Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-11-2006 01:58

    Hi All


    The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very interesting story today about spirituality and business. A successful game designer "found himself yearning for more spiritual work." He left the mainstream video game business and ultimately started a company that created a sophisticated, "cool" video game based on the best-selling, evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series. 


    The article poses the question of the spirituality of creating a first person shooter video game. It isn't like other first person shooters, though. One of the creators says that he hopes it gets young people "to think about matters of eternal importance." In this game, there are "people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer." 


    I find it a fascinating case of business strategy and spiritual strategy--both on the organizational level of the company's goal of influencing the spirituality of young people and the individual level of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.


    I might use it as a case in a future class. Any ideas about good discussion questions for it? Or other ideas about the key issues or dilemmas it raises?


    - Don
    -------
    Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    University of Redlands School of Business
    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez


    ----------------------------------------

    Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God

    A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces the medium's violent style. It may reach a new audience, but can it impart spiritual values?

    By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer

    May 10, 2006


    Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

    As the video game industry gathers at the Los Angeles Convention Center this week for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, a devout group of publishers is praying for a direct strike on their elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.

    One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which debuts today at the expo, features plenty of biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech weaponry as players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a smoldering world approaching Armageddon.

    The creators hope the game packs enough action to appeal to a generation of kids reared on such titles as "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and subtly coax them to consider their own spirituality.

    "Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious games coming out at a time when the mainstream industry faces increasing criticism that its products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another publisher is marketing games based on the "Veggie Tales" series of Christian videos for children. Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for Faith," about a superhero who stands up for the word of God with his sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.

    Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute generation to think about matters of eternal importance in a way that isn't religious," said Troy A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.

    Christian-themed games historically have had limited appeal. Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported 30,000 copies of its most popular product, a Christian title called "Dance Praise." By contrast, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million copies worldwide.

    " 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the world, the apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S. Frichner. "It's got all the Christian stuff, and it's still got all the cool stuff."

    That's why industry watchers predict that titles like "Eternal Forces" will find a broader audience in the same way Christian houses of worship like Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest have attracted followers - in part by not being overly doctrinaire.

    "The reason that I think this game has a chance is that it's not particularly preachy," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "I will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame - people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys. I think they're overdoing it a bit. But the message is OK."

    The game is based on the best-selling series of "Left Behind" books, which offer an account of the end times as predicted in the biblical book of Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye, said the game had the potential to communicate ideas such as salvation to people who might not think of themselves as particularly interested.

    "We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our real goal is to have no one left behind."

    But critics counter that, in an effort to make Christian games appealing, developers such as Lyndon and Frichner are doing little more than putting a religious veneer on the same violent fare.

    "We're going to push this game at Christian kids to let them know there's a cool shooter game out there," said attorney Jack Thompson, an author and outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game."

    The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters called the Tribulation Force, people whose husbands, wives or children disappeared in the Rapture. This is the moment referred to in the title when, some Christians believe, God calls the faithful to Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years of tribulation.

    The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist's Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the city. "Eternal Forces" is a so-called real-time strategy game - players act as battlefield generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to place units and when to order attacks or retreats.

    In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their spirit points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other side.

    The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic forces or unleash demons who feast on the faithful. As players progress through the increasingly difficult levels, they see Scripture passages presented as secret scrolls and hear inspirational music.

    In multiplayer games, participants can choose to command the Antichrist's forces.

    Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal Forces" looks and plays like a big-budget production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon knows how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was part of the original team that created one of the most bankable sports franchises: Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career, Lyndon has worked on more than 50 titles.

    But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more spiritual work.

    In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus Film Project, an organization that distributes around the globe a two-hour docudrama about the life of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ. Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to return to his game-making roots to turn the "Left Behind" books into a form of electronic evangelism aimed at teens.

    The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins, have sold about 65 million copies. Lyndon and Frichner recognized that the series had all the elements of a successful game - namely, action and conflict.

    It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure the license from Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001. They financed the early game development themselves, with Lyndon mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his house to raise cash. Some programming is done in Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs. After the commercial success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," the two were able to raise the money to finish the project.

    "There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross, president of a Dallas-based Christian public relations firm that helped to market Gibson's "Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left Behind" books.

    "In addition to the youth audience - that's the primary target - there are parents who are concerned about what their children are exposed to and are encouraged by products that are biblically based," Ross said. "I would assume, if there is violence, it's the cosmic struggle of good versus evil, not gratuitous violence."

    To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of the $25-billion global game market. Most are distributed online by publishers or sold in Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell most games. Some analysts estimate that Christian games could rack up $200 million in annual sales within five years.

    Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game Developers Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen demand for Christian games grow as parents rejected the escalating violence and explicit sex in mainstream games.

    "We're just tired of all that. It's really run its course. The shock value has worn off, and people see it's not good," Bagley said. "The game industry will deny this - that these games do end up in the hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some high-quality alternatives and hope the parents and grandparents will take the time to walk in and make the right choice."

    Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket during last year's holiday season. They include "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-century Rome in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his mentor from demonically possessed soldiers without resorting to violence. That title, released in 1999, ranks as the best-selling Christian PC game of all time - with 80,000 copies sold.

    To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and Frichner plan to distribute 1 million sample discs to churches nationwide.

    Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make Christianity accessible to youngsters through the use of lethal firepower has its critics. Thompson, for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."

    "It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can be the Christians blowing away the infidels, and if that doesn't hit your hot button, you can be the Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."

     


    - Don
    -------
    Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    University of Redlands School of Business
    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez



  • 2.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-15-2006 12:51
    Don,

    It's hard for me to see much of a difference between a shooter saying "Praise the Lord" after a kill, and one saying "Make my day, punk" (a Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry line).

    I think a really good question would be to ask just what spiritual messages such a game is really providing.

    For example, would it be OK, then for the CEO of the
    company to fire an employee (i.e., make a kill), if he
    says "Praise the Lord." after doing it?

    One could also ask what the relationship is between "cool" and spiritually uplifting.

    Finally, given the answers to the previous two questions, I wonder if the company's employees actually feel spiritually fulfilled by their work.

    Allen Stout
    Academic Advisor
    Adjunct Professor, Public Administration
    University of La Verne
    stouta@ulv.edu
    909-484-3858

