I posted on the blog as long ago as last June about the production of a highly controversial video game, aimed at teenagers and based on a dispensationalist reading of Revelation:
...The game is based on the best-selling series of "Left Behind" books, which offer an account of the end times as predicted in the biblical book of Revelation
...The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist's Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the city. "Eternal Forces" is a so-called real-time strategy game — players act as battlefield generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to place units and when to order attacks or retreats.
In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their spirit points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other side.
The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic forces or unleash demons who feast on the faithful. As players progress through the increasingly difficult levels, they see Scripture passages presented as secret scrolls and hear inspirational music.
Now the BBC has picked up the story now the game is being released. Many groups in the States are mobilising to oppose it, with the game's promoters quoted as saying that...
...their detractors "have a clear hatred of Biblical Christianity".
Well, I guess that puts me in my place!
The BBC piece is interesting in that it delves into the dynamics of the game a little more closely, revealing at least a more subtle side to the way it works, citing one analyst:
"Your characters can do physical combat, but when they do, they lose morale and have a greater chance of becoming evil. In some sense, that can represent what happens. In the real world, you can't get involved in a gunfight and walk away and forget it."
On the other hand, it also looks at how Islamic extremist groups are also trying to use games to promote their cause.
Christians who are parents of teenagers, and youth workers too, are often desperate to find something to engage their children with the Christian faith. Please don't let it be this.....
Hi Richard
Enjoy your blog, so I'm meming you. Confused? So was I - read http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2006/12/five_things for an explanation, and how I'm involved.
The idea is to blog 5 obscure/strange facts about yourself, and then 'meme' 5 other people. Or just have a merry Christmas anyway.
God bless, David. Yes, the one you knew at OICCU. You read a lot of books don't you?
Posted by: David Keen | December 18, 2006 at 04:43 PM