Is it a sin to play the video games?

[Follower3]

I dunno, I still like stratego( thinking mans game?) and mario for that matter ( non thinking game)

And what about christian games?

This applies to most anything like movies, sex...etc. I realize not everyone is like this. But the vast majority are like this. Psychology has shown that. Getting away from this stuff more I notice the psychological pattern I had like most have. Now that I am out of it I feel relived. I control games, they don't control me now.

"Psychology" has shown what? Do you have actual sources for your claims or are you banking on no one calling you out on your rant?

Actually I kind of agree with what he said, I have been playing games a lot less lately, and it's a relief, my life doesn't revolve around in-game events anymore, they no longer dominate my life.
The free time I have to do other things now, you wouldn't believe 0.0

Speaking of psychology, I always wondered why these things were 'fun'. Most modern games are situations you would not want to be in in real life, and yet your mind tells you it is fun, ie War games, hack and slash games, etc etc. WHY are these thing so entertaining? is that just evil over taking us? what is the deal?'

 

[CounselorForChrist]

Thank you Follower.

Its easy to say I am wrong, but unless you game less yourself you won't notice the difference. I to would tell people they were wrong too until I tried what they did. Lets face it, no one wants to hear the truth about something they like. And we all know if someone has a instant angry reaction then it means inside they know that person is right but they try to ignore that feeling (that conviction) and instead lash out. SO with that said my work here is done.

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

Mod Hat

Thread has been cleaned.

 

[ananda]

:repares to have stones thrown at him::

The reasons people find games like tetris boring is for two reasons:
1. Its a thinking game. We've gotten so used to games being quick and action based that we find slow games to be painful, especially ones that require major thinking. Example I can't imagine kids today playing Myst. BTW I am not saying people are stupid or anything, just saying we like fast paced games now.

2. Increased everything. This is sort of along the same lines really but as games have progressed so has the violence, language, sex...etc. So we become numb to what we currently see and always want more and better. I say this from experience.

When I used to play Wolfenstein 3D I thought it was amazing. Then games like Doom and Duke 3D came out and I was impressed and found wolfenstein boring. When more games came out like SiN I then found Duke 3d boring. So on and so on. Its not anyones fault per say, but it's natural that we always want more and better. Its sort of like an addiction.

This applies to most anything like movies, sex...etc. I realize not everyone is like this. But the vast majority are like this. Psychology has shown that. Getting away from this stuff more I notice the psychological pattern I had like most have. Now that I am out of it I feel relived. I control games, they don't control me now.

And no this is not a post saying "Avoid gaming heathens!". lol. Just stating we need to monitor ourselves so the devil doesn't get us sucked up into gaming like crazy.

This is absolutely true.

The dopamine system in our brains love novelty. New, flashier things, games, cars, houses, etc. feeds the dopamine system, giving us feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. However, the dopamine system is short lived, and after some time, experiences associated with a certain game becomes "boring" because the dopamine system is habituated by it and no longer provides that pleasure and satisfaction.

Corporations, marketers, etc. take great advantage of this ... every few months a new flashier game is released, a newer "cooler" car is advertised, etc.

Unfortunately, those who decide to ride this merry-go-round are actually training their brains to be more impulsive & "animal" instead of man (or woman). A decline in one's morals and ethics are directly associated with this increase in impulsivity. They can no longer experience satisfaction and happiness associated with the simpler things in life, the true things which YHWH made for us to enjoy (nature, genuine social relationships, love, etc.)

 

[Follower3]

This is absolutely true.

The dopamine system in our brains love novelty. New, flashier things, games, cars, houses, etc. feeds the dopamine system, giving us feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. However, the dopamine system is short lived, and after some time, experiences associated with a certain game becomes "boring" because the dopamine system is habituated by it and no longer provides that pleasure and satisfaction.

Corporations, marketers, etc. take great advantage of this ... every few months a new flashier game is released, a newer "cooler" car is advertised, etc.

Unfortunately, those who decide to ride this merry-go-round are actually training their brains to be more impulsive & "animal" instead of man (or woman). A decline in one's morals and ethics are directly associated with this increase in impulsivity. They can no longer experience satisfaction and happiness associated with the simpler things in life, the true things which YHWH made for us to enjoy (nature, genuine social relationships, love, etc.)

I never really cared for flashier games actually, especially since they wont run on my computer, I cared far more about gameplay, ie game mechanics, how the game was played, I didn't like games with better graphics that didnt have the gameplay I wanted.

 

[bbyrd009]

Sin is defined by the Apostle John as the transgression of YHWH's Law.

To my knowledge, there is no Law that prohibits one from playing video games. However, there is advice from the Writings that advises us to avoid useless diversions.

Amen. Time is all you have to spend, in the end. What will be your defense in not obtaining a doctorate in something you love, whatever--video game technology--rather than playing a game? Escaping. Probably shooting and killing. Let the Spirit be your guide.

