‘Church’ Website Raises Concern
A fictional website that promises kids a free Playstation 3 video console, and encourages kids to use their parents’ credit cards and checkbooks to pay for it, is raising some concern in Colorado.
A viewer contacted KRDO Newschannel 13 on Wednesday, saying that she found a link to the Landover Baptist Church website after she searched on Google for where to buy the console.
The headline on the page (http://www.landoverbaptist.net/PS3.htm) states: “Kids! Accept Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior and Get a Free PlayStation 3!” The site later directs kids to call the fictional church for instructions on how to use a credit card or blank check to pay for the console.
The website lists no phone number.
The website includes a disclaimer that the site isn’t recommended for people under the age of 18, and that it’s not responsible for actions resulting from visiting the site.
“An adult might get the joke, but a kid might not,” said local resident J.D. McConnaughhey. “And it could offend people in churches and that kind of thing.”
Tarsha Pridgen, the mother of a teenage son, said she worries about how he might react after reading the website.
“A kid old enough might actually believe it and start spreading it around,” she said. “At that age, you believe a lot of stuff. You’re rebellious and think everything that your parents say is baloney.”
Another parent, Marian Ellis, said she believes the site is sarcastically making a point about kids and our society.
“How much video games are a part of their lives and how important they are to them, as opposed to other things that are more important,” she said.
KRDO Newschannel 13 tried to contact the website managers, but the only way was to fill out an online form that requires answering a biblical question before sending the request. No one had responded as of late Wednesday night.
At least one religious group, Objective Ministries, is trying to shut down the website. The group recommends that no one younger than 21 visit the site.
