The Pentagon Sends Messengers of Apocalypse to Convert Soldiers in Iraq

[gulfcoastliberal]

Source: The Nation

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"We feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple crusades that will sweep through this war torn region," OSU declares on its website about its planned trip to Iraq. "We'll hold the only religious crusade of its size in the dangerous land of Iraq."

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"The constitution has been assaulted and brutalized," Mikey Weinstein, former Reagan Administration White House counsel, ex-Air Force judge advocate (JAG), and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told me. "Thanks to the influence of extreme Christian fundamentalism, the wall separating church and state is nothing but smoke and debris. And OSU is the IED that exploded the wall separating church and state in the Pentagon and throughout our military." Weinstein continued: "The fact that they would even consider taking their crusade to a Muslim country shows the threat to our national security and to the constitution and everyone that loves it."

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With the endorsement of the Defense Department, OSU is mailing "Freedom Packages" to soldiers serving in Iraq. These are not your grandfather's care packages, however. Besides pairs of white socks and boxes of baby wipes (included at the apparent suggestion of Iran-Contra felon Oliver North, according to OSU) OSU's care packages contain the controversial Left Behind: Eternal Forces video game. The game is inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' bestselling pulp fiction series about a blood-soaked Battle of Armageddon pitting born-again Christians against anybody who does not adhere to their particular theology. In LaHaye's and Jenkins' books, the non-believers are ultimately condemned to "everlasting punishment" while the evangelicals are "raptured" up to heaven.

The Left Behind videogame is a real-time strategy game that makes players commanders of a virtual evangelical army in a post-apocalyptic landscape that looks strikingly like New York City after 9/11. With tanks, helicopters and a fearsome arsenal of automatic weapons at their disposal, Left Behind players wage a violent war against United Nations-like peacekeepers who, according to LaHaye's interpretation of Revelation, represent the armies of the Antichrist. Each time a Left Behind player kills a UN soldier, their virtual character exclaims, "Praise the Lord!" To win the game, players must kill or convert all the non-believers left behind after the rapture. They also have the option of reversing roles and commanding the forces of the Antichrist.

Read more: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/59161/

[MidwestTransplant]

1. So the Pentagon is sending out video games where you get points for killing UN soldiers?

[louis-t]

2. I'm having trouble believing this story.

But then, I'm naturally skeptical.

[bjobotts]

24. Kill Kill Kill. Jesus was a good soldier.Kill Kill Kill Evangelicans are

the anti-christ. Jesus Christ = love and eternal life
Anti-Christ = hate and death
Evangelicans hate and want to murder, create death.
Therefore Evangelicans = anti-Christ.

Left behind series was kindergarden stupidity. Killing for christ is twisted and hypocritical to Christianity and is fear mongering at its worst.
Accepting Jesus as your personal savior does not mean accepting John of Revelations or Leviticus or Rev. Haggee, Dobson or Robertson as your personal savior but Jesus. His words, his values and principles, his way of life and he led by example. He didn't kill people for God, he wasn't a lawyer he was a healer. He wasn't a politician and didn't manipulate people for God...not the Romans, not Pilate.
These so called Christian leaders today are insane. They put emphasis on how to behave on everyone but Jesus, quoting the very scriptures Jesus rebuked.
Encouraging soldiers in a war zone to participate in insanity is sedition. These Christian leaders are as un christian as you can get. They are vile creatures preying on emotional insecurities at a most dangerous time and calling it Christianity while they try to manipulate man's murderous nature in a time of war. There is nothing lower and the pentagon should put an immediate stop to the packages. These people are shameless playing on the fears of our soldiers during such fearful times in their lives.

[FourScore]

26. I wrote an opinion piece here at DU about this topic earlier today...

I actually spent some time on it, too. But it hasn't recieved much traffic.

Check out the friggin' t-shirts:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1545855

[ProudDad]

28. Satan is a Punk?

Does that mean J.C.'s on top?

