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Kids Kill In Violent Christian Videogame
Raiders News Service ^ | July 21, 2006 | Zack Pelta-Heller

Posted on 07/22/2006 10:29:49 AM PDT by FJ290

Evangelical videogame makers are hoping to capture a mainstream audience with a new game that leaves corpses piled on the streets of New York.

The Rapture is headed for New York City, and just in time for Christmas. In Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a Christian-themed videogame due out this October, the New York skyline smolders during the End of Days, the faithful have been called up to heaven, and the remaining New Yorkers are engaged in an epic clash between the Tribulation Forces and the Antichrist's army of Global Community Peacekeepers (aka UN Peacekeepers).

Evangelical videogame makers are praying that Eternal Forces will finally enable them to tap into the $25 billion global videogame market. They hope their "Christian" values-themed game will capture the same audience that has made bestsellers out of violent standards like Grand Theft Auto and Halo 2.

(Excerpt) Read more at raidersnewsupdate.com ...


TOPICS: Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: christians; culture; eternalforces; leftbehind; rapture; religion; videogames
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To: FJ290
Certainly Jesus was no wimp- He was the most militant, headstrong, unstoppable, fear-inducing man to ever walk the earth. Why do you think they felt a need to murder Him? He threatened the power structure of the most powerful empire on the planet, and He still does today. He threatened to religion o sstate-worship. Remember, the Roman citizen was required to declare the highest Lordship of Caesar under some rulers. Communist and Islamic nations who persecute Him are a perfect example of the same spirit working today. He didn't have to be violent physically, He was more than violent enough in the spiritual realm.

I have a feeling that we agree more than disagree. I know all about the spirit of antichrist, and it's proper scriptural understanding through John's epistles. That's why I don't agree with the typical end time do-nothing attitude.

As for your last quote of 2 Cor 12:9, I always took that as God answering Paul's prayer. See, it wasn't a physical sickness, it was a demonic spirit that stirred up persecution. See v.7 : And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

So Paul prayed that it might depart, and the Lord answered: My grace is sufficient.

See? The demon was removed from his life by God's grace.

As for poverty, see 2 Cor 8:9. Jesus destroyed it, just as effectively as He destroyed the power of sin and sickness over us. See also Romans ch.8.

21 posted on 07/22/2006 12:31:05 PM PDT by ovrtaxt (We gotta watch out for the Hellbazoo and the Hamas...)
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To: ovrtaxt
Certainly Jesus was no wimp- He was the most militant, headstrong, unstoppable, fear-inducing man to ever walk the earth.

I can agree with you on that, but he certainly wasn't a warmonger nor did He promote violence.

See? The demon was removed from his life by God's grace.

Hmm... I respectfully disagree here and here's why. St. Paul mentions in his other epistles weaknesses in his body. In fact, he mentions some were even making fun of him because of it. He says he has an infirmity. Infirmity means an illness, disease.

My Grace is sufficient for theee. For power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

If power can be made perfect in infirmity, how come the demon would flee as you suggest? Why would St. Paul then glory in that infirmity?

As for poverty, see 2 Cor 8:9. Jesus destroyed it, just as effectively as He destroyed the power of sin and sickness over us. See also Romans ch.8.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich.

Are you really interpreting that as material wealth? See, I interpret that as a spiritual wealth.

I fail to see how Romans chapter 8 says that sin, sickness and poverty no longer will bother us again. It is a battle we will always deal with as Jesus instructed us to visit the sick, help the poor, and pray to keep ourselves from temptation.

"For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always."

How is poverty abolished forever when Jesus said that?

Another interesting note that Jesus praised the poor widow that cast in her measley mites compared to the rich that cast in in their abundance. The Lazarus parable too where the rich man is in torment and the poor man makes it to Heaven. Because the rich man was selfish and never helped his poor neighbor, Lazarus.

I fear it is making hollow promises to tell people that they can escape poverty by adopting a certain interpretation of Scripture. Jesus saw poverty as a certain condition of life, one that would always be among us and He left instructions on how to deal with it. Through kindness, human compassion and brotherly love.

