Christian Restaurant Owner reacts to FFRF’s warning to discontinue Church bulletin discount Faith-based discount

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Christian Restaurant Owner reacts to FFRF’s warning to discontinue Church bulletin discount Faith-based discount

A restaurant owner who is under fire for offering a faith-based discount to customers says he doesn’t plan to discontinue it, despite receiving a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular activist group…report by The Blaze

Steven Rose, owner of Bailey’s Pizza in Searcy, Arkansas, told TheBlaze Wednesday that he posted a 10 percent discount on his restaurant’s Facebook page on July 19 for anyone who brought in a church bulletin. Not long after, he received a comment from a user named “Bong Hits for Jesus” that read, “Good luck on your discrimination lawsuit.”

“I didn’t give much credence to it,” he said of the comment, but the story doesn’t end there.

What followed was a letter postmarked July 30 from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization located in Madison, Wisconsin, that called Rose’s discount an act of discrimination and a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An unnamed local resident who found the discount offensive reportedly alerted the group.

“The law requires places of public accommodation to offer their services to customers without regard to race, color, religion or national origin,” Elizabeth Cavell, an attorney who works for the atheist legal firm, told KTHV-TV.

But Rose, a Christian who recently opened Bailey’s Pizza July 1, said he firmly disagrees with this assessment, claiming that the discount was merely a “marketing tool” that enabled him to reach out to people of faith whom he associates with.

“I didn’t want to exclude anyone,” he said. “It was just like giving a discount to the Boy Scouts or the military and they made it an ugly thing.”

While the Freedom From Religion Foundation apparently wants Rose to discontinue the discount, he said he has no plans to comply and that a lawyer he consulted with said that the atheist group doesn’t “have a leg to stand on.”

“From their argument, if I’m giving a discount to the elderly, it’s agism. If I give one to police offers, I’m prejudiced against people who aren’t police officers,” Rose said.

The discount will remain in place unless a judge tells him he is violating the law. In that case, he said he would comply, but that he doesn’t believe he has violated any statutes.

“Short of [a judge’s ruling] there’s nothing that they’re going to say to me that makes me waver on what I believe,” Rose said.

He also made an important point about the faith-based discount: one doesn’t actually need to be a churchgoer to receive it.

“I didn’t say you had to go to church. I said come in with a church bulletin,” he said, noting that some churches publish their Sunday bulletins on their websites. “[Atheists] can download it and bring it in.”

The pizza shop owner told TheBlaze that, though the Freedom From Religion Foundation requested that he write a letter to explain how he plans to “remedy the problem,” he has no plans to offer an official response.

“I really wonder if this is the best use of their resources. What are they doing about ISIS, what are they doing about joblessness?,” he said. “My 45-cent discount — that’s a battle they should [wage]?

Rose said that he has been encouraged by the support he received in the wake of the complaint, noting that conservative legal firms have offered to help if needed.

He also noted that this isn’t the first time the Freedom From Religion Foundation has gone after targets in Searcy, a town of just 17,000 residents. Earlier this year, the group asked that a cross on display outside the local police department be removed. Rose also said that the organization went after the city council to try and halt public prayer back in 2010.

In a separate incident, the Freedom From Religion Foundation recently convinced Mary’s Gourmet Diner in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to abandon its prayer discount after sending a similar letter to owner Mary Haglund.

Original Content by The Blaze

Christian Restaurant Owner warned by Freedom From Religion Foundation for offering Faith-Based discount to Customers

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A Christian restaurant owner is taking more than his kitchen’s heat after offering a faith-based discount to his customers…report by Worthy News

Steven Rose, the owner of Bailey’s Pizza in Searcy, Ark., told TheBlaze that 10 days after posting a 10 percent discount on Facebook for any customer with a church bulletin, he was warned by the Freedom From Religion Foundation that the discount was an act of discrimination.

“The law requires places of public accommodation to offer their services to customers without regard to race, color, religion or national origin,” attorney Elizabeth Cavell told KTHV-TV.

But Rose said no one needs to be a churchgoer to receive his faith-based discount.

“I didn’t say you had to go to church. I said come in with a church bulletin.”

However, Rose has been encouraged by the support showed him after receiving the FFRF complaint, especially from conservative firms that have offered legal assistance.

Original Post by Worthy News

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, LORD CAREY says he wants evil British jihadis banish from UK

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Former Archbishop of Canterbury, LORD CAREY says he wants evil British jihadis banish from UK

The menacing advance of the Islamic State in Iraq should not prejudice Western people against Muslim people and the Islamic faith.