[FourScore]

29. Maybe you got the two t-shirts mixed up.

Satan is a Punk is the t-shirt showing two muscle bound crew cut, half-naked men fist-fighting.

The other t-shirt shows one man on top of another, pummeling his face, with fine print under the graphic: "Because JC Lives in Me".

It's really sick shit.

[ProudDad]

49. I guess my attempt at humor was kind of an inside joke

In prison, the Punk is the one who assumes the bottom, inferior position...

So if Satan's the Punk -- J.C. must be the aggressor, the predator...

Actually, it's not a funny subject. These people are sick...

http://www.spr.org/en/sprnews/2003/1009.asp

[annabanana]

37. Follow the links in the article. . It's true.. . . n/t

[Democrats_win]

3. With the dead GOP horse, False Xstians hooking cart up to 4 horses of the apocalypse?

When will they learn? The false christians are preying on our soldiers at a time when they need to know the truth.

What happens when the soldiers figure out that these false christains are full of manure? They will surely resent this.

[noel adamson]

4. And more soldiers will realize that they are serving at the pleasure of mad men and women

[ShockediSay]

7. False Christians + False Gospel =

Satan's Last Stand

Revalations

[BrainGlutton]

51. I'm more concerned with how it will affect their relations with the Iraqis.

Who are, after all, Muslims. And don't we already have enough trouble with bin Laden and his ilk calling Westerners "Crusaders"?!

[whistle]

5. Iraq is being made into a spiritual war which guarantees that there will be no end

...because there is never an end to the war between good and evil. What a racket!

[katty]

48. BINGO! a perfect scenario for the War Profiteers!

[sanskritwarrior]

6. Call me a skeptic

14 years in the Army and I have never heard of OSU until this week......

[pepperbear]

8. so how many times do they need to say CRUSADE? do they even know what it means? n/t

[AndyTiedye]

21. Yes, They Know Exactly What It Means. A CRUSADE Is What They Want

They have already brought back something that very much resembles the Inquisition

[saigon68]

38. Nice Photo

This is the pay back

[alfredo]

9. "everlasting punishment" sounds like Gitmo

[superkia]

10. Tell me this is pure B.S. right?

[many a good man]

11. No, it's just bush's America

You act surprised.

[superkia]

12. The video game part is even true? Just amazing!

[rucognizant]

42. Pure BS....if only!

If you haven't read this article, I recommend it NOW!
It connects a lot of seemingly related dots, over a long period of time! I read it 3 or 4 years ago and I have been able to watch it evolve further!
You DO KNOW that Rev. SUn Moon that cult leader, who funds the right wing Washington Times propaganda machine, was CROWNED KING; in the DIrkson Senate Bldg by some of the Repug Senators ( & a handful of Dems, who later claimed they were fooled into being there.....) Moon claims to be JESUS the second coming!!! Honest ( & and it was a real crown they put on his head!) 2004. I was so stunned when heard that on NPR, I missed the exit for the MAss tnpk and had to travel 1/2 way across Mass on Rt 20 before I could pick up the pike again. There was a Salon article about it, " Moon Rising over Washington" I think! Sorry I can't pass it on, it was bookmarked on my now Internet obsolete MAC, thank you very much Bill Gates & Steve Jobs!
Go read this now enjoy enlightenment!
http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/expose-the-christian-mafia-parts-1-2:nuke:

[HughMoran]

13. OMFG - this sickens me to the core

Is this the "if you can't beat 'em. join 'em" approach?

"Yeah, two can play at this fanatical murderous religious war game" I hear them saying in these packages.


:puke:

[pepperbear]

14. the Jews, Wiccans, and Atheists among the troops will really dig this.

are they kidding with this shit?

[Gregorian]

15. Now that they've captured their hearts, they're going after their minds.

These guys are super efficient terrorist creators. Crusades? That word again? CRUSADES? You must be kidding. There are few words to describe just how filthy disgusting these crazy clowns are. How do they do it? Pure idiocy. And we're paying for it.

There is a way to stop them. But Americans aren't pulling together. And Theroux already tried it. He ended up in jail.