22 posted on 07/22/2006 1:24:08 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: Between the Lines
Change that to "Allahu Akbar" and the islamofacists would love this game.

They probably already have a video game that says that.. oh wait..they are acting out in real life, they don't need a game.

23 posted on 07/22/2006 1:27:02 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: FJ290
Hmm... I respectfully disagree here and here's why. St. Paul mentions in his other epistles weaknesses in his body. In fact, he mentions some were even making fun of him because of it. He says he has an infirmity. Infirmity means an illness, disease.

No, infirmity means human frailty, our limitations in this present state. Check it out with a word study.

If power can be made perfect in infirmity, how come the demon would flee as you suggest? Why would St. Paul then glory in that infirmity?

David said that he would boast in the Lord. He would brag, he would be proud, not because of anything that he did, but humbly remembering the power of God that rested upon him. If he could manifest the authority of God under a lesser covenant, how much more should we? Demons are subject to us because we are in Christ- seated at the right hand of God in Him, holding a position of Lordship over Heaven and earth in Him, preeminent in Him. We are part of the Body of Christ, therefore all authority resident in Him applies to us.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich.

Are you really interpreting that as material wealth? See, I interpret that as a spiritual wealth.

Absolutely, it means MONEY. Look at the whole chapter. He was speaking in context of taking up an offering of MONEY to help the persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. There really is no other reasonable way to interpret it.

I fail to see how Romans chapter 8 says that sin, sickness and poverty no longer will bother us again. It is a battle we will always deal with as Jesus instructed us to visit the sick, help the poor, and pray to keep ourselves from temptation.

And how are we supposed to do that if we are compromising with personal sin, too sick to function, and too broke to help anybody?

As for Romans 8, it's the most succinct description of our position of dominion in Christ that I know of.

"For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always."

How is poverty abolished forever when Jesus said that?

It's not abolished in the earth as a reality, but we are just freed from having to be ruled by it. Same with sin and sickness. Not everybody gets saved or healed either. That doesn't diminish the provision that Jesus made for us on the cross.

Another interesting note that Jesus praised the poor widow that cast in her measley mites compared to the rich that cast in in their abundance.

Look closely at that again. Read it from Mark 12:42 to 13:2 without stopping for the chapter break. Jesus saw the religious leaders taking advantage of the poor by accepting her offering, when she should have been the recipient of the temple storehouse. Widows, orphans, the levites and the stranger (non-believers who were seeking God) were to get special care, since they had no provider, or head of household. Jesus pronounced judgment upon the temple because of their greed. (He called them 'lovers of silver' literally) He did not condemn the rich who gave with a right heart.

The Lazarus parable too where the rich man is in torment and the poor man makes it to Heaven. Because the rich man was selfish and never helped his poor neighbor, Lazarus.

No argument there. But again, the problem was the man's heart, his love of money- not the money itself. He could have had money and served God, just as Zacchaeus did after his conversion.

I fear it is making hollow promises to tell people that they can escape poverty by adopting a certain interpretation of Scripture. Jesus saw poverty as a certain condition of life, one that would always be among us and He left instructions on how to deal with it. Through kindness, human compassion and brotherly love.

I agree, but that doesn't mean we accept it, but that we destroy it. How about through hard work and education, through faithfulness and character and morality and ethics? Poverty is not solved by some some 'faith confession' as I've heard taught on Christian TV, nor is it solved by giving into anyone's offering. Christians need to seriously take a cue from the Jews- they actually believe their covenant, and we have a better one! It's just that most of the church is racked with bad teaching on the subject.

Like I said earlier, I think we agree more than we disagree.

24 posted on 07/22/2006 2:00:14 PM PDT by ovrtaxt (We gotta watch out for the Hellbazoo and the Hamas...)
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To: FJ290

I like your homepage too.


