Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Church Votive Pinball

Get more bang for your buck when you light those little electric candles.
  (+7)
(+7)
  [vote for,
against]

I am not a religious person. But whenever I'm in a church, I can't help but notice those ubiquitous boxes of little fake candles that always seem to pop up in places of Christian worship. You drop a quarter into the slot, and a little candle lights up as an offering, so you can pray.

Prayers, blah. If I'm going to give the church my hard-earned coin, I'd better get more than that. In today's entertainment-craving culture, watching candles light up isn't enough to grab people anymore. Why not add a pinball machine to the votive display? Now putting in more money gets you more prayers *and* more rounds of pinball! High scorers get more prayers. Best scorer gets absolved! Anyone who scores more than a million points with one ball is immediately canonized as a saint. This would generate extra donations for the church.

As a second option, the coins could activate a mechanical Jesus that tells your fortune.

DrWorm, Nov 10 2009

The pray-o-mat http://www.technove...ntent.asp?Bnum=1378
Prior art by Roger Zelazny [normzone, Nov 10 2009]

[link]






       Interesting [+]
kaz, Nov 10 2009
  

       I love the circus/religion idea. This is a very rich vein.
WcW, Nov 10 2009
  

       I'm rather good at pinball, and I'm an atheist.   

       I like the idea of someone like me being canonized.   

       Well done [+]
jtp, Nov 10 2009
  

       // the circus/religion idea// tautology.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 10 2009
  

       I'm so glad you were here to tell us that 21Q. Please don't hesitate to share your rustic musings in the future.
WcW, Nov 10 2009
  

       I don't really like pinball but I think this is a great idea. [+] Also, more progressive churches could have video games installed - Grand Theft Auto, or Modern Combat might be cool. You could have a screen and controller installed in every pew space for full-on mass networked gaming instead of dull sermons. -Really- progressive churches might host paintball tournaments (dodging behind tombs, running from gothic pillar to medieval rood-screen...), or mud wrestling bouts, to bring in the faithful and their coin, and to see which of them the God(s) really favour.
pocmloc, Nov 10 2009
  

       TILT
TILT
TILT
  

       (Suprisingly?) I am with [21Q] on this one.
vincevincevince, Nov 11 2009
  

       'Revelation' is singular, [zt].
RayfordSteele, Nov 11 2009
  
      
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