Grand Theft Auto fans call for ban on ‘sickening’ Bible in fightback after attack on the game

A PETITION claiming the holy book promotes violence has gained 13,000 signatures, as gamers fight back after Grand Theft Auto V was banned.

The petition says the Bible promotes misogynistic acts including stoning women and burning them to death.

A PETITION calling for Target to ban the Bible has gained almost 13,000 signatures.

The post on change.org claims the “sickening” religious book encourages readers to “commit sexual violence and kill women”.

But there’s more to the controversial statement than meets the eye.

It is part of a growing movement in the gaming community to subvert criticism directed at Grand Theft Auto V, which was banned from Target and Kmart this week.

It is a response to the petition that persuaded Target and Kmart to remove Grand Theft Auto V from their shelves for promoting violence against women.

The call for a Bible ban, shared by Australian user Sharky Sharktech, has been followed by a series of other mock-petitions.

They all satirise a petition posted by a group of female survivors of violence that persuaded Australian retailers to remove GTA 5 from their shelves.

The parodies include a call for Target to change its “violent name and aggressive logo”, a petition to ban all knife sales and a demand for a ban on Fifty Shades of Grey.

Another petition attacks Super Mario Bros for promoting “wilful murder of wildlife, consumption of hallucinogenic flora and collection of income without declaration of tax.”

GTA 5 was accused of being “misogynistic” for scenes in which players can have sex with prostitutes from a first-person perspective and then kill them to get their money back.

Other parody petitions have appeared, with one claiming Super Mario promotes the murder of wildlife.

The female petitioners, who included former sex workers, claimed GTA 5 “literally makes a game of bashing, killing and horrific violence against women” and spread the idea that “certain women exist as scapegoats”.

Their petition gained around 40,000 signatures, at which point the stores took action — but the rapid appearance of parody petitions shows there is equally strong feeling on the other side.

The Bible petition says of the holy book: “The incentive is to commit sexual violence against women, then abuse or kill them to proceed or get ‘god’ points.”

It mentions instances in which the Bible has “given readers the options” of stoning women, cutting off their hands and killing their children, as well as a suggestion to set prostitutes on fire.

Another petition said Target should stop selling knives.

Video game fans are furious at the retail ban on GTA 5, calling it an overreaction and insisting that the game is not degrading to women.

They have posted thousands of comments on gaming forums, news websites and now they are looking for ways to demonstrate their irritation more widely.

However, the posters of the anti-GTA petition say they have been viciously trolled, receiving threats to release their home addresses and pictures depicting extreme violence against women.

One woman who had experienced violence even received a mock-up with her head Photoshopped on to an image of a dead woman lying in a pool of blood, taken from the game.

They told news.com.au: “We’ve received threats of bashings with baseball bats and death from men claiming they do not condone or commit violence against women”.

One petition even said Target’s name and logo were “aggressive”.

This is not just a fight over Target. As many have pointed out, most people would buy the game elsewhere, and the store is simply trying to protect its image. What’s more, it doesn’t sell the Bible.

The issue is whether there are problems with the depiction of women in this and other games, and in the wider gaming community.

Even then, opinions vary on whether an outright ban is the answer.

The removal of the game from Australian retail shelves may not have a huge effect, with other retailers reportedly ramping up their promotion of GTA 5 following the ban.

This is only the latest battle in the “Gamergate” war, which began in August.

It has seen the computer game industry facing increasingly loud allegations that it promotes a misogynistic culture — which will not have been helped by this latest confrontation.

Where do you stand? Join the conversation on Twitter @newscomauhq.

Originally published as Grand Theft Auto fans call for ban on ‘sickening’ Bible in fightback after attack on the game