    ---- Original message ----
    >Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 22:58:05 -0700
    >From: Don McCormick <don_mccormick@REDLANDS.EDU>
    >Subject: An interesting case study in spirituality and business
    >To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    >
    > Hi All
    >
    > The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very
    > interesting story today about spirituality and
    > business. A successful game designer "found himself
    > yearning for more spiritual work." He left the
    > mainstream video game business and ultimately
    > started a company that created a sophisticated,
    > "cool" video game based on the best-selling,
    > evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series. 
    >
    > The article poses the question of the spirituality
    > of creating a first person shooter video game. It
    > isn't like other first person shooters, though. One
    > of the creators says that he hopes it gets young
    > people "to think about matters of eternal
    > importance." In this game, there are "people saying,
    > 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad
    > guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose
    > some of their spirituality every time they kill an
    > opponent and must be bolstered through prayer." 
    >
    > I find it a fascinating case of business strategy
    > and spiritual strategy--both on the organizational
    > level of the company's goal of influencing the
    > spirituality of young people and the individual
    > level of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.
    >
    > I might use it as a case in a future class. Any
    > ideas about good discussion questions for it? Or
    > other ideas about the key issues or dilemmas it
    > raises?
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    > "The end of all education should surely be service
    > to others." - Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    > ----------------------------------------
    >
    > Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God
    >
    > A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces
    > the medium's violent style. It may reach a new
    > audience, but can it impart spiritual values?
    > By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
    > May 10, 2006
    > Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
    > As the video game industry gathers at the Los
    > Angeles Convention Center this week for the annual
    > Electronic Entertainment Expo, a devout group of
    > publishers is praying for a direct strike on their
    > elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.
    > One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which
    > debuts today at the expo, features plenty of
    > biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech weaponry as
    > players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a
    > smoldering world approaching Armageddon.
    > The creators hope the game packs enough action to
    > appeal to a generation of kids reared on such titles
    > as "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and subtly coax
    > them to consider their own spirituality.
    > "Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious
    > games coming out at a time when the mainstream
    > industry faces increasing criticism that its
    > products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another
    > publisher is marketing games based on the "Veggie
    > Tales" series of Christian videos for children.
    > Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for Faith,"
    > about a superhero who stands up for the word of God
    > with his sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.
    > Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute
    > generation to think about matters of eternal
    > importance in a way that isn't religious," said Troy
    > A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.
    > Christian-themed games historically have had limited
    > appeal. Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported
    > 30,000 copies of its most popular product, a
    > Christian title called "Dance Praise." By contrast,
    > "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million
    > copies worldwide.
    > " 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the
    > world, the apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S.
    > Frichner. "It's got all the Christian stuff, and
    > it's still got all the cool stuff."
    > That's why industry watchers predict that titles
    > like "Eternal Forces" will find a broader audience
    > in the same way Christian houses of worship like
    > Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake
    > Forest have attracted followers — in part by not
    > being overly doctrinaire.
    > "The reason that I think this game has a chance is
    > that it's not particularly preachy," said Michael
    > Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "I
    > will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame —
    > people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow
    > away the bad guys. I think they're overdoing it a
    > bit. But the message is OK."
    > The game is based on the best-selling series of
    > "Left Behind" books, which offer an account of the
    > end times as predicted in the biblical book of
    > Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye,
    > said the game had the potential to communicate ideas
    > such as salvation to people who might not think of
    > themselves as particularly interested.
    > "We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our
    > real goal is to have no one left behind."
    > But critics counter that, in an effort to make
    > Christian games appealing, developers such as Lyndon
    > and Frichner are doing little more than putting a
    > religious veneer on the same violent fare.
    > "We're going to push this game at Christian kids to
    > let them know there's a cool shooter game out
    > there," said attorney Jack Thompson, an author and
    > outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of
    > the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK.
    > The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing
    > game."
    > The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters
    > called the Tribulation Force, people whose husbands,
    > wives or children disappeared in the Rapture. This
    > is the moment referred to in the title when, some
    > Christians believe, God calls the faithful to
    > Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years
    > of tribulation.
    > The game is set in New York City, where the
    > Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist's
    > Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes
    > the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side
    > attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the
    > city. "Eternal Forces" is a so-called real-time
    > strategy game — players act as battlefield
    > generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to
    > place units and when to order attacks or retreats.
    > In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual
    > arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks,
    > helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their
    > spirituality every time they kill an opponent and
    > must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to
    > nurture good guys causes their spirit points to
    > drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the
    > other side.
    > The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic
    > forces or unleash demons who feast on the faithful.
    > As players progress through the increasingly
    > difficult levels, they see Scripture passages
    > presented as secret scrolls and hear inspirational
    > music.
    > In multiplayer games, participants can choose to
    > command the Antichrist's forces.
    > Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal
    > Forces" looks and plays like a big-budget
    > production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon knows
    > how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was
    > part of the original team that created one of the
    > most bankable sports franchises: Electronic Arts
    > Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career, Lyndon has
    > worked on more than 50 titles.
    > But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more
    > spiritual work.
    > In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus
    > Film Project, an organization that distributes
    > around the globe a two-hour docudrama about the life
    > of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ.
    > Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to
    > return to his game-making roots to turn the "Left
    > Behind" books into a form of electronic evangelism
    > aimed at teens.
    > The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with
    > Jerry B. Jenkins, have sold about 65 million copies.
    > Lyndon and Frichner recognized that the series had
    > all the elements of a successful game — namely,
    > action and conflict.
    > It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure
    > the license from Tyndale House, the Christian
    > publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001. They financed
    > the early game development themselves, with Lyndon
    > mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his
    > house to raise cash. Some programming is done in
    > Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs. After the commercial
    > success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ,"
    > the two were able to raise the money to finish the
    > project.
    > "There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross,
    > president of a Dallas-based Christian public
    > relations firm that helped to market Gibson's
    > "Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left
    > Behind" books.
    > "In addition to the youth audience — that's the
    > primary target — there are parents who are
    > concerned about what their children are exposed to
    > and are encouraged by products that are biblically
    > based," Ross said. "I would assume, if there is
    > violence, it's the cosmic struggle of good versus
    > evil, not gratuitous violence."
    > To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of
    > the $25-billion global game market. Most are
    > distributed online by publishers or sold in
    > Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell
    > most games. Some analysts estimate that Christian
    > games could rack up $200 million in annual sales
    > within five years.
    > Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game
    > Developers Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen
    > demand for Christian games grow as parents rejected
    > the escalating violence and explicit sex in
    > mainstream games.
    > "We're just tired of all that. It's really run its
    > course. The shock value has worn off, and people see
    > it's not good," Bagley said. "The game industry will
    > deny this — that these games do end up in the
    > hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some
    > high-quality alternatives and hope the parents and
    > grandparents will take the time to walk in and make
    > the right choice."
    > Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket
    > during last year's holiday season. They include
    > "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-century Rome
    > in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his
    > mentor from demonically possessed soldiers without
    > resorting to violence. That title, released in 1999,
    > ranks as the best-selling Christian PC game of all
    > time — with 80,000 copies sold.
    > To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and
    > Frichner plan to distribute 1 million sample discs
    > to churches nationwide.
    > Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make
    > Christianity accessible to youngsters through the
    > use of lethal firepower has its critics. Thompson,
    > for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale
    > House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."
    > "It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can
    > be the Christians blowing away the infidels, and if
    > that doesn't hit your hot button, you can be the
    > Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."
    >
    >  
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    > "The end of all education should surely be service
    > to others." - Cesar E. Chavez