Edit- I really get it now. The military is just a super corporation. They're goal is to have war. So create terrorists, and war they shall have. Endless war for decades to come. It's a corporate monster that only lives and breaths bullets and dollar bills.

[badgervan]

16. This is an Onion Piece, Right?

If this is factual, we need a new government pretty damn quick.

[drm604]

25. Nope. It's from a Max Blumenthal article from The Nation.

Which, unfortunately, makes it pretty credible.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=220960

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

40. Onion? No, OSU doesn't have that much brain power

I don't think the OSU (Buckeyes) have the imagination to pull off either the spoof, or the actual packaging of video games (like you could pry a video game from an OSU student's passed-out hands).

Go Blue!

(just K.I.D.D.I.N.G.!!!!) ... sorta.

:rofl:

I hope this is an Onion-like spoof, but given the Xtian-fundie stories coming out of the Air Force Academy, and the fundie foundation of Blackwater, who knows?

[EVDebs]

17. Left Behind eschatology is the old Jesuit 'futurism' that was trotted out to counter Luther

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1877885

the funny thing is nowadays Protestants have bought into the 'futurist' eschatology and the Catholic Church uses the 'preterist' (Nero) eschatology. Luther's 'historicist' view, that the papacy was an anti-christ, has been shunted off to the sidelines.

The Left Behind crowd also needs a Third Temple.

[formercia]

35. The Third Temple

covered in plates of Gold.


"Praise the Lord", "Heil Hitler", "Hail Caesar","Allu Akbar", whatever...

Who is this "Lord" anyway? Lord of the Manor,Lord of the Rings, or are we talking Lucifer?

Same bullshit, different Generation.

[EVDebs]

45. 'The Deceiver' is another name used for this character

They've been fooled and don't know what they're doing. Sounds like an action taken around 2000 yrs ago.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. Obviously the Pentagon has time on his hands?

nothing better to do on taxpayers money?

let's audit the Pentagon and see if they are performing how they should?

[Gregorian]

19. I knew there was something goofy about Baldwin's brother.

That explains it. He's a born again goon.

Anyone who saw my earlier posts knows what a crappy day I've had around here with respect to religion. But it's kind of odd how even as a Christian I find this kind of religious stuff freaky. Just plain stupid and insulting. So that is kind of my way of trying to repair the angry damage I did on the forum today. I don't usually get pissed off. Argh. I'm tired. What am I blabbing about...

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. WTF???

This can't really be happening, it's like a dystopian Monty Python skit. Just when you think things can't get any worse.

Or any weirder.

[kineneb]

22. Not a joke...more on subject at Yurica Report. ugh.

Unfortunately, the fanatic/military connection is real. There are several articles at Yurica Report that document it. The combination is scary. Think Gen. Boykin.:scared:


http://www.yuricareport.com/ChurchState/DODInvestigationChristianEmbassyRpt.html

"Yurica Report Editor's note: As a direct result of a request by counsel for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), founded by Michael L. Weinstein, ('Mikey' Weinstein, the author of With God on Our Side), the Office of the Inspector General of the Defense Department has released a report finding that high-ranking Army and Air Force personnel violated long-standing military regulations when dressed in uniform, using Pentagon offices), participated in a promotional video for an evangelical organization known as the "Christian Embassy," founded by the late Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International). The complaining letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense can be read here." (url given at site)

[AntiFascist]

23. Time to send the soldiers home....

let the right-wing crazies fight their own crusade.

[ShaneGR]

27. Is this real???????????

Seriously, I have trouble believing this.

[mariema]

47. OSU is listed on America Supports You website

http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/other_support.html

and then look at the merchandise page at OSU

http://www.osutour.com/merchandise.html

at the bottom of that page are some dogtags for sale that say “support god in the military.”