I once served as an  airman in Egypt and Iraq and can vouch for the kindness and goodness of many Muslim  people. Indeed, more than three million have made their home in Britain, and by far the majority want to get on and make good and peaceful homes among us.

But there is a darker side. Radical Islam is on the rise and imperilling our way of life, threatening to undermine the values that have been bitterly won over the centuries.

In recent weeks, we have heard desperate reports of  barbaric violence – including crucifixions and beheadings – accompanying the onward march of the terrorist group calling themselves ‘Islamic State’ (IS, formerly ISIS).

Even worse, about 500 of these murderous thugs, criminals and rapists are said to be Britons and a further 1,500 from other parts of Europe.

The youngest of these would-be terrorists is reported to be 13 years old and has travelled to the Middle East from Belgium with an older brother.

Frighteningly, the young British hostage-taker who may have beheaded the incredibly brave reporter James Foley, is not even the first to have committed such a despicable act. Journalist Daniel Pearl was murdered by a Briton as well.

My good friend Canon Andrew White, widely known as the ‘Vicar of Baghdad’, has seen many of his parishioners killed.

He said only the other day that a child he had recently baptised was cut in half by terrorists in the advance of IS. He and other church leaders in Iraq are witnessing the ethnic cleansing and even the genocide of the ancient Christian community in the homeland of our Christian faith.

Christianity in Iraq dates back to the first century and the missionary expansion inspired by the preaching of St Paul. By contrast, Islam arrived by conquest and the sword centuries later.

These young fanatical Muslims from Britain and elsewhere are bringing the sword yet again to this region.

Only this time they are killing all in their wake, including fellow Sunni Muslims who do not hold the same belligerent interpretation of Islam, together with Shia Muslims who by population are in a majority in Iraq.

How can we respond to the evil these young people are doing in the region, including young Britons that we have educated in our schools and who now repudiate our decent and tolerant values by pursuing jihad in Iraq and Syria?

The first step is to withdraw their passports. This includes young people who we learn are planning to travel to commit terrorist acts, together with those who are fighting for foreign terrorist groups.

…read more

Original Content & Post by Daily Mail

A Darker Iraq: Light of Christian Faith Going Out Fast

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A Darker Iraq: Light of Christian Faith Going Out Fast

This new is Originally from CBN News – We suggest that you read it

ERBIL, Iraq — While the Obama administration tries to figure out if targeting terrorists is worthwhile, thousands of refugees are suffering across northern Iraq.

Talk to anyone who has fled the Islamic State and they’ll share their story of tragedy and suffering.

One Christian CBN News spoke to said the terrorists seized all his gold and money, thenthreatened to cut off his hand.

This boy was traumatized when he witnessed Islamic State fighters armed with machine guns open fire on fleeing Christians near Mosul.

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Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians now live in tents, schools, and abandoned buildings. War weary and despondent, most now say they want to leave Iraq.

“Go to America, Christians go to America. No, stay in Iraq!” one refugee woman said of the enormous decision to leave the land of their ancestors.

When Islamic State fighters seized his city, this former police officer took his family, including his newborn daughter, to safety in Erbil.

“If we return to our village, they will kill us,” he said.

With passports in hand, these Iraqi Christians hope Congress will soon grant them immediate religious asylum status so they can live in the United States.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdS_VvmV2m0[/youtube]

Ten families from this church, Ankawa Evangelical, have already left Iraqsince the crisis began last June. That troubled Pastor Ghassan Yalda, who urged them to stay.

“This is hurting a lot because the faith that we have is that the Christians are the salt of this land and the light of this land,” he said.

“If everybody leaves this country, who is going to be speaking the truth to the people who need it and who is going to be keeping this area from the wrath of the Lord because the sin is everywhere and people are killing each other?” he asked.

Those still here are reaching out to help. Here in the Kurdistan capital city of Erbil is a Christian neighborhood known as Ankawa.

It usually has a population of about 22,000 people. But with the massive influx of refugees from around the country fleeing the fighting with ISIS, the population has swelled to over 100,000 — five times above normal.

And that is overwhelming the churches and the community here.

CBN Disaster Relief has partnered with Ankawa Evangelical to relieve some of the pressure and to bring help to Yazidis and basic food and toiletries for Christians.

“Today we’re giving out clothing to the Yazidis who fled to northern Iraq,” CBN Disaster Relief’s Brian Scott said.

