Is playing violent video games a sin?

[FriendlyJosh]

I want to get a shooting game, that i've played in the past but I don't know if it's a sin or not.

 

[catholicbybirth]

I want to get a shooting game, that i've played in the past but I don't know if it's a sin or not.

A sin? Perhaps playing it so much you ignore God, then yes, it would be a sin. But jut playing it because it is fun and you need some relaxation after a tough day, then it would not be a sin.

Janice

 

[FriendlyJosh]

Thanks for your answer, and God Bless you.

 

[catholicbybirth]

Thanks for your answer, and God Bless you.

You're welcome. I play some shooter games, but not too many. I like RPG's.

Janice

 

[Elysium]

if you dont start going out and shooting actual people, your fine
also dont get so obsessed with the game that you ignore everything else like your prayers/church

 

[Ave Maria]

I don't think its a sin. As long as it isn't taking away from the time you spend with God and as long as you don't go out and imitate what you see on the game I don't see how it would be a sin.

 

[Going Merry]

No it is not a sin. It is a video game People shoot animals in real life and it is not a sin. So why would shooting pixels be a sin?

 

[Azureknight 773]

Never! Unless you do it in real life then it will be.

 

[Brooklyn Knight]

You got Mortal Kombat? Uncharted 3?

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

I'm not sure how viewing (or fantasizing about, which is kind of like playing video games) graphic extreme violence differs from viewing graphic nudity or sexual acts. I'm not sure how I feel about either of them being a sin, but I don't understand why they are treated so differently.

 

[Brooklyn Knight]

I'm not sure how viewing (or fantasizing about, which is kind of like playing video games) graphic extreme violence differs from viewing graphic nudity or sexual acts. I'm not sure how I feel about either of them being a sin, but I don't understand why they are treated so differently.

Probably because everyone is capable of sex and no one is really capable of joining an ancient tournament where it's required you rip the person's head off.

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

Probably because everyone is capable of sex and no one is really capable of joining an ancient tournament where it's required you rip the person's head off.

But most people are capable of opening fire on a group of people with a firearm.

 

[If Not For Grace]

Video game-Sin? No..Worry-sin? yes..you worry too much

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

Is reading 50 Shades of Gray a sin?

 

[Going Merry]

Is reading 50 Shades of Gray a sin?

That is a very noble book

 

[Brooklyn Knight]

But most people are capable of opening fire on a group of people with a firearm.

True but of the people who have sex, how many of them have fired into a crowd, or better yet, actually held a firearm?

Or as I insinuated earlier, how many of us took part in a tournament where you're supposed to perform a fatality?

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

True but of the people who have sex, how many of them have fired into a crowd, or better yet, actually held a firearm?

Or as I insinuated earlier, how many of us took part in a tournament where you're supposed to perform a fatality?

Does SCA count? Did a few of those in my time...

Having sex (in the context of a marriage or not) isn't really the issue that I'm trying to get at here, nor is actually killing or hurting people. It's about the fantasy of playing these games and/or viewing inappropriate content.

If I fantasize about killing my boss (which I wouldn't really do...I have a pretty great one), and picture him as the victim when I play video games, is that more moral than fantasizing about having sex? I'm not saying playing violent video games is wrong, just that to me, fantasizing about violence using video games as a tool is not a lot different than fantasizing about sex using inappropriate contentographic materials as a tool.

I have a good friend who was discussing how troubled she was by the popularity of the 50 Shades of Gray books and how she would never read them. She had read the Hunger Games books, though. I told her that I was a bit confused...in 50 Shades of Gray, the story includes graphical descriptions of consensual sex between adults, and in the Hunger Games, there are graphical descriptions of the murder of innocent children. How is the first one sinful and the second just fine (even for teens?)

 

[ziggy29]

But most people are capable of opening fire on a group of people with a firearm.

I'm willing to bet that most people who use inappropriate contentography to indulge in sexual fantasies would be very willing to engage in those activities if they were given the chance to make them a reality.

I'm pretty sure *very* few folks who play violent video games would jump at the chance to grab an M-16 and kill dozens of people in reality.

Capable? Sure. Likely to do so? Very much not, I think, at least in the vast majority of cases.

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

I'm willing to bet that most people who use inappropriate contentography to indulge in sexual fantasies would be very willing to engage in those activities if they were given the chance to make them a reality.

I'm pretty sure *very* few folks who play violent video games would jump at the chance to grab an M-16 and kill dozens of people in reality.

Capable? Sure. Likely to do so? Very much not, I think, at least in the vast majority of cases.

I would agree with your second point but I'm not convinced your first point is true, and I'm also not convinced that the morality of the fantasizing itself is affected by whether or not you would actually do the act in real life given the opportunity.

 

[ziggy29]

I would agree with your second point but I'm not convinced your first point is true, and I'm also not convinced that the morality of the fantasizing itself is affected by whether or not you would actually do the act in real life given the opportunity.

But you do seem to think it's dictated by whether we are capable of it. I see that as semantic hair-splitting, to be honest -- if that.