World of Warcraft. evil?

[ravendta]

I am not Pentacostal, nor do I speak in tongues or any of that, but I am filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and I take offense to any suggestion that I am not by someone who doesn't even know me.

 

[JC4LIFE316]

-

 

[Dannager]

Maybe you guys are right, maybe be there is nothing wrong with the game it self, but the problem lays when people abuse it, or get addicted.

This is much closer to the truth.

 

[united4Peace]

Myself I dont mind magic, however as a parent, I just had this aurgument with my son as he wanted shooting games and games with guns and killing in bothers me more so than any kind of magic.
My children are only allowed to rent (E) or (E 10+ >if I think it looks appropriate)...now with Dad they may get away with a bit more...but still not as much as what they would like to.
Sorry but while living under ones parents roofs the parents rules come first and foremost

 

[RichardE]

I think the fact should be, when living under parents roof the kid gets what age is suitible for him/her. Untill they are old enough they should not be playing games that are unsuitible, simple as. Once they are old enough, they can buy the games themselfs.

 

[sjweyman]

I might as well weigh in on the subject. This is my first post so hopefully I'll still have some credibility. Info about me:

1) Used to be a hard core gamer
2) Became a Christian at the age of 16 (Wesleyan)
3) Am currently 25 years old
4) Currently attending a Pentecostal church

I would definitely be playing WoW if I wasn't a Christian. At one point I used to play Warcraft II and Starcraft 8-12 hours a day easy. God slowly convicted me that I should give up these games and gaming in general. Primarily for the time and addiction reasons (it is very difficult to serve God in the real world if you are busy playing games). Content was definitely another reason.

Yes, I agree, World of Warcraft is NOT real ... it is fantasy. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have real world elements. Someone said that it doesn't ... which is ludicrous. Trees are a real-world element for example. There are probably thousands of other comparisons you could draw. Someone also said that anyone affected by scantily clad women in a game have serious issues. It is easy to be affected by these images in subtle ways. Anybody who denies it should listen to a bunch of non-Christians (or even Christians) see such a character for the first time as they cheer and make lewd comments.

I could bring up the issues all day long. I will never say that doing anything in a fantasy world is "as bad" or "as evil" as in the real world ... but it is definitely still having an impact. Satan is the best lyer and deceiver anywhere ... ever! He is certainly going to try and make you think that these things are completely innocent when they are not.

I would also like to bring up the issue of TV and movies. We would have to agree that these are also "fictional" ... even though they contain a few more real world elements than do WoW. It is pretty hard to say TV doesn't have an impact on our culture. Ideas constantly being fed into our brains from outside sources as to what is acceptable and ok.

As a parting comment ... I'll give you one example from myself. When I was younger I used to love going to see adult-rated movies. I loved action, violence, and horror. The violence, blood, and gore never bothered me and I was almost never startled or scared. Well, after becoming a Christian I severely limited my intake of these films and pretty much kept it PG. Years later I rationalized that it would be ok to see a few horror flicks again. When I put them in, now an older and more mature person, the violence and gore had a real impact on me. I also was scared by the frightening scenes. I recognized immediately that I had been desensitized to violence, suspense, blood and gore.

This is horrible. I also realize that because of these things that I have a much milder reaction to violence, death, and suffering than I would otherwise. True, almost nobody wants to see a real person hurt, suffering, or killed ... but when you hear about it you are more likely to simply dismiss it because we are so used to these things from TV.

Some thoughts to ponder. If you play with evil ... even fake evil ... for long enough it will seep in and catch you by surprise ... or not ... because you never even notice it.

 

[Nightson]

IM IN UR ACCOUNT

SHARDIN UR EPICZ


>.>

<.<

1) OK, Sum durids is bare



2) Tehm whos bare durids, can B 4 tank:



ONLY DURID DON’T HAF SUM PEEPS IN THE HEAD AND A GUNZ LOL!

3) Man, sum bare druids can maek sum peeps poop in feer bc/ tehms so storng.



4) Bare druids is not so good at uh moonfare spam but its OK b/c a bare durid haf many armors &

when a thing hits durid, maybe thing gets borken hand LOL!