“We did this because they have very little, no money to purchase anything and they don’t have anything but the clothes on their back,” he said.

CBN is also providing episodes of the animated Bible series “Superbook,” shown to the refugee children in their own Arabic language.

“Through the comfort of the Gospel… to show them that Christians truly love them, to be blessed and receive relief,” Scott said.

The help is giving Iraqi refugees a break from their misery, providing them with some of life’s basic necessities and with spiritual encouragement to last a lifetime.

Original Post from CBN News

Your First Calling Is to Trust God

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Your First Calling Is to Trust God

If you have been given a particular calling and ministry from the Lord, I hope it burns within your soul and provides you with much passion for service everyday. That tends to be the way it plays out for a Spirit-led and Spirit-filled believer who is called and gifted to serve in God’s kingdom. But there are plenty of obstacles along the way, as I am sure you have probably already discovered.

For one thing, we easily forget that our “calling” is not our first priority in God’s kingdom. While it is very important to the Lord that we do not “neglect our gift” for service, it is even more important to Him that we realize what our first calling entails. You see, before you were called into a ministry, you were called into a family. You were called into a relationship with the King of Kings. And you were called to trust Him, plain and simple.

In our passion and zeal to use the gifts He has given us for service, we can lose sight of the fact that the One who called us into His family is more than capable of working out the details of our secondary calling. Who do we think set it up this way in the first place? God saw us before our parents saw us. He loved us before our parents loved us. And He gave us the free gift of salvation before He gave us gifts for service. It is good for us to remember these things.

There are many stressful matters in life, and that certainly includes the stresses of fulfilling our calling in the Lord’s service. All of Christ’s disciples go through times of struggle, anxiety and pressure. It is par for the course. And yet, we are constantly compelled to carry out the work He has given us to do. Sometimes, we start to carry more than He wants us to carry. Our first priority is to trust Him, plain and simple. And if I can trust Him for my eternal well-being in paradise, perhaps I can also choose to trust Him for the work He has planned for me to do here on earth.

This brings us to the privilege of prayer. We are invited to bring everything to the Lord in prayer, including the desires of our heart as it relates to serving Him. The more we pray about it, the more God shapes our desires and works out the details in accordance with His will for us. If we stop praying about it, we really begin to carry the work around our neck and upon our heart. It feels heavy on the inside. But the Lord isn’t producing the heaviness. We are causing it by the mental pressure we are placing on ourselves.

The Lord has not promised that we won’t have heavy issues on the outside, but He has promised to be our peace in all things. (see John 16:33) In other words, God will keep us calm on the inside if we trust Him. The apostle Paul had many struggles outwardly. But what did he say about it? “In all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” (2 Cor. 7:4) Are you kidding me? Seriously? How? Why? Who? I mean what in the world could produce joy for Paul in the midst of such pressure? Here was a guy who had some serious obstacles. (see 2 Cor. 11:23-33) And yet there it was – joy for the journey. An inner peace. And a Christian who never forgot his first calling.

How is it with you my friend? As a pastor for the past 24 years, I have had the opportunity to interact with plenty of God’s servants over the years on this issue. It touches all of us who serve in the kingdom. We are tempted over and over again to carry that thing which the Lord has told us He will carry. And we are tempted over and over again to make our secondary calling our primary focus. But it isn’t, or at least it doesn’t need to be our primary focus. We have a higher calling. Did you catch that? You have a higher calling. God will handle your ministry needs, and details, and logistics. Meanwhile, it’s up to you to keep the main thing the main thing.

Memo to you and me as servants in Christ’s kingdom: “Your first calling is to trust God.” One more time. “Your first calling is to trust God.” We need to preach this message to our soul everyday. After all, you and I trusted Him when we entered His family. We placed our faith in Christ to forgive our sins. And now the Lord calls us to trust Him in ministry, even when we are “bursting at the seams” to reach the world for Christ.

We already have a Savior. He did just fine without our assistance. He doesn’t need a “co-redeemer” to help Him save our soul or to fulfill our ministry. He will do it, if we trust Him. Just like we trusted Him when we first believed, and everyday since then with the knowledge that heaven is our home.

So what do you say? Shall we give this thing a go? Shall we carry out the ministry He has given us in the same spirit with which we trust Him everyday to forgive our sins? The God who forgives sins is the same God who makes a way for His servants to fulfill their calling. And that includes you if you have been given a calling in the kingdom.

