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New York Times: US churches using Halo games to attract younger converts

Crushed

Fry Daddy
speculawyer and Druz said:
BH_071.jpg
BH_072.jpg
 

Salazar

Member
Chrono said:
How else would they spread the word of the good book? Rational and honest discourse? They're inherently incapable of such a thing. Otherwise they wouldn't be here.

Food - although Christianity has no vindaloo-killer to compete with the Hindu and Muslim recruiters. Witness the free daal and naan being doled out by the Sikhs every day in Amritsar. A healthy number must be there almost purely for the awesome lentils rather than the edification.
 

nfreakct

Member
speculawyer said:
Onward Christian soldiers!

How else are we going to recruit zombie zealots to fight in these pointless mid-east wars?

I know! It's not like churches aren't a monolithic entity that all think and act alike and that different groups of church leaders and organizers may have differing and sometimes drastically opposing interpretations of their religion.
 

Campster

Do you like my tight white sweater? STOP STARING
I love when America's Army came out gamers pretty much unanimously defended it from criticism being used as a recruiting tool, but the second a church (god forbid!) lets people play Halo 3 they're some sort of mindwashing mega-evil conspiracy hellbent on raising a bunch of zealots.

I also love the double standard of saying "It's just a videogame!" whenever gamers are called out on how violent their choice of entertainment is, and are here decrying hypocrisy in the church by saying they're ignoring thou shalt not kill.
 

Esperado

Member
What is going on? The thing that makes me happy though, is the fact that all these people going to church all the sudden to play Halo 3 probably don't give a shit about those churches.
 
nfreakct said:
I know! It's not like churches aren't a monolithic entity that all think and act alike and that different groups of church leaders and organizers may have differing and sometimes drastically opposing interpretations of their religion.
I know . . . I'm generallizing . . . but it was stated mostly for humor.

But there is something a little odd about churches that use an M-rated violent videogame to attract young men. And I recently listened to the podcast of Bill Moyer's recent expose on Christian Zionists and their zeal for a war with Iran.

How did the "Prince of Peace" become an advocate of headshots?
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
I've played a few Halo 2 matches at a Mormon church before. Alas, I could not find the closet filled with secret magical underwear.
 

GhaleonQ

Member
pilonv1 said:
I've been trying to edit a Master Chief helmet onto the Raptor head in that gif but I just cant get it right. Someone else do it.

How about a plasma sword into "Giaele Uccide Sisara?"
 

Rhindle

Member
Campster said:
I love when America's Army came out gamers pretty much unanimously defended it from criticism being used as a recruiting tool, but the second a church (god forbid!) lets people play Halo 3 they're some sort of mindwashing mega-evil conspiracy hellbent on raising a bunch of zealots.

I also love the double standard of saying "It's just a videogame!" whenever gamers are called out on how violent their choice of entertainment is, and are here decrying hypocrisy in the church by saying they're ignoring thou shalt not kill.
I don't see a problem with using a game about being in the Army as a recruiting tool for being in the Army.

The church just needs to create games about being in the church.
 

Crushed

Fry Daddy
lockii said:
I find this news extremely unnerving. Of course this is with Jesus Camp fresh in my memory.
Jesus Camp was looking at Pentecostals/Charismatics.

While they're the most... "entertaining" with their showy services and speaking in tongues and whatnot, they're a small fraction of Christians in America.
 

Campster

Do you like my tight white sweater? STOP STARING
Rhindle said:
I don't see a problem with using a game about being in the Army as a recruiting tool for being in the Army.

The church just needs to create games about being in the church.

Wait, so if they were using the horrible abomination that was the Left Behind RTS instead of Halo 3 you'd be totally cool with it?
 

Odrion

Banned
Rhindle said:
I don't see a problem with using a game about being in the Army as a recruiting tool for being in the Army.

The church just needs to create games about being in the church.
They should recruit people with Killer7.
 

Rhindle

Member
Campster said:
Wait, so if they were using the horrible abomination that was the Left Behind RTS instead of Halo 3 you'd be totally cool with it?
Well, no, it would have to be a GOOD game in order for it to be effective as a recruiting tool.

