A number of Australians are calling for the Bible to banned in two popular retail outlets after they became upset that a controversial video game will not be on the shelves anytime soon.
According to reports, fans of “Grand Theft Auto” are unhappy that Kmart and Target will not be stocking the latest version of the game, which was released last year but also came out last month for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users. The moratorium on the game comes as the result of a petition signed by 50,000 Australians who find “Grand Theft Auto V” to be a “sickening game encourages players to commit sexual violence and kill women.”
“This game means that after various sex acts, players are given options to kill women by punching her unconscious, killing with a machete, bat or guns to get their money returned,” the petition against the video game read. “Games like this are grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women. It is fueling the epidemic of violence experienced by so many girls and women in Australia—and globally.”
“We have firsthand experience of this kind of sexual violence. It haunts us, and we’ve been trying to rebuild our lives ever since,” it states. “Just knowing that women are being portrayed as deserving to be sexually used by men and potentially murdered for sport and pleasure—to see this violence that we lived through turned into a form of entertainments is sickening and causes us great pain and harm.”
Target and Kmart decided not to stock “Grand Theft Auto V” as a result of the outrage.
“We’ve been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game and there is a significant level of concern about the game’s content,” a Target spokesman told reporters. “We feel the decision to stop selling GTA 5 is in line with the majority view of our customers.”
But now, fans of “Grand Theft Auto” have now launched another petition calling for the Bible to be equally banned from the stores’ shelves as they assert that it also “encourages readers to commit sexual violence and kill women.” With currently over 40,000 signatures, the petition was written to seemingly mirror the effort against the controversial video game as it contains similar but altered language.
“It’s a book that encourages readers to murder women for entertainment,” the petition reads. “The incentive is to commit sexual violence against women, then abuse or kill them to proceed or get ‘God’ points…”
It then points to a Scripture from God’s law in Leviticus 21:9, which states that the judicial punishment for daughters of holy priests who are convicted of prostituting themselves is death.
“[The Bible] shows hatred and contempt for women in the sex industry and puts them at greater risk,” the petition claims. “This book spreads the idea that certain women exist as scapegoats for male violence.”
Some are unsure as to whether the petition is serious or a satirical joke. Others are appalled at its assertions, which they contend are false.
“I would love to see where the Bible ‘encourages’ abuse against women,” one commenter named John wrote. “[P]rostitutes were allowed to change their ways. The example of Rahab is a good example of this. She too was a prostitute, but God spared her life because she put faith in Him.”
“The Bible actually holds women in very high regard,” he continued. “At 1 Peter 3:7 it says we are to assign our wives ‘honor’ so that our prayers are not hindered. The Bible also talks about the taking care of widows at Deuteronomy 24:19-21. The gleaning of fields was to be for widows, foreign residents and the fatherless boy. Again, showing compassion for women and treating them with respect.”
“The only people that are being made to look bad are the gamers,” opined another named Cody. “To me, I see this as just them acting like toddlers, throwing a tantrum just because their game got pulled.”
Photo: Rockstar Games
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