Hindus Criticize Smite For "Trivializing" Their Religion

[Scow2]

Hi-rez developed this?

There not even 10 miles away from where I live!

They need to put Montu, Egypt god of war on there. That'd be cool

Get out. Sehkmet is WAY cooler in every way. Goddess of War, Protection, Disease, and Raining Flaming Arrows on Her Enemies... as well as wearing a cool chest-baring dress. And having a sun-disk headdress and face of a lioness.

"HURR DURR everyone who is religious is stupid and gullible and arrogant cos I saw a documentary on the westburo baptist church.!" Don't prejudge a whole massive group of people. I'm an atheist, but have met plenty of decent reasonable religious people. Self righteous atheists like you are just as unpleasant and obnoxious as religious zealots. Religion can also promote a lot of positive traits and values too.

I agree though that freedom from censorship is more important though. And anyone who gets butthurt over a game be them a batshit feminist or a religious zealot needs to fucking get over themselves and turn the other cheek.

It's either all game or everything becomes out of bounds.

Heh, a lightning storm took out the power as I was finishing my post. I'll be quick this time.

I have not watched a documentary on the WBC, nor do I care about them in particular. The things I mentioned, all of them, are present with every major religion and every person ascribing themselves to it. I do find it funny that you think the WBC is somehow the more arrogant or gullible portion of the religious part of the population, as if you can even begin to make a case for that. All that separates them from Joe Schmoe down the street who's a "moderate" is that they actually take the Good Book a little bit more seriously.

Believing absurd claims with zero evidence is gullibility. Not realizing the immense amount of contradictions, fallacies and falsities contained with said claims is ignorance. Believing mainly only those claims that end up benefiting you or making you feel better is egocentricity and arrogance. I don't prejudge, I judge, and if that makes you see me as obnoxious, then so be it.

If you think the WBC "takes the good book a little more seriously" than others, you need your head checked. They are the antithesis of EVERYTHING the church tries to teach, and just one look through the New Testament damns their beliefs.

In my experience, having a little bit of faith when trying to make the world a better place on a small scale tends to be accompanied by 'miraculous' strokes of luck for the events beyond your control, and a greater personal strength for changing the events within it. That said, I believe ALL religions are reflections of a Universal Truth, with varying levels of Corruption from outside.

 

[maninahat]

Oh boo fucking hoo. Get over it, your religion isn't special.

Actually, it is. That's the entire problem. If you sincerely believe in Hinduism, and you hold the gods very dearly, I don't see how it is unreasonable to object to seeing them beaten up in videogames. Is this how it is going to be? Snarking at people, just for complaining about something that offends them?

People have a general cluelessness when it comes to the religious. They see angry muslims, sending death threats and rioting over depictions of Mohammed, and they say to themselves "huh, its only a cartoon. What an over reaction!"

Just where do you get off making that judgement? It reminds me of how some Libyan's got offended at the burning of a Quran. They responded by going into a graveyard of fallen WWII veterans, and vandalised the graves, which naturally caused a lot of anguish and fury on our side. Those people who call the Quran "just a book", I invite you to visit the relatives of those veterans, and tell them to their face "it doesn't matter, it's only a stone that got broken."

People place special, personal values on some things, and it isn't your place to deride them for it. If you can't appreciate their problem, you have no business saying what is or isn't an over-reaction.

 

[maninahat]

The problem with making religions like Christianity/Islam playable is that their is only one god whose form isn't revealed and everyone else is a human which would be boring for the most part.

I'm trying to think of a different pantheon they could've done instead and i can't think of one that is dead. My list goes Shinto, Buddhism, and various native American religions.

You should see Bon. That religion has a 13 headed god of lightning and seizures. There are millions of obscured, dead religions you could get away with using. Alternatively, just make up a load of gods and base them on ones from real religions, thus avoiding the whole controversy in the first place.

 

[Korzack]

Personally speaking, I'd see it more as a back-handed compliment that those who don't share those beliefs still appreciate there is a respectable amount of Damned impressive things about Hinduism, and surely a game like Smite will only help to educate curious folk unaware of the Hindu lore - of course, you'll get folk who don't care and will quite casually go "Meh, kali's rubbish at DPS, go with Artemis", but you'll get that anywhere. I've personally not seen many games draw on Hinduism for ideas, so liked it in terms of Smite, but can see why it's offended like it has.

 

[Demonjazz]

Brian the messiah to the jews need to be put in.He would have attacks concerining his crowd.Like shoe attack or The holy gourd.And trample

 

[Triforceformer]

I dunno why Hindus think their religion should be the sacred cow...

