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Left Behind

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by ccrobinson, Dec 14, 2006.

  1. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is the phrase I've seen used to describe the Left Behind computer game. A website that I use to stay current about my IT profession, The Inquirer, had a blurb about the LB computer game.

    From The INQ:

    "The plot is that Jesus has come back and taken most of his followers in a first sweep, but carelessly leaves behind a few Christians who have to face the armies of the devil. In the game you have to kill or convert these forces of the anti-Christ. While players lose "spirit points" every time they gun down nonbelievers rather than convert them, they can earn these back by having their character pray. So praying with your finger on the trigger seems to be a perfectly good strategy."

    "The main issue is that the game is getting mainstream distribution and is on sale in Walmart stores but opponents say it encourages religious intolerance. It also teaches kids to think that the secretary-general of the United Nations is the anti-Christ. Other bad guys include rock stars and people with Muslim-sounding names. Much of the opposition to the game comes from liberal Christian groups who feel that mowing people down with guns is a not good way to get on the right side of God. One church has plans to picket Wal-Mart for flogging the game. However, it may take a spot of divine intervention to get any kid, Christian or otherwise to want to buy it. The game is reportedly full of bugs and reviews have averaged about three out of ten. The Maker of the game probably think the media is owned by the anti-Christ rather than conclude the game is pants."


    Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lahaye are becoming, or possibly have already become, embarrassments.
     
  2. Bro Tony

    Bro Tony New Member

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    Yes, I would agree. I believed the whole book series was done in such a way as to make lots of money. The books were written in a way that the letters were big and the spacing such that each of the series did not really deal with much information. Thus allowing them to write and sell more volumes. This game is ridiculous also. And before anyone misunderstand my position--I am a Pre-mil., Pre-trib dispensationalist. They have done us a mis-service and have become embarrassments not only to those of our understanding but to the whole church.

    Bro Tony
     
  3. Not_hard_to_find

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    Is the game part of their franchise?
     
  4. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    ==I think we passed that mark several years ago. I think that LaHaye and Jenkins are being driven by profits and not solid Biblical Theology. How many editions of the "Left Behind" books are now out (I believe there are now several prequels)? There is the video game, which I am sure they are earning some profits on, there are other novels the two are writing that are geared towards the same subject/storyline, and then there was the contraversy about the "Left Behind Movie". To add to this, after the success of "The Passion" LaHaye was on tv talking about getting a major production studio to do a movie on the resurrection. While I am not opposed to such an idea why did LaHaye suddenly want to do that? Could it have something to do with the fact that he was not in the on the "Left Behind Movie" and he now sees a chance to be in on a major movie? There was a time when I had respect for LaHaye, but time has erased most of that respect.

    O, yes, and like Bro. Tony I am premillennial, pretribulational, and dispensational.
     
  5. Karen

    Karen Active Member

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    I partly agree. From what I have heard, I agree that the game is ridiculous, and I won't buy it for anyone.
    However, I voluntarily bought each and every one of the 12 volumes. And I read them all. No one who bought them was forced to. What it sounds like you are really saying is that readers like me have more money than sense! :tongue3:

    It SOUNDS like many have an editing standard for Christian fiction that we don't for other books.

    I read "literature", and I also read "popular fiction". In popular fiction, look at the mystery, science fiction or western sections in Barnes & Noble, for example. Louis L'Amour wrote over a hundred books. By the standards of many LB "editors", that certainly could have been condensed.
    Lucy Maud Montgomery did not just write "Anne of Green Gables". She wrote 8 novels and numerous short stories that cover Anne from the time she was eleven to World War II, when she was 70 years old with grown grandchildren. Many of Montgomery's characters and situations are revised partially and repeated in her dozens and dozens of books.

    P.G. Wodehouse used situations and dialogue over and over. Over a hundred books. Was it a plot to sell more books? Of course! :thumbsup:

    Have you ever contemplated the extreme wordiness of Charles Dickens?
    He originally wrote for magazines, leaving cliffhangers at the end of installments.

