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On a human scale, asbestos particles are nothing...physically. Judging humans only on their size relative to the universe or impact upon the universe's overall state will of course make them appear small and insignificant. Because by definition we are when compared to the universe or some imagined supreme being. But the fact that we are capable of making such observations and actually debating the meaning of those conclusions makes us special or at least relatively unique in some small way. Barring time travel, nothing in the future, not even the complete obliteration of the Earth and all human made things will change the fact that at this moment in time we are having this discussion. To say we are nothing is overstating our insignificance.

massively overstating.

i like this quote i'm gonna pass it off as my own round the tea machine in the office. (granted i hate the tea machine and refuse to use instead using the kettle i found in a cupboard much to the horror of the office manager and the health and safety people)

EVERYTHING in moderation. Even religion.

Abuse and addition can occur in all things. Over zelous sports fans, car guys, artists, and yes faith. Everything can be over done and all consuming. Only when you leave time for other things and many things in your life do you express true joy. Above all else this is most important.

Lazarus is back from the dead!

True, there are better things to do than play video games. But there are also better things you could be doing that watch TV, read books, talk for hours with a friend (on a phone or not). Also, people need relaxing time. If a person has no time to relax and relieve some tension, the result may be worse than if they spent more time than they should doing that. If an animal is scared, but is not allowed to shake or whimper or anything, they die. Read it, the research has been done.

Of course, there is an addictive aspect to it, just as there is to many other things. Alcohol is an incredibly addictive substance, and yet it is a perfectly accepted part of the cutlure, and when you consume it, the risk is understood. It is a much larger liability than video games.

Now, if a person's life revolves around video games, then there is an addiction. When everything becomes about when they are going to get to play again, you have a problem. But this would only occur sometimes. The majority would get through without any issues.

Furhter, video games have the capacity to develop the brain and nervous system, more so than most anything in the past has. It has also been shown that two people playing against eachother in a game is perhaps one of the most social things they can do, as much as playing against eachother in a game of basketball, or soccer (football to the other 6 billion people out there).

I personnaly have a major genetic disposition (on both sides of both sides of my family) to addiction to just about anything. I play video games on a regular basis. Along with books and TV, it is one of my main forms of enjoying myself. And yet, I have no real issue with it. I can put the controller (or keyboard) down whenever I need to or want to. About the only time I display addictive behavior is when I rediscover an old game or get a new one, and enjoy it tremendously, in which case it is on my mind 24/7. But that could happen with a good book, or a new home theater you might have set up, or perhaps a new car.

FInally, every generation has something it is critiscized for. Dancing (believe it or not), TV, rock and roll, comics, arcades, D&D, and now, at last, the video game. You can find evidence of this in ancient Greece even. It's as old as civilization. And older gneration can't believe the behavior of the latest one (despite they did similar things in their youth), and find some major new cultural trend to blame it upon. In other words: don't instantly blame all the actions upon one new piece of culture. You did the exact same thing as a kid.

I do admit though, there is the very realy possibilty of a person developing a problem with video games, but probably only coupled with a disorder (which, by the way, almost every person has one. If you don't, then you are quite the fluke of nature).
I think Im done...

OMG who dug this one up?

If they could combine God and video games with any sort of fun, then you could kill two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately every Christian based game just sucks.  They're not fun, usually bugged, and their design leaves a lot to be desired.

 

As for addiction...I don't think I have a very addictive personality.  I love video games, but I only play them in excess when they're new.  After a week or so it's down to just occasionally.  I've taken months off from games and then come back and start playing again.  I suppose that's a good thing.

This article is a year old...who was rooting through the archives?

~Zoo

9-5 Gaming, apparently.

I agree with you, Zoo. A lot of Christian based video games are crap. If they aren't crap, it's because it basically takes a good idea from someone else and made it religious.

Who wants to make a video game about 'turning the other cheek?'

I've got it. A religious game where you score points by doing good deeds for others in the name of Jesus while balancing your need for food, sleep, and other necessities. Kind of like Grand Theft Auto except without all the stealing.

You could pick up hookers, drive to a secluded area, and ... and... convert them.

I'd play it, especially if it meant I wouldn't have to help anybody for real!

Sigh.. there's the rub... Jesus doesn't say 'Play games about loving your neighbor.'

