As you may recall, a while ago I posted about the upcoming video game based on the "Left Behind" series of 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.
This is really incredible... a "Christian" video game, the purpose of which is to kill as many people as possible. And not only non-believers... no no no. Other Christians (not true Christians like you, the player, of course) are also fair game! It's all done in the name of Jesus.
Has your irony meter overheated yet? No? Well click on over to read more and check out some screenshots. It's "The Sims"... Judgment Day style! And lucky you, you get to play judge, jury, and executioner!
But what's that you say? You play video games to escape? You're a crazed, bigoted religious nut in real life, and you want to try something new? Well, fear not, young hatemonger... you can also join the forces of Satan!
This game immerses children in present-day New York City -- 500 square blocks, stretching from Wall Street to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, the United Nations headquarters, and Harlem. The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian).
Yes, you read that right. You can also play a Satanic demon. Apparently, it's okay to be aligned with the Prince of Lies... as long as you're killing homos and Buddhists.
I'm really flabbergasted by this. I mean, there's part of me that thinks this must be a colossal joke. How could anyone in their right mind not see the hypocritical nature of this game? Real Christians should be horrified by this game.
Is this paramilitary mission simulator for children anything other than prejudice and bigotry using religion as an organizing tool to get people in a violent frame of mind? The dialogue includes people saying, "Praise the Lord," as they blow infidels away.
The designers intend this game to become the first dominionist warrior game to break through in the popular culture due to its violent scenarios and realistic graphics, lighting, and sound effects. Its creators expect it to earn a rating of T for Teen. How violent is that? That's the rating shared by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory, a top selling game in which high-tech gadgets and high-powered weapons - frag grenades, shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns -- are used to terminate enemies with extreme prejudice.
Man... I hope it's a joke. However, more than likely, this is simply the end result of Religious Fanatacism and Extreme Right-Wing Ideology that has almost become the norm in this country. Eliminationist rhetoric is now seen as normal discourse. See the excellent blog Ornicus for more examples than you can shake a stick at. These are the same people that think that the best way to protest an adult bookstore is with chemical weapons.
Part of me thinks that this game will be played, for the most part, by people that are laughing at the absurdity of the whole thing. You know, the same people that read Chick tracts for yucks. But another part of me realizes that other people will be using this as a fucking training tool. Check out more on Rick Warren and his "stealth evangelist" schtick at the link above. I've got news for you, Ricky-boy... if you're having to spread your message of Christian "love" by stealth, then perhaps you're not really doing God's work.
Looney.
(Energy dome tip to Crooks & Liars.
(Jesus loves me, this I know... for the cross-post tells me so...)
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