Talk To Action | Reclaiming Citizenship, History, and Faith

Create an account:
it's free Forgotten name
or password ?

Fake History, and the myth that the United States was founded originally as a "Christian Nation", is now being taught in hundreds of schools across America. Please click here to help Talk To Action Fight Fake History

Talk To Action Speakers Bureau

Religious Right Organizations

Site Sections

The War on Reproductive Rights

Attacking Public Education

Shadow War: the battle for mainstream faith
the covert campaign against liberal chuches and the social justice tradition

War on Judicial Independence

[above: click on image for YouTube video trailer]"Renewal or Ruin": New Video Documentary By Steve D. Martin Spotlights Secretive Rightwing Effort To Destroy Mainstream Protestant Churches

Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy, by Frederick Clarkson

Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort
by Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons
sample chapter

God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade For Values Voters
By Sarah Posner

Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History
By Chris Rodda

Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
: by Michelle Goldberg

With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush's White House.
by Esther Kaplan

Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian Conversions in the Ex-Gay Movement
Tanya Erzen

Special Features

Attack on The United Churches of Christ

Attack on The United Methodist Church

"The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy", by Chip Berlet

Parts One Two Three Four Five

"Taking Over The Republican Party", a four part series by Joan Bokaer

The Woman in A Mink Coat While We Were sleeping Angels On a Pinhead Under Cover of Night

The Indian River Incident : What You Can Do

link > The "Stop the ACLU Coalition" Shaming Project
How you can help stop "Stop The ACLU" just by sending a few emails

The Shaming Project

does the violence of "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" bother you ? If so, what can you do ? Well, to begin with you can email Jonathan Hutson's stories to people you know. That will help to bring more public scrutiny of the game. Public shaming really works ! Just click on the "email" icon and link at the top or bottom of the story and you'll be taken to a form that will allow you email the first story, The Purpose Driven Life Takers or the latest installment without leaving this site. Thanks.

Donate to or support
Talk to Action

The Purpose Driven Life Takers (Part 1)

By jhutson	Mon May 29, 2006 at 07:58:55 PM EST	print story

Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by over a quarter of a million people and the controversy over the game the series provoked has lately erupted into mass consumer protest. Talk To Action features a dedicated site section featuring our more than 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game.
For inquiries on Talk To Action member media appearances about the game : talk2action_media_contact@earthlink.net

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.

The game, slated for release by October 2006 in advance of the Christmas shopping rush, has been previewed at video game exhibitions, and reviewed by major newspapers and magazines. But until now, no fan or critic has pointed out the controversial game's connection to Mr. Warren or his dominionist agenda.

topic: Religious Militarism

Time magazine has described Mr. Warren as one of the nation's most influential Evangelical Christian leaders. He describes himself as a "stealth evangelist" and describes his training programs as "a stealth movement, that's flying beneath the radar, that's changing literally hundreds, even thousands of churches around the world." He claims that he has sold tens of millions of copies of The Purpose Driven Life by developing a worldwide network of pastors.

The international director of Mr. Warren's Purpose Driven Church, Mark Carver, is a former investment banker who serves on the Advisory Board of the corporation created in October 2001 to develop and market this game. The creators plan to market their game using the same network marketing techniques that Mr. Warren used to turn The Purpose Driven Life into a commercial success. For example, they plan to distribute their merchandise through pastoral networks, especially mega-churches.

[Update: Mark Carver, a top aide to Mr. Warren, resigned as an adviser to Left Behind Games on June 5, 2006, and asked that the game developer remove the Purpose Driven Ministries name brand from its web site. These abrupt moves came in response to pressure from Talk to Action, as reported in the third essay in this series, "Revelation and Resignation (Part 3)". Here is a screen shot from the Left Behind Games site taken before June 5, showing Mr. Carver's name and invoking the name brand of Purpose Driven Church, which the site describes in some detail. -- JH]

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.

The designers intend this game to become the first dominionist warrior game to break through in the popular culture due to its violent scenarios and realistic graphics, lighting, and sound effects. Its creators expect it to earn a rating of T for Teen. How violent is that? That's the rating shared by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory, a top selling game in which high-tech gadgets and high-powered weapons - frag grenades, shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns -- are used to terminate enemies with extreme prejudice. [Nota bene: While some versions of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory have been rated M for Mature, Amazon.com offers a version rated T for Teen, which invites players to "Go into battle with futuristic weapons and high-tech gadgets used by real-life spies," and "Strike without mercy." -- JH]

Could such a violent, dominionist Christian video game really break through to the popular culture? Well, it is based on a series of books that have already set sales records - the blockbuster Left Behind series of 14 novels by writer Jerry B. Jenkins and his visionary collaborator, retired Southern Baptist minister Tim LaHaye. "We hope teenagers like the game," Mr. LaHaye told the Los Angeles Times. "Our real goal is to have no one left behind."

The game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, is based on scenes from the first four novels in the series. The game was developed by a publicly-traded company called Left Behind Games, according to SEC records. The developers obtained the license from Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of Left Behind.

Tyndale also publishes Bringing Up Boys and The Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, PhD. Mr. Dobson has advised parents to monitor the amount of time children spend playing video games and "avoid the violent ones altogether." But he has not yet stated his views on whether there should be an exception for video games that role play gunplay in the name of Christ, or of the AntiChrist.

Tyndale's licensing of the project infuriated one of its authors, Jack Thompson, a conservative Christian attorney and outspoken critic of video game violence, who told the Los Angeles Times that he severed ties with his publisher in a dispute over "Left Behind: Eternal Forces."

"It's absurd," said the video critic. "You can be the Christians blowing away the infidels, and if that doesn't hit your hot button, you can be the Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."

The firm's CEO is relying on network marketing through pastoral networks as a key part of his business plan, according to a report in the March 6, 2006, issue of Newsweek Magazine:

Left Behind Games CEO Troy Lyndon, whose company went public in February, says the game's Christian themes will grab the audience that didn't mind gore in "The Passion of the Christ." "We've thought through how the Christian right and the liberal left will slam us," says Lyndon. "But megachurches are very likely to embrace this game." Though it will be marketed directly to congregations, Forces will also have a secular ad campaign in gaming magazines.

As part of its marketing pitch, Left Behind Games hypes the realism with which it portrays the neighborhoods of New York City. There is, for the most part, a remarkable verisimilitude except for one detail - all of the ambulances have 911 painted on their roofs. In the reality-based world, most ambulances have a red cross on top. Yet the game designers make prominent use of these 911 ambulances to evoke the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The historical context of 911 is invoked as if to say, We are living in the End Times, and Muslims are among the kinds of infidels whom you should fear, whom you should be prepared to kill for your cause.

For game enthusiasts, there is also a multi-player mode, in which you can go online and battle to take territory from other players. If you happen to blow away a neutral party - and collateral damage is inevitable in the End of Days - then you will lose "Spirit Points". But you can power back up with merely a brief timeout for prayer, or by converting one of New York's terror-stricken citizens.

In this way, the game resembles a send-up of Christian-themed video games by "The Simpsons." "Billy Graham's Bible Blaster," is a first-person shooter game in which you fire Bibles at club-carrying heathens to convert them into card-carrying Republicans. (Hint: after you finish reading this blog piece - and eating all your vegetables -- visit the Simpson's official web site and open file drawer F-H, then click on the character of Evangelical Christian kid Rod Flanders to play the game.)

Time has dubbed Mr. Warren "America's minister." But Mr. Warren says that his agenda stretches far beyond America, and far beyond traditional ministry. He sees himself as the CEO of a global marketing enterprise, and as the Commander in Chief of a stealth army of one billion Christian foot soldiers.

On the 25th Anniversary of his Saddleback Church on April 17, 2005, Mr. Warren filled the Angels baseball stadium in Anaheim, California, with tens of thousands of his flock. Mr. Warren signaled his belief that we are now approaching the End of Days by opening with a rock band, which played the Jimi Hendrix drug anthem Purple Haze. As the band jammed, Mr. Warren sang the lyrics:

Purple haze all in my eyes
Don't know if it's day or night
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?