25 posted on 07/22/2006 2:01:30 PM PDT by ovrtaxt (We gotta watch out for the Hellbazoo and the Hamas...)
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To: FJ290

Well said!


26 posted on 07/22/2006 2:03:53 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (404 Page Error Found)
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To: Between the Lines
Change that to "Allahu Akbar" and the islamofacists would love this game.

How long before the releaese of the version with heroic Jihad Forces facing the army of the Great Satan (aka USA).

Shouldn't be hard to make the changes.

Oh And Go Peacekeeper!

27 posted on 07/22/2006 3:13:52 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (Make peace with your Ann whatever you conceive Her to be -- Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin)
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To: FJ290

If you are Catholic, you also might like to know that in this game, Catholics are considered infidels. They must be converted (to Christianity) or killed. I don't know the reason, because I don't know much about the evangelicals that created it.

I would have a big problem with any church that participates in the distribution of this kind of garbage.


28 posted on 07/22/2006 3:15:18 PM PDT by ga medic
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To: ovrtaxt
I like your homepage too.

Thanks!

29 posted on 07/22/2006 3:18:25 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: ga medic
If you are Catholic, you also might like to know that in this game, Catholics are considered infidels. They must be converted (to Christianity) or killed. I don't know the reason, because I don't know much about the evangelicals that created it.

I would have a big problem with any church that participates in the distribution of this kind of garbage.

No, I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for sharing that information and thank you for your kindness. God Bless!

30 posted on 07/22/2006 3:20:24 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Well said!

Thank you.

31 posted on 07/22/2006 3:21:10 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: FJ290
Militants? What did God say to Joshua when He led them into the Promised Land and forced them to fight the most fierce people who were living in that land, the giants; as a means for God build the Israelis confidence in themselves?

Why didn't this peaceful God just kill all the tribes living in the promised land in their sleep? Because what is fought for, and bled for, and died for, and sacrificed for, is more precious than that which is merely given as a gift.

Joshua was so scared when he saw the size of the men charging his small band, he was on his face praying as the giants attacked. What did God say to Joshua: "Get off your face and fight". There is a time for every season under heaven, a time for peace, a time for war.

We tell ourselves the West is civilized, and we are, but the West is the minority in the world. Playing these games such as America's Army, written by military men, will not taint your kids. It will teach them team work, tactics, accuracy, and give them confidence in the event that they should ever have to defend themselves and their country.

Should China, whose economy we have set ahead centuries and are our biggest competitors for oil, ever get going they could wipe out at least two and a half billion of the world's population. All that lays between our being civilized and being back to tooth and claw is a light switch that works. I think these games are a great benefit.

32 posted on 07/22/2006 7:40:11 PM PDT by MissAmericanPie
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To: ovrtaxt

OMG your church has a terrorist training camp..... lol

I can imagine some crazy judge taking all of yall down lol.


wait, thats scary cause it could happen I'm sure.


33 posted on 07/22/2006 9:07:20 PM PDT by Ainast
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To: MissAmericanPie
Militants? What did God say to Joshua when He led them into the Promised Land and forced them to fight the most fierce people who were living in that land, the giants; as a means for God build the Israelis confidence in themselves?

Joshua wasn't a little child at the time either. He was a grown man.

34 posted on 07/22/2006 10:05:44 PM PDT by FJ290
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To: FJ290

Well, are you going to respond to 24? I'm having fun! :^)


35 posted on 07/23/2006 4:09:44 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (We gotta watch out for the Hellbazoo and the Hamas...)
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To: Oztrich Boy

The U.N. is a cesspool of liberal, humanist bureaucrats who would like to remake the U.S.A into a godless socialist clone.


36 posted on 07/23/2006 6:05:11 AM PDT by gunsofaugust (Moral liberals are the most repulsive excrement.)
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To: FJ290
It's not thou shall not kill.