5) Bare durids is 4 funs when u can charje & stun & haf sum armors lol.

 

[Telrunya]

Nightson, you should definately give up gaming and go back to school.

 

[Dannager]

lol Nightson

 

[Soldier_For_Christ]

I might as well weigh in on the subject. This is my first post so hopefully I'll still have some credibility. Info about me:

1) Used to be a hard core gamer
2) Became a Christian at the age of 16 (Wesleyan)
3) Am currently 25 years old
4) Currently attending a Pentecostal church

I would definitely be playing WoW if I wasn't a Christian. At one point I used to play Warcraft II and Starcraft 8-12 hours a day easy. God slowly convicted me that I should give up these games and gaming in general. Primarily for the time and addiction reasons (it is very difficult to serve God in the real world if you are busy playing games). Content was definitely another reason.

Yes, I agree, World of Warcraft is NOT real ... it is fantasy. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have real world elements. Someone said that it doesn't ... which is ludicrous. Trees are a real-world element for example. There are probably thousands of other comparisons you could draw. Someone also said that anyone affected by scantily clad women in a game have serious issues. It is easy to be affected by these images in subtle ways. Anybody who denies it should listen to a bunch of non-Christians (or even Christians) see such a character for the first time as they cheer and make lewd comments.

I could bring up the issues all day long. I will never say that doing anything in a fantasy world is "as bad" or "as evil" as in the real world ... but it is definitely still having an impact. Satan is the best lyer and deceiver anywhere ... ever! He is certainly going to try and make you think that these things are completely innocent when they are not.

I would also like to bring up the issue of TV and movies. We would have to agree that these are also "fictional" ... even though they contain a few more real world elements than do WoW. It is pretty hard to say TV doesn't have an impact on our culture. Ideas constantly being fed into our brains from outside sources as to what is acceptable and ok.

As a parting comment ... I'll give you one example from myself. When I was younger I used to love going to see adult-rated movies. I loved action, violence, and horror. The violence, blood, and gore never bothered me and I was almost never startled or scared. Well, after becoming a Christian I severely limited my intake of these films and pretty much kept it PG. Years later I rationalized that it would be ok to see a few horror flicks again. When I put them in, now an older and more mature person, the violence and gore had a real impact on me. I also was scared by the frightening scenes. I recognized immediately that I had been desensitized to violence, suspense, blood and gore.

This is horrible. I also realize that because of these things that I have a much milder reaction to violence, death, and suffering than I would otherwise. True, almost nobody wants to see a real person hurt, suffering, or killed ... but when you hear about it you are more likely to simply dismiss it because we are so used to these things from TV.

Some thoughts to ponder. If you play with evil ... even fake evil ... for long enough it will seep in and catch you by surprise ... or not ... because you never even notice it.

As long as this post, there's little else I can add. I've generally followed this same path; I first felt God's convicting power in my heart when I was 15 and He has recently asked me to stop the amount of gaming I do for His sake. It isn't easy, but I think I'm getting better.

 

[ravendta]

I would say that the "Desensitizing" issue is subjective, just as the effects of games are. I've seen plenty of bloody movies and played lots of violent games (shooters and military included), but whenever I see footage of CNN of injured people in the Mideast, I get sick to my stomach because in my head, I'm going "these are REAL people and that is their own blood all over the ground!" and it definitely upsets and scares me about the state of the world. That tells me that games and movies haven't desensitized me all that much to REALITY.

Granted, it may desensitize some - I'm not arguing that. But to say that if ONE person is affected then all will be is just not true. It is up to the individual to decide what is and isn't right for them.

For years, God has been guiding me through different changes He's wanted me to make in my life, and while He's definitely asked me to cut back on my gaming at times, I've felt no pull to eliminate them completely from my life. Games are the reason I was inspired to write my first book (Final Fantasy VI inspired me specifically, and I've written 5 books to date).