The Director of the Peace Corps, Gaddi Vasquez, read a message of support from President George W. Bush. Then Mr. Warren called on his flock to support a $40 million capital campaign to expand missionary training facilities at Saddleback's 120-acre campus in Lake Forest, California. He pledged participants to achieve a purpose-driven ministry overseas. His dominionist theology is apparent in this ministry. A key aspect of dominionist thought is a conviction that the Scripture gives the church a mandate to take dominion over this world socially and culturally before the return of Jesus Christ. Mr. Warren's global plan is a strategy to realize a dominionist vision of churches, states, and corporations forming partnerships to bring about a new world order to make way for Christ's return by establishing a literal, physical kingdom of God on earth. In order to build this earthly kingdom, Mr. Warren plans marketplace ministries - business ventures with a veneer of missionary compassion that slip into a country in order to transform it systematically through the governmental, corporate, and social sectors. And that is why Mr. Warren calls himself a "stealth evangelist" - because he wishes to cloak his dominionist agenda, which is the establishment of an earthly kingdom that reflects his skewed vision of Christianity.

According to Mr. Warren, the establishment of this earthly kingdom requires "foot soldiers." As part of his plan, Mr. Warren said he would encourage laypeople to "adopt" needy villages overseas in order to plant churches, expand business opportunities, educate children, influence governments, and overthrow corrupt political leaders, whom he described as "little Saddams." Mr. Warren said his purpose is to enlist "one billion foot soldiers for the Kingdom of God" in the developing world. And the stadium crowd roared its approval.

Celebrants included Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, a tiny east African country that lost hundreds of thousands of people when it suffered genocide in 1994. Catholic and Protestant clergy have been convicted in connection with that genocide. Yet Mr. Kagame announced that he would allow Mr. Warren to turn his country into the first purpose driven nation. The following month, 16 Rwandan religious leaders arrived in Orange County to begin religious training at Saddleback Church. Mr. Warren has said that his global initiative was developed "underground" and in "stealth". Presumably, this was done with the assistance of Mr. Carver, who directs the Purpose Driven Church in all its activities outside North America.

Yet through an unexpected turn of events in Georgia, the spotlight was turned on Mr. Warren's stealthy strategy in March 2005, when Ashley Smith read a passage from The Purpose Driven Life to the Atlanta courthouse killing suspect, Brian Nichols. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Nichols freed his hostage and surrendered to police. The entire world suddenly wanted to hear from Mr. Warren, who was busy planting the seeds of a Christian theocracy with his "foot soldiers" in Rwanda.

On March 22, 2005, CNN's Larry King interviewed Mr. Warren about the Atlanta courthouse shooting and hostage taking. A caller asked, "Can you explain the sudden thirst or craving that people seem to have for religion?

Mr. Warren replied:

"[T]here are really two stories going on in our culture right now. There is the story of things are getting more worse [sic] in some ways. We're seeing the increase in violence. We're seeing terrorism. We've seen these recent shootings. We're seeing the coarsening of our society, that has disgusted a lot of people. And there is people [sic] -- some people are more materialistic than ever.
But at the same time, there's another story going on in America, that I think is a spiritual awakening that is brewing. And that is a desire and hunger to know God. I don't always think it's always a desire and hunger for church. But there is a desire and hunger to know God.

So according to Mr. Warren, the worst of American culture is reflected in examples of violence, terrorism, shootings, and the coarsening of our society, that turn people away in disgust. And in addition, "some people are more materialistic than ever."

If violence, coarseness, and materialism are serious social problems, then what purpose is served by exploiting a global pastoral network to mass market a game about mass killing, whether in the name of Christ or the AntiChrist?

On the one hand, this video game is anti-American, because it endorses roving death squads engaged in faith-based violence without any regard for Constitutional law. On the other hand, the video game is anti-Christian, because it argues that the Kingdom of God can be advanced by using the methods and tools of the kingdoms of this world, namely guns and bombs.

The Scriptures say, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) The Scriptures do not say, "Train up a child in the way he should blow away the people of God as well as infidels: and when he is old enough, he will go out and do some killing."

As Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight that I might not be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (Gospel According to John 18:36). As Paul said, "Though we walk in flesh, we do not make war in accordance with the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly." (2 Corinthians 10:3-4a).

The dominionist Christians pushing this violent video game are modeling neither Christian charity nor patriotism. Both Christians and patriots should oppose them.

UPDATE

Endorsement by Association

What is going on here is an old fashioned business idea of endorsement by association, in which a corporation gains the implied endorsement of a product by being able to invoke the name brand of a prominent person or celebrity. In this case, this is an alliance of business and ministerial interests invoking the name brand of the Mr. Warren's Purpose Driven Church. Mr. Warren does not have to explicitly endorse or be involved in the product in order to be held accountable for allowing his name brand to be used in the selling of this antisocial product.

Some people have commented that the link between Mr. Warren's purpose driven empire and this product is casual. Let's be clear: Mark Carver is Executive Director of the Purpose Driven Church, and therefore works directly for Mr. Warren in one of the most senior roles in his empire. It would seem unlikely that Mr. Warren, who plans an international stealth evangelism campaign that already includes the president of Rwanda, is unaware of this project, the biggest Christian video game in history. Mr. Carver's role on the Advisory Board of Left Behind Games, the corporation created in October 2001 specifically to develop and market this violent video game, is an association clearly more active than a casual. People are involved on this Advisory Board because of their expertise, and their connections to markets -- in this case, Mr. Warren's. On 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.

In other words, Left Behind Games is invoking its association with Mr. Warren's Purpose Driven Church as part of its product marketing strategy. Do we think that Mr. Warren would allow his name brand and reputation to be casually invoked in a major business venture that involves one of the largest publishers in the Christian marketplace, who published the Left Behind novels, one of the best selling fiction series of all time? Does anyone think that Left Behind Games invoked the name brand of Mr. Warren's Purpose Driven Church without his permission? Since this possibility is farfetched, what we are looking at here is a business/marketing alliance between several evangelical business and ministerial entrepreneurs for whom the Great Commission also means great profits.

Left Behind Games plans to market directly to pastoral networks and mega-churches, using the same network marketing strategies that turned Mr. Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life into a best seller . Mr. Carver has a lot of expertise and connections in this area. Will Mr. Warren's mega-church be offering this game for sale to its members? Will Mr. Warren's global pastoral network be used to distribute the game? On the other hand, if Mr. Warren is unaware and uninvolved, do we think he will fire Mr. Carver for marketing a product that helps children practice killing New Yorkers?

The Purpose Driven Life Takers (Part 1)

Violent Video Marketed Through Mega-Churches (Part 2)

Revelation and Resignation (Part 3)

Christian Cadre's Layman: 'A Whopper of Being Wrong' (Part 4)

Apocalypse, Now a Lawsuit (Part 5)

Who's Watching the Boys? (Part 6)

Conservative Christian Culture Warriors Cut and Run (Part 7)

Bible Publisher Tyndale House Faces Boycott Over Anti-Christian Game (Part 8)

To discuss this story, sign up for a free account

The Purpose Driven Life Takers (Part 1) | 94 comments (94 topical, 0 hidden)

Personally, I love this game. (5.00 / 1)

I've said it before and I'll say it again; the Christian right is nothing but a hate group like the KKK. indeed, there's a great deal of overlap between the two. However, unlike other hate groups, the Christian right has been politically successful because they usually manage to disguise their hatred as something else. So successful in fact, that people who aught to know better, often accuse me of being excessive when I refer to the Christian right in this way. Let's be clear about this. This is not a group that wants to stop abortion or gay marriage. It's a group whose goal is nothing less than the conversion or elimination of all non-Christians and all Christians who don't agree with their interpretation of Christianity. They are almost always dishonest about this. This game seems to be a rare example of truthfulness from the Christian right, and they should be commended for it. I'd like to think of it as a positive first step. More likely though, it's a rare slip up. I don't think these folks want to reveal their true intentions until they feel they have sufficient power to start carrying them out.

by Dave on Mon May 29, 2006 at 11:19:03 PM EST

conspiracy theories (none / 0)

"It's a group whose goal is nothing less than the conversion or elimination of all non-Christians and all Christians who don't agree with their interpretation of Christianity. "

This isn't their goal; I can tell you from extensive personal knowledge of fundamentalists that they don't desire the elimination of non-Christians. This completely inaccurate review you're reading is a rather slanderous chariacture of the game and of fundamentalism, no different than chariactures of Jews as merciless moneylenders, or Muslims as bomb-throwing terrorists, or gays as promiscuous crusaders who want to "destroy marriage".