It's thou shall not murder.
37 posted on 07/23/2006 6:07:38 AM PDT by Vision ("...cause those liberal freaks go to farrrrrr")
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To: gunsofaugust

Whatever


38 posted on 07/23/2006 7:02:03 AM PDT by Oztrich Boy (A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate - Robert A Heinlein)
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To: ovrtaxt
No, infirmity means human frailty, our limitations in this present state. Check it out with a word study.

Yes, it can mean that, but I don't think so in this case because in other epistles of St. Paul's he talks about being weak in the body and that even some were mocking him about it.

(For his epistles indeed, say they, are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible,)2nd Cor. 10:10

Some scholars say that they believe that St. Paul had a speech impediment.

David said that he would boast in the Lord. He would brag, he would be proud, not because of anything that he did, but humbly remembering the power of God that rested upon him. If he could manifest the authority of God under a lesser covenant, how much more should we? Demons are subject to us because we are in Christ- seated at the right hand of God in Him, holding a position of Lordship over Heaven and earth in Him, preeminent in Him. We are part of the Body of Christ, therefore all authority resident in Him applies to us.

Agreed to a certain extent. Not everyone has the talent, to heal, to preach, to drive out demons, etc. St. Paul said that those talents are given by the Lord alone and to each person individually.

Absolutely, it means MONEY. Look at the whole chapter. He was speaking in context of taking up an offering of MONEY to help the persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. There really is no other reasonable way to interpret it.

Here we are going to have to agree to disagree. I will never accept that Jesus became poor so that we could become wealthy in a material sense. If true, then every Christian would be a multi-millionaire and the promise of that would be a lie.

St. Paul also praises the churches of Macedonia in that chapter that in their poverty, they were rich otherwise:

"That in much experience of tribulation, they have had abundance of joy; and their very deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their simplicity.

And how are we supposed to do that if we are compromising with personal sin, too sick to function, and too broke to help anybody?

We should never compromise with personal sin, but we should always be praying to keep ourselves from temptation. As to sickness and being broke, here's how I would respond to that. At my last parish there was a woman there that had a severe case of Diabetes. She was always, even on her bad days, at the church working for the kingdom of God and praising His Holy Name.

My maternal grandparents who were very poor would help others through sharing the little they had and never doubting or cursing God because of their lot in life. That takes faith when you're so poor and you're so sick that you never lose sight of God and it truly is a wonderful example to behold.

On the other hand, I had a very rich friend once who lost everything they had through a bad business transaction and hiring the wrong partner. He cursed God and turned his back on him when that money was no longer there. Proving the words of our Lord that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. People can make an idol out of money.

Well, that's about all I have to say on the subject. In another post you said you wanted me to respond because you were having fun. I am glad that you are enjoying the exchange as am I. I was a little caught up on another thread and later in the day some family time so I didn't get a chance to get back with you. Sorry for the late response.

39 posted on 07/23/2006 10:13:07 AM PDT by FJ290
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To: Vision
It's not thou shall not kill. It's thou shall not murder.

I believe, as a Catholic, it's both. Catholics don't believe the Ten Commandments were abolished. Perhaps this will help you understand why I think this way:

Catechism of Catholic Church:

2054 Jesus acknowledged the Ten Commandments, but he also showed the power of the Spirit at work in their letter. He preached a "righteousness [which] exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees" as well as that of the Gentiles. He unfolded all the demands of the Commandments. "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill.' . . . But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment."

2056 The word "Decalogue" means literally "ten words." God revealed these "ten words" to his people on the holy mountain. They were written "with the finger of God," unlike the other commandments written by Moses. They are pre-eminently the words of God. They are handed on to us in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Beginning with the Old Testament, the sacred books refer to the "ten words," but it is in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ that their full meaning will be revealed.

2059 The "ten words" are pronounced by God in the midst of a theophany ("The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire."). They belong to God's revelation of himself and his glory. The gift of the Commandments is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In making his will known, God reveals himself to his people.

Sorry if that was a little long. I just wanted to show why we as Catholics feel this way.

40 posted on 07/23/2006 10:23:43 AM PDT by FJ290
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