They also speak Spanish.

Okay. That's the worst promotion ever. Why don't they just put up "PORN".
People Of Religion, Now!
It's just as underhanded and sneaky.

@JustJake: Actually, my spanish might be off, but I think it says "it is translated inside of spanish."
And no, that's not a computer translation.

That's right all embrace the power of Me.

uh...

Wii

Charlie Daniels disapproves of the Satan box.

Imagine the commercials!

"The Wii. Now approved by Jesus!"

Will these people ever stop?

thats pretty sad that they go out and take a popular item of secular society and use it to attract attention to their "religion" thats what this world is coming too

Proud to be a Michigander!
...argh

@Polywhirl: Actually, the translation is "translated into spanish". And now you know, and knowing is half the battle! lol

@Polywhirl:

I'm going to that church. I hear Ron Jeremy is the new pastor.

... the sign seems to imply that the Wii is what is important. I wonder if this will backfire, and instead of having people at church on Sunday, they line up at Target and Best Buy to try and get Wii's.

Grand Rapids First? We don't do "first" posts here on Kotaku.

I honestly think teenagers are having too much sex... more than me at least and that makes me a sad bear :(

So when is gaming becoming a full-fledged religion like nascar or football (either kind).

I just want to say I got in on the epic religion argument early. I don't have much to add other than: "Hello all of you angry people below. I hope you get it all worked out".

Did anyone else read "Rapids" as "Rapist" at first?...

/cough

I really don't think the pastor is going to have much good to say about the wii. :D Sorry guys...

@ceredonia: Not in the sign, but all over the bible. OH SNAP.

(Deuteronomy 22:28-29 NLT)
If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.

meh...jesus and 'god' are lies to keep you in order.

If you used two Wii remotes you could actually make a cross. I

Eh, not the most effective sign, but it is memorable enough for 1)someone to have taken a picture of it, and 2)for it to be posted here. Therefore, it's doing its job pretttttttty effectively.

Please stop with the religion-bashing, especially when you don't understand what you're talking about.

@vicmasterinc: Religion isn't an island- secular society and religious society are and always have been integrated, however there are protective laws in this country and others that prevent one from overpowering the other from a political standpoint.

*Kotaku is hiding posts again... I don't know what's up with that, but they reappear after I post.*

@deathsyth8888: Well he said that his spanish was not perfect and he was very close ;)...

when i first saw that i thought it was saying WII as in world war II, odd.

@ultraViolence: Thank you for that incredible insight.

Uhhh as a Christian I don't eat fish. And I don't believe in religion.

What could this acronym mean though? Worship In Innocence?

OHHHH.
I just read the headline underneath and realized that was the acronym. LOL! Wow. I need to get over this flu and fast >_>

@vicmasterinc: @dead_red_eyes:

Mind telling us what exactly is wrong with this? Mind showing us where in the Bible you can't use clever acronyms?

@futurebiblehero:

And your meaningless argument is relevant to the article...how?

@vicmasterinc: Only if you believe that Christians live in a vacuum where the rest of the world is non-existent. Lots of Christians play games, lots of Christians do lots of stuff that isn't backwards, stupid, or otherwise in direct opposition to the world around them. But it's fun to bash them (us) blindly, now isn't it?

@BryanGuitarDude: as did I but that would be WWII

@ultraViolence:

Do tell?
Sure you can't prove the existence of an invisible deity, but neither can you disprove it.

As for Jesus, the majority of sane scholars agree he existed, along with other writings in that era that spoke of him.

Is "...we're always keeping up on the latest Christian-Nintendian cross-promotions." an intentional or unintentional pun?

"Not since WWJD has there been an acronym more powerful for getting those kids to stop having sex and start having some fish on Fridays."

Great way to display your sheer ignorance of Christianity, or perhaps just your willingness to denigrate and mock it. Simply put.

I am a Christian, and I am never offended by anyone mocking my religion, but if you're going to mock something it helps if you sound like you actually know what it's about.

@BoffrO: It's Michiganian! GAH!

Michiganite is also acceptable!

