Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Hostilities) -Purpose Driven Carver quits at Bene Diction Blogs On (via Mowser)

Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Hostilities) -Purpose Driven Carver quits

I see that the series at Talk2ActionÂ about this game being marketed by Tyndale, and some of the ministers and churches associated in various ways has had consequences.

The Talk2Action series on what is really behind this game (eschatology) and who is behind it,Â drew attention from some majorÂ blogs.

One of the points brought up in Jonathan HutsonsÂ series was that Mark Carver (who is a key player in marketing the Purpose Driven Life franchise) was on the advisory board for this Tyndale game whichÂ will be soldÂ as ‘christian.’

In his blog series Hutson called on Rick Warren who is the mega church minister known for the Purpose Driven method to publicly distance himself from Left Behind: Eternal Forces.

One of the Warren networks called Pastors.com hasÂ been criticalÂ about real time and first person shooters. ( the moreÂ violent genres of gaming)Â Left Behind: EternalÂ ForcesÂ was featured at E3 (gaming expo) in LA this year,Â and has aÂ scheduled release date of October.

Mark Carver who is an international director in Rick Warrens companies and church resigned from the board ofÂ Left Behind gamesÂ when the buzz didn’t die down earlier this week.Â Talk2Action:

Mr. Carver has requested that his name as well as the Purpose Driven name brand be removed from the Left Behind Games web site (which actions followed promptly), and Purpose Driven Ministries has promised not to distribute or promote the game. In its statement, Mr. Warren’s organization criticized Talk to Action’s approach, but did not rebut any of the facts or claims presented.

Purpose Driven Ministries:

“Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, and Purpose Driven Ministries have no connection to the development of the `Left Behind: Eternal Forces’ video game. We have not endorsed the game and have no plans to promote it… In order to avoid any confusion about the fact that Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, and Purpose Driven Ministries have no involvement with Left Behind Games, Mark Carver resigned from the board of advisors on June 5, 2006 and asked that the reference to him be removed from Left Behind Games website.”

Rick Warren’s News Director Mark Kelly writes:

“One of our staff members, Mark Carver, sat on the advisory board for Left Behind Games, and a blogger took that information and jumped to a conclusion that Pastor Rick was involved with marketing the game.That simply isn’t true, a fact the blogger could have verified had he contacted Pastor Rick, Mark Carver, or Left Behind Games. Using the same form of faulty logic as the blogger, a reporter viewing some of the casual links of the blogger could form the assumption that he endorses astrology and witchcraft; however, journalistic ethics would require any reporter to verify this assumption and clarify the confusion with facts.”

If Rick Warren isn’t involved why would he allow his Purpose Driven franchise to be shown as an endorsement on the game site?
Purpose Driven News Director Mark Kelly made this statement June 1, 2006.

“Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, and Purpose Driven Ministries have no connection to the development of this game, have not endorsed it, and do not plan to promote it in their networks.”I think the game’s developers will discover that Christian pastors and parents find the idea of such a game to be in extremely bad taste.

CADRE, an apologeticsÂ blog in the US believes the Talk2Action series is blatantly untrue, the postsÂ are spreading hysteriaÂ and that the game (based on E3 reviews and theÂ experience of the CADRE poster):

does not include scoring points for killing unbelievers “Tribulation Force” (post-Rapture Christian converts) are defending themselves against the anti-Christ’s “Global Community Forces.” (The “Global Community” having replaced the United Nations) the player scores points by converting non-Christians the player loses points even when killing in self-defense it is not true players try to impose a Christian theocracy in New York by armed force No one kills people for not converting

I believe the main concern expressedÂ by CADRE isÂ that Talk2ActionÂ is a leftist siteÂ and isÂ not portraying Christians or the game accurately.
Left Behind’s pre-tribulationÂ belief is one CADRE does not endorse, and the concern appears to be this game is being labelled dominionist/theocratic and therefore tars all US evangelicals with the same brush.
Layman continues his discussion of the Talk2Action posts at CADRE.

I think readersÂ and gamersÂ are wiser than that.
As a book publisher Tyndale publishes a full range of eschatological authors. LaHaye is by far their biggest seller - 120 million none fiction and between 60-65 million in the Left Behind fiction series.Â The game has been in development since 2005.