I was thinking maybe an RTS were you have to "convert" Mayan villages to Christianity.

Or maybe an online MMORPG where you collaborate with others to rid the land of the scourge of contraceptives and biology textbooks.
 

Steroyd

Member
Toothpick said:
Hey, it works. I've been to an annual Halo tournament at a local church. They had pizzas, drinks, snacks and 16+ TVs/projectors. Plus they had a 360 for 1st place. What'd you expect me to do?

Sure you went to the church but did you pay attention to the priests preaching to stop you going to hell?

*crickets*
 
speculawyer said:

Considering the leader of an islamic nation is hellbent and im paraphrasing "wiping israel and America off the surface of the map" and an "All islamic world without christianity", and quite possibly dragging the entire world into the brink of WW3 just so that their 12th Imam will come to pass with nuclear capabilities in 2 or 3 years time, i'd be little worried myself.

with that said, zionists are no more guilty on pushing their agenda in the international scene, i don't see the need to insult christians with:

How did the "Prince of Peace" become an advocate of headshots?
 
Someone spreads a rumor there's a hidden part with a topless woman and Halo will be immediately banned from every church and every Christian home...
 

Chrono

Banned
speculawyer said:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html


Wow. Just..... WOW. Fucking disgusting. Such a sad, sad world we live in.


This isn't different than those hizbullah masses they showed shouting death to america and isarel - just different "presentation." The core is just the same.

Actually it is - those hizbullah members shouting death to this or that actually lived in an occupied country, invaded by israel. And to make things worse were brainwashed growing up in a religious society. Those fat fucks in that video experienced no such thing and their brainwashing probably didn't extend beyond the barn they were born in and their local church.
 
viakado said:
Considering the leader of an islamic nation is hellbent and im paraphrasing "wiping israel and America off the surface of the map" and an "All islamic world without christianity", and quite possibly dragging the entire world into the brink of WW3 just so that their 12th Imam will come to pass with nuclear capabilities in 2 or 3 years time, i'd be little worried myself.

His title is 'president' but he's not their leader . . . he has little power. He did say wipe Israel off, but not the USA. And when he says that stuff, he is just playing to his base of local right-wing Iranians. He actually ran on a platform on economic populism and he's been losing popularity heavily lately. He's the George Bush of Iran these days . . . overly right-wing and not very popular.

He is certainly an a-hole and clown . . . . but he's nothing to be afraid of. He is to be laughed at. It as awesome when he said "There are no gay people in Iran" and the student body of Columbia all erupted into a huge round of laughter.

with that said, zionists are no more guilty on pushing their agenda in the international scene, i don't see the need to insult christians with:

The far-right-Christians deserve worse, IMHO. I was brought up Christian and the Jesus I know is completely different than the person these homophobe war-mongers seem to worship. 90% of what Jesus talked about was peace, love, compassion, helping the poor, etc. . . . . You try to help the poor and these 'Christians' call you commies. You advocate peace and they call you traitors.

To tie it all back to the original topic . . . I'm not surprised in the least to see a violent videogame used for recruitment.
 
GhaleonQ said:
That's the 2nd time you've pushed an examination of Christian politics involving Moyers, Lerner, and Weber. Are you the producer of the show or 1 of those men?

Hence the word "again". No, I'm not one of them. I'm just explaining my state of mind when posting the overly negative stuff. I'm not anti-Christian at all. But I am anti-all-extremist religions that teach hate, intolerance, violence, etc. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, and just about every other religion has such a sect. Those extremists need to be kept in check.

Islamic extremism is a huge problem. But it is the extremist part that is the real problem, not the Islamic part. And if you fight the Islamic part (a hopeless cause . . . you can't squash religion, ask the USSR), you'll only make the extremist part bigger.
 

Crushed

Fry Daddy
Chrono said:
Actually it is - those hizbullah members shouting death to this or that actually lived in an occupied country, invaded by israel. And to make things worse were brainwashed growing up in a religious society. Those fat fucks in that video experienced no such thing and their brainwashing probably didn't extend beyond the barn they were born in and their local church.
WOW
 

milkham

Member
They use basketball, free guitar lessons and hot girls too.
My friend and I were looking for his roommate at a christian students group meeting once and the girl at the door told us he wasn't there but stopped us from leaving until she could get one of the hot girls to come over and try to talk us into joining them.
 