Seeing as how their religion is the only currently worshiped one in the game, and Hi-Rez's previous statements imply it will be the ONLY one THEY are comfortable with putting in, it's hard to blame them for getting kind of upset.

 

[beastro]

This thread is shameful. Same pathological bullshit I see all over the internet rising its head again: People of ____ religion complain about something so people immediately start beating on the Christian horse and mock us while most completely ignore targeting ____ religion.

Why do you do this?

Anyway, OT: As much as I don't give a crap about religion and religion devotees, I wonder how, let's say: AMERICA, would reply if they included Jesus.

Hmmmm, Xenogears? Final Fantasy tactics?

Xenogears where Gnosticism is a major element (always an Orthodox Christian bugbear) and religious symbols and words and thrown around at random. One of the main protagonists and the most dedicated and loyal member of the games band of heroes has a name that's a variation of Satan.

FFT: Where The band of heroes starts fighting against the Catholic Church and then winds up discovering that Christ was actually a malevolent demon that possessed a young boy centuries ago and is returning to destroy the world.

Yes, Xenogears did get a strong Christian reaction from it when brought to NA, but what other game since?

Reading through this post you can guess what faith I'm a part of, but guess what? The two games I just covered are two of my favourite games with Xenogears being the bets JRPG I've ever played because of it's rich (through borrowed) storyline.

Anyway, getting to my main point:

Not religious? You're fully entitled to no be.

Don't like religion? Same as above.

Got a problem with Christianity? I'm fine with that and you can be vocal about it.

Got a problem with Hindu's complaining about the use of the religion in a game? Then how about you stop dragging Christianity into the topic so you have something familiar to beat and mock in your religious diatribes and call a spade and spade and direct it at Hinduism.

Or what? Is that somehow bad because it's only PC to mock Christians and it's somehow still taboo in your mind to direct your public anger at religion which foreign to you?

 

[ckam]

I stopped reading when I saw Sun Wukong. Where do I get this game? Now...

 

[prowll]

I said it when they complained about Asura's Wrath and I'll say it again now. If they didn't consider games like Dante's Inferno or shows like Supernatural using Christian theology trivialising and offensive to Christianity, they have no ground to stand on now. You can't hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else. "You can play with Jesus and Satan all you like because that's fine, but don't touch Vishnu. He's special." is just hypocritical and undermines whatever argument you may have had.

You mention Supernatural; they had an episode with 'non-Christian' gods getting together to decide what to do about the Winchesters, and Lucifer. Kali was specific in that. If they didn't complain THEN....

 

[axlryder]

There isn't a continent on this planet that hasn't see a muslim terrorist attack in the last 5 years.

Um, there are about 7 continents (depending on how you count them) and the only one to have played host to a confirmed attack by an individual or group of the Muslim faith in the last five years is South-East Asia.

So the self confessed member of Al Qaeda didn't shoot a 5 year old Jewish school girl and 2 off duty soldiers 2 months ago in France. It was clearly gay rights activists that tried to assassinate the British Ambassador to Libya last month. It was obviously animal rights groups that tried blow up the the Israeli embassy in Argentina 3 years ago. The guy that planted a bomb in time square last year was of course an anti abortion activist. The 27 poeple killed in Mumbai last year and the 209 killed in 2008 again were clearly killed by the pig liberation front. It was the CIA that planted the bomb in Moscow airport that killed 36 poeple last year. Not one those attack were perpetrated by Muslims. I don't know how I could have been so blind, takeing those announcements by Muslim terrorist groups saying the were responsible for those deaths at face value. BTW those are the ones I can think off the top my head, if I could be bothered to do some googling I could find even more.

First of all, half the examples you just gave (made up or not) took place on the continent I described. Nice work there, lol.

Now, I know English probably isn't your first language, but there is a term called burden of proof that you should look up. At the moment, your comment is pretty much of zero value. Fulfill burden of proof--at least half a dozen sources would do--and we can talk.

OK small point India isn't part of south east Asia and is normally refereed to as either the Indian sub continent or part of the Asian continent. I assumed that by SE Asia you meant the Australasia continent which includes parts of includes parts of Indonesia which have seen Muslim terrorist attacks. But I give the Australian education system to much credit. A further indictment of Australian education system is that apparently 2 out of 7 = half. Moscow is Europe, Asia doesn't start until the Urals mountains. Similarly France is also in Europe, Argentina is in South America. The time square I was referring too in New York which is North America and finally Libya is Africa. The only reason I'm typing this is because you appear to have difficulty with geography.

