, what's the beef with my characterization"

"But that description is "an example of liberal paranoid delusions.""

Yes, many liberals and/or secularists have proven a rather startling level of creduality by taking the description at face value. I saw over and over again "this has to be a hoax, but it is not." That should have tipped them off.

"The delusion came from the right but liberals get the credit...right?"

Ah, I think I see the misunderstanding. Talk2Action is an anti-religious-right group. I called this "anti-Christian right." They are against conservative Christians and think they are trying to take over the country.

So, the bad description came from the left and was repeated across the 'net.

"Oh wait. I almost forgot. The "liberal" part is ME. My mistake was taking note of the two and saying "lookit what I found!""

Well, I don't know if you are a liberal or not. Are you? In any event, you expressed some question as to the Talk2Action report. It was that report that I said was "very inaccurate." Sorry if you felt mislabeled.

Hoots said...

Again, thanks for stopping by. And if I may quote myself, "This is all the space I aim to use on my blog for this phenomenon. Maybe I'm some kind of crazy old man, but this enterprise strikes me as obscene."

To answer your question, yes, I am an old-fashioned, unreconstructed Liberal. And I find this discussion to be sub-Christian. Perhaps we can have a different exchange one day more like Christians should exhibit to a reading world.