It's one think to oppose religious fascism and bigotry; it's another thing to start talking like a religious fascist in your opposition to religious fascism. When you start making blanket statements about other groups of people and their conspiracies to rule the world, you have.

by Cynic on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 08:42:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: *ahem* (none / 0)

Perhaps the group you knew didn't, but there ARE groups in dominionism--particularly the "spiritual warfare" flavours of dominionism (of which the "Left Behind" game is likely to be very popular in, in part because it's one of the few video games they're likely allowed to play at all) that very much DO have that as a goal.
In the particular group I am a walkaway from, highly unethical tactics (including blatant deception) are used routinely to recruit people because they believe it is morally acceptable to trick someone into converting--and anyone who is opposed to this is "not in the river" or "working against the Spirit".
People who are critics of both the political and moral directions of the church are in fact called agents of the devil himself.
I also recall, very specifically, multiple services where it is told that "Joel's Army" or the "Army of Elijah" would come across the US and literally have people convert or die; they also in the same services (this was around the time of the Cold War) would talk about how they'd be raptured up, a nuclear war would break out, and they'd have a ringside seat and would laugh as the rest of the planet was nuked.
Don't dare tell me these people are harmless. Sorry. I've seen enough, from the inside of one of the groups most heavily into this "spiritual warfare" stuff, to know better. Still have nightmares about it. Have spent about $3000 in deductibles for therapy after leaving the group because of PTSD directly caused by being raised in that group. (Yes, I and thousands of others like me have literal shellshock as a result of having been involved in those groups, and in several cases, having to hide the fact we were walking away from our own families.)
For that matter, some of the same folks promoting "spiritual warfare" are the same folks who are publishing things like the "RIOT Manual" (which I've written on in the Ron Luce section) and even literal biblically mandated beating of children with pipes and wooden rods (this article is a good starting point and links to the many articles I've written on it; part of my PTSD is in fact because of religiously motivated child abuse which was justified by the "spiritual warfare" movement my family's church was involved in).
In groups like the SBC, much of the really scary stuff hasn't filtered in--yet. In the case of the Assemblies of God, it's largely filtered in over the past fifty years--and turned that entire denomination increasingly abusive as it's been embraced. (How abusive, might I ask? Some of the stuff that's taught in "spiritual warfare" circles re demonic possession and "opening doorways for Satan" is identical with the concept of "body thetans" and "clearing" in Scientology; the latter is regarded as one of the things that literally does the most to psychologically break people involved, as you get scared of anything potentially "contaminating" you.)
Children are increasingly isolated (this has been going on a while in the "Brownsville" style groups, and is now spreading to more moderate dominionist groups like the SBC) and quite explicitly indoctrinated via school curriculum that literally teaches they are the chosen and that the US was meant to be a theocracy--and that the rest of the world is in a massive conspiracy against them.
I'm all too familiar with the imagery in the "Left Behind" books in part because it was used as justification for both dominionism and very abusive tactics by the group I left. Unlike the SBC--where a lot of dominionist theology has been grafted on--the groups we're talking about have it as their core theology and have bases for it going all the way back to the Scofield Reference Bible (including very specific conspiracy theories--like of Russia being the home of the Antichrist).

by dogemperor on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 11:10:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Am I a bad person... (5.00 / 1)

...if I'm looking forward to playing the game in Antichrist mode and blowing away fundies? :-)

Abu Ghraib: Hell House of the Religious Right II
by sendtoscott on Tue May 30, 2006 at 10:09:14 AM EST

*LOL!* (none / 0)

Oh, I don't see anything wrong with that...hell, part of me might argue it's therapeutic. (Of course, in all seriousness, I would not recommend buying this game, if only to avoid funding the dominionists.)

by dogemperor on Tue May 30, 2006 at 12:35:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Can I have a variant..... (none / 0)

where - rather than harming these Christian paramiltaries - I can catch them with nets and immobilize them with sticky foam, then subject them to re-runs of "South Park" and "The Simpsons" ?

by Bruce Wilson on Tue May 30, 2006 at 01:11:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

LOL! A new type of deprogramming? (none / 0)

I would rather find a way to compel them to have nuanced theological discussions, based on reason.

I appreciate the humor in both the programs you mention, but I don't believe you get through to people like this with the equivalent of a tolerance building therapy based on gradually increasing exposure.

by montpellier on Tue May 30, 2006 at 02:45:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

How does one reason with a Dominionist? (none / 0)

Believe me, Right-Wing Fundamentalists cannot discuss theology with any sense of reason. They see anyone else's religious symbols or hear about anyone else's religious values, and they go off.

by Heathen1 on Tue May 30, 2006 at 07:29:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: Yeah, I know... (none / 0)

...my own personal introduction to this bunch was in the late '70s - another family who were 'friends' with my family split up - the mother kinda lost it & flaked out. She was very ripe for in-cult-uration. Soon, we were invited to accompany her to a few 'tent revivals' and 'faith healings' followed by a few trips to Fishnet. I was really kinda p-o'd at my own mother for dragging us into it/along, but later, was thankful to have had the opportunity to watch these con-men(and women) up close and personal. Money-changers indeed, preying on those most easily led.
Anyway, I've never quite gotten over the urge to attempt to reason with them, though I don't usually do so until one of them attempts to evangelize or proselytize me.

by montpellier on Thu Jun 08, 2006 at 01:51:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
: reasoning? (none / 0)

My-dad-the-rev used to get his biggest kicks out of confounding door-to-door fundie evangelists by going along with their flipping-through-the-Bible-and-quoting-Scripture contests and giving way better than he got. He could get them to talk themselves into circles and knots and send them stumbling off with their tails between their 3 remaining legs. (On one occasion I watched him pull out his Greek lexicon, at which point the poor fundie looked like he was about to have a heart attack.)
He never did it to be mean or to get one-up on them - it was always by way of trying to educate them and he was always polite and patient with them - but he scared the bejeebers out of them. Finally the word got around that this guy was dangerous and they started skipping our house when they went around the neighborhood. (In a way I was sorry to see that happen - those encounters were always entertaining, and I learned a lot about the Bible and theology and religious discourse from them.)
This was 40 years ago, well before the dominionists hit their stride publicly, but I would have loved to have seen him take one of those guys on..............

by anomalous4 on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 11:10:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Can I help? (none / 0)

I've got a couple of rolls of duct tape lying around that I'm more than willing to contribute to the cause - if I can do the taping! (Sorry, couldn't resist.......... grin)

by anomalous4 on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 11:18:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

More disturbing info on Rick Warren et al (5.00 / 2)

I've found an article in Christianity Today that frankly gives even more reason for concern re Warren:

(regarding the model of church setup)

One is the baseball diamond, used to explain the flow of church ministry in a person's life. Vast crowds attend church, but they reach first base, Membership, only by completing Class 101 and signing a covenant of commitment to Christ and the church. Second base is Maturity, reached through another class (201) featuring a covenant of commitment to a daily quiet time, tithing, and a small group. Third base is Ministry, in which members commit to serving actively in the church. They are interviewed and placed in one of dozens of thriving church ministries. Home base is Mission, in which Christians commit to the cause of evangelism. At the center of the diamond is Magnification, which stands for worship. How can one reach maturity before committing to mission or ministry? Chalk it up to the Baptist penchant for alliteration. Purpose-Driven churches make worship the starting point--it's where unchurched people experience the church and decide to commit. It's also the end, since everything centers on glorifying God.