I wrote about it in my blog. Check it out if you're interested.

http://ravendta.blogspot.com/2004/12/game-of-life.html

No, that wasn't a shameless plug. I didn't feel like explaining it all again lol

 

[JC4LIFE316]

I might as well weigh in on the subject. This is my first post so hopefully I'll still have some credibility. Info about me:

1) Used to be a hard core gamer
2) Became a Christian at the age of 16 (Wesleyan)
3) Am currently 25 years old
4) Currently attending a Pentecostal church

I would definitely be playing WoW if I wasn't a Christian. At one point I used to play Warcraft II and Starcraft 8-12 hours a day easy. God slowly convicted me that I should give up these games and gaming in general. Primarily for the time and addiction reasons (it is very difficult to serve God in the real world if you are busy playing games). Content was definitely another reason.

Yes, I agree, World of Warcraft is NOT real ... it is fantasy. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have real world elements. Someone said that it doesn't ... which is ludicrous. Trees are a real-world element for example. There are probably thousands of other comparisons you could draw. Someone also said that anyone affected by scantily clad women in a game have serious issues. It is easy to be affected by these images in subtle ways. Anybody who denies it should listen to a bunch of non-Christians (or even Christians) see such a character for the first time as they cheer and make lewd comments.

I could bring up the issues all day long. I will never say that doing anything in a fantasy world is "as bad" or "as evil" as in the real world ... but it is definitely still having an impact. Satan is the best lyer and deceiver anywhere ... ever! He is certainly going to try and make you think that these things are completely innocent when they are not.

I would also like to bring up the issue of TV and movies. We would have to agree that these are also "fictional" ... even though they contain a few more real world elements than do WoW. It is pretty hard to say TV doesn't have an impact on our culture. Ideas constantly being fed into our brains from outside sources as to what is acceptable and ok.

As a parting comment ... I'll give you one example from myself. When I was younger I used to love going to see adult-rated movies. I loved action, violence, and horror. The violence, blood, and gore never bothered me and I was almost never startled or scared. Well, after becoming a Christian I severely limited my intake of these films and pretty much kept it PG. Years later I rationalized that it would be ok to see a few horror flicks again. When I put them in, now an older and more mature person, the violence and gore had a real impact on me. I also was scared by the frightening scenes. I recognized immediately that I had been desensitized to violence, suspense, blood and gore.

This is horrible. I also realize that because of these things that I have a much milder reaction to violence, death, and suffering than I would otherwise. True, almost nobody wants to see a real person hurt, suffering, or killed ... but when you hear about it you are more likely to simply dismiss it because we are so used to these things from TV.

Some thoughts to ponder. If you play with evil ... even fake evil ... for long enough it will seep in and catch you by surprise ... or not ... because you never even notice it.

Nice post, come on I am sure there is more of u that can shear your story or your opinion.

 

[EbonNelumbo]

Response to the OP:

I would not allow my children to ever play it...not because of the magic so much (though they wouldn't have it in the house until they were mature enough to realize it's just a game and separate God from it) but because I knew some people who have been extremely addicted to it, literally failing in college and work and relationships because they didn't do anything but play it.

I think it's a lot like Harry Potter, in that a lot of conservatives complained about it being 'evil' when they should have simply told their kids to avoid it if they disagreed and been responsible enough to explain it to them. If you are mature enough to play the game and not let it rule your life or be influenced by the magic and such in the game, then play it without regret.

As for being a new Christian, if you are able to conjure the idea it may be a bad one, then you're probably well on your way to distinguishing between God and satan and thus the game itself isn't evil.

 

[sjweyman]

Ravendta,

I had a nice long post written up in response to you and then ... I lost it because I had tried to quote you and since I have less than 15 posts it wouldn't let me because the quote had a link in it. When I pressed back, all my text was gone! I can't remember everything I wrote but I believe God can use me in some way to be an encouragement to you so I will probably write more to you later. I read some posts on both your blog and your girlfriend's blog. Very interesting.

You sound completely frustrated with life right now ... and I can't really blame you because this sin-filled evil world is frustrating. However, life is not pointless as you often say in your posts. There is purpose and meaning to this life and that purpose is serving God. You may never affect the world on a grand stage ... that isn't for everyone ... but if you let God use you to bring one other person to heaven with you ... then your life will have been worth it.