Heh. Cross-promotions. +100 Internets to Mark.

@deviantchicken: - "Mind showing us where in the Bible you can't use clever acronyms?"

I was never brainwashed into the Christian religion, so I know nothing about your Bible. I'd like to keep it that way too.

@dead_red_eyes: You really can't argue against it, then, as you know nothing of it. It's your choice to be closed-minded, so don't go around saying that Christianity brainwashes people when you don't know anything about it.

Seriously. It's like if I walked to where ever you are now and immediately started telling everyone around you that you were a child molester. Is it true? Probably not, could be, but since I haven't taken the time to actually investigate you or what you really stand for, how can I really know? I can't. I may have heard some things from other people about you, but can they really be taken as true unless they're coming from the source itself (i.e. you?)

Are you catching my drift here? Either leave it alone entirely or at least spend some time looking at the Bible and trying to understand it. Ask if you don't understand something. Just don't be ignorant.

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major: You're just angry because they made fun of you eating fish on Fridays.

Wii can haz Jesus?

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major: I've read the bible, Tal, and it says that you're an asshat.

However, on more pure and ecumenical subjects...

Nuzzling the feminine flower and feasting on its nectar like a humming bird with a blunted beak *counts* as fish on fridays, for the purposes of a rich full afterlife.

@HfAsianInvasion: I don't just eat fish on Fridays. That's a Catholic thing. I'm not Catholic.

Another example of what I'm talking about: Baseless assumption. My above post made it pretty clear that I'm Christian (though if you note I didn't mention it explicitly). However, not all Christians are Catholic nor do they follow the rules the Vatican has laid down.

@Mohican: I'm Catholic. That's a pretty extreme form of Christianity.
And there's nothing wrong with the last sentence of the article.
Face it-WWJD is a bullshit acronym with no meaning designed to sell 10cent wristbands.

And are you saying that kids should be having sex? What kind of sick deviant sect do you belong to?
And not eating meat on fridays during lent is a common doctrine of Christianity. I don't understand the animosity towards his statement.

Though I can't stand that sign. It's disgusting. It's disrespectful towards religion. Like I stated earlier, it's offensive to sell religion to people with material objects. Why not just go all the way? Offer them sex and drugs to join your church.

@deathbunny: Now that was just unnecessary.

@dead_red_eyes:

If you don't know what you're talking about, then don't talk about it.

@deathbunny:

The Bible doesn't call anyone an asshat. And he was simply saying know what you're talking about before you talk about it. There was nothing wrong with what he said, in my eyes.

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major: Exactly. Amen. In fact I don't even like seafood >_>

@TalKeaton: Game Design Major: Possibly. On the other hand, considering how much damage religion has done, and continues to do to the struggle for human civilization, whenever someone says 'quit bashing religion--you don't know what you're talking about', my instinct is to A) bash religion harder, and B) find the person saying that and coat them in maple syrup (this is part of a fantasy involving plentiful grizzly bears).

Don't defend religion. Religion is terrifying. In its most pure and useful form, it is an attempt to explain things which people do not understand and don't have the urge or ability to investigate. Any institution that claims to know that my efforts on earth are ultimately secondary to some other existence I experience after death when no one has any clue about what happens after you die, is one that is displaying arrogance and cruelty on a level beyond comprehension.

Yeah, there are some people taking cheap shots without backup in this thread. At an institution that has always been about declaring how and what people should do in every aspect of their lives without any backup.

You don't need to investigate religion to know its bad. In fact, arguably, that's just another 'in' to get people to read the pamphlet.

Even apart from the larger issue, what we're seeing on that billboard is a bait and switch. It's dishonest. On par with the Vii from china. Only this is the Vii for Jesus!

In my honest opinion, interceding in this situation on the side of asshattery makes you an asshat by association.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see this sermon advertised.

[img176.imageshack.us]

Why is it that every single post that even slightly mentions religion turns into a flame war? Live and let live, for fuck's sake.

@deathbunny: On the other other hand, Christianity has been used as a vehicle by those who wanted it