The “Grand Theft Auto” for Militant Christians

… doesn’t really do these games justice. Calling this “the Grand Theft Auto for the Militant Christian Set” makes light of something that is not funny at all. Had I children I would be happier to see them playing Grand Theft Auto than the Left Behind series. At least in GTA the issues shown are easily explained and easier to then explain why they are morally or ethically questionable in a concrete, real world way. The Left Behind games are much more insidious. Created by a team of gamers with ties to Robert Warren, The Purpose Driven Life author who calls himself a stealth evangelist, the Left Behind games take place in New York, after The Rapture, and encourage children to take on the role of Christian Prosthelytizers – attempting to convert the unconverted, then killing them if they will not bend to the Christian way.

How did I hear about this? I almost didn’t. I can thank my friend Delia over at EA Forums for calling it to our attention. One of the insightful quotes my friend pulled from the Radical Congruency article about the game is below:

The idea of religious video games that celebrate the death and eternal destruction of non-adherents – worse yet, that makes their annihilation the primary task of the Christian community – raises my abhorrence for the Left Behind phenomenon to a level of utter disgust that I previously reserved only for racism and genocide.

Left Behind is to Christianity what terrorism is to Islam. Both are narcissistic and destructive distortions of otherwise (mostly) benign religions. Believing in hell or something like it does not require us to take pleasure or desire to participate in the destruction of others. If God wants to kill certain people at a certain point in history, thatÂ’s his business. And he can certainly do it himself. He doesn’t need any help from a bunch of self-righteous, overcaffeinated adolescents with bad theology in one pocket and ammo in the other.

This game has been under the radar for many, until now. Now the blogosphere is starting to fan the flame of awareness – Christian bloggers and non-Christian alike. It’s even being debated in theological publications such as The Christian Post, and secular publications such as Newsweek.

Getting back to the connection between Left Behind Games and the Purpose Driven Church:

n its corporate web site — part of its merchandising pitch — Left Behind Games touts its association with Mr. Carver, and makes clear his prominent role in Mr. Warren’s Purpose Driven Church.

To read more about the frightening “Stealth Evangelism” of Warren’s Purpose Driven Church, visit the following:

• Christianity Today

• SBC Baptist Press

• Christian Alliance for Progress

• Deception In The Church

• Let Us Reason: Community Connections

• Caller Dot Com

• Time Article on Warren

To read more about the bizarre and militant Left Behind Games, visit the following:

• Left Behind Games, Corporate Site

To read more about Dominionist Christians and their recruitment practices, visit the following:

• Talk 2 Action: Dominionsit Anthology Post

Technorati Tags: Left Behind Games Dominionist Christian Stealth Evangelism

X-Men 3

So the movie? Was awesome. Totally worth the $9.95 a person plus junk food.

Technorati Tag: X-Men 3

Waiting Impatiently

It is absolutely gorgeous out. We are supposed to be flea marketing and/or recliner shopping, but honey decided to do a bunch of household projects instead. Can’t really complain about that, now can I? Although, I did tell him I wished he’d chosen to do them tomorrow so we could use the “gee, this took longer than expected” excuse not to go to that stupid barbecue I’m dreading. *grin* So, he is mowing the lawn and making a gate for the back yard so he doesn’t have to drag the lawnmower through the house anymore to mow it (Which I didn’t actually mind. With hardwood floors everywhere it was just something that made me laugh. It didn’t hurt anything but his pride.), and a few other things. I am doing a couple of loads of laundry, vacuuming and dishes, and I watered the garden and flowers.

Date day turned into “half a date day” but that’s ok. I still get to see X-Men 3 ( yum. Wolveriiiiine ) and I still don’t have to cook. Turns out he wants to go to Bugaboo Creek (kind of like Outback, for those of you in the rest of the country). They have their version of Bloomin’ Onions called the Bunyan Onion, and he loves those. Works for me – they have fairly decent salads too.