 

[ananda]

I never really cared for flashier games actually, especially since they wont run on my computer, I cared far more about gameplay, ie game mechanics, how the game was played, I didn't like games with better graphics that didnt have the gameplay I wanted.

I think that's great ... you sound like you like the more thoughtful games, games where you actually have to take time to analyze things and think ahead. These kinds of games enhance one's "higher brain" functions, promoting intelligence, reasoning skills, self-control, morals, and ethics.

I would roughly divide games into two categories (though there are some overlap, of course):

• Enhances the "animal brain" and instinctual-driven behavior (lower morals, intelligence, higher impulsive/violent behavior, etc.): real-time games, shoot-em-ups, combat/fighting/survival games, etc.
• Enhances the "higher brain" and associated skills (higher morals, intelligence, reasoning ability, self-control, etc.): turn-based games, strategy, simulations, etc.

So, in summary, many games can be excellent at promoting (and training to increase) virtuous behavior, whereas others are excellent at training one into becoming more like a violent animal

 

[Bobby64]

Amen. Time is all you have to spend, in the end. What will be your defense in not obtaining a doctorate in something you love, whatever--video game technology--rather than playing a game? Escaping. Probably shooting and killing. Let the Spirit be your guide.

Video games can be a fun way to bond with other people: my dad and I love playing Mario Kart. And playing can help relieve stress, which is helpful in the long run. To say that we should never play anything is absurd. If God really didn't want us to play games, it would have been mentioned in his word since people have played games for thousands of years.

 

[Follower3]

Don't let it become idolatry, and don't let it pollute your mind with anger.
I think you should be ok.
I played Stratego online again today, and got kind of ticked off =/

 

[jw203]

It depends on what you play.

 

[Follower3]

k than, is it a sin to play world of tanks?

 

[CounselorForChrist]

BTW it is a sin to play Tetris or even Pong. Why people can play them is beyond me. You can see the devils work in pong ALOT! If I even see a picture of prong I pray for forgiveness and burn my computer to the ground and get a new one!

*cough*

 

[Follower3]

funny.

I think games that kind of force you to play for hours non stop to get anywhere are evil.
Playing a game for an hour, and going ''ah that was fun, guess I'll go do something else''
as apposed to ''ok 4 more hours of gameplay and I can have ______ in the game''
like most slow moving MMO's that force you to 'grind' for days just to level up your character. Games that are addicting while at the same time not being fun.

 

[CounselorForChrist]

I yeah. MMOs are terrible at that. They are actual addicting games. I tried them and found the grinding boring after a day or two. Not to mention it me away from any time with God. I'd even skip church to play them.

 

[justhere1]

No

 

[Follower3]

Played world of tanks for like 6 hours yesterday, wasn't out of any lack of control on my part, that was the plan XD.


it's not evil because no one dies, when your tank blows up your crew says '' ok lets get out''

Also the game teaches you team work, if you try to go solo you will lose o.o

 

[CounselorForChrist]

Well technically speaking if no one dies its still evil only because tanks have no purpose other then war. But yeah I try to look at it as if theres no death then its not to bad. Like paintball games on a computer. Or some games where the player simply passes out instead of dying. There was a paintball mod for Counter Strike long ago that was kinda fun. Alot of games let you turn off blood or gore now. Granted the player still dies.

Alot of the casual games now are pretty safe depending on how you look at it. Angry birds doesn't actually let you kill the pigs. Instead they walk away a bit hurt in the videos.

If there is one thing I regret its playing violent games early in life like the first Moral Kombat. And then as a teen I played Soldier of Fortune which is still considered pretty violent since the bodies have something like 52 "zones" that you could shoot/stab at. Like shooting someone in the stomach would let their guts spill out, if you shot in the hand their hand blew off, in the elbow half the arm blew off...etc.

If I hadn't pf played those games I wouldn't have played such terrible games later in life. I still play violent games, but not like those depths of violence.

 

[Follower3]

It keeps getting brought back to the violence, but I'm telling you, the idolatry, and competitive rage is worse. Most people don't go out and perform these acts simply because they saw them, but they sure rage at other players when they lose, calling them who knows what. And play for who knows how many hours.

(although I will say this, since games are getting more realistic, the violence is pretty heavy, watching some low resolution character get killed is one thing, watching someone who looks real get blown to bloody bits is different, that's why I think no evil in world of tanks, your watching vector metal get blown up, that's about it.)

 

[BrianJK]

If it's tough to separate fact from fiction, then I'd say avoid the whole thing. If you are able to make that separation and have a clear conscience, I say no problem.

My test for things is whether I can truly and honestly thank the Lord for it. If I can thank the Lord for providing this game for me to play and thank the Lord for the time I am going to spend playing it, then awesome! As Paul said regarding different days, "let each man be convinced in his own mind".