I’m interested inÂ Tyndale’s gameÂ marketing strategy - what is not in dispute is that plans are forÂ one million preview discsÂ to be distributed through out mega churches in the US.

I’m curious to see how Tyndale plans to marketÂ Left Behind: EternalÂ ForcesÂ outsideÂ US bible belt mega churchesÂ and to other countries. Selling Left Behind: EternalÂ ForcesÂ as a ‘christian game’ is an oxymoron to most believers.

The Left Behind Series - Apologetics IndexÂ

Published 2 years, 4 months ago

11 Responses to “Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Hostilities) -Purpose Driven Carver quits”

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1 Bene D on Jun 7th, 2006 at 1:18 pm

Layman: I tried to email you to let you know you were linked and to ask you if your concerns about Left Behind: Eternal Hostilities are being fairly represented. The email was returned.

If your concerns about the game outlined in the post above are incorrect, please speak up.

2 Layman on Jun 7th, 2006 at 1:57 pm

Bene,

Thanks for the update. The reason I did not get your email is because I am unafilliated with HopeOrbis. Somehow they pirate my RSS feed and post my blog entries as if I am a member of their site. My apologies.

I think you accurately summarized my post on the issue. But I want to stress that I am responding so specific factual misstatements about the game. Most prominent is the claim that the player is on a mission to kill those who resist conversion to Christianity. That is simply untrue.

I make no defense of the game’s quality or its content, even when accurately described.

Thank you very much for the update. A number of websites have been nice enough to clarify or correct initial posts about the game (http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2006/06/aftermath-left-behind-video-game.html).

Layman

3 Bene D on Jun 7th, 2006 at 3:55 pm

Since your feed has been hijacked (!) I have linked to CADRE and HopeObis is toast.
I’m sorry to hear that, it has to be frustrating to have your feed taken.
The email return was from the CADRE site however.
Might have been a cyber burp at this end.

4 Jonathan Hutson on Jun 7th, 2006 at 6:45 pm

Not a single one of the claims or arguments advanced by Talk to Action have been rebutted. If you carefully read the entire three-part series on Left Behind at Talk to Action, you will see, however, that every straw man argument raised by Christian Cadre is disproven, and all claims advanced by Talk to Action are carefully supported. Christian Cadre simply does not know what it is talking about. Read all three essays at Talk to Action and think for yourself.

5 Bene D on Jun 8th, 2006 at 7:24 am

Hi Jonathan:

I think your posts may well be one of the definitive reads on this game - there is a way to go until release.:^)
I appreciate you stopping by blogs given the attention this series of posts have received.

One of the things I think any of us caring to post about Left Behind:Eternal Hostilities can be mindful of is people who have come out of abusive churches that have experienced pain, misuse of power and twisting of God’s love.

I think many people will be like canaries in the coal mine, hypersensitive to the story lines and messages some of us may miss, and we’d be wise to listen carefully, not lash out, crush or minimize their voices or mock their conscience.

Thanks for the careful work you’ve put into your series, we have the opportunity and responsibility to think for ourselves.

6 Layman on Jun 9th, 2006 at 6:23 pm

And be sure to read my follow up responding to Talk2Action’s latest on the topic.

http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2006/06/talk2action-tries-to-defend-itself.html

7 Bruce Wilson on Jun 11th, 2006 at 3:42 pm

Jonathan Hutson has cited reviews of “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” that support his claims that the game involves attacks on civilians.

But, I’m a visual thinker - the issue seemed fairly cut and dry to me simply from the promotional images of the game as it’s being played that were released by the game’s makers :

Those image appear to depict paramilitary forces firing close range at civilians, and civilians dropping to the ground - apparently from being shot.

Here’s a collection of images:

http://www.talk2action.org/comments/2006/6/7/41835/37829/5#5

8 Layman on Jun 14th, 2006 at 3:19 pm

Talk2Action’s follow-up failed to justify the inaccuracies in its first piece. Despite heroic contortions and manipulations on its part. I responded to it in detail, here: http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2006/06/talk2action-tries-to-defend-itself.html

9 Bene D on Jun 14th, 2006 at 4:41 pm

Apples and apples Layman - I see from your piece you agree with most of what Talk2Action is saying about this game.