Left behind...

Over the weekend I heard of a new computer game being developed called "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind_%28series%29#Videogame_based_on_the_series ) as a way to market radical conservative Christian values to kids and PC gamers. This game is probably one of the most rediculous things I have seen in a long time. It's not some kind of mythical quest to discover the bible, it does not teach peace, forgiveness or any of Jesus' cardinal values; the game is a shooter where you use the "power of prayer" to heal and improve your chances in battle. I saw game footage of this game, and it was just as violent as GTA or Halo except that it preaches radical Christian values and the killing of non-Christians. This game actually gives you a bonus for killing the non-believers. Tell me that this isn't a frightening development in the electronic entertainment industry.

In the past the Christian games were incredibly sheltered from the real world, they preached the good Christian values (you know, the ones that Jesus preached and not the ones preached by the Spanish Inquisitors or the Crusaders) and taught the kids how to share, how to make moral judgements and other good and upstanding moral beliefs. Even if they did preach Christian dogma in an effort to brainwash kids into Christianity before they had a chance to develop their own moral and spiritual beliefs. Obviously since I am an Athiest, I am a bit biased on this, but I believe that there are good Christian values and bad Christian values. The good ones are those that preach tolerance, community, charity, love and forgiveness; the bad ones are those that preach intolerance, conformity, and the violence towards non-Christians. If you ever watch the Simpsons, I believe that the values instilled in Rod and Tod Flanders are the proper ones if you wish to raise your child as a Christian, they watch the G rated Christian TV shows and Movies, they play the Christian versions of board games and none of them have anything even remotely related to violence...especially violence against those non-believers.

Okay, so I have blasted this game from its Christian morality standpoint, but what about as a PC game. When I first looked up at the TV and saw the game footage, I was actually rather impressed by the graphics and fast-paced action, but then they started to show what made this game unique. The soldier in the middle of an incredibly intense firefight who stops fighting to pray doesn't get shot like he would in an actual battle, but instead gains strength and skills. In war, stopping to pray in the middle of a military action is a guarantee that you will get killed, and since a high percentage of our military comes from this same demographic that the game is marketed to, we're going to see a few soldiers who might take this game literally...after all, the Christian right who preach against GTA say that it will cause us to steal cars and climb the water tower with 350 shoulder propelled rockets (nevermind where all that extra ammo goes in my jeans and t-shirt) and shoot down police helicopters by the dozens. If video games really do cause us to copy what's in the game, wouldn't I be running around trying to headbutt every brick wall I see in the off chance that I will gain the ability to shoot fireballs? I learned that from Mario and Luigi, so how is that different than CJ from GTA?

If prayer really worked in battles, wouldn't the Romans have been able to keep from falling to the barbarians? Same thing for sports, both sides pray to god before the game, only one team wins...prayer simply doesn't cause things to happen, though faith is important. If we'd just sat around praying for a cure for polio, I might be in a wheelchair due to my struggles with the disease as a child instead of being immune to it thanks to the vaccine developed by scientists. I wish to be the best basketball player in the world all the time, but I still play like a white guy (meaning I can't palm the ball or dunk), so I go to the courts and play more to gain skills with hard work and dedication. I've seen great people get sick and how everyone prayed for them to get better, but the prayer didn't work and they died. On the other hand, there are horrible, abusive people who get everything they want without even trying. Prayer does not bring justice, success or anything other than false hope.

So this started as a rant against marketing things towards Christians, and ended up as an anti-prayer rant. To me, the fact that companies use "Christian" values to market their products in order to make millions. The people who buy these products are generally those who are struggling to make ends meet and are conned by the church to waste their money on "Christian" products and services. I dated a girl who lived in poverty, not knowing if she would even have enough food to eat dinner from one day to the next, and her mother STILL donated a significant amount of her earnings at the shoe factory (seriously) to her church. Meanwhile, her daughter suffered through poverty and abuse, all without any protection from the church that was paid to give her that support. Religion has long hijacked the finances and opinions of the ignorant, stupid and needy, so now that they are starting to market violent video games to this same demographic it is starting to get rediculous. If you really believe in the power of prayer, try this: Go into Sadr City with American flag parachute pants and an Israeli flag poncho with a crucifix in your hand and stand there and pray to Jesus. See how long it takes before you're in the trunk of a car on the way to your torture and death. Or maybe Jesus can come save you or grant you temporary invincibility or a weapon power-up. How is that any more rediculous than spending every sunday praying for a better life instead of actually going out there and DOING SOMETHING about it?