"Kill the Non-Believers": The Christian Edition

Submitted by mattbarton.exe on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 11:56

Quote:

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.

Are you scared yet? Check out this page about an upcoming game called "The Purpose Driven Life." Something tells me that this entire site is a hoax, but it's still chilling to think about the possibilities.

I'm not sure what's going

Submitted by zach on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 15:04.

I'm not sure what's going on with the site (it appears to anti-right-wing Christian?) but the game is definitely legit. It's actually based on the Left Behind series, despite the misleading title of the article. I think the association with The Purpose Driven Life is that the game's marketing tactics are going to be similar to those of Rick Warren's book of that title.

Here's the GameSpy info on Left Behind: Eternal Forces.

The site also links to

Submitted by Laurie Taylor (not verified) on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 18:35.

The site also links to moderate Christian sites like this one. Maybe this is the moderate Christian backlash against the insanity of the ultra-right that I keep hearing about (and not yet seeing, even though I really want to see it).

Power of Irony

Submitted by Laurie Taylor (not verified) on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 18:42.

Sites like these reinforce my belief in the power of irony. Linda Hutcheon has a great book on it and studies like hers are pivotal for understanding and analyzing popular culture.

Re: Power of Irony

Submitted by zach on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 20:15.

Laurie Taylor wrote:

Sites like these reinforce my belief in the power of irony. Linda Hutcheon has a great book on it and studies like hers are pivotal for understanding and analyzing popular culture.

So what are you saying is ironic? The talk2action site is definitely sincere even though it's approach to criticising the game is rippingly sarcastic. I just want to be clear that there are Christians very seriously developing and promoting this game because they think that its message of Christian militarism is true, but there are plenty of others who are opposing it.

The majority of Christians are certainly far more moderate than the Robertson's and Falwell's of the world, and there are even lots of (gasp) Liberal Christians, though most of what we say isn't as weird or shocking.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with this game within the Christian community which comes pre-packaged with powerful marketing structures (this is probably what they're referring to in associating Rick Warren). On the one hand, the "use Halo 2 to evangelize" crowds who probably identify themselves as more theologically (and maybe politically) moderate will respond to this game based on the Fundamentalist-friendly Left Behind.

The talk2action site

Submitted by Laurie Taylor (not verified) on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 22:23.

The talk2action site presents an ironic critique of the game. Certainly, there are Fundamentalists that will embrace and promote this game (the same ones that constantly say that the end times are near or here, and then that clock seems to reset every three years or so). However, while they're trying to promote it, sites like talk2action will still Google well and by ironically handling the game, talk2action presents potential players with the possibility to see alternate viewpoints by searching for information about the game. Ultra-extreme views, in games or other media, invite ironic reviews and critiques. Irony allows for a voice when the argument defies logic and other rhetorical devices, as with typical extremist arguments.

The game itself is certainly militant, and will be taken seriously by many people, but the talk2action site and sites like it are promising additions to the argument and for moderation.

Interestingly, Boing Boing

Submitted by zach on Wed, 05/31/2006 - 10:43.

Interestingly, Boing Boing just posted the same story, but also used the text from talk2action in a way that makes it look like it could be a genuine statement of purpose from the game, rather than a sarcastic critique of it.

Well, it seems comical to me...

Submitted by Alan Essex (not verified) on Fri, 08/11/2006 - 23:08.

I sincerely doubt a game were a your sole mission is to kill all those who do not agree with you (anti-american) is going to really dig up any support for the right. Infact, I think if correctly publicized, this game could actually be quite a motivator for anti-right sentiments. Hopefully some clever programer will mod this game to look even more ridiculous. Please christians, don't be hypocritics and prove me wrong.