  • 3.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-15-2006 13:15
    Thanks for sending this along, Don. I'm going to suggest this as a case
    for our Spirituality in the Workplace course here at Saint Mary's
    University. One thing it makes me think of is that a lot of the
    spirituality and work/business movement refers to 'spirituality' as a
    good thing (ie., bringing spiritual values into the workplace is
    typically seen as a positive). This case would be useful for exploring
    the idea of focusing on the fruits of spirituality (idea of good and bad
    spirituality).
    After all, Dan Brown isn't the only one spinning his own version of the
    New Testament. In my opinion, Lyndon's games are pretty mainstream
    point-and-shoot. I guess we'll just have to wait for the sales results.
    Regards,
    Cathy Driscoll
    Sobey School of Business
    Saint Mary's University
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    >
    >Hi All
    >
    >The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very interesting story
    >today about spirituality and business. A successful game designer
    >"found himself yearning for more spiritual work." He left the
    >mainstream video game business and ultimately started a company that
    >created a sophisticated, "cool" video game based on the best-selling,
    >evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series.
    >
    >The article poses the question of the spirituality of creating a
    >first person shooter video game. It isn't like other first person
    >shooters, though. One of the creators says that he hopes it gets
    >young people "to think about matters of eternal importance." In this
    >game, there are "people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow
    >away the bad guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose some
    >of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be
    >bolstered through prayer."
    >
    >I find it a fascinating case of business strategy and spiritual
    >strategy--both on the organizational level of the company's goal of
    >influencing the spirituality of young people and the individual level
    >of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.
    >
    >I might use it as a case in a future class. Any ideas about good
    >discussion questions for it? Or other ideas about the key issues or
    >dilemmas it raises?
    >
    >- Don
    >-------
    >Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    >University of Redlands School of Business
    >1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999
    >dwm2@cwru.edu
    >http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    >
    >"The end of all education should surely be service to others." -
    >Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    >
    >----------------------------------------
    >Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God
    >A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces the medium's
    >violent style. It may reach a new audience, but can it impart
    >spiritual values?
    >
    >By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
    >
    >May 10, 2006
    >
    >
    >Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
    >
    >As the video game industry gathers at the Los Angeles Convention
    >Center this week for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, a
    >devout group of publishers is praying for a direct strike on their
    >elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.
    >
    >One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which debuts today at the
    >expo, features plenty of biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech
    >weaponry as players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a
    >smoldering world approaching Armageddon.
    >
    >The creators hope the game packs enough action to appeal to a
    >generation of kids reared on such titles as "Grand Theft Auto: San
    >Andreas" and subtly coax them to consider their own spirituality.
    >
    >"Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious games coming out
    >at a time when the mainstream industry faces increasing criticism
    >that its products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another publisher is
    >marketing games based on the "Veggie Tales" series of Christian
    >videos for children. Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for
    >Faith," about a superhero who stands up for the word of God with his
    >sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.
    >
    >Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute generation to think
    >about matters of eternal importance in a way that isn't religious,"
    >said Troy A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.
    >
    >Christian-themed games historically have had limited appeal.
    >Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported 30,000 copies of its
    >most popular product, a Christian title called "Dance Praise." By
    >contrast, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million copies
    >worldwide.
    >
    >" 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the world, the
    >apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S. Frichner. "It's got all the
    >Christian stuff, and it's still got all the cool stuff."
    >
    >That's why industry watchers predict that titles like "Eternal
    >Forces" will find a broader audience in the same way Christian houses
    >of worship like Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest
    >have attracted followers � in part by not being overly doctrinaire.
    >
    >"The reason that I think this game has a chance is that it's not
    >particularly preachy," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush
    >Morgan Securities. "I will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame �
    >people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys. I
    >think they're overdoing it a bit. But the message is OK."
    >
    >The game is based on the best-selling series of "Left Behind" books,
    >which offer an account of the end times as predicted in the biblical
    >book of Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye, said the
    >game had the potential to communicate ideas such as salvation to
    >people who might not think of themselves as particularly interested.
    >
    >"We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our real goal is to
    >have no one left behind."
    >
    >But critics counter that, in an effort to make Christian games
    >appealing, developers such as Lyndon and Frichner are doing little
    >more than putting a religious veneer on the same violent fare.
    >
    >"We're going to push this game at Christian kids to let them know
    >there's a cool shooter game out there," said attorney Jack Thompson,
    >an author and outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of
    >the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is
    >irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game."
    >
    >The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters called the
    >Tribulation Force, people whose husbands, wives or children
    >disappeared in the Rapture. This is the moment referred to in the
    >title when, some Christians believe, God calls the faithful to
    >Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years of tribulation.
    >
    >The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force clashes
    >with the Antichrist's Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that
    >makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to
    >recruit lost souls in the battle for the city. "Eternal Forces" is a
    >so-called real-time strategy game � players act as battlefield
    >generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to place units and
    >when to order attacks or retreats.
    >
    >In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against the
    >Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their
    >spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered
    >through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their spirit
    >points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other
    >side.
    >
    >The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic forces or unleash
    >demons who feast on the faithful. As players progress through the
    >increasingly difficult levels, they see Scripture passages presented
    >as secret scrolls and hear inspirational music.
    >
    >In multiplayer games, participants can choose to command the
    >Antichrist's forces.
    >
    >Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal Forces" looks and plays
    >like a big-budget production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon knows
    >how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was part of the
    >original team that created one of the most bankable sports
    >franchises: Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career,
    >Lyndon has worked on more than 50 titles.
    >
    >But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more spiritual work.
    >
    >In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus Film Project, an
    >organization that distributes around the globe a two-hour docudrama
    >about the life of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ.
    >Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to return to his
    >game-making roots to turn the "Left Behind" books into a form of
    >electronic evangelism aimed at teens.
    >
    >The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins,
    >have sold about 65 million copies. Lyndon and Frichner recognized
    >that the series had all the elements of a successful game � namely,
    >action and conflict.
    >
    >It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure the license from
    >Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001.
    >They financed the early game development themselves, with Lyndon
    >mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his house to raise
    >cash. Some programming is done in Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs.
    >After the commercial success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the
    >Christ," the two were able to raise the money to finish the project.
    >
    >"There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross, president of a Dallas-
    >based Christian public relations firm that helped to market Gibson's
    >"Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left Behind" books.
    >
    >"In addition to the youth audience � that's the primary target �
    >there are parents who are concerned about what their children are
    >exposed to and are encouraged by products that are biblically based,"
    >Ross said. "I would assume, if there is violence, it's the cosmic
    >struggle of good versus evil, not gratuitous violence."
    >
    >To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of the $25-billion
    >global game market. Most are distributed online by publishers or sold
    >in Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell most games. Some
    >analysts estimate that Christian games could rack up $200 million in
    >annual sales within five years.
    >
    >Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game Developers
    >Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen demand for Christian games
    >grow as parents rejected the escalating violence and explicit sex in
    >mainstream games.
    >
    >"We're just tired of all that. It's really run its course. The shock
    >value has worn off, and people see it's not good," Bagley said. "The
    >game industry will deny this � that these games do end up in the
    >hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some high-quality
    >alternatives and hope the parents and grandparents will take the time
    >to walk in and make the right choice."
    >
    >Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket during last year's
    >holiday season. They include "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-
    >century Rome in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his mentor
    >from demonically possessed soldiers without resorting to violence.
    >That title, released in 1999, ranks as the best-selling Christian PC
    >game of all time � with 80,000 copies sold.
    >
    >To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and Frichner plan to
    >distribute 1 million sample discs to churches nationwide.
    >
    >Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make Christianity
    >accessible to youngsters through the use of lethal firepower has its
    >critics. Thompson, for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale
    >House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."
    >
    >"It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can be the Christians
    >blowing away the infidels, and if that doesn't hit your hot button,
    >you can be the Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >- Don
    >-------
    >Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    >University of Redlands School of Business
    >1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999
    >dwm2@cwru.edu
    >http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    >
    >"The end of all education should surely be service to others." -
    >Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    >


  • 4.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-15-2006 13:55
    Ditto Allen

    Anna S. Paine
    828.582.5683

    Terra Firma - Grounded Change
    PO Box 18563 / Grace Station
    Asheville, NC 28814-0563



    -----Original Message-----
    From: Management, Spirituality & Religion [mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU]
    On Behalf Of Allen Stout
    Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 12:51 PM
    To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    Subject: Re: An interesting case study in spirituality and business


    Don,

    It's hard for me to see much of a difference between a shooter saying
    "Praise the Lord" after a kill, and one saying "Make my day, punk" (a
    Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry line).