    How about Grace Livingston Hill, the queen of Christian romance fiction?
    She wrote over a hundred books. I read most of them in my youth. The only difference between any two was that in one a rich girl would marry a poor boy, and in another a poor girl would marry a rich boy.

    Perhaps the main thing wrong with Left Behind is that it was successful. As Christians, we often seem to suspect things that are successful. But the authors did not receive one dollar that was not voluntarily given in the free market.

    And we all know that a mature Christian reads the early Puritans rather than modern fiction of whatever kind. :saint:
     
  6. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    First, Hi Karen! :wavey:

    Second, I don't agree with this. If anything, the standard has been lowered simply because these are Christian books, that is, because they're marketed to Christians.


    Dickens?? You're defending Jenkins writing and story-telling (or lack of)?? I'm confused. :confused:


    I think it was successful for the same reasons that Hal Lindsay was successful many years ago.
     
  7. Rufus_1611

    Rufus_1611 New Member

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    Left Behind Video Games (LFBG) is a publicly traded company. LFBG is a holder of a license to use the Left Behind name etc. However, it is not a part of a Lahaye/Jenkins franchise. (Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=LFBG.OB)

    It may be interesting to note that the advisory board for this game included representatives from Mail Boxes etc., Microsoft, Redline Marketing, Activision Value, Hill/Warner Media Services, Jambat Mobile and Purpose Driven the leadership/growth training arm of Saddleback Valley Church.

    (Source: http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c219/talk2action/lbg_board_old.gif)
     
  8. Karen

    Karen Active Member

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    Part of my point was that people criticize LB books specifically because they think the books were deliberately strung out. There is no duty to write as succinctly as possible. Many writers we now consider classic were very long-winded, such as Dickens and Montgomery.
    I am not saying that LB books were written as well as Dickens. I am noting the assertion, repeated many times by LB critics, that one of the reasons they think LB books are inherently badly-written is that good writers don't string things out. Yes, they often do.
     
  9. Lagardo

    Lagardo New Member

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    If its anything like Halo, I bet the witnessing/conversion thing is tough. In legendary mode, I can barely identify a grunt to shoot, let alone decide if I should witness to him.

    I'm inclined to think this whole idea is a bit silly...it seems obvious from the reviews that 1) its poor quality and 2) the world is not getting the message.
     
  10. Not_hard_to_find

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    Thanks for the info, Rufus. Appreciate the link.
     
  11. Bro Tony

    Bro Tony New Member

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    My critism is not that there were 12 books or that they were strung out because they were not succinct. The point was that they could have easily put three books in one because of the large type and space between lines. If they would have added more info that would have really filled a book I would have not critized this. Be that as it may; the characture of pre-mil. pre-tri dispensational theology has done more harm than good.

    Bro Tony
     
  12. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    nevermind that I disagree with the primary contention of the books...that there will be a rapture..this game is an embarassment to the Church.

    Every evangelical I've talked with about it is embarassed by this farce of a game. Not only is the basic premise all messed up (insofar as how you get "points" and so forth) it is just a poorly constructed marketting concept. I think we've reached beyond critical mass in our faith versus the marketting.
     
  13. 777

    777 Well-Known Member
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    Well, if you don't like the game, don't play it. If you can't stand the idea of it, don't even buy it. Atheists are going out of their way to trash some videogame.

    I am going to finish it in a day or two. Yes, it's got domonists overtones, is based on the books, has a mixed religious message, and has no problem promoting terrorism. Still, it's just a game, and the theme's a change of pace.

    I'm tired of fighting aliens.
     
  14. Rufus_1611

    Rufus_1611 New Member

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    I'm not an atheist and I'm going out of my way to trash this game. I tried to run the demo to confirm a couple of things but it failed on both of my machines. Can you confirm or deny that if someone does not convert to Christianity then the player kills the heathen?