God’s job? Provide the fire and the holy love for His children to serve others. Our job? “Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire.” (1 Thess. 5:19) Everything else is just a potential distraction and substitute for your first calling. And those substitutes are not very good at producing peace in the hearts of the Lord’s disciples, unless of course they are being carried out in the right order.

… read more

Author :Dan Delzell is the pastor of Wellspring Lutheran Church in Papillion, Neb. He is a regular contributor to The Christian Post.

Original Content & Post from Christian Post

YouTube plans to charge when you view music videos with no ads

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YouTube plans to charge when you view music videos with no ads

YouTube is responsible for making free videos an integral part of the Internet, but its anticipated move into charging users to see videos without advertisements is drawing opposition from some of the network’s music partners.

The most vocal opponents are independent music labels, who say they are being forced to agree to unfavorable terms or risk making no money from YouTube at all.

“It’s awful that indies are being treated as second-class citizens by YouTube,” said Rich Bengloff, president of the indie label trade group American Association of Independent Music.

YouTube wouldn’t disclose details of the subscription plan, but Bengloff said users would be asked to pay a fee to see music videos without ads. Currently, commercials precede most music videos uploaded by labels, which collect a portion of the advertising revenue.

Under a subscription model, the labels would instead get a portion of the fees. Independent labels say their cut isn’t big enough.

Labels are also negotiating for a minimum annual payment or advance. Bengloff says the independent labels are on the short end of that deal as well.

Sources with knowledge of YouTube’s plan say labels that don’t agree to participate won’t be able to make money from ads on existing videos. Independent labels say the policy change puts them in a bind.

“We feel like since they are a monopoly, we need to be on YouTube,” both to promote the artists and to make money, Bengloff said.

Younger listeners

YouTube has been key for artists to gain younger listeners, and the subscription model could generate even more money for the site than ads ever could. The company is expected to make an estimated $3.2 billion in ad revenue in 2014, not including subscriptions, according to research firm eMarketer. YouTube’s audience is huge, with more than 1 billion monthly users. If just a fraction of those people were to pay for a music subscription, the payoff could be huge.

“There’s no sign of slowing down,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. “YouTube is like a brand. It’s like Kleenex. People use it as a verb and completely associate YouTube with video online.”

Getting people to sign up for subscriptions can also be helpful to YouTube’s parent company, Google, which can store credit card numbers and make it easier for people to buy other Google products and services, he said.

But the challenge is in whether people will be willing to pay for the features. YouTube hasn’t said how much it would charge for subscriptions, but music streaming sites Spotify and Rhapsody offer premium subscriptions for $9.99 a month.

“YouTube has always been a free culture. That’s a very large obstacle,” Verna said. “It’s not to say they can’t do it, but they really have to bring something to the table to cause people to think that this is really worth paying for.”

One thing YouTube has going for it is its vast music video collection. Over the years, YouTube has promoted itself as a professional video platform, not just a hub for homemade cat and dog videos.

Financial payback

As YouTube has become more popular, major music labels …. read more

News by Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected]Twitter: @thewendylee

Original Content & Post from  SFGate

UK Hotel Chain Rids its Hotel Rooms of Bibles

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UK Hotel Chain Rids its Hotel Rooms of Bibles

One of Britain’s largest hotel chains has decided to remove every Bible from its rooms, “an act of cultural vandalism upon a tradition that goes back 126 years,” according to Fox News…Report by WorthyNews

The Bibles were reportedly removed for “diversity reasons” from 500 Travelodge hotels.

“[It is] both tragic and bizarre that hotels would remove the word of God for the sake of … a spurious definition of the word ‘diversity,'” stated the Church of England.

In a press release by Travelodge, the removal of the Bibles was intended to show that the company didn’t discriminate against any religion, but Bibles supplied by the Gideon Society would be made available at the reception desks for guests to borrow.

However, according to the Daily Mail, a receptionist at a London Travelodge branch could not find any Gideon Bibles when one was requested, recommending instead that the guest use the hotel’s free Wifi to access the book online.

Original Report by Worthy News

Airstrike kills Said Hamas “cash man”

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Airstrike kills Said Hamas “cash man”

An Israeli missile strike that killed a man riding in a car in Gaza City on Sunday afternoon ripped open the vehicle, revealing bags of American dollars inside and scattering currency on the street, some burned by the blast, according to a witness…report by Worthy News

The Gaza authorities did not immediately identify the victim, but the Israeli military identified him as Muhammad al-Ghoul and said he had been responsible for Hamas’s financial transactions and handled its “terror funds.”