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Other changes in my lifestyle (going back a few posts to my “getting out of my rut” topic) have been happening as well. We still go out nearly every night to hang out with friends at the local watering hole, but I’ve been sticking to diet soda instead of my usual Guinness or Whiskey Rocks in hopes it will help shrink my waistline. Also, two weeks ago I quit taking birth control (no, Mom and MoMax, not for purposes of children). Already I feel ten times better and have started to get back to a normal metabolism (well, my metabolism is rarely normal, but this is workable), started sleeping better, am less irritable, my skin has cleared up – it is pretty amazing.

Ladies, if your doctor utters the phrase “Depo Provera” or “Depo Sub-Q Provera” (what I was on for 3 months) in your presence, flee! Run, run as fast as you can. I gained 35 pounds in 3 months, while doing South Beach (on which I had lost two pants sizes while on the pill before the switch) and while working out. So no one can tell me that crap doesn’t mess your body up. In addition to the weight gain I had the shakes, night sweats, night terrors, insomnia, acne, irritability, high blood pressure – you name it, it hit me. So just, don’t go there.

Honey is the best. His first reaction when I approached him about wanting to get off birth control to try and get control back over my weight and health was total support and “I’ll get snipped if you want, because I heard your getting snipped was bad for you”. How many guys would do that?? Love him. We decided to hold off on the surgery(ies) and just take the summer off birth control to see if that would help me before we did anything else drastic.

So, he is calling me to come see his handiwork on the gate. Hope you enjoyed this episode of Waaaaaay Too Much Information, brought to you by your sponsor today, Durex Condoms.

Technorati Tag: Birth Control X-Men Depo Bugaboo Creek

It’s Gonna Be a Bright, Bright, Bright Sunshine-y Day

Here I am, experiencing the joy particular to laptop owners everywhere. Blogging outside in the sunshine. Love It. Today The Land Of Weather Vomit (New England) is being kind to this Southern transplant. It is 76 degrees, slightly breezy, and not very humid (about 54%). Monday it is expected to be 90 degrees and 78% humidity with no wind at all, so it’ll be right back to Weather Vomit soon, trust me. Meanwhile, here I sit, listening to the Rotties chase the toad that lives by our well (poor toad) and occasionally bark at our neighbor’s 14 year old cocker spaniel (which is hysterical, because she can’t hear them – she’s deaf).

I have a few plans for Memorial Day weekend, but not many (Just how I like it. I’m pretty easygoing and don’t like to plan things too far in advance when you get right down to it). Tomorrow is date day for me and my honey. Planning to try to get up early enough to go flea marketing, then see X-Men 3 matinee, then dinner somewhere (somewhere classy, you know, like TGI Friday’s…. lol). Should be fun. We hang out all the time together but it is always with several of our friends at the local watering hole, so it doesn’t feel date-like.

Hmmmm, more boring detail about my weekend plans…. we got roped into a barbecue at this guy’s house on Monday. This guy? Drives me fucking nuts. He’s so nice, yet so boring. He calls honey so much I call him honey’s other girlfriend. I don’t even call honey once a day, if that, since I see him every morning and night. This guy calls him about 9 times a day. If honey doesn’t answer? He calls, hangs up, calls, hangs up, calls, hangs up – never leaves a message. He just irritates honey into answering the phone. What a moron. And a talker – my lord does this guy talk. A lot. Nonstop. In a monotone, about WORK. Gah. Hellooooooo people, men in particular, we apprecaite what you do for us but we don’t want to talk only about work all the time. Geez. Anyway, so it’s date day tomorrow and a terrible barbecue on Monday. Tonight, I think if the rain holds off honey is going to go shoot stuff with a friend. What stuff I have no idea. Then probably dinner somewhere – I just don’t feel like cooking lately.

So back to my lazy, hazy day after writing my lazy, hazy post. Hope your weekend is fantastic!

. Memorial Day

Congratulations Net Neutrality Supporters

According to Save The Internet, the legislation passed the House without amendment! That is quite a nod to the power of the open web. Celebrate, but don’t get too comfortable… the Senate vote is next up for our calls, emails and letters. Go to Save the Internet, Free Press or Move On for more infromation.

