In honor of the awesome new video game I got yesterday ("X-men Legends II," yes!!) I thought I'd see what new games are coming out now (esp. since my game is already a year old. But I don't care because it's fun!). I came across two interesting ones that have religious themes. The first was "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which is based on the "Left Behind" book series. From what I gather, it's premise is kind of similar to my X-men game. But instead of finding new mutants to join your fight against Apocalypse and his evil clone army, you're out recruiting and converting people in your fight against the Anti-Christ and non-believers. Critics of the game have described it as "a violent video game in which born-again Christians aim to convert or kill those who don't adhere to their extreme ideology." That's from this article on cnn.com. One of the groups against the game is petitioning to have it removed from the shelfs at (where else) Walmart. In response the the critiques, the CEO of Left Behind Games, Inc. says that "The reality is that our game perpetuates prayer and worship and that there is no killing in the name of God". He then goes on to contradict this, saying that "There is killing of course, it is a video game. But the basis of the game is spiritual welfare". Ummm okay. I think I'll stick to X-men. Everyone can agree that Apocalypse is a bad guy, especially when paired with evil clones.

Today, for a Worlds of Buddhism class project, a few friends and I visited Tzu Chi in San Dimas, the state headquarters for the international Tzu Chi Buddhist movement. Since our project is focusing on Buddhism & Ecology (or ecoBuddhism), we went expecting to pick up some pamphlets about how environmental concerns factored into the monastery’s every day practices and buildings

Upon our arrival, Trisha (who is maybe the temple’s PR person, we were unsure) ushered us into a room, presented us with maybe the best tea we’ve ever had, and sat us down to watch a Discovery Channel documentary about the Tzu Chi, or Buddhist Compassion Relief, Foundation.