As too burden off proof, hmm lets see

https://www.google.com/search?q=moscow+airport+bomb+chechen

https://www.google.com/search?q=mumbai+bomb+2011

https://www.google.com/search?q=mumbai+bomb+2008


Do I have put the google links for all the them or are you just going do it yourself.


Last point I'm born and bread in England so oddly enough I speak English. There is an Idiomatic English term I'd advise you too look up, the word is tosser.

I just wanted to point out how you seem to have the appropriate use of "to" and "too" reversed, or maybe I'm just missing something?

 

[beniki]

Well, to be fair, having a deity like Ganesh or Shiva lose in the game might be somewhat close to blasphemy. The Great Destroyer can't really fail to destroy, not can the Overcomer of Obstacles not overcome an obstacle.

Not that I know what the gameplay is, nor am I an expert in Hinduism. Are the gods fallible?

 

[axlryder]

Lot of presumptuous generalizing in this thread. As to the topic at hand, I can't fault the guy for just voicing his opinion in a calm manner, but it likely won't do any good. I'm surprised he thought it would after the first time around.

The game itself looks boring and uncreative. Using such rich source material for something so trite honestly does seem a bit insulting. At least games like El Shaddai and Xenogears were visually and narratively interesting.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

I said it when they complained about Asura's Wrath and I'll say it again now. If they didn't consider games like Dante's Inferno or shows like Supernatural using Christian theology trivialising and offensive to Christianity, they have no ground to stand on now. You can't hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else. "You can play with Jesus and Satan all you like because that's fine, but don't touch Vishnu. He's special." is just hypocritical and undermines whatever argument you may have had.

You mention Supernatural; they had an episode with 'non-Christian' gods getting together to decide what to do about the Winchesters, and Lucifer. Kali was specific in that. If they didn't complain THEN....

I totally forgot about that episode. That's an even better example. Surely that should be more offensive than a game like this? But I can't even be bothered to keep up with things like this now, they all just become never ending arguments and it tires me out.

 

[BanZeus]

I dunno why Hindus think their religion should be the sacred cow...

Seeing as how their religion is the only currently worshiped one in the game, and Hi-Rez's previous statements imply it will be the ONLY one THEY are comfortable with putting in, it's hard to blame them for getting kind of upset.

Sorry, I find that I have less and less patience for adults who think everyone should love/respect their imaginary friend(s).

 

[Scow2]

Heh, a lightning storm took out the power as I was finishing my post. I'll be quick this time.

I have not watched a documentary on the WBC, nor do I care about them in particular. The things I mentioned, all of them, are present with every major religion and every person ascribing themselves to it. I do find it funny that you think the WBC is somehow the more arrogant or gullible portion of the religious part of the population, as if you can even begin to make a case for that. All that separates them from Joe Schmoe down the street who's a "moderate" is that they actually take the Good Book a little bit more seriously.

Believing absurd claims with zero evidence is gullibility. Not realizing the immense amount of contradictions, fallacies and falsities contained with said claims is ignorance. Believing mainly only those claims that end up benefiting you or making you feel better is egocentricity and arrogance. I don't prejudge, I judge, and if that makes you see me as obnoxious, then so be it.

If you think the WBC "takes the good book a little more seriously" than others, you need your head checked. They are the antithesis of EVERYTHING the church tries to teach, and just one look through the New Testament damns their beliefs.

In my experience, having a little bit of faith when trying to make the world a better place on a small scale tends to be accompanied by 'miraculous' strokes of luck for the events beyond your control, and a greater personal strength for changing the events within it. That said, I believe ALL religions are reflections of a Universal Truth, with varying levels of Corruption from outside.

Is this your idea of making a case? Zero concrete examples and a non-sequitur? I'll admit right off the bat that as a byproduct of not caring about these people in particular, pretty much the only thing I know about their beliefs is that they're the "God hates fags" group. Which is actually in the Bible[footnote]Leviticus 20:13 - If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.[/footnote], and is pretty much a mainstream Christian belief, propagated by a substantial part of Christian denominations, including, and here's the kicker - "the church".

You'll have to do better than "one look through the New Testament". Do you want quotes about all the immoral and downright vicious and evil shit that's present within the New Testament? And a question, why are you singling out the new one in the first place? Are you aware that the Old Testament is also a part of the good book, and that contrary to the kindergarten apologetics, the New Testament does not render the old one moot?