The witness, who arrived at the scene minutes after the air strike, said security men in plain clothes prevented photographers from taking photographs there, kept onlookers away, collected the money and searched what remained of the car for more cash. The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The missile attack was the latest in a string of recent Israeli air strikes based on what appears to be precise intelligence about the movements of some Hamas operatives who have emerged from their bunkers as the more intensive fighting has subsided.

Last week, air strikes killed three senior Hamas commanders in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and Israel tried to assassinate Mohammed Deif, the chief of Hamas’s military wing. His fate remains unknown.

Israeli forces continued on Sunday to strike Palestinians suspected of being militants and buildings in which they are said to operate in Gaza as militants fired scores of rockets and mortar rounds into Israel.

In Rafah, two missiles from Israeli aircraft and the fire they ignited destroyed a three-storey commercial centre filled with dozens of stores and offices used by doctors, lawyers and contractors. A five-floor building was also damaged in a separate strike.

The Israeli military did not say why those buildings were targeted. In remarks broadcast Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the residents of Gaza “to immediately evacuate any building from which Hamas is carrying out terrorist activity.”

Mr. Netanyahu added: “Any such place is a target for us. In recent days, we have proven there is no immunity for those who fire at Israel’s citizens.”

The military wing of Hamas, the Islamic group that dominates Gaza, claimed responsibility for firing mortar rounds at the Erez crossing point on Gaza’s northern border with Israel. The attack wounded four Israeli civilians who were providing humanitarian assistance at the crossing, according to the Israeli authorities.

Israel said it was temporarily closing the crossing, which has been used for several purposes, including for the transfer of hundreds of wounded and sick Gazans for medical treatment in hospitals in Israel, the West Bank and abroad.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said that 16 Palestinians were killed and 52 were wounded in Israeli strikes on Sunday. In the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, artillery shells or missiles hit a home, killing five people, including a mother and her three children. Hours after the strike on Mr. al-Ghoul’s car, at least two missiles hit his home, destroying it.

More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting that is stretching into a seventh week, most of them civilians, according to monitoring groups. On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and four civilians have been killed, including a four-year-old boy from a small community near the border who was hit by mortar fire. He was first Israeli child to be killed in the conflict, and he was buried Sunday.

Original Post by Worthy News

Kirk Franklin:’Sunday Best’ Host Exclusive with Christian Post

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Kirk Franklin:’Sunday Best’ Host Exclusive with Christian Post

Kirk Franklin’s name may be synonymous with gospel music, but with his hand in television, radio programming and hosting it is easy to think he is working hard to advance his own brand…by CP

On the contrary, Franklin, 44, insists his goal is to make sure that God will be famous today and for the coming generations. Franklin’s popularity is hard to ignore with his own Sirius XM radio station, Kirk Franklin’s Praise, television hosting gigs on The Game Show Network’s “The American Bible Challenge” and BET’s “Sunday Best.”

Still, the musician finds time to run his own record label, Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, while hosting a gospel brunch at every House of Blues establishment across the country. Franklin told The Christian Post how much fun it is to be involved with his various projects, but revealed a deeper reason for taking on each endeavor.

“I’m always trying to find innovative ways to be able to keep God famous,” Franklin told The Christian Post. “For all the properties I’m involved in, that’s been my agenda. I think that sometimes we have compromised quality content for the fear of Christianity, and I think that they both can co-exist.”

While Franklin has a break from co-hosting GSN’s “The American Bible Challenge” which aired its third season finale in July, he is honoring his hosting duties on “Sunday Best.” After seven years of appearing on the popular BET gospel music singing competition, Franklin is still excited to return as the show’s host.

“It’s very cool to see people get excited about content that is still very vertical,” he told CP. “That’s what I want to do and get involved in. I continue to try to push that agenda.”

Although Franklin said he could never judge the competition because he would have a hard time sitting still, the veteran gospel musician is an executive producer for the show and decided to sign “Sunday Best” winners to his Fo Yo Soul record label. Tasha Page-Lockhart won the competition last season, which resulted in Franklin signing her and executive producing her recently released debut album, “Here Right Now.”

Franklin has a vision, not only for Page-Lockhart’s album or for his singing group The Wall Group, but for his record label to which they belong.

“We’re trying to create content that is very culturally forward without compromising the push of the gospel,” he told CP.