    I think a really good question would be to ask just what spiritual
    messages such a game is really providing.

    For example, would it be OK, then for the CEO of the
    company to fire an employee (i.e., make a kill), if he
    says "Praise the Lord." after doing it?

    One could also ask what the relationship is between "cool" and
    spiritually uplifting.

    Finally, given the answers to the previous two questions, I wonder if
    the company's employees actually feel spiritually fulfilled by their
    work.

    Allen Stout
    Academic Advisor
    Adjunct Professor, Public Administration
    University of La Verne
    stouta@ulv.edu
    909-484-3858

    ---- Original message ----
    >Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 22:58:05 -0700
    >From: Don McCormick <don_mccormick@REDLANDS.EDU>
    >Subject: An interesting case study in spirituality and business
    >To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    >
    > Hi All
    >
    > The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very
    > interesting story today about spirituality and
    > business. A successful game designer "found himself
    > yearning for more spiritual work." He left the
    > mainstream video game business and ultimately
    > started a company that created a sophisticated,
    > "cool" video game based on the best-selling,
    > evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series.
    >
    > The article poses the question of the spirituality
    > of creating a first person shooter video game. It
    > isn't like other first person shooters, though. One
    > of the creators says that he hopes it gets young
    > people "to think about matters of eternal
    > importance." In this game, there are "people saying,
    > 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad
    > guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose
    > some of their spirituality every time they kill an
    > opponent and must be bolstered through prayer."
    >
    > I find it a fascinating case of business strategy
    > and spiritual strategy--both on the organizational
    > level of the company's goal of influencing the
    > spirituality of young people and the individual
    > level of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.
    >
    > I might use it as a case in a future class. Any
    > ideas about good discussion questions for it? Or
    > other ideas about the key issues or dilemmas it
    > raises?
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    > "The end of all education should surely be service
    > to others." - Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    > ----------------------------------------
    >
    > Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God
    >
    > A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces
    > the medium's violent style. It may reach a new
    > audience, but can it impart spiritual values?
    > By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
    > May 10, 2006
    > Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
    > As the video game industry gathers at the Los
    > Angeles Convention Center this week for the annual
    > Electronic Entertainment Expo, a devout group of
    > publishers is praying for a direct strike on their
    > elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.
    > One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which
    > debuts today at the expo, features plenty of
    > biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech weaponry as
    > players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a
    > smoldering world approaching Armageddon.
    > The creators hope the game packs enough action to
    > appeal to a generation of kids reared on such titles
    > as "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and subtly coax
    > them to consider their own spirituality.
    > "Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious
    > games coming out at a time when the mainstream
    > industry faces increasing criticism that its
    > products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another
    > publisher is marketing games based on the "Veggie
    > Tales" series of Christian videos for children.
    > Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for Faith,"
    > about a superhero who stands up for the word of God
    > with his sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.
    > Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute
    > generation to think about matters of eternal
    > importance in a way that isn't religious," said Troy
    > A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.
    > Christian-themed games historically have had limited
    > appeal. Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported
    > 30,000 copies of its most popular product, a
    > Christian title called "Dance Praise." By contrast,
    > "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million
    > copies worldwide.
    > " 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the
    > world, the apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S.
    > Frichner. "It's got all the Christian stuff, and
    > it's still got all the cool stuff."
    > That's why industry watchers predict that titles
    > like "Eternal Forces" will find a broader audience
    > in the same way Christian houses of worship like
    > Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake
    > Forest have attracted followers — in part by not
    > being overly doctrinaire.
    > "The reason that I think this game has a chance is
    > that it's not particularly preachy," said Michael
    > Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "I
    > will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame —
    > people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow
    > away the bad guys. I think they're overdoing it a
    > bit. But the message is OK."
    > The game is based on the best-selling series of
    > "Left Behind" books, which offer an account of the
    > end times as predicted in the biblical book of
    > Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye,
    > said the game had the potential to communicate ideas
    > such as salvation to people who might not think of
    > themselves as particularly interested.
    > "We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our
    > real goal is to have no one left behind."
    > But critics counter that, in an effort to make
    > Christian games appealing, developers such as Lyndon
    > and Frichner are doing little more than putting a
    > religious veneer on the same violent fare.
    > "We're going to push this game at Christian kids to
    > let them know there's a cool shooter game out
    > there," said attorney Jack Thompson, an author and
    > outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of
    > the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK.
    > The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing
    > game."
    > The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters
    > called the Tribulation Force, people whose husbands,
    > wives or children disappeared in the Rapture. This
    > is the moment referred to in the title when, some
    > Christians believe, God calls the faithful to
    > Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years
    > of tribulation.
    > The game is set in New York City, where the
    > Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist's
    > Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes
    > the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side
    > attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the
    > city. "Eternal Forces" is a so-called real-time
    > strategy game — players act as battlefield
    > generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to
    > place units and when to order attacks or retreats.
    > In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual
    > arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks,
    > helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their
    > spirituality every time they kill an opponent and
    > must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to
    > nurture good guys causes their spirit points to
    > drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the
    > other side.
    > The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic
    > forces or unleash demons who feast on the faithful.
    > As players progress through the increasingly
    > difficult levels, they see Scripture passages
    > presented as secret scrolls and hear inspirational
    > music.
    > In multiplayer games, participants can choose to
    > command the Antichrist's forces.
    > Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal
    > Forces" looks and plays like a big-budget
    > production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon knows
    > how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was
    > part of the original team that created one of the
    > most bankable sports franchises: Electronic Arts
    > Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career, Lyndon has
    > worked on more than 50 titles.
    > But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more
    > spiritual work.
    > In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus
    > Film Project, an organization that distributes
    > around the globe a two-hour docudrama about the life
    > of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ.
    > Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to
    > return to his game-making roots to turn the "Left
    > Behind" books into a form of electronic evangelism
    > aimed at teens.
    > The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with
    > Jerry B. Jenkins, have sold about 65 million copies.
    > Lyndon and Frichner recognized that the series had
    > all the elements of a successful game — namely,
    > action and conflict.
    > It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure
    > the license from Tyndale House, the Christian
    > publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001. They financed
    > the early game development themselves, with Lyndon
    > mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his
    > house to raise cash. Some programming is done in
    > Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs. After the commercial
    > success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ,"
    > the two were able to raise the money to finish the
    > project.
    > "There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross,
    > president of a Dallas-based Christian public
    > relations firm that helped to market Gibson's
    > "Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left
    > Behind" books.
    > "In addition to the youth audience — that's the
    > primary target — there are parents who are
    > concerned about what their children are exposed to
    > and are encouraged by products that are biblically
    > based," Ross said. "I would assume, if there is
    > violence, it's the cosmic struggle of good versus
    > evil, not gratuitous violence."
    > To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of
    > the $25-billion global game market. Most are
    > distributed online by publishers or sold in
    > Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell
    > most games. Some analysts estimate that Christian
    > games could rack up $200 million in annual sales
    > within five years.
    > Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game
    > Developers Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen
    > demand for Christian games grow as parents rejected
    > the escalating violence and explicit sex in
    > mainstream games.
    > "We're just tired of all that. It's really run its
    > course. The shock value has worn off, and people see
    > it's not good," Bagley said. "The game industry will
    > deny this — that these games do end up in the
    > hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some
    > high-quality alternatives and hope the parents and
    > grandparents will take the time to walk in and make
    > the right choice."
    > Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket
    > during last year's holiday season. They include
    > "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-century Rome
    > in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his
    > mentor from demonically possessed soldiers without
    > resorting to violence. That title, released in 1999,
    > ranks as the best-selling Christian PC game of all
    > time — with 80,000 copies sold.
    > To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and
    > Frichner plan to distribute 1 million sample discs
    > to churches nationwide.
    > Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make
    > Christianity accessible to youngsters through the
    > use of lethal firepower has its critics. Thompson,
    > for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale
    > House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."
    > "It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can
    > be the Christians blowing away the infidels, and if
    > that doesn't hit your hot button, you can be the
    > Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."
    >
    >  
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    > "The end of all education should surely be service
    > to others." - Cesar E. Chavez

