Players Murder Biblical Figures And Behead Muhammad In New Video Game
KUTV.COM ^ | 05 June 08 | Jonny Glines

Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2008 12:52:05 PM by AreaMan

VIRGINIA - The objective of a new video game is to stop the spread of Christianity and Islam by brutally killing biblical prophets, says the game’s atheist creator.

A graduate student at the University of Virginia created the game --which has not yet been released-- in order to give a voice to atheists, according to WSLS Television News. The grad-student wishes to remain anonymous for “fear of his safety.”

His request is understandable --considering at one point in his game players win by beheading the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Nearly a year ago, an even less bold stunt resulted in death threats to Swedish Cartoonist, Lars Viliks for portraying the prophet as a dog in one of his drawings. He was forced into hiding and required police protection.

Despite the possibility of violent retaliation, the game’s creator feels that in a world full of religious messages --the atheist message deserves its own soapbox.

Atheists have never really had anything to speak for them like this. It’s the general atheist premise that the world might be a better place without some of those religions,” he says.

“Controversial,” may be the understatement of the year, when describing the untitled game. But the creator insists that its violent nature is just a “mirror” to the violence that we already see.

He hopes the game’s real message --helping kids imagine a time when religion was new and less organized-- will not become an undertone to the violence.

“It’s the idea of being able to go back in time and sort of nipping the problem in the bud,” says the game's creator.

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0f67dd4d-6ef2-4492-a73d-6b804f92406b