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Baby Jesus Hates The Troops

Why else would Evangelical Christian group Operation Standup (which is actually just a clever anagram of their true name, “Porn Audio Patents”) send our fighting men and women crappy video games like Left Behind: Eternal Forces?

The game, which raised the ire of many activist groups for its promotion of killing and converting non-Christians, will come packaged in “freedom packets” that also include a pocket-size Gideon bible, a Christian extreme sports DVD and the proselytizing book More Than a Carpenter.

What should have really “raised the ire” of just about everyone is that from a pure gameplay perspective, the game blows harder than Ted Haggard at a Village People fanfest. I don’t care if your game lets you kill hookers, school children, or non-believers, just…you know…let me have fun while I’m doing God’s will or whatever.

Recommendation: Take out the video game and give ‘em something that makes much more sense.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 5:55 am and is filed under Computer Gaming, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

9 Responses to “Baby Jesus Hates The Troops”

  1. JuJutsu Says:
    August 15th, 2007 at 6:49 am

    Where exactly does one read a PINK camo bible?

  2. University Update - Video Games - Baby Jesus Hates The Troops Says:
    August 15th, 2007 at 8:46 am

    [...] Contact the Webmaster Link to Article video games Baby Jesus Hates The Troops » Posted at Amber Night - true [...]

  3. Jason Says:
    August 15th, 2007 at 7:57 pm

    Sorry, but there is no “convert or kill” in the game at all. Even the Anti-Defamation League - no friend to evangelical Christians - has admitted that. You are free to have whatever opinions you want about how the game plays or the theology behind it, but at least don’t lie or spread the lies of others about this particular issue.

    Where exactly does one read a PINK camo bible?

    At a Code Pink protest? *ba-dum-bum!*

  4. Ben Says:
    August 15th, 2007 at 9:03 pm

    Wild speculation: Mars? Or some place with lots and lots of granite (or any other rock with a whole ton of iron-oxide-riddled quartz). Neither of those places sound particularly “girly” to me, though, so…

  5. Amber Says:
    August 15th, 2007 at 9:45 pm

    The “convert or kill” line is a quote from the Joystiq link, not mine.

  6. Zigs Says:
    August 16th, 2007 at 8:01 am

    Two Frisbees and a book of joint paper? Where do I sign up?

  7. Zigs Says:
    August 16th, 2007 at 9:05 am

    Canned. Via GamePolitics:

    “The Department of Defense has now put a stop to the shipments, following an inquiry by ABC News. According to the ABC report, Operation Start Up (OSU) Tour, an evangelical Christian entertainment troupe, planned to include copies of Left Behind in care packages destined for U.S. forces.”

  8. bullet Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 11:57 am

    Sorry, but there is no “convert or kill” in the game at all.

    Looking at the screenshots, there do appear to be people shooting and people dying.

    And then there’s this statement from the features page:

    Control more than 30 units types - from Prayer Warrior and Worship Leaders to Spies, Special Forces and Battle Tanks!”

    Are these Tanks of worship? Do the special forces use prayer bullets and grace grenades?

    Perception is everything. When you say on the same page that you can “Command your forces…” against “…the AntiChrist’s Global Community Peacekeepers…” it certainly SOUNDS like war against non-believers.

    Not to mention the FAQ on leftbehindgames.com

    Does anyone get killed in the game?
    People do perish in our game just like some do in the book series. This is a real strategy game, so the gamer controls his forces just like you do in chess game.

    Why does this game have to contain violence at all? Why is it necessary for a fun and successful game?
    Violence is not required to make a fun game. However, it is required to make a game about the end of the world in the Left Behind book series. We have taken great care to make certain that there are real consequences for poor gamer behavior, unlike most games in the market. For instance, unnecessary killing will result in lower Spirit points which are essential to winning.

    Again, sounds a lot like violence against non-believers.

  9. DavidGX Says:
    August 29th, 2007 at 8:19 am

    I like the “camo bibles” in the link. I wish ALL bibles were much harder to see.

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