W.W.J.K.

Nearly every day something happens that makes me want to further distance myself from other people who call themselves "Christians". People who profit greatly off of a "religion" have always confused me, and nobody knows how to pull a profit from their religion like the Christians do. But Christian justification of violence has been kept on the down-low since the Inquisitions and the Crusades came to a close. Violence committed openly in the name of the Christian God has thus far been dubbed unacceptable fanaticism (Waco, Texas, for example). Although lot of "God-fearing" Americans definitely have a "my God is better than your God" attitude, which is why things like the war in Iraq are easily justified. Many Christian Americans sub-consciously view these people as heathens. But still, nobody openly discusses war or violence based solely on Christian religious ideals because people aren't yet willing to talk about the possibility that Americans may fight over religion just the same as people in Africa and the middle east.

But those days may be coming to a close and giving birth to an age where Christian Americans proudly wave the banner of their faith, let out a battle cry, and become willing to take up arms for their God. Because soon, the profiteering buffoon Tim LaHaye of "Left Behind Series" fame, will be releasing a Christian warfare video game called "LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces."

I have read several of LaHaye's books, and let's just say there isn't much to talk about. The writing is ameteur at best, and the weak story line goes on and on and on to no end. But the bad story sold to millions of gullible Christians foaming at the mouth for Jesus is beside the point.

The game is essentially a "Christian" take on all the other strategic fighting games that are so popular. It is brought to us by video game producer Troy Lyndon, of Madden Football fame, and in interviews with the creators, nothing is discussed more than the hope that the game will appeal to users on a massive scale, and generate huge profits. It is modeled after similar violent strategic fighting games, only this time, users will be fighting for something greater than just the satisfaction of winning. They will be killing for the Lord.

In the game, you are in command of a force of Christian warriors roaming the streets of New York after the rapture leaves the world in a chaotic state. The web site for the game boasts that you are able to use modern-day warfare technologies to carry out battles on the streets of New York City.

You are the Christian warrior. Who are the enemies? Well... I have read several of the Left Behind books (never got through all five-hundred of them because I got bored out of my mind after number five or six). The "enemy" is anybody who isn't a Born-Again Christian. Kill the Jews, Catholics, Athiests, Moslems, and those pesky peace-loving one-world-government-sanctioning Buddhists, and even the terrible pagan punk-rockers.

I don't need to write much about the game, because the implications behind it speak for themselves. But let me just say that we cannot take things like this lightly. Is isn't just a game. It sanctions and promotes a very dangerous Christian jihadist mentality. Yes... I meant to say jihadist. It rationalizes killing in the name of Jesus Christ. It's bad enough that people are using the name of the man who said "It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven" to make millions upon millions of dollars, but now they are using his name to justify killing. What happened to "If a man strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other one"? I guess that passage, along with many others, is missing from LaHaye's bible. Being that so many Christians already see things like the war in Iraq as a bit of a holy war (we're the good guys, they're the bad guys, "God Bless America," and "Pray For Our Troops") this game is another blow to the foundations of the Christian faith.

I smell a Christ-centered school shooting in the air!

Who Would Jesus Kill?