In other words, you can't know what you're buying into without buying in, and even after you've bought in you have no real idea until you're heavily involved just what you're buying into.

This is the EXACT same method Scientology uses to recruit members and pull them into increasing levels of time and money spent (from OT-I to OT-VII levels)--and increasingly coercive practices.

This is also a red flag warning of a potential coercive religious group according to most checklists, including Steve Hassan's BITE Model:

II. Information Control
...
3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Information is not freely accessible
b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid
c. Leadership decides who "needs to know" what

In fact, a preliminary BITE model analysis shows a lot of disturbing patterns:

I. Behavior Control
1. Regulation of individual's physical reality
a. Where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with
b. What clothes, colors, hairstyles the person wears
c. What food the person eats, drinks, adopts, and rejects
d. How much sleep the person is able to have
e. Financial dependence
f. Little or no time spent on leisure, entertainment, vacations

Major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals

Need to ask permission for major decisions

Need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors

Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).

Individualism discouraged; group think prevails

Rigid rules and regulations

Need for obedience and dependency

(Cell groups in general are infamous for behavioural control; the mandatory "covenant" and mandatory "instructional courses", the mandatory (per the "covenant") tithing, and other mandatory things like heavy participation in church affairs would qualify here even if cell churches did not exist at Saddleback.)

II. Information Control
1. Use of deception
a. Deliberately holding back information
b. Distorting information to make it acceptable
c. Outright lying
2. Access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged
a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio
b. Critical information
c. Former members
d. Keep members so busy they don't have time to think
3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Information is not freely accessible
b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid
c. Leadership decides who "needs to know" what
4. Spying on other members is encouraged
a. Pairing up with "buddy" system to monitor and control
b. Reporting deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions to leadership
5. Extensive use of cult generated information and propaganda
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.
b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about "sins" used to abolish identity boundaries
b. Past "sins" used to manipulate and control; no forgiveness or absolution

(There are reliable reports people have been disfellowshipped from Saddleback for "unrepented sins" and for "not being active enough" (per the LetUsReason article); "The Purpose Driven Life" has an entire media empire; the "covenant" in and of itself can be used as blackmail; people are required to go through mandatory training courses and sign a mandatory "covenant" before becoming members (and thus "going up the pyramid") and most info on what goes on in Saddleback is largely from walkaways. Cell churches in general fall under the "buddy system" and spying on members sections.)

III. Thought Control
1. Need to internalize the group's doctrine as "Truth"
a. Map = Reality
b. Black and White thinking
c. Good vs. evil
d. Us vs. them (inside vs. outside)

Adopt "loaded" language (characterized by "thought-terminating clichés"). Words are the tools we use to think with. These "special" words constrict rather than expand understanding. They function to reduce complexities of experience into trite, platitudinous "buzz words".

Only "good" and "proper" thoughts are encouraged.

Thought-stopping techniques (to shut down "reality testing" by stopping "negative" thoughts and allowing only "good" thoughts); rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism.

a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in "tongues"
f. Singing or humming

No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate

No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful

(THIS is why I specifically mention scripture-twisting (both in context--the verses in chapters that have been historically abused--and the actual scripture-twisting done by Warren himself). Scripture-twisting, the use of Bible verses taken out of context, is a very common method of "thought terminating cliche" used in coercive dominionist groups (and by a few other spiritually abusive groups as well). Abuses of Scripture are also very specifically used to stifle any dissent regarding Warren, his doctrine, or his church's policies (this is what the whole "do not gossip" thing is actually about; any criticism of church policies is seen as gossip and even "not submitting to your pastor", and Bible verses are misused to emphasize this). The entire mandatory "covenant" abuses Scripture widely in this regard, taking verses and occasionally just segments of verses out of historical and Biblical context, and is probably the single most common way in which religious abuse is justified in coercive "Bible-based" groups in general.

(Furthermore, as noted by Warren himself, a mandatory course--of which almost no information is available on his website--is required before one can even sign the covenant and join the church. Mainstream Christian groups are considerably more open about their theology, and even some notably abusive dominionist groups are more frank about things.)

IV. Emotional Control

Manipulate and narrow the range of a person's feelings.

Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader's or the group's.

Excessive use of guilt

a. Identity guilt
1. Who you are (not living up to your potential)
2. Your family
3. Your past
4. Your affiliations
5. Your thoughts, feelings, actions
b. Social guilt
c. Historical guilt
4. Excessive use of fear
a. Fear of thinking independently
b. Fear of the "outside" world
c. Fear of enemies
d. Fear of losing one's "salvation"
e. Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by group
f. Fear of disapproval

Extremes of emotional highs and lows.

Ritual and often public confession of "sins".

Phobia indoctrination : programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority. The person under mind control cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group.

a. No happiness or fulfillment "outside"of the group
b. Terrible consequences will take place if you leave: "hell"; "demon possession"; "incurable diseases"; "accidents"; "suicide"; "insanity"; "10,000 reincarnations"; etc.
c. Shunning of leave takers. Fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family.
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave. From the group's perspective, people who leave are: "weak"; "undisciplined"; "unspiritual"; "worldly"; "brainwashed by family, counselors"; seduced by money, sex, rock and roll.

(As noted, it has been documented that public confession occurs at Warren's services and that "unrepented sin" will cause someone to be disfellowshipped (see (see Christianity Today article); people who leave are decried as "worldly" by Warren (see article in SBC Baptist Press where he literally compares churchmembers refusing to sign mandatory "covenants" as the same as people "walking away from Christ"). Purpose Driven Life seminars tend to emphasize theatrics (and in fact this has been a major source of criticism from some theologians); emotional manipulation is a major purpose of the "Purpose Driven Life" seminars. Groups especially targeted by Warren include persons in recovery from addiction.)

by dogemperor on Tue May 30, 2006 at 09:24:27 PM EST

On church covenants (none / 0)

The practice of members signing church covenants is nearly 400 years old in Baptist churches.

It is not commonly practiced in most churches today, but when it is, it is not commonly a commitment to "mind control." Generally it is simply a symbol of a spiritual commitment.

by Mainstream Baptist on Wed May 31, 2006 at 01:43:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

: A bit of further explanation (none / 0)

Church covenants in and of themselves may not be harmful necessarily. The concern I have (and keep in mind, I'm speaking from the perspective of a survivor of a highly spiritually abusive group) is more with a combination of trends:
a) a mandatory "membership covenant" which has obligations, is required to be signed, and specifically states as obligations other things which have been used as tools of control (most churches that do have covenants tend to have them as voluntary tools and as symbols of commitment, and you're not going to be thrown out because you didn't give the ten percent the membership covenant says you have to)
b) An increasing trend for "Statements of Faith" and similar documents (including mandatory membership covenants) to literally weed out dissent and persons criticising the direction in which a church is going (to give an example, if--say--a church with a mandatory covenant is taken over by a dominionist preacher, there is no way one can legitimately fight an IRD-style hijacking without being potentially disfellowshipped)
c) Statements to the effect that mandatory tithing (which is not terribly common outside the "name it and claim it" sector) and mandatory introduction courses are required--of which almost no info exists re the content of the latter, and the former was not available on Saddleback's website but through an SBC magazine where Warren was promoting the use of mandatory covenants in SBC churches. (If more info existed on those mandatory courses I'd probably be less antsy on this.)
d) Documented use of "cell churches" in Warren's group as well as "shepherding"--these have been used to not only specifically hijack churches but to exert coercive control over church members.
e) Known links between Warren and some truly scary folks (in particular David Yonggi Cho nee Paul Yonggi Cho, who is a major force in spread of dominionism and spiritually abusive tactics throughout the Assemblies of God; in fact, the very church I walked away from (and tell horror stories in regards to here) is in fact the first church in North America that Cho extensively "prophesied" Brownsville-style revivals about and promoted some of his most abusive methods at--trust me when I state that anything Cho is deeply involved in is probably best avoided).
f) Statements by Warren noting he is promoting stealth evangelism.
With the exception of e) and f), one or two of these might make one think "Wow, that's strict" but it wouldn't be so much a thing of major concern. The combination of a)-f) is what makes the "wow, that's strict" cross over to legitimate worry.
As it is, my real worry regarding mandatory (as opposed to voluntary) "covenants" and the like is that these can be used to essentially expel any critics or persons fighting a dominionist hijacking. Much like the Southern Baptist Seminary used a revised statement of faith (that all members were required to sign) to expel all staff members critical of the dominionist hijack of that university, a church with a mandatory statement of faith or mandatory "covenant" statement can use the signed covenant to expel members critical of the direction in which the church is going (and there is some evidence to suggest that such a thing has happened at Saddleback).

by dogemperor on Wed May 31, 2006 at 09:38:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Please Cut To The Chaste : (5.00 / 1)

Rick Warren - by now - most certainly is aware of this story. Mr. Warren has not come out to repudiate Mr. Hutson's piece. Are you asserting he lacks legal means ?