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
What do you expect with that stupid theme song!
 
Campster said:
I love when America's Army came out gamers pretty much unanimously defended it from criticism being used as a recruiting tool, but the second a church (god forbid!) lets people play Halo 3 they're some sort of mindwashing mega-evil conspiracy hellbent on raising a bunch of zealots.

I also love the double standard of saying "It's just a videogame!" whenever gamers are called out on how violent their choice of entertainment is, and are here decrying hypocrisy in the church by saying they're ignoring thou shalt not kill.
.

Religion discussions on GAF bring out the hypocrites like clockwork. Oh well, I've seen this ritual before and know how it will go from here.
 

GhaleonQ

Member
speculawyer said:
Hence the word "again". No, I'm not one of them. I'm just explaining my state of mind when posting the overly negative stuff. I'm not anti-Christian at all. But I am anti-all-extremist religions that teach hate, intolerance, violence, etc. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, and just about every other religion has such a sect. Those extremists need to be kept in check.

I was only suggesting that referencing that band of intellectuals and magnifying incredibly marginal and fractured "public figures" is liable to get you laughed at in most places. You don't want to look silly, do you?

Anyway, that's enough from me on off-topic bits. Let's discuss a way to work a Molyneux/"leap from the LION'S HEAD" reference into the latest Photoshop.
 

joshcryer

it's ok, you're all right now
Campster said:
I love when America's Army came out gamers pretty much unanimously defended it from criticism being used as a recruiting tool, but the second a church (god forbid!) lets people play Halo 3 they're some sort of mindwashing mega-evil conspiracy hellbent on raising a bunch of zealots.

I also love the double standard of saying "It's just a videogame!" whenever gamers are called out on how violent their choice of entertainment is, and are here decrying hypocrisy in the church by saying they're ignoring thou shalt not kill.

WTF. Seriously. WTF? AA was intended to be a recruiting mechanism. Halo 3 was not. It is being exploited as a recruiting mechanism. There's the distinction here. You get a bunch of kids, you say "hay guys Jesus loves you" during a gaming session, and they say "oh ok" and are more easily indoctrinated. After all, you're dangling a shiny game in front of them. AA comes with the implicit acknowledgement that it is an attempt to recruit for the Army. Halo 3 comes with the implicit acknowledgement that it is a consumerist device that may be utilized in whatever manner as long as MS is getting paid.

This is more akin to the US Army hosting Quake LAN parties and coercing players at said parties to join the army. In other words, your argument is complete garbage and lacks any coherent observation of reality at all.
 

RavenFox

Banned
May16 said:
I wonder if they still uphold the Xbox Live tradtion of calling each other "fags" and "Jews" while playing in these tournaments.
Its not allowed during mass.

goldenpp72 said:
I find it ironic, I mean halos story basically portrays religion as mindless and evil in my head, so yeah.
To each his own. Religion isn't evil man is.
 

Campster

Do you like my tight white sweater? STOP STARING
joshcryer said:
WTF. Seriously. WTF? AA was intended to be a recruiting mechanism. Halo 3 was not. It is being exploited as a recruiting mechanism. There's the distinction here. You get a bunch of kids, you say "hay guys Jesus loves you" during a gaming session, and they say "oh ok" and are more easily indoctrinated. After all, you're dangling a shiny game in front of them. AA comes with the implicit acknowledgement that it is an attempt to recruit for the Army. Halo 3 comes with the implicit acknowledgement that it is a consumerist device that may be utilized in whatever manner as long as MS is getting paid.

This is more akin to the US Army hosting Quake LAN parties and coercing players at said parties to join the army. In other words, your argument is complete garbage and lacks any coherent observation of reality at all.

I fail to see a substantial difference between America's Army and this scenario. The "intent" of the game is sort of a moot point. It's how the game is being used that we're taking issue with, no? This is totally a double standard.
 
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