    --
    No virus found in this incoming message.
    Checked by AVG Free Edition.
    Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/337 - Release Date: 5/11/2006


    --
    No virus found in this outgoing message.
    Checked by AVG Free Edition.
    Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/337 - Release Date: 5/11/2006


  • 5.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-15-2006 16:59
    Thanks, Don, and friends.
     
    I've been following this story for a while. To understand its many "subplots" requires thinking on multiple levels, theological, commercial, sociological, and ethical.  To think of it purely under the rubric of "spirituality and business" might limit the possibilities.  And to be sure, the U.S. Christian community itself - very diverse in nature and far from homogeneous, despite how the press sometimes portrays it - is deeply divided over the theology and worldview of the Left Behind series, let alone this video based on it...
     
    All of which is to say, thanks for the heads up on the story, Don, and yes, what a great teaching tool this will be, as it opens up many many avenues of thought.
    best,
    David
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Management, Spirituality & Religion [mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Don McCormick
    Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 1:58 AM
    To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    Subject: An interesting case study in spirituality and business


    Hi All


    The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very interesting story today about spirituality and business. A successful game designer "found himself yearning for more spiritual work." He left the mainstream video game business and ultimately started a company that created a sophisticated, "cool" video game based on the best-selling, evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series. 


    The article poses the question of the spirituality of creating a first person shooter video game. It isn't like other first person shooters, though. One of the creators says that he hopes it gets young people "to think about matters of eternal importance." In this game, there are "people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer." 


    I find it a fascinating case of business strategy and spiritual strategy--both on the organizational level of the company's goal of influencing the spirituality of young people and the individual level of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.


    I might use it as a case in a future class. Any ideas about good discussion questions for it? Or other ideas about the key issues or dilemmas it raises?


    - Don
    -------
    Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    University of Redlands School of Business
    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez


    ----------------------------------------

    Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God

    A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces the medium's violent style. It may reach a new audience, but can it impart spiritual values?

    By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer

    May 10, 2006


    Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

    As the video game industry gathers at the Los Angeles Convention Center this week for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, a devout group of publishers is praying for a direct strike on their elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.

    One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which debuts today at the expo, features plenty of biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech weaponry as players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a smoldering world approaching Armageddon.

    The creators hope the game packs enough action to appeal to a generation of kids reared on such titles as "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and subtly coax them to consider their own spirituality.

    "Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious games coming out at a time when the mainstream industry faces increasing criticism that its products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another publisher is marketing games based on the "Veggie Tales" series of Christian videos for children. Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for Faith," about a superhero who stands up for the word of God with his sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.

    Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute generation to think about matters of eternal importance in a way that isn't religious," said Troy A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.

    Christian-themed games historically have had limited appeal. Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported 30,000 copies of its most popular product, a Christian title called "Dance Praise." By contrast, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million copies worldwide.

    " 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the world, the apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S. Frichner. "It's got all the Christian stuff, and it's still got all the cool stuff."

    That's why industry watchers predict that titles like "Eternal Forces" will find a broader audience in the same way Christian houses of worship like Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest have attracted followers - in part by not being overly doctrinaire.

    "The reason that I think this game has a chance is that it's not particularly preachy," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "I will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame - people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys. I think they're overdoing it a bit. But the message is OK."

    The game is based on the best-selling series of "Left Behind" books, which offer an account of the end times as predicted in the biblical book of Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye, said the game had the potential to communicate ideas such as salvation to people who might not think of themselves as particularly interested.

    "We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our real goal is to have no one left behind."

    But critics counter that, in an effort to make Christian games appealing, developers such as Lyndon and Frichner are doing little more than putting a religious veneer on the same violent fare.

    "We're going to push this game at Christian kids to let them know there's a cool shooter game out there," said attorney Jack Thompson, an author and outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game."

    The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters called the Tribulation Force, people whose husbands, wives or children disappeared in the Rapture. This is the moment referred to in the title when, some Christians believe, God calls the faithful to Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years of tribulation.

    The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist's Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the city. "Eternal Forces" is a so-called real-time strategy game - players act as battlefield generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to place units and when to order attacks or retreats.

    In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their spirit points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other side.

    The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic forces or unleash demons who feast on the faithful. As players progress through the increasingly difficult levels, they see Scripture passages presented as secret scrolls and hear inspirational music.

    In multiplayer games, participants can choose to command the Antichrist's forces.

    Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal Forces" looks and plays like a big-budget production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon knows how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was part of the original team that created one of the most bankable sports franchises: Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career, Lyndon has worked on more than 50 titles.

    But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more spiritual work.

    In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus Film Project, an organization that distributes around the globe a two-hour docudrama about the life of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ. Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to return to his game-making roots to turn the "Left Behind" books into a form of electronic evangelism aimed at teens.

    The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins, have sold about 65 million copies. Lyndon and Frichner recognized that the series had all the elements of a successful game - namely, action and conflict.

    It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure the license from Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001. They financed the early game development themselves, with Lyndon mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his house to raise cash. Some programming is done in Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs. After the commercial success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," the two were able to raise the money to finish the project.

    "There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross, president of a Dallas-based Christian public relations firm that helped to market Gibson's "Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left Behind" books.

    "In addition to the youth audience - that's the primary target - there are parents who are concerned about what their children are exposed to and are encouraged by products that are biblically based," Ross said. "I would assume, if there is violence, it's the cosmic struggle of good versus evil, not gratuitous violence."