I think the next time Hillary Clinton (nothing against her...I'd give her my vote if I were of voting age) goes up and bashes video games in front of a congressional committee, she should consider going up and bashing religion! If you look at the negative contributions the two have made to human histroy, you get something like this:

Video Games' negative contributions to human history:
-That incident in japan a few years ago
-You are Empty

Religon's negative contributions to human history:
-Crusades
-Jihads
-St. Bartholomew [spelling?]'s day massacre
-Holocaust
-Spanish Armada
-Nero throwing Christians into the arena
-Christians burning Pagans at the stake
-Pretty much every colonization-related genocide (native Americans, Aztecs [who have thier own contribution, see below], some African states, etc)
-Jon Hus rebellion
-Jonestown
-Japan Subway bombings
-Tai Ping [spelling?] rebellion
...and many more.

The point is, being an athiest myself, I find it silly that religion can be considered scot-free of blame for its effects on society when compared with Video Games, the media, etc, both in terms of sheer body count and its slowdown if technological, cultural, and artistic development (Why don't we know what greek or Roman music really sounded like? We have three hundred plus years of Gregorian chants to thank for that). Video games CAN be anti-social and addictive, but religion VERY OFTEN IS anti-social (vow of chastity, etc), addictive, dogmatic, technophobic, xenophobic, and downright murderous.

Thankfully here in Wales where I was born and raised, we have become enlightened enough to become one of the most Atheistic nations on earth. Not even forced Atheism of the communist levels have come close to my home land. We achieved that because preachers and so called "men of God" asked us to fight in 2 world wars, where we were used as cannon fodder. Due to our losses we've seen that god has very little to do in this world. If you're not ordained as some kind of religious person, saying publically that you talk to god, gets you locked up with a very attractive white Jacket and a strong dose of anti psychotic drugs, Or just laughed at.

I've yet to see a valid argument that the Christian god is better or different to the Islamic one, or different to Venus, Apollo, Mars, Epona, Llyr, Mabon, Manawyddan, midir, neit or Ogma. Or perhaps you could explain why your god went from a vengfull genocidal maniac to a less genocidal maniac between each testament? Anyone with an ounce of sense will read the full 10 commandments.. not the PR, rainbow and sunshine versions that is always shown. The full ones include the punishments for not following them.

Or how about the when we read the Bible, Jesus was only talking about fellow Jews as his people. He wasn't referring to "others". The love others and include them was a doctrine that came a long time after your saviour died. If anything Christians are Jewish heretics, and the christ would probably be quite upset with you... if he existed. I''ve read teh various religious books.... how about religious people read Dawkins or Hitchenson, or a religious text of other faiths? Go on, challenge yourselves!!

rant over.

Onto the topic at hand... I spend a fair amount of time playing games, and from playing games I began to mess with modding games. Thanks to my "time wasting" with Graphic tools, and open source software, I had more skills to put onto my CV which in turn has helped me get employment in a field of Archaeology I never considered going into.

And I can say with all honesty that since I started playing games, it has become an outlet, and I've not been arrested or involved in any violence like I was when I was younger.

Amen, brother! Preach it!

In any event, video games are like caffiene: moderate amounts stimulate the brain, but too much and you can do some serious damage.

And, like coffee, there are people who stay up WAY too late at night as a result.

But he doesn't say you shouldn't.

In fact, the Bible says nothing about video games...so we can be fairly certain they aren't evil.

~Zoo

However, the conquistadors used the same logic to determine that since the indigenous populations of the Americas weren't mentioned in the bible, they were open targets for whatever New Spain wanted to do to them.

The bible has been interpreted more where if it's not in the bible, it's explicitly below anything that IS mentioned in the bible, or anything that is not condemned in the bible.

Yeah...you got a point. Which is one of the reasons I'm not totally invested in all that religion stuff.

All in moderation...everything in moderation.

~Zoo

I think we're getting the award for the post that's strayed furthest from the original topic.

Hands-down.

At least it's a victory...of some sort...winning is good.

~Zoo

Amen, brother,Amen!!

However, I hope I didnt' offend the original poster.

Jythier, if Urban II was more like you, I'm sure that we would never have had to worry about that crusades business...