Beyond that, I'm curious - my wife is an Askhenazi Jew and has inherited a small cardboard box of jumbled photographs representing her family lineage. Who are they ? No one seems to know. Her family lineage stops at that point, terminated by the Holocaust.

Given that, how do you think the American public should feel about the linkage between Mr. Warren's financial enterprise and a video game which depicts a Christian paramilitary assault and crusade against the largest Jewish population on Earth ?

Are you personally unaware of the Holocaust - or of the symbolism that commonly would be perceived inherent in the depiction of such an attack ?

by Bruce Wilson on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 12:22:18 AM EST

The Purpose Driven Life Takers (Part 1) (5.00 / 1)

This is really chilling. I recently wrote a book about America as a Christian nation and a surveillance society where people take it as God's mission to spy on, report on, and murder neighbors who don't have the "right faith." But seeing something like this, I wonder if my book is more prophecy than fiction. I don't know if I'm allowed to post a link to my book, but here's the link, www.sheshere.net.
--Wilda

by WildaHughes on Sat Nov 04, 2006 at 09:07:37 AM EST

The Executive Director of Purpose Driven Church (1.00 / 1)

Mark Carver, sits on the Advisory Board of Left Behind Games -- the corporation founded in October 2001 specifically to develop and market this violent video game. Carver oversees the international ministry -- the global pastoral networks -- of which Rick Warren is the head. Carver is also a member of the Orange County, California, mega-church called Saddleback Christian. So Mr. Warren is Mr. Carver's pastor as well as his boss.

The marketing plan for the video game is to use the same network marketing techniques that made Mr. Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life a best seller -- namely, to market through global pastoral networks and megachurches.

by jhutson on Tue May 30, 2006 at 07:50:46 AM EST

Interesting and .... (none / 0)

informative post Jonathan. It is disappointing to see Rick Warren connected to this video game project. Even though Warren does share and seems to share some of the goals of the Christian Right, I think it is also fair to say he is not involved with the Christian Right in the same dominionist way as Kennedy, DeMar, Barton, and Parsley are. He also does not seem to be as directly political as Dobson, Perkins and Wildmon.

See this post for more insight into Rick Warren.

by Carlos on Mon May 29, 2006 at 09:08:48 PM EST

ah yes (none / 0)

An important distinction, Carlos. He is probably not a dominionist in the sense of the above mentioned (although he may very well be influenced by them) -- but a dominionist in the Tim LaHaye sense; a position that Chip Berlet has sought to clarify, since being premillenial by definition was a non-dominionist position not all that long ago.

Times, theologies and tactics have changed. They can be hard to keep up with!

by Frederick Clarkson on Mon May 29, 2006 at 11:35:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Agreed (none / 0)

Actually, Rick Warren has a lot of connections with the "premillenial dispensationalist dominionist" aka "pente dominion theology" crowd--among them, connections with the "Third Wave" neopentes (like the Brownsville and Toronto "revival" movements, Paul Yonggi Cho's Yoido Full Gospel Church, and the like).

Being an escapee of those groups, they might not be Christian Reconstructionists, but they're still dominionists. (In fact, I'd put the "dominion theology" ala "Joel's Army" ala "Third Wavers" as being possibly more dangerous, because one of the things they really focus on is infiltrating and hijacking other churches. They actively invented the tactics that the IRD is using now, and it's been through Southern Baptists with close links with neopentes (like Rick Warren) that the SBC was in large part hijacked.)

I do agree it's different "flavours" of dominionism, though. There is considerable overlap, but the base theology does differ to some extent.

by dogemperor on Tue May 30, 2006 at 02:25:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: re (none / 0)

Believe me, Right-Wing Fundamentalists cannot discuss theology with any sense of reason. They see anyone else 's religious symbols or hear about anyone else's religious values, and they go off.

by ukana on Mon Sep 04, 2006 at 05:33:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Guilt-by-association to the extreme? (none / 0)

Did I misread this article? Where is the connection between Rick Warren and the video game? So, the international director of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church, Mark Carver, serves on the Advisory Board of the corporation created to develop and market the video game?!?

That is some-kinda cheap guilt-by-association!

During the Fundamentalist Takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, the fundamentalist leaders frequently used this same type of guilt-by-association tactic. After the Takeover, the fundamentalists continued in their efforts to discredit Mainstream/Moderate Baptists involved in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship by alleging that the CBF was pro-abortion and advocated homosexuality with (yet again) cheap guilt-by-assocation tactics. Fundamentalists accused Mainstream/Moderate Baptists of supporting child pornography due to our funding of the Baptist Joint Committee whose former General Counsel co-authored a 1994 book with Barry Lynn WHO while working for the ACLU agreed with their position that there is a constitutional right to produce or view child pornography! How absolutely ridiculous of a connection! Guilt-by-association is dangerous. Has Rick Warren ever commented publicly on the video game?

Throughout your entire article - you seem to be connecting all evangelism, missions, and church-planting to theocracy and dominionist theology? Rick Warren has been accused by some within the SBC of undermining the "essentials" and "inerrancy." Just last summer Warren broke ranks with SBC leadership by accepting an invitation to speak at the 100th anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance in England. You might be hard-pressed to find many scholars who would lump Rick Warren with dominionists like Dobson, Falwell, Robertson, etc..

by Big Daddy Weave on Tue May 30, 2006 at 01:34:58 AM EST

Merry Christmas! (4.00 / 1)

You have in your hands a high-caliber Christian shoot-'em up strategy game made by Left Behind Games, the corporation formed in October 2001 for no purpose other than to make Left Behind: Eternal Forces.

As we point out in our marketing materials, we are trading on our association with Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church. That's why we appointed Mark Carver, Executive Director of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church, to our Advisory Board. We're proud of this connection; that is why we tout our association in our merchanidising materials.

Sure, we'd like to have Mr. Carver's pastor and boss, Rick Warren, come down the chimney and personally hand you a copy with a hearty endorsement statement. But he's a busy man, what with building a Christian theocracy in Rwanda.

But as Pastor Warren says in his best seller, The Purpose Driven Life, we must change people's thoughts before we can change their actions. So first, we have to role play Christian Evangelical militias before we can recruit "one billion foot soldiers for the Kingdom of God," as Pastor Warren promises.

If this game is not entirely violent enough to your satisfaction, you may return it to the mega-church or global pastoral network from which it was purchased. Thank you, Merry Christmas, and God bless us every one!

by jhutson on Tue May 30, 2006 at 10:52:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm with Big Daddy Weave on this one (none / 0)

Rick Warren needs to speak for himself about this video game.

I would not want to be judged by whatever business practices and schemes in which my church members engaged. Members of churches that I have pastored have engaged in a lot of schemes of which I totally disapproved.

As controversial as this video game appears to be, I suspect Warren will have to express an opinion on it himself. I'd wait to criticize him until he speaks about it.

Meanwhile, the game itself sounds like a scheme of the anti-Christ to me. There's nothing Christian about it.

by Mainstream Baptist on Tue May 30, 2006 at 01:13:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

well, before we rush to non-judgement (none / 0)

Jonathan has prepared a detailed response to the accusations of too casual a link between Warren and the video. But it seems to me that the involvement is deeper than Big Daddy Weave and Mainstream Baptist suggest, and that a closer reading of the piece as written will show. But basically, although the subject matter is rather explosive, what we are looking at is a very standard business association -- one for which Warren can and should, as the head of his enterprise, reasonably be held accountable.

