Book Plunge: Moral Combat: Why The War on Violent Video Games is Wrong

[Apologiaphoenix]

Are video games making us violent?

Link

[TheWall]

I want to make a post about this.

[jpholding]

Crash Bandicoot is very violent. Look what happens when he wears the Aku Aku mask. His enemies are forcibly shifted at extreme high speed into the distance, where no doubt their bodies are crushed against something in a bloody heap.

[Christianbookworm]

Crash Bandicoot is very violent. Look what happens when he wears the Aku Aku mask. His enemies are forcibly shifted at extreme high speed into the distance, where no doubt their bodies are crushed against something in a bloody heap.

That's where your video game parody mask came from?

[Apologiaphoenix]

Crash Bandicoot is very violent. Look what happens when he wears the Aku Aku mask. His enemies are forcibly shifted at extreme high speed into the distance, where no doubt their bodies are crushed against something in a bloody heap.

I know every time I play Legend of Zelda I'm tempted to go into pottery stores and break things.

[KingsGambit]

I think we should distinguish between cartoon violence and realistic violence. Pastors will often say that the media we consume (usually in the context of R rated movies or explicit music) will have an effect on our spiritual life with "garbage in garbage out". I simply don't see how realistic shooter games are likely to be a net positive in that context. (And before anybody jumps in, no, I'm not arguing that these games give people homicidal urges.)

[Apologiaphoenix]

One way it's suggested is an outlet for people to release anger. Another is people know fantasy and they just come together and bond. Heck. At my Bachelor's Party, Rayado and I and a few others just played Super Smash Brothers Brawl all night long.

[Adrift]

A game type that I don't see you mentioning are those that explicitly paint Christianity or the church as some sort of great evil or Jesus as a false prophet or otherwise anachronize Christian events. I'm thinking games like Assassin's Creed which generally paints Christianity (specifically the Knights Templar and certain popes and clergy) as villainous, Jesus as a fraud, and generally holds Islam in high regard. Or a game I'm just now playing, Rise of the Tomb Raider, which, again, paints a pseudo-Christian order, "Trinity," and various clergy associated with the group as the antagonists. Granted, this sort of "Christians are the bad guys/The Bible is false" subtext isn't limited to gaming (it's huge in television right now), but I do find it concerning that games geared largely towards impressionable teenagers are subtly furthering concepts that make Christianity look at best crackpot, at worse, villainous.

[KingsGambit]

One way it's suggested is an outlet for people to release anger. Another is people know fantasy and they just come together and bond. Heck. At my Bachelor's Party, Rayado and I and a few others just played Super Smash Brothers Brawl all night long.

Again, cartoon violence vs. realistic violence. Super Smash Brothers is obviously in the realm of cartoon violence.

[KingsGambit]

A game type that I don't see you mentioning are those that explicitly paint Christianity or the church as some sort of great evil or Jesus as a false prophet or otherwise anachronize Christian events. I'm thinking games like Assassin's Creed which generally paints Christianity (specifically the Knights Templar and certain popes and clergy) as villainous, Jesus as a fraud, and generally holds Islam in high regard. Or a game I'm just now playing, Rise of the Tomb Raider, which, again, paints a pseudo-Christian order, "Trinity," and various clergy associated with the group as the antagonists. Granted, this sort of "Christians are the bad guys/The Bible is false" subtext isn't limited to gaming (it's huge in television right now), but I do find it concerning that games geared largely towards impressionable teenagers are subtly furthering concepts that make Christianity look at best crackpot, at worse, villainous.

What about the old Age of Empires games? My brother played those growing up and I remember one campaign where you could play as Saladin fighting against the Crusaders. (The creator of Age of Empires was an active churchgoing Protestant, FWIW, but that seems relevant to your post.)

As I mentioned in the other thread, I think the mechanics of warfare in a historical sense can be distanced from the actual actions of the empire/country, so it wouldn't be a sin to play as Germany or Japan in Axis and Allies. This example is admittedly more borderline.

[KingsGambit]

My question about the acceptability of graphic violence is: Remember the old Grand Theft Auto game where you could have sex with a prostitute (graphically portrayed) in game? Would it be immoral for a Christian to do that? And if so, what's the difference between that and shooting random people in a realistic manner where you can see their blood spatter?

[Adrift]

What about the old Age of Empires games? My brother played those growing up and I remember one campaign where you could play as Saladin fighting against the Crusaders. (The creator of Age of Empires was an active churchgoing Protestant, FWIW, but that seems relevant to your post.)

As I mentioned in the other thread, I think the mechanics of warfare in a historical sense can be distanced from the actual actions of the empire/country, so it wouldn't be a sin to play as Germany or Japan in Axis and Allies. This example is admittedly more borderline.

I never played Age of Empires, but as I understand that game, that was simply positing different empires against one another in a hypothetical context. Anachronism itself is not what I have an issue with. The games I'm referring to are story-driven with the aim of revealing Christianity as, in some way, corrupt or out and out false. It's a not so subtle punch in the face by game developers who (in my opinion rather obviously) have ulterior motivations.

[KingsGambit]

I never played Age of Empires, but as I understand that game, that was simply positing different empires against one another in a hypothetical context. Anachronism itself is not what I have an issue with. The games I'm referring to are story-driven with the aim of revealing Christianity as, in some way, corrupt or out and out false. It's a not so subtle punch in the face by game developers who (in my opinion rather obviously) have ulterior motivations.

So you mean that these types of games basically are packaged with an overt promotion of a da Vinci Code/Zeitgeist type view of Christianity? If so, yeah, that's definitely bad.

[Adrift]

So you mean that these types of games basically are packaged with an overt promotion of a da Vinci Code/Zeitgeist type view of Christianity? If so, yeah, that's definitely bad.

Yep.

[TheWall]

So you mean that these types of games basically are packaged with an overt promotion of a da Vinci Code/Zeitgeist type view of Christianity? If so, yeah, that's definitely bad.

Most games I know of that do that are so completely over the top it honestly comes of as unintentionally hilarious.

Most games I know that have characters that have evil folks getting godlike pepper are games that honestly I could see most anybody enjoying.