Then you're an ignorant hipster. Almost NO Christians, especially not "mainstream" ones, bother to read Leviticus, which is a chapter out of a Desert Survival Guide. The Christian faith pretty much spells out its entire premise: "You shall love the Lord with all your strength, heart, mind, etc. and your neighbor as yourself." Most of Jesus' ministry was *****-slapping down abuses and hypocrisy in the "religious elite". Papal infallibility is the theological joke of the current era.

And on this subject's matter: Jesus MIGHT make a passable playable character, but he's really not up to scratch as a fighting game protagonist, especially compared to Gods. After all, he's just a normal guy without any special qualities (Mythologically speaking, ANYONE could do everything he did with "Sufficient faith," and it was through the power of his father, not himself, that he did things.) "God" also isn't much for a fighting game character because he's boringly overpowered - He has no form, he has no name (No, "I AM" does not pass as a name.) and he has root access to the universe and live editing of its source code. Individual prophets would be MUCH more interesting, such as the bear-summoning, flaming-chariot riding, and water-burning prophet Elijah, and Moses, the supernatural disaster-wielding Prince of Egypt. Then again, God COULD be an awesome playable character if he were restricted to the combined abilities of his prophets and son.

 

[Scow2]

Then you're an ignorant hipster. Almost NO Christians, especially not "mainstream" ones, bother to read Leviticus, which is a chapter out of a Desert Survival Guide.

And I'm going to cut this off right here. Not only is this the second time you start off with name calling, but you just sabotaged your position right off the bat. This started off with me saying that the WBC takes the book a little bit more seriously, and actually reading the fucking thing qualifies. I rest my case. You're done.

Not in this case. It's not "Taking the good book more seriously" when they latch onto the texts like Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (Which are more Scare-em-straight desert tribal survival guides to ensure the tribe could compete and triumph over rivals and internal strife than black-and-white morality) while ignoring the whole damn rest of the book, especially every thing from Matthew onward.

And you're the one who identified yourself as an ignorant hipster, by first saying you were ignorant of abominations against faith like the WBC, and then by using Standard Hipster Atheist Arguments[sup]TM[/sup].

 

[Oroboros]

I dunno why Hindus think their religion should be the sacred cow...

Seeing as how their religion is the only currently worshiped one in the game, and Hi-Rez's previous statements imply it will be the ONLY one THEY are comfortable with putting in, it's hard to blame them for getting kind of upset.

Sorry, I find that I have less and less patience for adults who think everyone should love/respect their imaginary friend(s).

It's not just about that. Religion is tied to cultural identity, by disrespecting the Hindu religion in such a way, the developers are showing a lack of respect for its worshippers and their culture. Regardless of one's religious belief (or lack therof) I think that we can all agree that cultural identity is important. Putting Kali in a thong to give her sex appeal for consumption by a western audience is Orientalism-not a good thing. The fact that Kali has been singled out amongst all of modern religions and thrown into a game with religions that are no longer worshipped further complicates things by suggesting that the developers don't consdier Hinduism to be a 'real' religion, or at least that they do not consider it a religion of importance. They have dismissed the cultural importance of Hinduism through their actions-and while I do not think they maliciously intended to do so, but it doesn't change the fact that they were acting rather insensitive here by trivializing and comoditizing Hinduism such as they did.

 

[BanZeus]

(snip)

It's not just about that. Religion is tied to cultural identity, by disrespecting the Hindu religion in such a way, the developers are showing a lack of respect for its worshippers and their culture. Regardless of one's religious belief (or lack therof) I think that we can all agree that cultural identity is important. Putting Kali in a thong to give her sex appeal for consumption by a western audience is Orientalism-not a good thing. The fact that Kali has been singled out amongst all of modern religions and thrown into a game with religions that are no longer worshipped further complicates things by suggesting that the developers don't consdier Hinduism to be a 'real' religion, or at least that they do not consider it a religion of importance. They have dismissed the cultural importance of Hinduism through their actions-and while I do not think they maliciously intended to do so, but it doesn't change the fact that they were acting rather insensitive here by trivializing and comoditizing Hinduism such as they did.

If Kali (et al.) doesn't exist then their cultural identity is tied to a lie being perpetuated by the ignorant onto the naive. It's not Hi-Rez's responsibility to help shore up someone else's house of cards.

If Kali does exist and he/she/it is upset by being put into a thong, presumably they can pull the still beating hearts out of a few nerds' chests or at least rain a few million frogs onto the offices and stop the game that way.