What Jonathan has reported is a strategic series of alliances between several business and religious entitites. These businesses are highly unlikey to have invoked Warren's brand The Purpose Driven Church as part of its marketing campaign without permission. And indeed, the executive director of Warren's "Purpose Driven Church" is a named advisor to the project. This is not a casual association or an accident. Rather it is the result of strategic business and church growth decisions that were made to form this particular alliance. If in the unlikely event that Warren is unaware that the video company is invoking his brand and that one of his senior executives is directly involved in the biggest such venture in history of the Christian marketplace, then let him say so. Quite aside from the disreputable aspects of the product in question, it might be reasonable to assume that he would take appropriate action against unauthorized use of his brand name to promote this product.

Most companies go to great lengths to protect their brand image and do not allow it to be used by others lightly. For example, Disney recently withdrew permission for McDonalds to use their cartoon characters in marketing its products because of the well publicized link between McDonalds food and childhood obesity. Previously, the company had clearly seen the relationship as positive.

Rick Warren is a clever businessman, and his senior executives are experienced in the field. I have every confidence that they know exactly what they are doing.

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue May 30, 2006 at 03:55:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm no fan of Warren's, but . . . (none / 0)

until all the evidence is available, I prefer to withhold judgment.

If what Jonathan and dogemporer is saying is true, it will be an indication that a harder form of Dominionism is more broadly prevalent in the SBC than even I realized.

We need to be cautious about lumping all evanglicalism into the Dominionist camp. The evangelical response to the biblical call to evangelize the whole world pre-dates Dominionist theology. We need to distinguish Dominionism from the basic missionary thrust of the Christian faith itself.

It is possible that Warren, or those associated with him, are merely careless about using biblical metaphors that have taken on new theological meanings.

It is also possible that the militance and violent imagery of the Left Behind novels has so permeated 21st Century evangelicalism that it no longer bears any resemblance to the missionary pietism of previous generations. Evangelism by force of arms rather than by the persuasion of preaching is the anti-thesis of what earlier generations of Baptists advocated.

by Mainstream Baptist on Tue May 30, 2006 at 04:17:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: i agree (none / 0)

that we should use care in not lumping all evangelicals into the dominionist camp. So it's a good thing that Jonathan did not do that.
As much as I think we all wish that Warren had lived up to his PR, what Jonathan has uncovered should remind us to look carefully before we believe.
I heartily agree that it is possible to confuse evangelism with dominionism and that this is an unfortunate occupational hazard. It is particularly unfortunate when the occupation in question is that of evangelist.
I agree that it will be interesting to see what, if anything, Warren has to say for himself.

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue May 30, 2006 at 05:04:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I agree (none / 0)

Fred, and with all apologies to Mainstreet Baptist, whom I have come to respect very much, but I don't see the parallel between Rick Warren's anme on this product and your own fear that you would be associated with the actions or business practices of a member of your church. It appears that the business in question here was set up precisely as a marketing tool for Warren's grander schemes, and he could not possibly have let this game go to production without constant scrutiny and approval. We may only be able to infer such approval at this point, but the lines seem to be pretty well connected.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Tue May 30, 2006 at 04:25:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Guilt by association, or guilty of associating? (none / 0)

I've heard this "guilt by association" comment many times before. It was used by the Senior Pastor of my former church whenever issues regarding the purpose driven drivel he wanted to impose upon the church came up. It's a tactic used by people who just dont want to face uncomfortable truths. I hope you are right & that it is proven that R.W. isn't involved in this project. However, his connections with other dubious "ministers" should cause us to be wary.

by Brother Detox on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 01:29:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

*nods sadly* (none / 0)

The scary and sad thing is, I'm not entirely shocked at the fact that we now have "Spiritual Warfare GTA" being used as a recruitment tool for future dominionists.

This in itself is an interesting parallel with racist groups (yet again) as racist skinhead and Klan groups have been increasingly using first-person shooters as recruitment tools; it was probably only a matter of time before the "spiritual warfare" crowd did, too.

As an aside, I've posted an monster anthology in regards to this subject if people are interested (in regards to dominionist recruitment of youth and "stealth evangelism").

I also would not put Rick Warren in as being harmless. Warren has been involved in "spiritual warfare" circles for some time, including blatant promotion of "bait and switch" evangelism. The website Deception In The Church has been in particular been active in documenting links between Rick Warren and "third wave" neopente movements (including, frighteningly,links between Warren and David Yonggi Cho nee Paul Yonggi Cho, the very inventor of the "Brownsville Madness" at Yoido Full Gospel fully fifty years ago) in which "spiritual warfare" imagery is not only present but the very core of their theology. In the same article, Warren is also linked to a plethora of dominionist groups with close ties to "spiritual warfare" movements. A separate article at Let Us Reason also documents the extensive links between Warren and "dominion theology" neopentes in particular.

Warren's theology has led to forcible splits in churches, and experts in apologetics have noted Warren is essentially preaching a "warm and fuzzy" version of dominion theology. This is in part because of adoption of practices in his own church, including public confession of sins; at least one review of "The Purpose Driven Life" has noted that hundreds of members of Saddleback Church have been disfellowshipped for "secret sins" or not being "active enough" in church affairs.

Reportedly, Saddleback members also must sign a contract (called a "membership covenant"), are required to take indoctrination courses (in addition to regular church meetings), and are required to join "cell churches". (These are all major warning signs of an abusive church group; cell churches in particular are almost infamous for going coercive.)

by dogemperor on Tue May 30, 2006 at 01:32:59 PM EST

And this, folks, is why I don't trust Rick Warren (none / 0)

The "membership covenant" (a copy of which is given in this article which interviews Warren and noted on Saddleback's own website) is particularly revealing:

The Saddleback Membership Covenant
Having received Christ as my Lord and Savior and been baptized, and being in agreement with Saddleback's statements, strategy, and structure, I now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the Saddleback church family. In doing so, I commit myself to God and to the other members to do the following:
1. I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH
...By acting in love toward other members
...By refusing to gossip
...By following the leaders
"So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of our fellowship together." Rom. 15:19 (Ph)
"Have a sincere love for your fellow believers, love one another earnestly with all your hearts." 1 Peter 1:22 (TEV)
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs..." Eph. 4:29
"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be no advantage to you." Heb. 13:17

All of these verses have been used for scripture-twisting to stifle dissent in churches. Hebrews 13:17 has also been misused specifically to prevent criticism of church leaders and even "cell group" heads.

Interestingly, Romans 15:19 may be misquoted and Romans 15 is in general context of Christians supporting each other in the church; 1 Peter 1:22 is in general context of Christians leading a holy life in general and is part of an exhortation to "walk the good road"; Hebrews 13:17 is part of a much longer context exhorting people to keep the faith and including the basis of vows of charity in some Christian groups.

2. I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH
...By praying for its growth
...By inviting the unchurched to attend
...By warmly welcoming those who visit
"To the church ... we always thank God for you and pray for you constantly." 1 Thess. 1:2
"The Master said to the servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes, and urge the people there to come so my house will be full.'" Luke 14:23 (NCV)
"So, warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified." Rom. 15:7 (LB)

1 Thessalonians 1:2 is, in a distressingly common pattern, a scripture-twisting of a portion of a verse, and (ironically) of the opening that Paul gives in practically all of his letters to churches (the full greeting being: "1: Paul, Silva'nus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalo'nians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2:We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3: remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.").

Luke 14:23 is part of a monologue wherein Jesus is in debate with the Pharisees and initially promotes the concept of humility (noting that it's better to do a good deed without expecting payback) and--in the specific section quoted--is stating this in context of a parable refusing admittance to people who made excuses in regards to attendance of a banquet (in this case, explicitly seen to be the kingdom of God). (As an aside, Luke 14:25 is very commonly abused by "Bible-based" coercive religious groups and "spiritual warfare" groups. This is in context to Jesus' conclusion that walking the "good road" is not an easy path.)

