Well, it had to happen — The Left Behind Video Game Series. I first saw this on Justin Baeder’s blog. Here’s the game’s actual site. And below is the game’s description from the site:
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!
I’m not sure if I want to laugh or cry.
3 Reasons to Laugh
1) God is way bigger than our ridiculious antics
2) God will probably find some crazy way to use even this
3) God is probably laughing too
3 Reasons to Cry
1) This is yet another way the Christian faith has become comodified
2) Many non-Christians will see this and become more convinced that the idea of living for God, and maybe God himslef, is a joke
3) God is probably crying too
Simply American Christian mythology….I just laugh. I tend to think an authentic understanding of the biblical apocalyptic theme is simple: it is always about the past, present, and future. The coming of the Messiah was predicted. Also, John saw things in the vision given to him that he did not understand. So he described what he saw the best that he could.
But the inclination to work out the details of the future reflects our own need to put God in our little box; in other words, to continue to be God.
Cry