Nymphomania, Christian video games and holy high tops: Or, what happens when a Christian decides to become CEO
If you thought Christianity in today’s world was for the birds, then you might want to think again. I’ve been reading God is Back, by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, in which the authors make a case for how religion, especially the American style of Pentecostalism, is starting to spread again throughout the world. In one chapter, the book explains how Christian entrepreneurs are borrowing ideas from mainstream American culture and adapting them to meet a religious audience’s needs–with huge amounts of success so far. And I’m not talking about Christian clubs or holy hip hop. Check out these examples:
Christian Nymphos
Although the name sounds like a bad idea for a porno, there’s no need to get your mind out of the gutter with this one. This is a website for married women dedicated to “teaching saints how to walk in sexual freedom with their husbands.” Although sex mostly doesn’t get talked about in the church, believe it or not, Christians do know how to spice things up (under the right circumstances, of course).
Left Behind: Eternal Forces
This Christian video game became an instant hit when it came out in 2006. It allows players the choice of either mowing down enemy soldiers or conducting warfare using prayer and worship as weapons rather than guns.
Scripts Footwear
Although these just look like Chucks with Bible verses on them, you gotta give it up to the marketing people at Scripts Footwear who thought of creating a brand of shoe that is both good for the soul and sole.
“Jesus” rifles in the military?
Interesting investigative story from ABC News (via AlterNet) about how the U.S. military is using high-powered rifle sights inscribed with passages from the Bible.
According to the report:
The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.
U.S. military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the U.S. was embarked on a religious “Crusade” in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents.
…
Trijicon confirmed to ABCNews.com that it adds the biblical codes to the sights sold to the U.S. military. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions “have always been there” and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is “not Christian.” The company has said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash.
It’s interesting because it shows how people sometimes can’t comprehend the Bible being used anywhere outside of a church. Now, I don’t know too much about guns but, according to the story, the Bible verses are on the sights, which are used by troops only to see their targets, correct? But they’re not on the bullets themselves. So couldn’t the argument also be made that the Bible verses are for the troops, and perhaps they’re the ones being subliminally “proselytized” to?