First of all, I thank you for your post. However, I disagree. Most of today's youth are into video games. If your ministry is geared toward youth, how will you ever minister to them if you do not understand things from their view?
Jesus got down on our level, became one of the people, a simple carpenter, a commoner, and ministered to people from the inside out. He called for us to be like Him in that we do the same, or we try to do the same.
Please, do not misunderstand my words, I am simply voicing my opinion. Yes, I am a Christian, and yes, I play video games.

I love video games. I have a talent for computers. I plan to use this talent for God, for Jesus, and for others. If it is not my place in life, then God will correct me. Until then, I do what I do, for God. I only wish to serve God to the best of my abilities, and in spite of the mistakes I make, I know God loves me.

I think that the title for this blog article was more for shock value than anything; I didn't really find any good reasons as to why games are addicting and anti-social.

Perhaps for you, they may be. But for many people, gaming is an apex of social activity. And while some people are addicted to games (I'm not going to even try to argue that they aren't), there are some people addicted to the internet, to reading, to bubbles or balloons or tobacco. Addiction is the problem here, not the game.

For the love of...whoops, almost stepped on a hypocrisy landmine there.

What does religion have to do with video games? Firstly, the "Left Behind" video game was by all accounts TERRIBLE, and the books were worse (As it turns out, the Rapture does not EVER appear in the book of revelations...doesn't that make it blasphemy, technically?). There is NO reason why religion should be in this thread (let alone species' general culture, but that's another debate) at all. Can we please be relevent here?

Okay. Done ranting. Post-editorial apoloties if I offended anyone.

Let me try to put this more eloquently: religion is too often used as a cover to hide otherwise unjustifiable beliefs behind. Video games are one of those cases. Please do not jeapordize your argument by assuming a simplistic mantle; there are far to many who would not appreciate your school of thought and will simply take your arguments as boons to their cause.

Whoops, there are some torches, pitchforks, and inquisitors outside my door that i need to go see to...

Did somebody spill Worcestershire sauce on the server again?

... yeah, that game was pretty terrible. I only played the demo, and thought... this sucks. They're shooting at me and I can only evangelize them. Yes, like that works in the real world. If they've gone so far to shoot at you repeatedly, it's not the time to convert! Wait for the shooting to stop. Or maybe that's the way they do it nowadays? Who knows?

Regardless, the books were great. Regardless of whether they are true to the Bible or not, a lot of effort went in to TRYING to make it follow what the Bible says. A pre-tribulation rapture is a very popular theory. Doesn't make it right, but makes it a fine basis for a fiction book. And no, that's not blasphemy.



173 replies later, I think it worked.



Disagreement is good, because it makes us think a little bit more about the topic, especially from a Christian standpoint.

Is there something inherently wrong with video games? Well, as others have said, it's not really more addicting than any other thing. But the difference is that with the video game, you feel like you've accomplished something at the end, when really you haven't done anything of value to anyone.

As for getting into the shoes of the youth, why not show them what they can accomplish in the real world? I think a lot of gamers are really more interested in the accomplishments than the games themselves. The games are just the effortless, easy way to get it done. They are falling for the old switcheroo - the joy they get from it is fleeting, and shallow, when really doing something out there matters so much more, and feels so much better. They'll complain, of course. Going from an effortless pursuit to hard work is always tough. But the reward is worth it... it really is. Better than any video game.



What feels better - finishing a game, or sucessfully modding the game into something else? I bet the modding does. I know it does, because it's actually productive - you're creating something someone else can use. Even if nobody else ever uses it, you've still created. You were the creative mind, the skill behind the mod. You weren't just going through some pre-scripted game.



I actually agree with this. Someone who says, "I must kill all the homosexuals because the Bible says they're bad" is trying to justify something that not even the Bible justifies. If the Bible said, "Don't kill except for the sinners," we'd all have to kill ourselves first.



I actually have gotten into board gaming a bit since last year, and it is much more social than video gaming was for me. They're just as addicting though, heh.

The point of the article wasn't 'video games are bad' or 'never play video games' but just that, there's probably something more rewarding to do with your time. Trade in the 'not bad' for the 'good', trade in the 'good' for the 'great', etc.

Oh yeah, both games and TV sucks up our times! It is good fun and sometimes enlightening! Plus my son would give me all the arguments as to why and how useful being a gamer is!LOL! And I would get into it about how TV helps me to unwind!lol!


Great article Jythier!