While Franklin has successfully dominated the gospel music charts with his own solo records, he also writes and produces music for others. He wrote and produced singer Tamela Mann’s song “Take Me To The King” which surpassed 500,000 digital sales in the U.S. and became certified Gold by the RIAA.

Although Franklin does not mind working behind the scenes on successful music, he does admit to not always knowing whether he should record some songs he writes for himself or bless other people with them.

“That’s hard because you don’t know. At times you’re like ‘should I keep this or should I do that,'” Franklin revealed to CP. “I trust that if God gives me music for someone else, that’s what He wants that person to have. I have to trust that that’s what they’re supposed to do and that’s the music that should specifically be released for them and their ministry, for their career and for their audience.”

With all of his endeavours, it is hard to believe that it’s been three years since Franklin’s last solo album was released. Still, he refuses to rush the process.

“I am praying through that process right now. (I’m) just praying and asking God to give me what He wants me to do next,” Franklin told CP. “So yes, that is on my radar…not trying to rush it.”

The gospel musician was previously a choir director who came onto the scene releasing music with successful gospel choirs like The Family, God’s Property and One Nation Crew. It has been well over a decade since he went solo, but Franklin does not rule out the possibility of returning to his original format of leading choirs on records.

“I don’t really know what my future holds in that area, but I am always open to figuring out what’s different for me, what’s fresh, what’s something that I could do that would be new for people,” Franklin told CP. “So you know I always think about it like that. If it feels fresh and exciting, I’ll always consider (it).”

Franklin is a celebrated veteran in the gospel music industry, with seven Grammys, 13 GMA Dove Awards and 15 Stellar Awards. The musician has mastered the art of creating quality gospel music for two decades and insisted that the most important quality in the music is sincerity.

“It should reflect wherever we are and our personal spiritual growth with God. If that’s not our top priority, then our artform is going to be very shallow,” Franklin told CP. “It should not be just for the sole purpose of the artform itself…if it’s that, we’ll suffer. We have to make sure people can feel the sincerity of our own testimony and our own journey so they know this is something that is really real for us.”

Franklin believes gospel music should be in tune with the culture of the world instead of focusing solely on the church.

“People don’t live at church, they live in the real world. So music has to reflect that how people live, what they’re doing as they go through their trials in life,” he told CP. “So I just hope and pray that we’re always able to tap into that and be that voice for people.”

Original Post by Christian Post

American Bible Society Takes Evangelism to a new level With New Interactive Game,”Dive In”

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American Bible Society Takes Evangelism to a new level With New Interactive Game,”Dive In”

The American Bible Society’s’ stated mission is to engage people “with the life-changing message of God’s Word,” and the 200-year-old Christian nonprofit appears to be pulling out all the stops to stick to that mission. Its latest form of outreach is a new interactive “immersive experience” — a 3D game, dubbed “Dive In” that is supposed to turn players’ minds to the condition of their heart…report by CP

Dive In was unveiled less than a month ago outside of the American Bible Society’s New York City headquarters, not far from the heavily-trafficked Christopher Columbus Circle.

The game uses a 3D camera that incorporates gesture tracking. Once a player steps up to bat, their body movements are tracked and they can then control their avatar’s movements by leaning left or right, flapping their arms or waving as they swim through an imaginary water world.

As Dive In designer Ryan Jahn told The Christian Post, the game is based on Luke 12:34: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The Bible verse is flashed across the middle of the screen before each game.

The heart theme kicks in during the game, as players are prompted to collect as many heart-shaped jewels as possible as they progress through three levels.

“For us, we know that by playing this game, whether you know it or not, you’re engaging Scripture even in the lightest of ways,” said Arthur Satterwhite, senior program manager at ABS.

“We believe that when the Word goes forth, like the Bible says, it doesn’t come back void. So in some way, even in the most miniscule way something inside the people that are playing this game is being transformed.”

But not every player makes that heart-to-heart connection.

When The Christian Post visited ABS for Dive In’s debut, players definitely seemed to be enjoying the virtual swim, but the message failed to surface for some.

Karen Mack, visiting out of town from Massachusetts, did have a few thoughts on the Bible after reflecting on the game.

“No matter what kinds of ups and downs you have, there’s an answer there,” Mack told CP. “I don’t always find the answers right away, sometimes it’s the searching, just like this [game].”

But for Olivia Bailey, a native New Yorker and a Christian, there was no religious connection for her whatsoever. “It’s a game,” Bailey told CP. “How does…religion connect?”

Original Post by Christian Post

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