This is a crazy thread.

[Mrs. Enigma]

When I became saved by Christ I threw out all my secular music, i threw away all my movies, all my books (well most at least the bad ones, or the ones that didn't follow His teachings), because I knew those things would try and take me farther away from Jesus than I wanted to be. Because there is no half way in my faith. Either I give Him my all and do as His teachings tell me, or I go to hell that is the fear of God. That is the fear that I have.

Hey, I did this before too. Had a big bonfire of a huge collection of Spawn comics.

Smashed or through out Johnny The Homicidal Maniac comics, Natural Born Killers, NIN, etc.

I ended up going further then that and eventually not playing any games, watching no movies, no secular music etc.

I want to serve God, but getting rid of all that stuff did not get rid of my own mind. My mind is the actual problem.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" or something like that."

Now, I am having to decide all this stuff all over again. I realize I went to far one way (even smashing "Croc" because the game had sparkles in it that could have been magic.)

Anyhow, I think that what people do mostly needs to be a personal choice. I think the lax people and the really strict ones both deserve our patience.

People have to go through stuff, and are at different points in their lives. Sometimes you are at a point where you just can't see things any other way except your own way.

 

[Dannager]

Hey, I did this before too. Had a big bonfire of a huge collection of Spawn comics.

Smashed or through out Johnny The Homicidal Maniac comics, Natural Born Killers, NIN, etc.

I ended up going further then that and eventually not playing any games, watching no movies, no secular music etc.

I want to serve God, but getting rid of all that stuff did not get rid of my own mind. My mind is the actual problem.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" or something like that."

Now, I am having to decide all this stuff all over again. I realize I went to far one way (even smashing "Croc" because the game had sparkles in it that could have been magic.)

Anyhow, I think that what people do mostly needs to be a personal choice. I think the lax people and the really strict ones both deserve our patience.

People have to go through stuff, and are at different points in their lives. Sometimes you are at a point where you just can't see things any other way except your own way.

I'm curious as to what can prompt someone to do something as extreme as burning everything they ever associated with the secular world. What caused you to do this?

 

[Mrs. Enigma]

Umm, trying to be as pure as Christ? Then joining a culty home church thingy where we were encouraged to smash our TV and got hassled for even having it in a closet (even though we were not even using it.) We did smash it too....but now I have a 37 inch hdtv, so that makes up for it I guess....

 

[Leebal]

God would be pleased if you spent your entire day playing a game where you go out and feed the homeless, instead of actually going out and feeding the homeless.

I couldn`t have said it better. I agree with this statement. But the real question here you guys want to answer is this:

Does god approve of someone that plays video games that depict morally questionable behavior or acts that god stricty prohibits?

 

[Psalms34]

I couldn`t have said it better.

Yes, that is a strange comment, so staying home to play a game about helping someone is just as good as actually going out and helping someone as far as God is concerned. In that case, I guess playing a game about casting magic, occult, murdering hookers or cops is just as good as going out and doing it. Oh wait, or is there a double standard here? God is pleased if you don't do anything for anyone and God is pleased if you play in a fantasy world where you murder and summon powers from the evil of evils. I hope this all clicks for you one day before it's too late.

 

[Dracil]

/me laughs at the silliness that ensued over his comment.

Someone actually took a comment which I even stated immediately after I made it as being intentionally absurd as being real? Oh dear.

Person A: Doing bad things in games = doing bad things in real life
Person B: If that were true, doing good things in games = doing good things in real life as well, and this is absurd.
Person C: (Quotes first half) Hey, that's right.
Person D: (Only looks at the half-quote by Person C and misses the absurdity comment) Yeah, Person B is silly.

Person B: (Thinks to himself, so much for reading comprehension)

 

[Dannager]

Yes, that is a strange comment, so staying home to play a game about helping someone is just as good as actually going out and helping someone as far as God is concerned. In that case, I guess playing a game about casting magic, occult, murdering hookers or cops is just as good as going out and doing it. Oh wait, or is there a double standard here? God is pleased if you don't do anything for anyone and God is pleased if you play in a fantasy world where you murder and summon powers from the evil of evils. I hope this all clicks for you one day before it's too late.

Actually, the double standard is the reverse of what you claim, since Dracil's comment was pretty obviously intended in a facetious manner.

 

[Dracil]

Yay, Dannager gets it right!

 

[Naomi4Christ]

Chaps,

I've removed a few posts where people were getting niggly with one another.

Please try to discuss the topic and not accuse one another of poor motives or questionable intelligence. It's really not necessary and almost always brings down the thread.

My apologies for the length of time the thread was closed.

God bless everyone here

Naomi

 

[Dannager]

'Niggly' is now my favorite word of the week.

 

[Naomi4Christ]

'Niggly' is now my favorite word of the week.

 

[Atlasraven]

I don't think "Niggly" is a real word but its funny anyways.

 

[blazera]

Everyone has instinctual tendencies. Killing, sex. Games allow you to vent such tendencies in a controlled environment. The ultimate question in this debate is, Do bad games nurture bad behavior, or relieve bad behavior. I go with the latter. I've played violent games my whole life, and have developed into a bonified pascifist.

 

[E-beth]

My immediate family does not even own a video game system, but I grew up playing them. I am talking old school Atari and Nintendo. Anyway, a couple of years ago I went to visit my 15-year-old cousin and found him playing one of the Grand Theft Auto type of games. It made me sick. It wasn't just the stuff the character on the screen was doing, but the stuff my cousin was saying while playing it just broke my heart.

As far as the Christian standpoint, I believe God tells each of us what is wrong and we had better listen. God knows that what one person is OK with might be a huge stumbling block for me, so He tells me to avoid it. If God tells me to smash my music or whatever, then I must do so no matter if He tells you to or not.