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Network Neutrality

SAVE THE INTERNET – THE VOTE IS TODAY

The vote on Net Neutrality is this morning, people, so call call call your congressmen. I am reposting the notice from the folks at Save The Internet verbatim so that you know who to call and how to reach them.

QUOTED FROM SAVE THE INTERNET’S MYSPACE ALERT:

—————– Bulletin Message —————–
From: Save The Internet
Date: May 25, 2006 12:11 AM

Please contact the following members of Congress TODAY!!!!THURSDAY MORNING BY 10:00AM EST

(all you early morning MySpace folks – please take a second and call a few of the Democrats and Republicans listed below – please call two or three cause many of our slacker friends of the ‘Net won’t see this message in time!)

Give Congress this simple message:

“Urge them to support the bipartisan Sensenbrenner-Conyers Net Neutrality bill (HR 5417) without amendment!”

>snipped for length now that the vote in the House has been takenNet Neutrality Congress Vote Save Internet

American Idol Public Service Announcement

THANK YOU SOUL PATROL!

That is all.

Technorati Tag: American Idol Soul Patrol Taylor Hicks

My Friend Lynn’s Twisted Meme of Four

Two posts today! I am so chatty all of a sudden…

I liked this meme so much I’m passing it on. Enjoy! Don’t forget to share a link if you answer it also so I can spy on your answers.

4 things you may not have known about me:

A) Four jobs I would rather have than the one I currently do:
1. critically acclaimed author of a fabulous novel. or ok, acclaim-schmaim. just rich is fine.
2. explosives expert
3. person in charge of Paula Abdul’s sippy cup
4. Kept Woman

B) Four Movies You Wouldn’t Catch Me Ever Seeing Again:
1. Logans Run (Sannnnctuaaaryyyyyy)
2. Zoolander (I’m dumber just thinking about it)
3. Dumb and Dumber
4. Any movie where a hunky strong guy gets stuck babysitting/teaching/HAVING kids. >shudder

Growing Up With Television

On a board I frequent there is a discussion going about Fred Rogers (you remember, Mr. Rogers, who wanted to be your neighbor?). On YouTube there is a video of him speaking before the Senate on behalf of funding for children’s television, and he was quite articulate and obviously very dedicated to his cause. It got me thinking about what I watched as a kid, because let me tell you, I was all about television.

I never liked Mr Rogers, but I absolutely geeked out over Sesame Street (Hey I cried when I was around 14 years old and Mr Hooper died, how geek is that?). I also loved Zoom!, 3-2-1 Contact, Picture Pages (you know you’re singing it with me now, aren’t you?), the one about Simon (well you my name is Simon, and the things I draw come true…), Schoolhouse Rock, The Bugs Bunny Hour…. just so many fun early daytime and Saturday morning memories. Shoot, I remember when the Smurfs came out, and how I thought it was such a weird cartoon, and not as good as the ones I loved. Since I have younger sisters (much, much younger sisters) I got to see cartoons change, watching them with the girls long after I would have stopped.

Then there were the night time shows. I miss The Muppet Show terribly. I’d love to find a complete set on DVD somewhere, but I’ve never run across one. We all watched All in The Family, Sanford and Son, Laverne and Shirley, The Cosby Show (who else used to want to live in the Huxtable house?), Cheers, Diff’rent Strokes, Mork and Mindy, Facts of Life… shoot, I watched way, way too much television growing up. I left out many, many more shows we watched regularly.

I used to want a car like KITT on Knight Rider (but without the Hasselhoff, TYVM), or to be a normal person getting to spy like Scarecrow and Mrs King. When Johnny Depp came on my radar in 221 Jump Street I put stupid teen mag posters of him everywhere. I watched Tales from the Darkside, and couldn’t sleep afterward sometimes, but then I’d watch it again the next week anyway.