[Hulk]

30. Let's take this country back.....and let all the nut case Christian radicals go fight

I've had this feeling all along. Go figure. Ever wonder where all this "God" shit comes from in the shrub's speeches. Listen to vannity some night, and tell me how he's not a looney Christian. disgraced north is one as well. "You're a great American" is such a pile of shit. These bozo's that call his show and start their allegiance with that dumb ass phrase need to grab a gun, hop a plane, and let our military come home. Give them a big cross banner, and they can all relive the Crusades.

This country has been through worse times, but not with the potential to end all like we have today. These nutwacks need to be restrained ....NOW!!

[ToeBot]

31. Meh, the game is a monumental piece of shit, it couldn't convert rice

It's more likely to disgust the tech savvy youth of today.

[12string]

32. The constitution

  assaulted and buitalized,and this whack job thinks he can
save it by removing separation of church and state.It is
difficult for me to comprehend what goes on in the minds of
some people.The 28 percenters are made up  of some seriously
delusional characters.Heaven help us all.

[19jet54]

33. Baldwin Brothers & Company

Why in the hell would you listen to a Hollywood actor about anything except "Acting & Storytelling"?

Yes, there are some Christian wackos that believe this crap, the same as there were followers of Jim Jones. Regarding the Pentagon connection, part of the Military is Chaplains to address the spiritual needs of the troops (all faiths), so while this is a bit strange, it is not necessarily totally out there - But I do question it some, except for the Baldwin part as I once heard him on the radio in 29 Palms on a talk show. This is pretty much how the guy thinks! But if you consider the other recent Baldwin hollywood news with his kid & ex-wife, I think they live pretty much on the edge anyway?

I do know the Christian Fundamentalist support "Religious Laws" based on their belief deeply embedded in our country, but have only had limited success with the GOP. I think they are mostly just "used and pacified" enough to get their votes! I do agree they have way too much influence, but who the hell am I? Just another smuck on the internet!

[Enthusiast]

34. I've talked with these

I have talked with these nut cases. This is real! They actually believe this shit. Dip shit number one is in the whitehouse. I don't think the American people are sufficiently alarmed by this.

[19jet54]

41. I understand, 99% of them are my kin (whom I dislike)

What I am saying is that those people are also on government terrorist watch-lists too; or at least they were during the Clinton Era. Everybody knows they believe it, and are nuts, but most of them have little or no real power to actually do anything!

Yes I know, Condi Rice & John Ashcroft were holding hands praying and singing church songs while the Fed Sec of Treasury was reading intelligence reports at Camp David - Bush & Co totally missed 9/11 because of it too? Old news!

[annabanana]

36. "America Supports You "

http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/index.aspx

This is how our money gets into their pockets. Theoretically, this Def.Dept. organization is open to supporting outreach from, oh, Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Buddhist and Wiccan groups. .

But I don't see any on the list. :shrug:
http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/new_mem.html

[xchrom]

39. just shows more decay, fanaticism and

cultish behavior in the airforce and the pentagon.

someone had better get concerned about this crap -- or they're gonna get something here they do not want,

:puke:

[ohio2007]

43. Other articles by Max Blumenthal

Stories by Max Blumenthal ;

http://www.alternet.org/authors/6621/

You could say he is a man on a mission

[bagrman]

44. I found this interesting, but to logical.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GRZmzf7WiNg

[Felix Mala]

46. Every obscure political movement eventually needs the participation

of the existing military to achieve its ends...

[ProudDad]

50. Your Tax Dollars at Work

The Pentagon Invades Your Xbox
New and Powerful Form of Propaganda
Aims to Indoctrinate Young Video Gamers

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/Turse_Pentagon-Video-Games.htm

Enjoy the video game? Then join the Army.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0919/p01s04-usmi.html

At CS Monitor's site -- poll ended:

What best describes your opinion about the US military's use of video games to aid recruitment?

They target an audience that can't properly appreciate the consequences of being a soldier.
44.4%

Such recruitment methods are an attempt to falsely glorify service in the armed forces.
29.2%

They are a good way for potential recruits to 'test drive' armed service without actually enrolling.
17.1%

They target an audience that could use the structure that the military instills.
9.3%

Total votes: 322