My personal opinion is that games which are fantastic are also a way people are desensitized to violence. Movies can do the same thing to sex and relationships. There are many ways a Christian can get thrown off course, and we have to be careful to avoid the things which are awful to us personally.

 

[juvete]

So you people really think that watching and playing violent games and movies (Hot Coffee, Doom, Underworld etc.) will get you saved?

Today's world is pretty black and white. 99% of the time, everything you do is either good or bad, there is no "in between". Take for example driving a car, do you think it's good or bad?

And one more thing, if all this virtual and fantasy stuff is ok, why didn't God create it for man from the very beginning?

What do you think Jesus would do?

 

[Dannager]

So you people really think that watching and playing violent games and movies (Hot Coffee, Doom, Underworld etc.) will get you saved?

Today's world is pretty black and white. 99% of the time, everything you do is either good or bad, there is no "in between". Take for example driving a car, do you think it's good or bad?

And one more thing, if all this virtual and fantasy stuff is ok, why didn't God create it for man from the very beginning?

What do you think Jesus would do?

I'm going to assume that you're not actually serious, because it would be a lot of work on my part to type up things I've already said again.

 

[peanutbutter12]

And one more thing, if all this virtual and fantasy stuff is ok, why didn't God create it for man from the very beginning?

I guess you should get off your computer then, because if God meant for man to be connected like on a computer, then why didn't he create it from the very beginning? Guess that means you need to get rid of your car too. And your bike... that wasn't introduced till the 19th century. Shouldn't watch TV or movies, they didn't exist either and it's all unrealistic. No microwave or stove, God didn't give those to Adam and Eve. No electricity, no indoor heat. Those didn't come till the 19th century either.

I'm going with Dannager on this one. You can't possibly be serious.

CJ

 

[juvete]

look i know I'm not the smartest guy out there, but if you get pleasure and enjoyment from killing and watching someone getting killed,while calling yourself a Christian, then there is seriously something wrong with you!!!

 

[Dannager]

look i know I'm not the smartest guy out there, but if you get pleasure and enjoyment from killing and watching someone getting killed,while calling yourself a Christian, then there is seriously something wrong with you!!!

Yes, there would be.

Fortunately, no one's talking about enjoying killing people or watching people get killed. There isn't anything wrong with enjoying a video game that depicts fake people getting killed. It's not real.

 

[SteelDisciple]

I have been reading that huge thread on which games are good and which aren't and the debates and the all around "opinion chaos" as I like to call it. So this is how I look at it. God say's live your life through his will. Now this brings into attention all the things that go along with that. Think about how many near nudity games there are, shoot I even heard of a porn game (give me a break), or the killings, or the false magic or prophecies, or the language. There are so many things that are morally wrong.

Yeah for entertainment purposes games are great, but I think they are seriously over looked by parents and children alike, Christian or not. Say someone was in there head wishing the death of another person. I consider this a sin. Just the thought even. So say a Christian is playing Mortal Kombat, Sub-Zero knocks Scorpion off of a tower and Scorpion lands on a spike. Your finding entertainment in death? How would God feel about this. Yes there is good and evil. False good and evil, and hey most of those type games are like "hey be a good guy and get a chance to kill as many bad guys as you can". Again entertainment of killing. hm.

So here is one I thought about. How cool would it be to have a cop game (not like TrueCrimes) where you can have the villain lets say react to a bank robbery. The goal would be to save hostages without harm of them, aprehend the suspect, and serve justice. Now maybe it's not totally legit. I know a bank robber or 2 have been shot and killed. But is that the same as the other garbage games have. Lets say the goal was to do it without killing the suspect, and if you fail (kill him) you have to try again. Now that would be cool.

When I became saved by Christ I threw out all my secular music, i threw away all my movies, all my books (well most at least the bad ones, or the ones that didn't follow His teachings), because I knew those things would try and take me farther away from Jesus than I wanted to be. Because there is no half way in my faith. Either I give Him my all and do as His teachings tell me, or I go to hell that is the fear of God. That is the fear that I have.

I try not to judge but my observation is this, people who watch, play or listen to this garbage in todays society are only giving themselves partly to God and his teachings..... I guess.... I don't know what else to say, the filth in todays society sickens me..... I see it in my own family daily, and it's hard. God's been telling me the person he wants me to be through His Word, and no where in His Word do I even see 50% of the things I see even come close to the Word of God.

I'm sorry if I took this post in the wrong direction, the moderators can decide where this thread goes. Try to think about what I said though, and more importantly take in account what God says. I didn't speak of my faith, so know I feel confident in my faith, and don't just practice his teaching and thats it because I feel like I have to. I give my faith to Him, my love to Him, my life to Him. I'm not saying I'm any better or any less than you (whoever reads this) as a Christian or not. I just thought I would clear that up before some hyped up reader checks this thread out and wants to drill.

Thanks and God bless,
Jon

hi. you're wrong.

You see...you brought up one example which moots your whole point. Let's say you play as Scorpion and knock someone off into a spike pit. The person PLAYING the game isn't thinking or feeling in their heart "oh man, I can't wait to MURDER him!!!"

Furthermore...when i'm playing online in Battlefield 2142 against other people and i'm shooting the enemy, i'm not thinking or feeling "Oh yes. I can't wait to murder him and all his friends! MWHAHAAA!" It's competition. It's strategy. It's no more sinful then people working together in a sports team to put down the other team.

You can be in the world without being OF it...infact, we as Christians should be like that. Christ was in the world. He wasn't OF it. It's what is in your heart.

Are you playing to appease some murderous desire or are you playing simply because your having fun...because you appreciate the strategic value or challenge? You are going to find that MOST people play for the latter reason.