Romans 15:7 is again taken out of context, similarly to the previous verse in Romans 15.

All of these are heavily misused to promote the idea of getting more bodies into a church (including using deceptive means, if necessary).

3. I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH
...By discovering my gifts and talents
...By being equipped to serve by my pastors
...By developing a servant's heart
"Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you..." 1 Peter 4:10(Ph)
"God gave...some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God's people for works of ministry, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." Eph. 4:11-12
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ...who took on the very nature of a servant..." Phil. 2:3-4,7

More scripture-twisting of specific sections:

1 Peter 4:10 is part of a general exhortation to remain sober, to use one's talents to support each other, and a reminder that "suffering is transitory", so to speak. The following verse, 1 Peter 4:11, is commonly abused in scripture-twisting in "name it and claim it" groups.

Ephesians 4:11-12 is part of a longer monologue stating that all persons have a role in the church, and is in turn part of a longer discussion again imploring people to live a good life and to not fall to temptations. (Again, we have a chapter where another series of verses are frequently misused; Ephesians 4:8-10 has been used to justify the "dominion theology" version of the "Harrowing of Hell"--the idea that Jesus spent three days in hell either being tortured or fighting Satan after being crucified. This is especially popular in the "name it and claim it" circles.)

Phillipians 2:3-4, 7 is an interesting use of scripture-twisting by selective quoting. The entire chapter is a lesson in humility; the excised portions (Phillipians 2:5-6) specifically state Jesus incarinated as a man-servant because humans cannot conceive of Jesus being equivalent to God. Phillipians 2:14 has been used to stifle dissent in coercive churches.

Of particular note, all of these verses have been misused to push members towards increasing involvement in dominionist causes. "High demand" coercive religious groups in particular misuse these verses and to push for "mandatory missionary" activity.

4. I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH
...By attending faithfully
...By living a godly life
...By giving regularly
"Let us not give up the habit of meeting together...but let us encourage one another." Heb. 10:25
"But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy of the gospel of Christ." Phil. 1:27 (Ph)
"Each one of you, on the first day of each week, should set aside a specific sum of money in proportion to what you have earned and use it for the offering." 1 Cor. 16:2
"A tenth of all your produce is the Lord's, and it is holy." Lev. 27:30

Note the mandatory tithing (more on that in a sec).

Hebrews 10:25 is part of a chapter that has been heavily scripture-twisted, and (in its appropriate context) is in regards to Paul speaking to the Jewish converts on how Jesus is the atonement for sins (rather than the sacrifices of old) and is in fact a lecture on salvation by grace. (To show how often this is misused, it is twisted in almost identical fashion in a "stealth evangelism" manual promoted by Ron Luce.) Hebrews 10:29-31 has been used to stifle dissent as "blaspheming the Holy Ghost" in some churches.

Phillipians 1:27 is in interesting regard of Paul noting that he is essentially a prisoner of conscience (and by being a prisoner of conscience advancing Christianity, as it was becoming acknowledged among the Praetorian Guard he was held due to his beliefs) and is in full context of telling the church to keep the faith whether or not he was released from prison.

1 Corithians 16:2 and Leviticus 27:30 have both been used to push for mandatory tithing in churches. The actual context of both is rather different.

1 Corinthians 16:2 was in regards to collections for housing and care for when Paul was visiting and was in full context of Paul announcing he was going to be visiting the Corinthian church and possibly staying the winter. (In other words, he was telling the church to set up a nest egg for his care so they wouldn't have to do special collections on his arrival!)

Leviticus 27:30 is in similar context. At the time of Leviticus' writing, the priesthood was effectively the government of Israel; reading all of Leviticus 27 in context, it's obvious that the "tenth" is part of a system of formalised taxation specifically for the upkeep of the priesthood. (In fact, modern Judaism promotes giving the ten percent formerly reserved for the priesthood's upkeep to tzedakah--offerings to charities for the poor.) Several sources have also noted that early Christian churches did not tithe regularly, either.

by dogemperor on Tue May 30, 2006 at 02:20:41 PM EST

: tzedakah (none / 0)

My former Significant Other (with whom I lived for 15 years) is a Reform Jew who has been part of the professional choir of a fairly large Conservative synagogue for the last 20 years. The way his shul works is that membership dues are assessed based on household income - I seem to remember it's somewhere around 2% - and "tzedakah" is over and above that. (At this point my impertinent side asks if buying State of Israel bonds counts or not - they sure push that, especially on the High Holidays - but my down-to-earth side knows that's ot the case. Back to our story.)
He himself has an interesting story: While his parents were never observant beyond not eating pork (with the one exception that his dad loved bacon and indulged in it fairly regularly, and his mom just shook her head put up with it) and keeping up some cultural aspects (such as lighting Yahrzeit candles on the anniversary of a loved one's death), they decided to send him to a weekend Hebrew-school program when he was in grade school. He did very well in everything, except that he flunked Tzedakah. His parents got so disgusted they pulled him out of the program and that was that for his Jewish education.
Mind you, this is one of the most generous, compassionate, giving people I've ever known (as his parents made a point of raising him to be). But he didn't do Tzedakah "the right way" so they flunked him. Go figure!

by anomalous4 on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 10:43:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ambulance Roof 911's (none / 0)

I have to admit that I was not certain that FDNY ambulances didn't have "911" on their roofs, and that the author of this piece might not have been reading something into the appearance of those freighted digits that wasn't there... I Googled for images of the tops of FDNY ambulances and came across this:

http://www.lowcountrynow.com/images/042102/full_firefighter.jpg

Which shows such an ambulance featuring the customary six-armed paramedic star on the roof. Again, I don't necessarily buy the author's assertion that the game's makers put 911 on the game's ambulances specifically to call up the memory of 9/11 -- nor do I deny its possibility. They made a decision to put the emergency phone number on the roof, which just so happens to be that infamous date.

by land on Tue May 30, 2006 at 05:28:40 PM EST

Note on the Update (none / 0)

The date that this video game scheme was hatched may provide some clue to the thinking of its organizers.

I don't think it much of a stretch to see this as a dispensational pre-millenialist response to 9-11.

Jerry Falwell's well publicized comments on Pat Robertson's 700 Club about who was at fault are being graphically reinforced in a video game.

It would be interesting to see if Warren parrotted Falwell's comments blaming 9-11 on "abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America."

by Mainstream Baptist on Tue May 30, 2006 at 06:17:26 PM EST

Strange and Disturbing (none / 0)

I've always considered video games to be mind-numbing "entertainment" overall. In particular, first-person-shooter games tend to de-sensitize users to the violent acts that are virtually committed on the small screen.
One would think that any religious household (of whatever faith those people may be) would simply not purchase items that endorse senseless acts of hate and criminal violence.
The easiest way to defeat a company or an industry that markets goods of questionable or poor taste is by hitting that industry in the pocketbook, after all-- NOT by competing with it.

The Dominionists, unfortunately, do not see what kind of fire they are playing with when they decide to make and market games that encourage kids to commit murderous acts.

by Heathen1 on Tue May 30, 2006 at 07:21:12 PM EST

BTW, this article has made the Big Time. (none / 0)

According to reports, this article has been featured on BoingBoing (which probably accounts for the tons of traffic we are getting right now)--I won't be shocked if Fark also picks it up, either.

Anyways, to those of you joining us from BoingBoing, welcome, and hopefully you'll find a lot of stuff here to educate you as to the threat from dominionism and inspire you to take action to take back your country.

by dogemperor on Wed May 31, 2006 at 01:57:29 PM EST

game reference source? (none / 0)

You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians.

