I wanted to believe that it wasn't true, that the guys behind the Left Behind series were not planning a game that would be a few steps away from Command and Conquer meets Grand Theft Auto for Christians. Unfortunately, the website bears out the claims. Take a look at this, my fellow conservative Christians, and see your redeemer getting blasphemed:
Wage a war of apocalyptic proportions in LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces - a real-time strategy game based upon the best-selling LEFT BEHIND book series created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Join the ultimate fight of Good against Evil, commanding Tribulation Forces or the Global Community Peacekeepers, and uncover the truth about the worldwide disappearances!
---Lead the Tribulation Force from the book series , including Rayford, Chloe, Buck and Bruce against Nicolae Carpathia � the AntiChrist.
---Conduct physical & spiritual warfare : using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry throughout the game world.
---Recover ancient scriptures and witness spectacular Angelic and Demonic activity as a direct consequence of your choices.
---Command your forces through intense battles across a breathtaking, authentic depiction of New York City.
---Control more than 30 units types - from Prayer Warrior and Hellraiser to Spies, Special Forces and Battle Tanks!
---Enjoy a robust single player experience across dozens of New York City maps in Story Mode � fighting in China Town , SoHo , Uptown and more!
---Play multiplayer games as Tribulation Force or the AntiChrist's Global Community Peacekeepers with up to eight players via LAN or over the internet!
You know what, I could be entirely wrong and your whole purpose in the game is to heroically fight to the death to save non-Christians from the Global Community Peacekeepers, but for some reason I really doubt that that is what the game is all about. This is the sort of thing that some "Christians" do that makes me want to crawl into a hole sometimes.
The game is heretical for two main reasons. First of all, as self-proclaimed Christians, those who are behind Left Behind's merchandise lines meet the criteria of those who "know the truth, but disagree with it" which is the foundation of heresy. Second, they know that Jesus commanded that violence not be used as a tool to advance his ministry. Christians should distance themselves from this product line and firmly denounce it when confronted by non-Christians.
There are only three scenarios I can think of to explain why a self-professing Christian would make a game like this. They are not a Christian, and want to attack Christianity. They want to increase "persecution" of Christians in the United States for whatever sick reason they have. They are one hundred percent clueless about dealing with non-Christians and can't imagine why a game that simultaneously goes against Christian teachings and glorifies religious warfare against non-Christians might not go over well with non-Christians.
To be honest, I've never been a fan of the Left Behind series. If I want answers I'll read the Bible. If I want entertainment, I'll swing by Blockbuster on the way home.
Same here. I never had any interest in reading the books, and it was finally settled when Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost said that they were so bad that "you could swing a dead cat into a Christian bookstore and any book it landed on would be better."
I read the Left Behind books and found them entertaining & uplifting, though far from perfect; but this news really is over the top. Marketing such a game is absurd, & I agree w/ the concerns you raised.
Yeah, my first thought was "since when did a warrior for Christ" come to mean picking up an AK-47 and getting into gun battles in the streets with the Anti-christ's followers? There's a case to be made for chivalric knights being true warriors for Christ, perhaps, but nothing in this game comes even close.
Satan always takes little steps to get us to do the wrong things.
I can see his fingerprints all over this one, too.
Can't you find a good game?
The only reason that this game is bad to me is that it is blatantly exploiting Christianity for evil ends. Christians should not support any game which preachs armed resistance in the end times. We are SUPPOSED to be willing to die for our faith during those days. In fact, I believe the Bible says that we will die for it.
Anything for a buck.
Real Christanity just doesn't make for a good game. A game is about me winning . But Christianity is not about myself, it's about Him.
Real Christianity also does not celebrate hurting non-believers who fight against Jesus in any form. It's just about shaking the sand off your sandals and leaving them to God's judgement.
No argument with that, MikeT.
I have tended to think that the whole "left[ist] behind" pre-trib pile of crap is another excellent distraction from the enemy, indicating the truth of His warning about the level of deception to come ("were those days not shortened...")
Wanna see a great Falling Away? Just wait until the Purpose-Driven "don't worry, God would NEVER make His people suffer even just a little - you'll be beamed outta here before the ink is even dry on your 'get out of hell free' card" imitation 501-c(3) 'church' sees what His Word REALLY says...
"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
Indeed. If we do find ourselves in the end times, it won't be the time to pick up a gun and fight the good fight. The patience and faith of the saints will be rewarded, not their ability to mow down waves of the damned.
that's really kind of pathetic
do these people honestly think that it'll sell?
plus, it's an idiotic concept