    To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of the $25-billion global game market. Most are distributed online by publishers or sold in Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell most games. Some analysts estimate that Christian games could rack up $200 million in annual sales within five years.

    Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game Developers Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen demand for Christian games grow as parents rejected the escalating violence and explicit sex in mainstream games.

    "We're just tired of all that. It's really run its course. The shock value has worn off, and people see it's not good," Bagley said. "The game industry will deny this - that these games do end up in the hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some high-quality alternatives and hope the parents and grandparents will take the time to walk in and make the right choice."

    Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket during last year's holiday season. They include "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-century Rome in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his mentor from demonically possessed soldiers without resorting to violence. That title, released in 1999, ranks as the best-selling Christian PC game of all time - with 80,000 copies sold.

    To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and Frichner plan to distribute 1 million sample discs to churches nationwide.

    Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make Christianity accessible to youngsters through the use of lethal firepower has its critics. Thompson, for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."

    "It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can be the Christians blowing away the infidels, and if that doesn't hit your hot button, you can be the Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."

     




    - Don
    -------
    Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    University of Redlands School of Business
    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez




  • 6.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-15-2006 18:44
    First, I haven't seen the game or the article.  That said, since the game is based on Christian theology, I'm wondering how the author reconciles "thou shalt not kill," "vengence is mine saith the Lord," and Jesus admonition to turn the other cheek with this video game's objectives. How does the "shooter's" intent differ from that of someone of another faith who kills in the name of their God? Don't they too consider eternity and the promise of virgins? If it's justified for one faith, isn't it justified for another?  Isn't this the same theological perspective that has us immersed in war in Iraq? Who determines who the "bad guys" are? This game may be "spiritual", but the more important question seems to be, is it ethical and moral? Is violence the best solution to the problem at hand?
     
     
    In a message dated 5/15/2006 12:31:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, don_mccormick@REDLANDS.EDU writes:

    Hi All


    The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very interesting story today about spirituality and business. A successful game designer "found himself yearning for more spiritual work." He left the mainstream video game business and ultimately started a company that created a sophisticated, "cool" video game based on the best-selling, evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series. 


    The article poses the question of the spirituality of creating a first person shooter video game. It isn't like other first person shooters, though. One of the creators says that he hopes it gets young people "to think about matters of eternal importance." In this game, there are "people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer." 


    I find it a fascinating case of business strategy and spiritual strategy--both on the organizational level of the company's goal of influencing the spirituality of young people and the individual level of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.


    I might use it as a case in a future class. Any ideas about good discussion questions for it? Or other ideas about the key issues or dilemmas it raises?


    - Don
    -------
    Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    University of Redlands School of Business
    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez

     
     
    Valerie L. Myers, Ph.D.
    Department of Health Management & Policy
    University of Michigan
    109 S. Observatory, SPH-II-M3523
    Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029
    Office (734) 763-3058 valmyers@umich.edu
    Fax (734)764-4338 MyersV@aol.com




  • 7.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-16-2006 09:40
    It seems to me the first discussion point might be, "does the end justify the means?"
    Certainly the goal of
    achieving a more spiritual life based on Christian evangelism is a worthy end. But achieving
    it by means of
    "blowing away" anyone, bad guy or good, does not seem consistent with the Lord's message.
    Wrapping violence in
    a Christian package does not make it any less violent. I wonder how the Lord would feel
    about being praised for
    killing? All of this makes me wonder just how sincere the creator of the game is about
    having a more spiritual life.
    Of course I have not read the article nor have I seen the game. It just seems to me from what
    you have told us
    about the game that the creator's motive is still profit, and not spirituality.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Don McCormick <don_mccormick@REDLANDS.EDU>
    Date: Monday, May 15, 2006 12:30 pm
    Subject: An interesting case study in spirituality and business
    To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU

    >
    > Hi All
    >
    > The front page of the Los Angeles Times had a very interesting
    > story
    > today about spirituality and business. A successful game designer
    > "found himself yearning for more spiritual work." He left the
    > mainstream video game business and ultimately started a company
    > that
    > created a sophisticated, "cool" video game based on the best-
    > selling,
    > evangelical Christian "Left Behind" book series.
    >
    > The article poses the question of the spirituality of creating a
    > first person shooter video game. It isn't like other first person
    > shooters, though. One of the creators says that he hopes it gets
    > young people "to think about matters of eternal importance." In
    > this
    > game, there are "people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow
    > away the bad guys." Also, on the good guy's side, "soldiers lose
    > some
    > of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be
    > bolstered through prayer."
    >
    > I find it a fascinating case of business strategy and spiritual
    > strategy--both on the organizational level of the company's goal of
    >
    > influencing the spirituality of young people and the individual
    > level
    > of the spiritual aspirations of its creators.
    >
    > I might use it as a case in a future class. Any ideas about good
    > discussion questions for it? Or other ideas about the key issues or
    >
    > dilemmas it raises?
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    >
    > "The end of all education should surely be service to others." -
    > Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    >
    > ----------------------------------------
    > Converting Video Games Into Instruments of God
    > A title based on the 'Left Behind' books embraces the medium's
    > violent style. It may reach a new audience, but can it impart
    > spiritual values?
    >
    > By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
    >
    > May 10, 2006
    >
    >
    > Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
    >
    > As the video game industry gathers at the Los Angeles Convention
    > Center this week for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, a
    > devout group of publishers is praying for a direct strike on their
    > elusive target: the eternal souls of game players.
    >
    > One game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which debuts today at the
    > expo, features plenty of biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech
    > weaponry as players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a
    > smoldering world approaching Armageddon.
    >
    > The creators hope the game packs enough action to appeal to a
    > generation of kids reared on such titles as "Grand Theft Auto: San
    > Andreas" and subtly coax them to consider their own spirituality.
    >
    > "Eternal Forces" is part of a new wave of religious games coming
    > out
    > at a time when the mainstream industry faces increasing criticism
    > that its products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another publisher
    > is
    > marketing games based on the "Veggie Tales" series of Christian
    > videos for children. Another is pitching "Bibleman: A Fight for
    > Faith," about a superhero who stands up for the word of God with
    > his
    > sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.
    >
    > Games "will be a new tool to get the two-minute generation to think
    >
    > about matters of eternal importance in a way that isn't religious,"
    >
    > said Troy A. Lyndon, one of the "Left Behind" game's creators.
    >
    > Christian-themed games historically have had limited appeal.
    > Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported 30,000 copies of its
    > most popular product, a Christian title called "Dance Praise." By
    > contrast, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has sold 5.1 million
    > copies
    > worldwide.
    >
    > " 'Left Behind' has the Antichrist, the end of the world, the
    > apocalypse," said co-creator Jeffrey S. Frichner. "It's got all the
    >
    > Christian stuff, and it's still got all the cool stuff."
    >
    > That's why industry watchers predict that titles like "Eternal
    > Forces" will find a broader audience in the same way Christian
    > houses
    > of worship like Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake
    > Forest
    > have attracted followers — in part by not being overly doctrinaire.
    >
    > "The reason that I think this game has a chance is that it's not
    > particularly preachy," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush
    > Morgan Securities. "I will say some of the dialogue is pretty lame
    > —
    > people saying, 'Praise the Lord' after they blow away the bad guys.
    > I
    > think they're overdoing it a bit. But the message is OK."
    >
    > The game is based on the best-selling series of "Left Behind"
    > books,
    > which offer an account of the end times as predicted in the
    > biblical
    > book of Revelation. One of the series' authors, Tim LaHaye, said
    > the
    > game had the potential to communicate ideas such as salvation to
    > people who might not think of themselves as particularly interested.
    >
    > "We hope teenagers like the game," LaHaye said. "Our real goal is
    > to
    > have no one left behind."
    >
    > But critics counter that, in an effort to make Christian games
    > appealing, developers such as Lyndon and Frichner are doing little
    > more than putting a religious veneer on the same violent fare.
    >
    > "We're going to push this game at Christian kids to let them know
    > there's a cool shooter game out there," said attorney Jack
    > Thompson,
    > an author and outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of
    > the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is
    >
    > irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game."
    >
    > The game's heroes belong to a group of fighters called the
    > Tribulation Force, people whose husbands, wives or children
    > disappeared in the Rapture. This is the moment referred to in the
    > title when, some Christians believe, God calls the faithful to
    > Heaven, leaving the rest behind to face seven years of tribulation.
    >
    > The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force
    > clashes
    > with the Antichrist's Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that
    > makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to
    > recruit lost souls in the battle for the city. "Eternal Forces" is
    > a
    > so-called real-time strategy game — players act as battlefield
    > generals for their virtual armies, deciding where to place units
    > and
    > when to order attacks or retreats.
    >
    > In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against
    > the
    > Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of
    > their
    > spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered
    >
    > through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their
    > spirit
    > points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other
    >
    > side.
    >
    > The player's choices prompt intervention by angelic forces or
    > unleash
    > demons who feast on the faithful. As players progress through the
    > increasingly difficult levels, they see Scripture passages
    > presented
    > as secret scrolls and hear inspirational music.
    >
    > In multiplayer games, participants can choose to command the
    > Antichrist's forces.
    >
    > Unlike many earlier religious games, "Eternal Forces" looks and
    > plays
    > like a big-budget production. That's because 41-year-old Lyndon
    > knows
    > how to develop a game for a broad audience. He was part of the
    > original team that created one of the most bankable sports
    > franchises: Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Madden." In his long career,
    > Lyndon has worked on more than 50 titles.
    >
    > But Lyndon said he found himself yearning for more spiritual work.
    >
    > In 1999, he left games and worked with the Jesus Film Project, an
    > organization that distributes around the globe a two-hour docudrama
    >
    > about the life of Christ, and with the Campus Crusade for Christ.
    > Frichner and Lyndon's wife, Robilyn, urged Lyndon to return to his
    > game-making roots to turn the "Left Behind" books into a form of
    > electronic evangelism aimed at teens.
    >
    > The 14 "Left Behind" books, which LaHaye wrote with Jerry B.
    > Jenkins,
    > have sold about 65 million copies. Lyndon and Frichner recognized
    > that the series had all the elements of a successful game — namely,
    >
    > action and conflict.
    >
    > It took 18 months to raise enough money to secure the license from
    > Tyndale House, the Christian publisher of "Left Behind," in 2001.
    > They financed the early game development themselves, with Lyndon
    > mortgaging his home twice and Frichner selling his house to raise
    > cash. Some programming is done in Kiev, Ukraine, to limit costs.
    > After the commercial success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the
    > Christ," the two were able to raise the money to finish the project.
    >
    > "There's an audience here," said A. Larry Ross, president of a
    > Dallas-
    > based Christian public relations firm that helped to market
    > Gibson's
    > "Passion" and three movie adaptations of the "Left Behind" books.
    >
    > "In addition to the youth audience — that's the primary target —
    > there are parents who are concerned about what their children are
    > exposed to and are encouraged by products that are biblically
    > based,"
    > Ross said. "I would assume, if there is violence, it's the cosmic
    > struggle of good versus evil, not gratuitous violence."
    >
    > To be sure, religious games make up a tiny piece of the $25-billion
    >
    > global game market. Most are distributed online by publishers or
    > sold
    > in Christian stores, not the big retailers that sell most games.
    > Some
    > analysts estimate that Christian games could rack up $200 million
    > in
    > annual sales within five years.
    >
    > Ralph Bagley, a spokesman for the Christian Game Developers
    > Foundation in San Diego, said he had seen demand for Christian
    > games
    > grow as parents rejected the escalating violence and explicit sex
    > in
    > mainstream games.
    >
    > "We're just tired of all that. It's really run its course. The
    > shock
    > value has worn off, and people see it's not good," Bagley said.
    > "The
    > game industry will deny this — that these games do end up in the
    > hands of the younger kids. We've got to provide some high-quality
    > alternatives and hope the parents and grandparents will take the
    > time
    > to walk in and make the right choice."
    >
    > Bagley said he saw demand for his games skyrocket during last
    > year's
    > holiday season. They include "Catechumen," an adventure set in 1st-
    > century Rome in which a young Christian attempts to rescue his
    > mentor
    > from demonically possessed soldiers without resorting to violence.
    > That title, released in 1999, ranks as the best-selling Christian
    > PC
    > game of all time — with 80,000 copies sold.
    >
    > To generate buzz for "Eternal Forces," Lyndon and Frichner plan to
    > distribute 1 million sample discs to churches nationwide.
    >
    > Not surprisingly, Left Behind Games' attempt to make Christianity
    > accessible to youngsters through the use of lethal firepower has
    > its
    > critics. Thompson, for instance, said he severed ties with Tyndale
    > House in a dispute over "Eternal Forces."
    >
    > "It's absurd," the video game critic said. "You can be the
    > Christians
    > blowing away the infidels, and if that doesn't hit your hot button,
    >
    > you can be the Antichrist blowing away all the Christians."
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > - Don
    > -------
    > Don McCormick, Associate Professor
    > University of Redlands School of Business
    > 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999
    > dwm2@cwru.edu
    > http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick
    >
    > "The end of all education should surely be service to others." -
    > Cesar E. Chavez
    >
    >
    >


  • 8.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-16-2006 15:02
    On May 15, 2006, at 1:58 PM, David W. Miller wrote:

    I've been following this story for a while. To understand its many "subplots" requires thinking on multiple levels, theological, commercial, sociological, and ethical. 

    That sounds very interesting. Could you say more? It sounds like you've done a lot of thinking about this topic.

    To think of it purely under the rubric of "spirituality and business" might limit the possibilities. 

    That is true, but the field of MSR is miserably short of cases and I try to come up with ones whenever I can. (Wouldn't a case development workshop make a great pre-conference Professional Development Workshop for the MSR interest group?)

    After I posted this, I realized that much of the spiritual conflict can be understood in terms of role theory. Troy Lyndon is subject to two sets of role expectations--committed Christian and cool video game developer. To the extent that the roles are incompatible, he experiences role conflict. It does seem that there is a lot of incompatibility between the roles, but his game is an attempt to find a common ground between the two roles and reduce his role conflict.