Where is this info from? This is pretty inflamatory stuff to say that. Are there any references to different groups listed above in the game? Can't find them on the company's website.

by Waldo on Wed May 31, 2006 at 02:53:28 PM EST

: Try the source material for this. (none / 0)

The source for the game in question is no less than Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" series of books, which are a fictionalisation of "dominion theology" premillenial dispensationalism (as promoted by the Assemblies of God and neopente churches) and in particular the dominion-theology mythology surrounding the "Tribulation" (a seven-year period in which the Antichrist is supposed to have sway on the earth between the time of the Rapture and the end of the world proper).
The book starts out by dominionists (and only dominionists) being raptured up and the series features the stories of a few "post-rapture" convertees to dominionism--notably, again, only dominionists and "messianic Jews" are promoted as being truly Christian.
In the last book, "Glorious Appearing", Jesus literally comes down from Heaven to whoop ass, including literally cleaving non-dominionists in twain--this at the literal Armageddon, where the ragtag band of "remnants" literally fights off everyone else.
This particular game is based off the "Left Behind" books and follows the plotline (both of the books, and of "dominion theology" premillenial dispensationalism) closely--and, yes, in the books, people of other faiths DO get it in the end.
LaHaye himself is a hardline dominionist and has been promoting the particular flavour of dominionism popular in the Assemblies and other pente groups since the early 70's; in fact, LaHaye has been a member of multiple dominionist groups, is one of the co-founding members of the Coalition on Revival, and his wife (Beverly LaHaye) runs Concerned Women for America. Their vociferousness towards non-dominionists need only be read in their literature.
This article in Pharyngula has written on the subject, and DefCon America and Theocracy Watch have good backgrounder on this particular movement in dominionist thought. Yurica Report has done a number of good articles as well, including a recent history of hard dominionism that notes its roots in the Scofield Reference Bible--the same source that premillenial dispensationalism and "young earth" creationism were popularised in. (Seeing as entire sects--notably, the Assemblies and other neopente groups promoting dominion theology--essentially based much of their core theology off the Scofield Reference Bible, it's not an exaggeration to say that the ultimate roots of dominion theology may lie there.) Katherine Yurica has also done an excellent expose of LaHaye himself. Ther e is a second expose out by a conservative (non-dominionist) Christian that goes deep into LaHaye's history of promotion of dominionism.
In regards to the source material (the "Left Behind" books), Joe Bageant has written an excellent exposure of the actual meaning of those books; Nicholas Kristof also details the "all save dominionists are damned" imagery (up to and including quotes from "Glorious Appearing"). As far back as 2000, the now-defunct Institute for First Amendment Studies was reporting on the "to hell with all non-dominionist" imagery in the novels.
Isebrand.com has a good article on how books like "Left Behind" are directly influencing US policy in many ways.
Slactivist has an excellent running review and criticism of the entire Left Behind series (it's very extensive, so be prepared for a lot of reading!)
There is actually a small entertainment industry around the "Left Behind" books, including two movies generally regarded as abysmal.
For more info on the particular flavour of dominionism that LaHaye et al promote, I've written an intro guide. (I myself am an escapee of a group that promoted the sorts of things fictionalised in the "Left Behind" books before they made best-seller books about it.)

by dogemperor on Wed May 31, 2006 at 04:37:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
: there is actually a simple answer to this (none / 0)

While the above categories of people are not named in the video, they are certainly a representative sample of those are who will inevitably be "left behind" after the rapture and living in New York City, where the action video is set.
If you are not a Christian of the correct sort, and not otherwise up to snuff, you are not raptured. The physcial battle is among those who don't make the rapture: The sinners and unbelievers, and members of the wrong Christian sects.

by Frederick Clarkson on Wed May 31, 2006 at 04:48:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A few quick corrections (none / 0)

I read this article, then I went out to actually research the game, something that no one else here seems to have bothered to do. Despite what numerous posts are saying, the game is not an FPS (First-person Shooter), it is an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game. The two genres are very different in presentation, method and the way they're played. There is no running around and slaughtering people of different ethnicities, religions, or sexual alignments.

"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)"

Contrary to what the above article states, killing is not encouraged or even the point of the game.

IS there killing? Yes.

But...

In the game that is a secondary action, a byproduct of war as opposed to a purpose. If anyone here knows anything about RTS games, the whole point of them is to manage certain resources in order to build up your own forces. In this particular RTS, one of those resources is 'Spirit,' a resource that actually decreases as killings happen. And, as spirit decreases, your troops will actually defect to the other side. The objective is converting neutrals (and the enemy) to Christianity, not killing them.

While that may seem wrong to some, it is kind of the point of the whole 'Great Commision' thing.

Regarding the whole switching sides thing, yes, it is possible (in multiplayer only!) to play the side of the Antichrist. Do you summon demons to slay your enemies? No. They show up when the Spirit resource gets too low. They attack the enemy, and then they turn on you.

The game does not reward evil behaviour.

Further, each and every character in the game has a name and backstory. This is not like all the other RTS games where one soldier is the same as all the others. This games gives you an indepth and ongoing life story for every character, making every death a personal one, a tragic one.

Is the game good and healthy? Possibly not.
Is it as bad as it has been presented here? No. Not even remotely.

Read some of the game previews, or, even better, all of them:

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/928956.asp

Regarding the whole Rick Warren thing. Come on!! The Left Behind series, as overwritten and unimpressive as it is, sold more than 50 million copies. Do you honestly think that this game needs Rick Warren at all?

by truth999 on Wed May 31, 2006 at 06:11:18 PM EST

well, (none / 0)

I can't address all of the particulars of this except to say that you are wrapped up in the details and have lost perspective.

The threat to convert or die is exactly the pointof this post. There is no substantive difference between this and the Spanish Inquisition -- when the Jews were forced to convert or die -- or flee the country if they were lucky.

Sorry "truth," this game is more than a game. It is an indocrtination scheme for religious warfare. All Americans should be rightfully concerned.

by Frederick Clarkson on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 01:59:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

No! (none / 0)

The point is this: the game is not about a 'convert or die' mentality.

Comparing a video game... A VIDEO GAME... to the treatment of Jews during the Spanish Inquistion is ridiculous.

If it was an indoctrination scheme, if it was truly blatant in its religious imagery, then it would receive far more judgemental previews from the largely anti-Christian gaming press.

One of the key points in every article I read was that the game does not "beat you over the head with its message."

Condemn it as a violent video game. Fine. But condemning it as "an indoctrination scheme for religious warfare" is both premature and reactionary.

by truth999 on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 02:24:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

umm (none / 0)

You acknowedged in your first comment that that is exactly what it is. Convert them and failing that, kill them. I'll stick by my analogy.

Tim LaHaye, Rick Warren and the gang absolutely have a religious as well as a business agenda. If the reviewers who have examined this so far don't know enough about the subject to see that, that does not mean that it is not true.

The Left Behind series is about post rapture religious war in the end times, and so is the video.

by Frederick Clarkson on Thu Jun 01, 2006 at 04:33:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

: Actually... (none / 0)

My first post acknowledged that there was, in fact, killing in this game. That is part of an entire genre of video games based around strategically manipulating your forces to defeat the enemy. In this particular game there are two sides. This is a fairly standard military arrangement.
The player converts neutrals. Killing the neutrals that remain neutral is akin to shooting oneself in the foot, as the player would be cutting off one's troop resource. Yes, the player fights, and may end up killing, those who go to the enemy's side, but this is the same as any military situation wherein a former bystander has made the choice to join the enemy camp and is now coming at you with a gun. Yes, it's militant. But it's militant in a fantasy quasi-postapocalyptic setting.
The enemy that is fought is on the side of the Antichrist, but there are actually specific units on the Christian side designed for the conversion of those enemies. As I stated earlier, the killing will actually decrease the player's troops' abilities. It is an inherently negative thing. It is not the point of the game.
The idea of killing as bad in an RTS is foreign, which makes this game stand out. The concept of recruiting troops from the general populace, making the player actually care when characters die is, again, something new and novel for the genre.
If you are condemning the concept of Christians attempting to convert people to their viewpoint, you are condemning a core aspect of Christian belief.
And of course they have a religious agenda! And it comes before their business agenda, or it should if they're as Christian as they claim. That doesn't mean that a video game will result in masses of dominionist paramilitary converts, or any, for that matter.
Yes, that is what the Left Behind series is about. I have, however, yet t