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I ran this one by the Slashdot editors but they took a pass, so it winds up here -- read and be afraid.

From the web site Talk to Action, a place for the open discussion of the right-wing Christian movement, comes disturbing news of the release of a video game called Left Behind: Eternal Forces, based on the successful "Left Behind" book series, about the world would be like after the Rapture.

To quote the article: This game immerses children in present-day New York City -- 500 square blocks, stretching from Wall Street to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, the United Nations headquarters, and Harlem. The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian).

Is this paramilitary mission simulator for children anything other than prejudice and bigotry using religion as an organizing tool to get people in a violent frame of mind? The dialogue includes people saying, "Praise the Lord," as they blow infidels away.

Scary, no? And here you thought your Evangelical brothers and sisters actually cared for your soul!

The best part of this, is that Jack Thompson, long-time foe of violent video games and fundamentalist Christian lawyer, publishes his books through Tyndale House, the people who are bringing you this game. In an LA Times interview, he says: "Because of the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game." Apparently this is causing him to sever relations with the publisher.