It seems odd to me how few shows I get attached to now. I’m not sure what the difference is. Am I older? Less naive? Are the shows spending so much time playing to the lowest common denominator that they can’t hold the attention span of a gnat? Is it that the shows don’t have as much “heart” as they did then? These days, I’m lucky to find a handful of shows to tune in to regularly. House, MD is great, and Six Feet Under was amazing while it lasted, but all too often I find I can miss an episode and not care at all. Yet there was something about how my family would all stop bickering and getting in each other’s way and everything else for at least an hour everyday, just to get together and watch a show we all liked. Sometimes that stupid television show was the only time we could be around each other without a bunch of pointless family drama going on. I am not sure what is missing from television these days, but I miss that little island of contentment, being able to be in someone else’s episode for just a little while.

Honey just walked by, read what I was writing and said “But what about the A-Team? Magnum PI? MacGuyver? He-Man?” I know! I know! Fact is, I watched so much TV growing up it would be impossible to put all the shows in a blog. It would read like a list! So to compensate for what is obviously my serious oversight of all the other mazillion shows we grew up on, here is some linkage to people who have already made the lists for me:

For a trip down memory lane, this site lists every 80s show, cartoon, song and movie. This little 80s blog on About.com gives the author’s take on various 80s trends, groups and shows as well as tons of linky goodness so you can get your fill of hands on nostalgia. Still looking for the beef? Wonder what happened to C-3POs cereal? See those and many more commercials here. Driko does a great job pooling together his version of watching way too much 80s TV in the links on his site (including links to theme songs and jingles). All theme songs, all the time. The 80s Server has a nice selection of 80s facts, games, trivia and lists, although not all of them are free (but really, is anything really “free” anymore?). Aside from copious nostalgia sites, there is also a magazine called, not surprisingly, Everything 80s Magazine. I know! I wish I’d thought of it first, too!

Do you have fantastic television memories? Great 80s tunes destined to become the next earworm someone can’t quite stop humming in the shower? Clickable linkables to other rad 80s sites? Post ‘em the comments to we can all bask in the joy.

80s Television Nostalgia

Not the Post I’d Planned

After wrapping up a few deadlines on the freelance writing front, I had a quasi “free” day today. (No, not really, I could have done some bids, but we already know I am the Best. Procrastinator. Ever.) I decided it was time for a quick nudge to keep tracking the Net Neutrality issue and signing the petition at Save the Internet, followed by a pleasant blog to offset all the political blognags and blogrants I’ve peppered the site with lately. Then I sat down to read my daily blog addictions while I drank my daily coffee [addiction] to get going. Big mistake. Now I’m all riled up again.

What set me off? Good thing you asked, now I don’t have to feel guilty for telling you anyway.

Mainly, this post by Eddie C on Daily Kos. It’s a follow up piece to the NSA Wiretapping / Phone Log Collecting scandal post from earlier this week. Stand out segments from this little gem of linky goodness include: For the first time since the Civil War, the United States has been designated a military theater of operations. and:

The Patriot Act and George W. Bush’s total disrespect for the other branches of government has made it possible for Big Brother to watch his subjects more closely than George Orwell could have ever imagined.

Now Americans have the TALON database watching us. We have Counterintelligence Field Activity and does anyone actually believe that Total Information Awareness is truly dead.

The Defense Intelligence Agency is watching every move we make, while the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is watching from above. Also, the NGIA;

is collecting data from 133 U.S. cities; intelligence sources told the Los Angeles Times that, when collection is completed, the agency would be able to identify occupants in each house, their nationality and even their political affiliation.

A slew of trumped up security concerns has been used to allow the government into all of our private affairs and the armed forces are doing the watching.

——- o0o ——-

That was bad enough, but then I ran into Ace’s Full of Link’s blog entry “Angel of Death, At Your Cervix”, which certaily didn’t bring the smile back.

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The more I ventured out into the internet, the more I felt disheartened by the speed at which our nation is changing. So, a serious blog, yet again.

Tags: Politics Bush NSA Scandal Women