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Churches Use Halo To Spread the Word, Raise Eyebrows
The New York Times has a lengthy look at an unorthodox way to spread the religious word: Halo 3 multiplayer matches. Churches across the country have adopted 'Halo Nights' as a way to get kids together in religious centers and church basements. "The alliance of popular culture and evangelism is challenging churches much as bingo games did in the 1960s. And the question fits into a rich debate about how far churches should go to reach young people. Far from being defensive, church leaders who support Halo -- despite its "thou shalt kill" credo -- celebrate it as a modern and sometimes singularly effective tool. It is crucial, they say, to reach the elusive audience of boys and young men." Just the same, the use of the game is raising concerns among some onlookers. GamePolitics reports that many faith communities are heavily debating the issue.
I still want to know how this God person managed to write a book (giant paper?) and get such a good distribution deal.
This is OT, but it's simple. A) he inspired people to write it over a period of 2000 years. B) An the reason it's distribution is so good is because it's the truth. I mean common, 20+ people writing a book over 2000 years, including prophecies that are fulfilled hundreds (if not thousands) of years after they are written, with no contradictions in the book. No wonder it's so popular. Not to mention that it has the power to change lives (bring about world peace, etc.).
Man is the lowest-cost, 150-pound, nonlinear, all-purpose computer system which can be mass-produced by unskilled labor.
Guhhhh. And at the same time, the reaction to Ultima VI: The False Prophet was probably along the lines of "It's got MAGIC in it, so it's an EVIL game". (Never mind that Ultima series was mostly about living virtuous, chivalric life, and straightening up both personal and social problems...)
In general, I'm a little bit worried that some Christian groups have to take so superficial looks at the games: No one pauses to study the deeper values in the games, they just see "heck of a lot of violence = BURN" or "almost exposed boobies = BURN" or "someone mentioned magic once = BURN OF HARRYPOTTERIFIC PROPORTIONS" or "that kind of looks like a demon = BURN". No one analyses the games deeper than that.