    - Don

    -------

    Don McCormick, Associate Professor

    University of Redlands School of Business

    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    (909) 748-6249    don_mccormick@redlands.edu

    http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick


    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez





  • 9.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-16-2006 15:52
    I think Don's role conflict explanation is more like it...though I'm not sure it's so much a conflict in that these roles don't necessarily have to be opposing one another, but maybe more like an attempt (good or bad) at integration of identities.
     
    Without having seen this particular video game (as most of us have not), I'm reluctant to make a premature judgment of this individual or the product that he has created. It's quite possible the Times story was out of context. As one who has read the "Left Behind" book series, I really don't recall combat between the two sides as a central focus of the storyline. It was more about the struggle for survival of those who were left behind that later came to believe in Christ, and their witnessing to others who had not yet made a decision of which side to be on...As the story progresses, there is increased fighting in a war-context as they fight for the city of Jerusalem & Petra, with the Christians and Jews in a defensive position, not an offensive one.
     
    That said - there are all kinds of unknowns at the present which would cause me to withhold judgment about the ethical situation in question. For instance, how "violent" is this video game? There's a difference between the realism of blood and guts and the implied symbolism of wiping out an opponent. Maybe the spiritual aspect is high enough to somehow counteract the violence-aspect. If you've read the book series, there are countless pages and whole chapters depicting stories of sermons, conversions, prayers, etc. It's possible this video game incorporates a large number of these evangelistic messages as well (I don't know), which would increase the spiritual aspect and serve to aid this person's integration attempts. And further, do we really know the motives of this individual - for or against Christianity? As we all know, spirituality in and of itself is not the same as devotion or belief in a specific religion.
     
    And as one person already pointed out, it's important to recognize that the views among Christians are as diverse as the views among nonChristians about such things as war and peace, and the end-times premises of this fiction book series, among other things. I don't know the exact numbers, but polls show that something like 80-85% of Americans are self-described Christians. Now - that's a very diverse group - to say the least!
     
    In all, I think this could very well be a good topic for a case discussion, but I think more information is required than what can be gleaned from a single newspaper article. An attempt should be made to get a more complete picture of the scenario from multiple sources before attempting to discuss it and analyze it in greater detail.
     
    Respectfully,
     
    Noelle Scuderi
    George Washington University
     
    ----- Original Message -----
    Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 3:01 PM
    Subject: Re: An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    On May 15, 2006, at 1:58 PM, David W. Miller wrote:

    I've been following this story for a while. To understand its many "subplots" requires thinking on multiple levels, theological, commercial, sociological, and ethical. 

    That sounds very interesting. Could you say more? It sounds like you've done a lot of thinking about this topic.

    To think of it purely under the rubric of "spirituality and business" might limit the possibilities. 

    That is true, but the field of MSR is miserably short of cases and I try to come up with ones whenever I can. (Wouldn't a case development workshop make a great pre-conference Professional Development Workshop for the MSR interest group?)

    After I posted this, I realized that much of the spiritual conflict can be understood in terms of role theory. Troy Lyndon is subject to two sets of role expectations--committed Christian and cool video game developer. To the extent that the roles are incompatible, he experiences role conflict. It does seem that there is a lot of incompatibility between the roles, but his game is an attempt to find a common ground between the two roles and reduce his role conflict.


    - Don

    -------

    Don McCormick, Associate Professor

    University of Redlands School of Business

    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    (909) 748-6249    don_mccormick@redlands.edu

    http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick


    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez





  • 10.  An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    Posted 05-18-2006 08:59
    Hi Don and Friends,
    Let me first affirm, I think this story will make a great case, precisely because of its many onion layers.  I suspect, as more than one of us has pointed out, it's also one of those delicious cases where almost everyone will have a knee-jerk or visceral reaction yet almost none of us will have seen the game itself, read the Left Behind book series on which it is based, or have had hands-on experience with the genre of violent/adventure videos!  That alone is a great teaching moment, i.e. that we should withhold judgment until we've done our homework and looked at the facts and understood the many layers of what's going on.
     
    In the diverse world of Christianity, in some circles there is a big debate going on (and it's been going on for 2000 years) about how engaged a follower of Jesus should be with the material world. Some strands argue for asceticism or escapism from a 'fallen world', while others argue for engagement in and reformation of the world (think "tikkun alun" if you are Jewish).  For example, in modern times, a Christian who is say a writer might ask: should I write expressly Christian novels, or should I write a novel aimed at the general market that embodies Christian themes and motifs (say of faith, hope, love, justice, peace, mercy, grace, forgiveness, transformation) but is not overtly Christian. Think of CS Lewis and the Narnia series as an example of the latter.
     
    These things, I suspect, are playing out in the background with this game maker's decision to leave a "secular" video game company to launch a company that is expressly dramatizing a religious story, out of his branch of Christianity and its worldview. 
     
    And of course, we bump into the question of terminology: the differences between words such as religion and spirituality.  While we are right to make distinctions, I think we cannot always draw a hard line between them; like Venn diagrams, there is a lot of overlap. Many spiritual people are ultimately anchored in a religious tradition, and many religious people have strongly spiritual orientations and practices.
     
    As a case study, it presents many marvelous avenues for student engagement, reflection, and analysis. Would it matter if, say the video game glossed over or did not have the violent aspects? Or if the religious world view being depicted were Jewish or Muslim?  And as one person said, what is violence and what is the context in which it is depicted?  What are the moral and social lessons that are being taught, if any? And what is ethically at stake in all this? And, at the end of the day, is this any different than secular forms of products and product marketing, and why does or does this not matter?
     
    Thanks again, Don, and all,  great topic!  I must go grade some papers...!
    David
    _________________________________
    David W. Miller, Ph.D.
    Executive Director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture
    Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Business Ethics
    Yale Divinity School
    409 Prospect Street
    New Haven, CT 06511
         
    Tel: 203-432-8669
     
     
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Management, Spirituality & Religion [mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Don McCormick
    Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 3:02 PM
    To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    Subject: Re: An interesting case study in spirituality and business

    On May 15, 2006, at 1:58 PM, David W. Miller wrote:

    I've been following this story for a while. To understand its many "subplots" requires thinking on multiple levels, theological, commercial, sociological, and ethical. 

    That sounds very interesting. Could you say more? It sounds like you've done a lot of thinking about this topic.

    To think of it purely under the rubric of "spirituality and business" might limit the possibilities. 

    That is true, but the field of MSR is miserably short of cases and I try to come up with ones whenever I can. (Wouldn't a case development workshop make a great pre-conference Professional Development Workshop for the MSR interest group?)

    After I posted this, I realized that much of the spiritual conflict can be understood in terms of role theory. Troy Lyndon is subject to two sets of role expectations--committed Christian and cool video game developer. To the extent that the roles are incompatible, he experiences role conflict. It does seem that there is a lot of incompatibility between the roles, but his game is an attempt to find a common ground between the two roles and reduce his role conflict.


    - Don

    -------

    Don McCormick, Associate Professor

    University of Redlands School of Business

    1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373-0999 

    (909) 748-6249    don_mccormick@redlands.edu

    http://newton.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/DMcCormick


    "The end of all education should surely be service to others." - Cesar E. Chavez