If you feel your life is worthless then you need to examine yourself and what you are doing. Is your life bearing fruit for God? Are people being encouraged? Are people being helped? Are people being saved? If you can't answer yes to these questions then you need to ask yourself, where is the fruit?

God has chosen us to make a difference in this world. Don't always be waiting for God to "open" the doors ... seek God and boldly open the door while asking God for His will to be done. The greatest gift you can offer God and people in this world is your life and your TIME.

This post has almost nothing to do with my original post (maybe those thoughts weren't as timely) ... but maybe I'll resurrect those thoughts in another post or in a personal message to you later.

God bless you my friend. Keep hold of that woman ... sounds like you've got a good one ... just make sure you don't elevate her above God ... she is NOT your reason for living.

 

[039]

Magic, violence... the content, I can't say, nor do I want to lift myself up to that position for a lecture on what's good and what's wrong in God's eyes. Without getting into too much detail, I do know, however, that God used (as strange as this may sound) World of Warcraft to seek me when I could care less about finding him. For this reason, I will not condemn WoW.

On second hand, WoW can be addicting. I have noticed others abusing their relationships because of that said addiction.

 

[feadin]

hello there everynoe... i play wow... fairly a bit much i might say. but i could tell you that it really doesnt bother me. it is only pixels. most ppl ive been with know that and understand it.
im not the average wow forum poster (i raerly do it) but it is a nice game.
social skills you say? i have friends all over the US the UK and china, and let me tell you. i got some of my best friends now over seas.
i am from latin america ( and i am self-taught english) i have even better my speaking skills. i hear my parents i have a girlfriend... and a dog i love so much (she dislocated her paw! not fair) but all in all. i am a good person.

my mother taught me christian hood. i do accept christ in my life... and see most of what he says. i have a friend who is a jehovas witness and he my best friend. he took me into his house when i had some troubles with my dad.

i am atheist (but no really) only beacuse i really dont like the church.
how can you be speaking of being humble if you wear gold inn your robe and use a gold plated cup when ppl starev to dead!
so i am a good normal person. who plays wow quite a bit. i hear metal music but i hear most of everything else that is good. i respec everyone who deserves my respect and who respects me (my parents taught me that i will to my kids)

with all that being said... do you think i am a bad person just because i play wow?

PS: thats not a snake on the loading screen ita a dragon dummy

 

[Theogonia]

hello there everynoe... i play wow... fairly a bit much i might say. but i could tell you that it really doesnt bother me. it is only pixels. most ppl ive been with know that and understand it.
im not the average wow forum poster (i raerly do it) but it is a nice game.
social skills you say? i have friends all over the US the UK and china, and let me tell you. i got some of my best friends now over seas.
i am from latin america ( and i am self-taught english) i have even better my speaking skills. i hear my parents i have a girlfriend... and a dog i love so much (she dislocated her paw! not fair) but all in all. i am a good person.

my mother taught me christian hood. i do accept christ in my life... and see most of what he says. i have a friend who is a jehovas witness and he my best friend. he took me into his house when i had some troubles with my dad.

i am atheist (but no really) only beacuse i really dont like the church.
how can you be speaking of being humble if you wear gold inn your robe and use a gold plated cup when ppl starev to dead!
so i am a good normal person. who plays wow quite a bit. i hear metal music but i hear most of everything else that is good. i respec everyone who deserves my respect and who respects me (my parents taught me that i will to my kids)

with all that being said... do you think i am a bad person just because i play wow?

PS: thats not a snake on the loading screen ita a dragon dummy

Whether or not you play a video game has nothing to do with if you're a bad person or not.

People might think I'm a bad person for playing GTA, but there you are, I'm being judged based on what games I play or what movies I watch.

 

[Theogonia]

Myself I dont mind magic, however as a parent, I just had this aurgument with my son as he wanted shooting games and games with guns and killing in bothers me more so than any kind of magic.
My children are only allowed to rent (E) or (E 10+ >if I think it looks appropriate)...now with Dad they may get away with a bit more...but still not as much as what they would like to.
Sorry but while living under ones parents roofs the parents rules come first and foremost

Ah, I remember the good old days when every movie I wanted to rent my mom would grab the box and check the rating, the same with video games.

