Is it a sin to play games involving fictional gods? Owning merch pertaining to said fictional gods?

scoopnboop · Jan 20, 2021

I apologize as I know some people have raised similar questions, but I haven't seen anyone raise quite the thing I'm concerned with here in my search. Also, completely new here, so I also apologize if this is the wrong board to ask this question on.

Anywho, what do you guys think? They're false gods and the game is in no way, shape, or form trying to suggest they're actual beings. In playing these games, I don't think am at all giving some kind of devotion to these fictional beings or treating them, or worshiping them, as actual gods. I generally think that would make it okay, yet I had some issues with playing Skyrim. Not so much any other games as far as I recall. Case by case I guess?

The game that makes me ask this question is Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In that game, there's a character who's portrayed as a god-like figure and generally worshiped as such in the game. I felt no conviction over this while playing it. Having said that, I've been thinking about buying the soundtrack which has that fictional god on the front cover. Maybe I'm over-thinking it, but buying a collector's piece that has a fictional god on the front to basically sit on a shelf as a display piece kind of struck me the wrong way. I don't think it was a spiritual thing I felt, it just seemed... off to me. Are you practically putting a false god on display at that point? Or does the concept of "we know it's fiction and it's not being posed as real" still apply?

I understand there's other spiritual questions surrounding the matter, i.e. whether or not it would glorify God, or if it's taking up too much of one's time/attention. However, what I'm curious about is what you have to say about the particular matter of fictional/false gods in a fictional world, especially in regards to merchandise related to such.

Thanks.

Jeshu · Jan 20, 2021

Look brother it is great to be free because of your faith in Christ, but please don't use your freedom to enhance wrong and give it foothold in your life. Rather praise God for His grace, that you are allowed to learn the truth freely and without duress, but that you then also seek better ways to spend your time worshipping God than serving fictional gods.

Peace.

atpollard · Jan 20, 2021

[1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV] "I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but not everything is constructive.

[Philippians 4:8 NIV] Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

scoopnboop · Jan 20, 2021

Jeshu said:
Look brother it is great to be free because of your faith in Christ, but please don't use your freedom to enhance wrong and give it foothold in your life. Rather praise God for His grace, that you are allowed to learn the truth freely and without duress, but that you then also seek better ways to spend your time worshipping God than serving fictional gods.

Peace.

Thanks for the response. I'm not too sure you caught what I meant? I don't intend it as any sort of servitude towards that fictional god. I don't recognize them as any sort of actual god- obviously there's only one true god, our Father God in Heaven. That's why I'm trying to get some opinions on whether or not a displaying a fictitious god figure from a video game would be bad news. If it was any other character, I wouldn't worry about it. I haven't really felt a spiritual conviction over the matter as I said, I'd just rather not buy something unpleasing to God just because I didn't take the time to consider it before hand.

atpollard · Jan 20, 2021

scoopnboop said:
Thanks for the response. I'm not too sure you caught what I meant? I don't intend it as any sort of servitude towards that fictional god. I don't recognize them as any sort of actual god- obviously there's only one true god, our Father God in Heaven. That's why I'm trying to get some opinions on whether or not a displaying a fictitious god figure from a video game would be bad news. If it was any other character, I wouldn't worry about it. I haven't really felt a spiritual conviction over the matter as I said, I'd just rather not buy something unpleasing to God just because I didn't take the time to consider it before hand.

Let me try being LESS SUBTLE.
Zeus is a fictional god (so is Vishnu from Hinduism for that matter). So what is the positive side to displaying a really nice picture of Zeus (or Vishnu) on your shelf?

Is there any potential negative side?

67_Reasons · Jan 20, 2021

If you're a WoW nerd like me, Just do what you would normally do in RL, it's an alternate reality, pick the paladin over the shaman or whatever class isn't a "One of those types", and above all else, "Treat other players the way you would be treated on Earth as well as Azeroth". Yeah I understand the need to cut back on "Fictional games" but even as a member of the Horde of all things, "Do as you feel is right in your heart, and treat other players the same way you would treat them here in RL"...

Rene Loup · Jan 20, 2021

A game I highly recommend is Civilization IV. So far, it is the only game I know of where the Great Commission LITERALLY pays off. What I do at the beginning of every game is use the in-game map editor to make my capital city the holy city of both Judaism and Christianity. Many will consider this cheating but I find it a lot more fun doing it this way. I play games to have fun and managed to find a way of glorifying God in doing so.

