Christian game ruffles feathers

Controversial games are grabbing the headlines once again, with Christmas approaching; it looks like the Christians are getting in on the act.

Cnet is reporting that the game titled Left Behind: Eternal Forces , a Christian strategy game, is causing a bit of a stir. The game is based on a series of Christian books that are popular over the pond and is set in New York after millions of Christians get sent to heaven. Your role in the game is to recruit and convert and save those that God has left behind.

Cnet reports that one group, called ‘Campaign to Defend the Constitution’ is fundamentally against the game and what it stands for, Clark Stevens the co-director of the group said:

"After you kill somebody you need to recharge your soul points and to do that you need to bend down in prayer...I think the message is extremely clear."

The moral question here is: if it is justifiable to make a game in which somebody kills in the name of criminal activities (like GTA) and therefore not justifiable making a game that tasks players to kill those who will not convert. The developers of the game, who are themselves Christians, made this comment:

"The antichrist is the main bad guy and so you are dealing with his henchmen. Both sides are trying to win the hearts and the minds of people who are not on either side."

The problem here isn’t the killing as such, it’s the killing in the name of religion, which of course is firmly in the public’s conscience with all the suicide bombings and religious conflict going on in the world. Would WalMart be stocking a game if you played a young Muslim instead of a Christian? Probably not.

Either way reports suggest that the game is selling well and that WalMart has no intention of removing it from their shelves. The question rages, should games be allowed to display a religious message? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.