Sadly, those days are gone now, but I'm willing to sacrifice them for freedom.

 

[Theogonia]

I might as well weigh in on the subject. This is my first post so hopefully I'll still have some credibility. Info about me:

1) Used to be a hard core gamer
2) Became a Christian at the age of 16 (Wesleyan)
3) Am currently 25 years old
4) Currently attending a Pentecostal church

I would definitely be playing WoW if I wasn't a Christian. At one point I used to play Warcraft II and Starcraft 8-12 hours a day easy. God slowly convicted me that I should give up these games and gaming in general. Primarily for the time and addiction reasons (it is very difficult to serve God in the real world if you are busy playing games). Content was definitely another reason.

How heroic.

Yes, I agree, World of Warcraft is NOT real ... it is fantasy. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have real world elements. Someone said that it doesn't ... which is ludicrous. Trees are a real-world element for example. There are probably thousands of other comparisons you could draw. Someone also said that anyone affected by scantily clad women in a game have serious issues. It is easy to be affected by these images in subtle ways. Anybody who denies it should listen to a bunch of non-Christians (or even Christians) see such a character for the first time as they cheer and make lewd comments.

The point is, so what? The character isn't real. The character is a bunch of pixels.

I could bring up the issues all day long. I will never say that doing anything in a fantasy world is "as bad" or "as evil" as in the real world ... but it is definitely still having an impact.

No it isn't.

Satan is the best lyer and deceiver anywhere ... ever! He is certainly going to try and make you think that these things are completely innocent when they are not.

This "Satan" of yours, I'm not sure exists anymore. You're scared to the point where you think satan is hiding in every cupboard waiting to jump out at you.

I would also like to bring up the issue of TV and movies. We would have to agree that these are also "fictional" ... even though they contain a few more real world elements than do WoW. It is pretty hard to say TV doesn't have an impact on our culture. Ideas constantly being fed into our brains from outside sources as to what is acceptable and ok.

Not really. For example, I've seen christian reviews of That 70s Show, saying it promotes drug use, premarital sex, etc.

The thing is, it takes place in the 70s, where those things were almost the norm.

And, it doesn't promote it. Unless depicting characters doing something means it promotes it.

Second, if I'm going to let a TV show dictate how I feel about things, there's something wrong with me.

As a parting comment ... I'll give you one example from myself. When I was younger I used to love going to see adult-rated movies. I loved action, violence, and horror. The violence, blood, and gore never bothered me and I was almost never startled or scared. Well, after becoming a Christian I severely limited my intake of these films and pretty much kept it PG. Years later I rationalized that it would be ok to see a few horror flicks again. When I put them in, now an older and more mature person, the violence and gore had a real impact on me. I also was scared by the frightening scenes. I recognized immediately that I had been desensitized to violence, suspense, blood and gore.

So what? It's a movie.

This is horrible. I also realize that because of these things that I have a much milder reaction to violence, death, and suffering than I would otherwise. True, almost nobody wants to see a real person hurt, suffering, or killed ... but when you hear about it you are more likely to simply dismiss it because we are so used to these things from TV.

Wrong. I can watch gory movies all day, but if I cut my finger and see the blood, I feel sick. I'm not desensetized the the real world at all.

Yeah, I dismiss things I hear on TV. But I've always done that. It doesn't seem important to me to dwell on things not concerning me when I have my own life to live.

Some thoughts to ponder. If you play with evil ... even fake evil ... for long enough it will seep in and catch you by surprise ... or not ... because you never even notice it.

But see, you only think it's evil.

 

[serephim01]

ScottyL I agree completely with you...you should see my post in that devil may cry thing I think games do not desensitize you but that the whole desensitized thing is made up by people who saw a violent videogame or watched SAW and wanted to ban these things. Remember that time I went out and killed 80 people because I played Postal 2....no you dont because it never happened. I don't play WoW because I am cheap and want to play games for free, not because it promotes evil...Britney Spears promotes more evil than that game. I have seen all sorts of violent movies and I freak out when I bleed cause I hate blood...games and movies are just entertainment..if people dont like them they can easily do something else...sorry for my little rant