Have you been following the Faith Fighter controversy? If not, I’ll explain the background below, but it’s taken a fun turn. Molleindustria – who you may remember from Oiligarcy – found that their original Faith Fighter has outraged the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (and so indirectly 1.3 billion believers). Since Molleindustria was upset they missed their irony, they pulled the original from their site and made the tolerance-is-awesome Faith Fighter 2. And, really, it’s about as disingenuous as it gets. I feel the need to applaud.
You have to assume they’re adding in – ahem – bad faith, because while they’ve removed the game from their site as a symbolic gesture it’s still available on their actual account at Newsgrounds and the source code for the original is still on their site for anyone who wants to get it. But most importantly, Faith Fighter 2 rips the piss out the whole concept of belief by asking you to try and support all the gods, and some aliens and the spaghetti monster. And if you don’t – oh, something bad will happen, probably. In other words, they’re apologising while flicking the Vs, as good agent provocateurs should.
(Not that I think they’re acting totally insincerely with their apology. A satirist hitting a target they weren’t aiming at does tend to annoy – which is why I think they’ve refocused their attack with Faith Fighter 2.)
The scandal? Well, the Metro ran a GAMES HATRED story with some renta-quote types in it. The OIC noticed it and gave a statement asking it to be withdrawn from ISPs. And then the news picked up on it. And lo! Scandal.
Let’s hand over to our PaRappa The Rapper to end on a song.
You really do.
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Irreligious folk get so much shit from people with a basic sense of righteousness. Imagine you’re an atheist and buses had ads saying you’ll go to hell and burn for eternity. That wouldn’t be too nice.
The Atheist bus campaign was a response to a Christian bus ad that displayed the url of just that type of heathen burning website.
People make fun of the peaceful guys because it’s all a bit absurd really, peaceful or not.
The original Faith Fighters was awesome, but the way.
I worship Talos, where do we stand on fictional deities? (hurrr)
Actually, I’m pretty much agnostic, or apathetic. I like religion.
To make social satire through games is genius.
By the way, another one of their games, “Operation: Pedopriest”, was censored in Italy some years ago. The censorship was discussed and approved in the Italian parliament, and motivated with the argument that the game will eventually encourage people to have pedophillic behaviour…
I’m almost certain what you refer to as an alien is supposed to be Xenu.
Gotta include the Scientologists!
[pushes away the crowd and stands on his own portable soap box]
@kobzon
I dont think your arguement holds up. I think this wave of ahtiest activism and questioning is due to people actually sitting up and taking stock of this whole religion business. I mean seriously have people actually read the whole of the bible? When you see it for the tripe it actually is, you begin to question why the hell anyone can take ideas to heart. What you call “Religious folk get[ting] so much shit” I call ahtiests showing exasperation for how people can be led along on in to believing the most crazyiest of ideas. They cannot help but point out that Gods, like faires, witches and unicorns surely should had there day by now?
Have we not as humans come too far along the road to have these cobbled together bronze age texts hanging on our coat tails, claiming dibs on for the sources of our greatest achievements?
[runs away!...]
As a side note, I was reading something that made me laugh. About the idea how if people really do think they will survive their own death, why do they not show envy and jealously to those close to death?
[in the voice of Monthy python]
“Dying say? You lucky bastard! I’ll have to toil away for another 40 years, but you get to bugger off and go live in eternal bliss, virgins and paradise, floating on clouds and all that.”
“Yes yes, I cannot wait, afterlife here I come!”
You just don’t see it happening much eh?
@Klaus: oh rly?
Helm does not approve…
/produces mace
There is no Gap Gen.
I love my FSM sticker on the back of my car. It’s like a one question, pass/fail IQ test: If they ask The Question, they fail.
SmokingKipper: interestingly, this article describes how atheists were generally more accepting of death than the religious in terminal situations. Odd.
Edit: Buggered up the html thingy, but you get the idea…
Inverse solipsism, we meet again.
more importantly why cant i play as Jesus’ alt aslan.
atheists should be represented by a mech and humanist atheists the care bears.
Seriously though the problem with religion is that its one of the biggest diseases in the world, transmitted early on in life, paternally/ maternally before children can build up their bullshit atibodies.
What/who is the final boss in it?
Their is supposed to be a nice twist at the end of this game does anyone know what it is?
I would guess that you find out that the final boss …..does not exist :)
Oh crud, just realized you people don’t know that this thing by Gogol is a balls-out crazy Christian sermon.
Aaanyway, saying that there is no God to a Christian is like saying “PS3lol” to a playstation fan. Instead, invite him to discuss the Kantian idea of God and watch him squirm.
Helm is dead, but Talos is no more! I will move to Kelemvor. Huzzah!
From my fog of agnosticism, both the atheists and the religious folk look pretty similar. What with all the shouting, tantrums and lovely extremism. Only the religious have creation mythology stories which I find neat and the atheists are talking about how hawt Dawkins is.
In short, I will put up with your extremism -for a while- if you make it interesting.
@Chris
The final boss is actually an alien. Played Faith Fighter 1 at work yesterday (slow day, shame on me) and completed it as god.
1.3 million muslims? That’s a hell of a combo.
Um…a christian interpretation of hell. Uh, Christ, I’m just making it worse. Oh God I’ve done it again.
Oh shit.
To quote Serondal: “Being a Christian I gotta say this is silly. I’m more offended by some group coming up and claiming to speak for me then I am by some game.
…
I could see why Muslims may not like it since they have religious rules against creating a likeness of Mohammad”
One phrase springs to mind, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” aka the second commandment.
Which is of course shared between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. That’s why puritans don’t have statues of the virgin mary, it still doesn’t explain having crosses all over the place though. It’s not a hard rule ya know, but still there’s all these different little groups who disagree on such points.
Also I’ve got to mention the fact that not all sects of Islam forbid images of the prophet, which you kinda claimed they do, just after saying you hate groups that claim to speak for everyone. Umm, yeah.
Flash games are an abomination unto Nuggan!
Flash games are kawaii.
“Don’t they teach logic in schools anymore?”
@Name, muslims don’t necessary shout the loudest, it’s just that publications like the daily mail like to jump on any objection raised by any group even remotely connected to this particular religion. Pure bigotry of course, but then there’s a lot of that in this thread too and you lot are supposed to be somewhat more enlightened than the daily mail reader. I think many people don’t realize how bad this “omigod muslims are crazy” meme has gotten.
too true :/
@Malagate I’m not speaking for all Muslims or even any Muslims at all in fact. I even said that in my post if you read it all :P I say “I’m not saying all Muslims feel this way” In fact I’m not sure what way anyone else feels besides me, was just trying to clear up the other guy on why some Muslims seem to want to put other people to their rules. I Never said a I hate anyone either . . . I just said I’m /more/ offended by someone doing something of that nature than a game like this.
People are going to say what they’re going to say about you and what you believe in one way or another. No reason to get all crazy when someone says something horrible about your God, it is hurting them more than it is hurting you. I feel sorry for them, yah, but I don’t hate anyone just because they’re (in my opinion) Misguided one way or another. I love all you guys regardless if you hate me for being Christian or hate/don’t believe in my God. If you have a good time making up pictures,phrases,games ect to insult me then by all means have a great time. It isn’t going to get ME angry but I’m sure there are plenty of “christians” out there that will go nuts when you do.