Fundy PR Flack Crawls Out of the Woodwork, Posts Boilerplate, Doesn’t Address Real Issues
January 17, 2007
About a month ago, I got my panties in a twist about a video game called Eternal Forces that’s based on the “Left Behind” books by fundy Evangelical Tim LaHaye.
Today, I got a comment from a person who identified herself only as “SJR.” She wrote:
This statement is posted from an employee of Left Behind Games on behalf of Troy Lyndon, our Chief Executive Officer.
There has been in incredible amount of MISINFORMATION published in the media and in online blogs here and elsewhere.
Pacifist Christians and other groups are taking the game material out of context to support their own causes. There is NO “killing in the name of God†and NO “convert or dieâ€. There are NO “negative portrayals of Muslims†and there are NO “points for killingâ€.
Please play the game demo for yourself (to at least level 5 of 40) to get an accurate perspective, or listen to what CREDIBLE unbiased experts are saying after reviewing the game at www.leftbehindgames.com/pages/controversy.com.
Then, we’d love to hear your feedback as an informed player.
The reality is that we’re receiving reports everyday of how this game is positively affecting lives by all who play it.
Thank you for taking the time to be a responsible blogger.
The problem is, my post was mostly about my own reaction to a game that promotes a condescending, judgmental attitude toward people who refuse to subscribe to a militant, frighteningly cultlike version of Evangelical Christianity that bears almost no resemblance to the original teachings of Jesus. I wrote that, as a Jewish person, this attitude makes me feel unwelcome in my own country.
If SJR had chosen to relate to me on those terms, I might still disagree with her, but at least we could have parted ways respectfully. Now I’m all pissed off again! She seems to think that her boilerplate about misinformation by “Pacifist Christians” — are there any other kind? — will pacify me. She’s wrong.
SJR, I have a challenge for you. Come back here and post a comment that addresses the real issue. Your game promotes an “us against them” mentality. It promotes condescention to Jews and Muslims who won’t convert. It also happens to put heavy weaponry in the hands of the people who are doing the condescending. If you have any understanding of history or human nature, you know what happens when one group (”us”) looks down their noses at another group (”them”). You also might be able to guess what happens when the “us” group has weapons.
Whether or not your game actively promotes violence in the name of God, you can’t blame people for drawing that conclusion. Why? Because the encouragement of violence is implicit in the very ideology you espouse.
Come back here. Address that. Then we can talk.
Interesting. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
[...] Normally bloggers don’t go looking for fights; especially in their comments. In the case of Teresa however the bell has sounded and she is coming out swinging If SJR had chosen to relate to me on those terms, I might still disagree with her, but at least we could have parted ways respectfully. Now I’m all pissed off again! She seems to think that her boilerplate about misinformation by “Pacifist Christians†— are there any other kind? — will pacify me. She’s wrong. [...]
WinExtra: You’re damn right there are others! I’m sure Teresa has an entry on here somewhere about abortion doctors being murdered (et al). These murderers sure as well weren’t pacifists!
But that’s just one example. The movie ‘Dogma’ put it best - “Religion is what happens when you fuck up a good idea.”
Commenting on Behalf of an Organization? Some Best Practices to Consider….
Today, I got a boilerplate comment on my personal blog from a person who was trying to correct some “misinformation” about her company’s product that was being spread via the blogosphere. (To read the whole troubled tale of woe, check…
:twisted:I have played the demo - and that even makes it scarier. Forget the fact that it is bloodless. There are bodies piled up of people killed by the so-called “Christians” who carry high tech weapons and use them to kill who they think are the forces of the antiChrist.
It is frightening to see that the Left Behind Games people are willing to support killing (uh hem - “defending”) in the name of Christ. This is the equivalent of Islamofascists calling for the death of the infidels who they perceive are attacking their way of life.
Left Behind is calling for a Christian jihad - and it is the same thinking that led to the crusades and inquisition where thousands lost their lives because of what they thought.
Fundamentalists are showing their hand - willing to use violence in the name of Christ. They spit out the term “Christian Pacifist” as if it’s evil.
Jesus was the ultimate “Christian Pacifist” - He laid down His life. It’s time to wake up and see that these so-called “Christians” are taking America in a very scary direction. They are reviving the beast power of Revelation and themselves are representing the true antiChrist.
Justin: Thanks for stopping by! Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to your very informative comment. I’ve been a bit under the weather.
At any rate, it seems like the game is pretty damn creepy. Perhaps I should play it myself to get a firsthand look at the real problems. I just don’t want to get myself all riled up.
In you experience, does the game encourage you to kill nonbelievers? Does it discourage killing nonbelievers? What’s the deal?
[...] don’t go looking for fights; especially in their comments. In the case of Teresa however the bell has sounded and she is coming out swinging If SJR had chosen to relate to me on those terms, I might still [...]