[NYTr] DOD Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Steven L. Robinson (activ-l)

[Yet more evidence of organizing by right wing  Evangelical Christians
within the US military. SR]

The Blotter - Aug 15, 2007
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/dod-stops-plan-.html


DOD Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq

by Anna Schecter

Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S.
troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of
Defense after ABC News inquired about the program.

Operation Start Up (OSU) Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that
actively proselytizes among soldiers, will not be sending the
"apocryphal" video game in care packages as planned, according to the
department.

"Left Behind: Eternal Forces" was inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry
Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle of Armageddon, in
which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist.

The game has inspired controversy among freedom of religion advocates
since it was released last year.

"It's a horrible game," said the Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians
Alliance for Progress. "You either kill or covert the other side. This
is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us."

Troy Lyndon, the producer of the game, said the game's "warfare" is not
violent, and that it emphasizes "spiritual battles" over fighting with
guns. The game gives incentives to recruit believers instead of killing
the forces of the Antichrist, according to Lyndon.

Lyndon added, "There is no forcible conversion to Christianity, and
killing is never an objective in any of the 40 missions in the game."

A team of researchers at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
discovered OSU Tour's plan to send the game to Iraq, and their
discovery was first reported by Max Blumenthal in The Nation last week.

MRFF President Mikey Weinstein said he is gratified the Pentagon
"claims it is going to cease this provocative act" that emboldens
organizations like the Taliban and al Qaeda.

"I doubt this will prevent unconstitutional activity in the Pentagon
with regards to freedom of religion for more than just a few days," said
Weinstein.

OSU Tour is one of the newest members of the Defense Department's
America Supports You program, which connects citizens and corporations
with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.

OSU Tour's entertainment aims to help military children and families
become stronger through faith-based entertainment, according to its Web
site. Sports personalities, comedians and actors, including Stephen
Baldwin, make up the show.

OSU president Jonathan Sprinks in a recent press release said of
Baldwin, "Since God made a difference in his life, he's been very
outspoken."

Sprinks came under fire from bloggers for writing on his Web site, "We
feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple
crusades that will sweep through this war-torn region," about OSU
Tour's planned trip to Iraq. "We'll hold the only religious crusade of
its size in the dangerous land of Iraq."

The above text has been removed from Sprinks' site but can be viewed on
the cached page.

Sprinks did not return requests for comment on this article.

The Defense Department's only comment on the record was that the OSU
Tour is "currently not planning on sending any care packages to the
troops in Iraq."

In addition to the game, OSU Tour's "Freedom Packets" were supposed to
include pocket-sized editions of the New Testament, evangelical DVDs and
books, baby wipes and phone cards, according to its Web site.