I STRONGLY recommend avoiding video games that outright glorify actual pagan gods, like Age of Mythology. This game requires you to "worship" pagan gods by praying at temples, building monuments, and fighting wars in order to gain their favour. Favour in this game is a resource used to help fund units and technology in the fight against the enemy. Basically, rely on demons from ancient pagan religions for help. I used to really enjoy this game but after some... Spiritual incidents... Homie don't play that no more.

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

~1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (NKJV)

Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 - King James Version
Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 - New King James Version
Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 - New International Version
Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 - International Children’s Bible

16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.
18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered you.

~Deuteronomy 32:16-18 (NKJV)

Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 32:16-18 - King James Version
Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 32:16-18 - New King James Version
Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 32:16-18 - New International Version
Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 32:16-18 - International Children’s Bible

Phronema · Jan 20, 2021

I'd say no, but it depends on the individual. So long as you're not idolizing them, or worshipping them, and are treating them as fictional then it's fine, imo.

Obviously only you, and God know what's in your heart, and so whether or not a person is doing the things I mentioned above to any particular thing is between them, and God. So, really it's for you to answer in this particular situation.

Lg2000 · Jan 20, 2021

People say it's bad to play shooters like cod or rainbow because it's killing but man Its just entertainment . Doesn't cause me to stumble or mess up my relationship with god. Doesn't make me want to kill anyone in real life. We all have different convictions. Listen to the ones that get to you .

Ignatius the Kiwi · Jan 21, 2021

When it comes to Fire Emblem Three houses: It's only a sin if you go the Edelgard route. Her reasons for declaring war on the world are illegitimate and thus she must be violently stopped...

Just a joke. Though the Edelgard route is dumb.

The issue with collecting items like that isn't so much in that they depict fictional gods, but whether or not it's even beneficial to own them. Proscriptions against that sort of thing in the Old Testament were there to deal with the very real problem of idolatry. There isn't a risk of worshipping Sothis so if you're avoiding it for that reason so I wouldn't let it bother you.

The more important thing is what your doing owning that sort of stuff. I used to collect a tonne of physical media. Still have it but I couldn't honestly recommend it. It takes up too much shelf space and upon reflection I didn't really need a lot of it. That money probably could have been better put into savings or investments or something else.

When it comes to Fantasy in general dealing with fictional gods, that's just part of the Genre, especially JRPGS. I tend to think of them as elements of the fictional world that the game is set in, nothing more. Tolkien described a fictional God creating Middle Earth and I wouldn't say that makes LOTR bad for Christians to read.

NothingIsImpossible · Jan 21, 2021

My feelings are simple. Does it affecty your walk? Does it affect how you think? Do you find yourself playing more of the game and spending less time reading the bible, praying, going to church...etc? If so then stop what you're doing.

As for the exact subject of owning a fake deity as something that sits on your shelf. Well if its based on a real deity then I'd say best to not have it on your shelf. But given the games deities aren't real life-based deities, I think you're safe. Though if you feel uncomfortable with it then it may be God telling you to get rid of it.

I play games that have deities in them and I don't mind. But not sure if I would have anything of one in my house on shelf. I had a Egyptian replica vase I was given and one of the symbols on it was the eye of ra. Eventually I got rid of it, even though it was simply a replica, others convinced me it wasn't worth keeping it. Ra may not be real but he was worshipped none the less.

MBM888 · Jan 30, 2021

Unless you're tempted to actually start worshipping those deities, no, it's not.

My husband is a Christian and a gamer, and has been for years. We're also both collectors. (Seriously, it's become a problem. lol) Point is, we have statues and collector's items from so many different kinds of games, but we're not tempted to actually start worshipping them.

.Mikha'el. · Feb 7, 2021

BrAndreyu · Jul 6, 2021

Ignatius the Kiwi said:
Tolkien described a fictional God creating Middle Earth and I wouldn't say that makes LOTR bad for Christians to read.

Tolkien was a Catholic, and he wrote the fantasy trilogy by which all others are judged. I think that people who think that playing games with non-existent gods in a make-believe setting and are worrying about it, are worrying about things that don't really matter at all. You can't shoot fire out of a sword or get boots that allow you to walk on water in real life, there are not demihuman monsters that run entire civilizations in real life, and these games environments are never actually based on the real world, so I don't even see it as mattering at all. I don't think that God is that petty.

Is it a sin to play games involving fictional gods? Owning merch pertaining to said fictional gods?

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