    Christian Video Game Pulled From Fla. Store's Shelves
    ...​
    A new video game, which depicts Christians on a mission to spread their faith by killing non-Christians who refuse to convert, has caused a religious uproar, according to WJXT-TV.​
    ...​
    It's essentially faith-based killing. The purpose of the game is for Christians in the game to kill their non-Christian opponents or to convert them," Simpson said.​
    ...​
     
  15. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    So, you're going to just dismiss the sheer stupidity of a game like this by calling everybody atheists? Just checking.


    But other than that, it's ok, right?


    A change of pace doesn't mean it's a good thing. This change of pace contradicts everything that Jesus Christ stands for.


    There are other games out there besides fighting aliens and killing the heathen scum.
     
  16. Lagardo

    Lagardo New Member

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    Not me, but when I do tire of it, I enjoy racing cars....I don't think video games have to involve killing.

    And killing for sport...well, that's another thread.
     
  17. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    What racing games do you play, Lagardo? PC or on a console?
     
  18. 777

    777 Well-Known Member
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    Yo, CC, it's just a game.

    Like the book, there's an Anti-Christ to compete with, and it's set in NYC right after the Rapture.

    This is just another RTS game with "chapters" that have missions with primary and secondary objectives. Three groups exist in the game: the Tribulation Force , the Global Peacekeepers and Neutrals The goal is to save as many people as possible before the Antichrist recruits them.

    Recruiting Neutrals is the easiest way to accomplish this goal. Neutral's become "Friends" only when converted. Friends are unskilled, but can be trained into one of five unit types: Recruiters (disciples and missionaries), Builders, Influencers (musicians and worship leaders), Healers and Soldiers. Resource management then, again.

    Each character has a Spirit Level which must be maintained if they are to stay converted. Spirit can be raised by Praying, which every character has the ability to do, as well as by Influencers (Musicians, Worship Leaders and Praisers). If a friend's Spirit Level should drop too low, they revert back to being Neutral, requiring them to be recruited again. It also makes them more susceptible to defections.

    Their Spirit Level drops everytime they kill the enemy. The goal is not to wipe out the enemy, but to convert them. Then there's all these special items, if the Spirit Level is high enough, there's scrolls to summon angels, holy water to increase Health and Spirit, copies of the Bible for maxing out Spirit. It's a game.

    At the end of every mission, a clue page appears as the next mission loads. If answered correctly, players get to choose a resource bonus. This game is loaded with Biblical and Christianity information that IS accurate.

    There are all kind of bugs in EF - bad AI scripting, too much micro-managment IMO, and you have to start from scratch every single time from one mission to the other, no continuity. And the system has to be high-end.
     
  19. holas84

    holas84 New Member

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    The whole thing sounds a little cooky to me. I don't think that it is very neat to create an animated game of Christians killing non-Christians for any reason. Isn't that what people get upset at extemist muslims...that they kill those who disagree with them.
     
  20. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    not hatin the man, just the game...

    I find it highly ironic that you have to "compete" with the Anti-Christ...so if you die during the game does the anti-Christ win?

    or kill 'em...cause killins my business and business is good!

    scary concept, just plain scary...

    WAIT! You can lose your salvation in this game? WOW, I can't even begin to say how horrible that is...

    yeah, I've got this game called State of Emergency where you are running around in the middle of the LA Riots kind of mayhem. Hundreds of people running around, with bad guys in the crowd. You get aren't "supposed" to kill any innocents (but their screams of agony are the funniest) but if do they only cost you a negative 10 points on your score whereas a bad guy starts at 200 points plus...no real incentive there either :smilewinkgrin:

    wow, this just gets scarier and scarier...holy water...rofl...great gravy...are you serious...

    and whoever designed it should be excommunicated...or beaten severely with a large wet noodle...

    the theology is actually worse than the books, I didn't think it was possible...

    We are reward for our knowledge and not our application. Sounds like Sunday School.

    read what you wrote above and do you really believe that is an accurate statement?

    not surprised here. Poor theology, poor construction, poor scripting, poor game...poor me!:BangHead:
     
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