balrogdude27 said:
Is it ok to play a game with raping? Or pornography? Im just saying because i use the excuse that its not real and isnt like im gonna go out and kill people.
On the issue of sex v. violence in games:
Many games that feature characters killing one another are based on warfare situations: Counter-Strike, Battlefield 2, Day of Defeat, Natural Selection, Starcraft, and so on. The commandment often interpreted "Thou shalt not kill" is better translated "Thou shalt not murder."
While the concern regarding exposure to violent content and subsequent desensitization remains, the difference between murdering characters in Grand Theft Auto and killing enemy soldiers in Day of Defeat must be highlighted for a fair discussion of violence in video games. Tribe of Judah has several chapters based on games simulating warfare, but will never start a Grand Theft Auto chapter.
Here are some situations to consider:
- Someone breaks into your home with obvious intent to harm your family. Is it sinful to shoot or kill that person to protect your family?
- You're a soldier during World War II. Enemy soldiers are approaching your position. Is it sinful to kill an enemy soldier to defend yourself, your fellow soldiers, and, ultimately, your country?
- You ask a friend to borrow $20. The friend declines. This makes you terribly angry and you decide to shoot your friend. Is your anger and subsequent retribution sinful?
Games have long simulated warfare. Is it wrong to play Battleship? When you call out the location of an enemy battleship and sink it, one could say that you're simulating the deaths of hundreds of soldiers by means of drowning. Modern games are, of course, far more realistic and stand a much greater chance of desensitizing players to violence.
One must consider the intent of the identity the player assumes while playing the game, even if it is not the complete equation. In games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty, the intent is to fight for one's country. In the Grand Theft Auto series, the intent is to steal, kill, and destroy for personal profit. It is not only the exposure to content, but also to attitude, that we must consider.
Clearly exposure to sexual and pornographic content is intended to stir up lust and, consequently, urge us to pay pornographers for additional content. Watching
Private Ryan will likely inspire a greater appreciation for the terrible price American soldiers have paid to protect our freedom. Watching a pornographic movie only indulges lustful desires.
As for the matter of exposure to content that would stir us to anger and violence, the Word provides clear illustrations that we must
flee temptation. This means that if watching your favorite football team lose makes you launch into a rage, you shouldn't watch football games when your favorite team is playing. If watching commercials makes you want to punch advertising executives in the face, then avoid commercials.
Politicians will address content in games as long as gullible voters fall for the smokescreen clouding more important political issues. We, as Christians and gamers, must decide for ourselves what we will and will not play. While I agree that we need to discuss this matter at length, I encourage every Christian gamer to seek the Lord in prayer on this subject. If you are convicted while playing a certain game, stop and uninstall that game, but do not assume that your personal conviction applies to all gamers.
Now, that being said, would anyone care to cite Scriptures concerning the matter of exposure to violent (warfare, not murder) content?
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