Video Games

Welcom to the boards, christianyouth!

I don't think there is anything wrong with using video games for entertainment. But like all forms of entertainment, it can be carried too far. I think you understand this already, from what you said in your post.

I play games now and then, but I'm more interested in the programming involved in creating them.

There is a slowly growing movement developing Christian-based video games, and there are several sites dedicated to Christian game players. You may find some good discussion and like-minded people at links such as:

http://www.christiancoders.com/
http://www.christiangaming.com/
http://www.cgalliance.org/forums/
http://www.christiangamingnetwork.com/
http://www.christiangamers.com/

 

Anyone who feels it is somehow sinful to play video games should not play them. Or as you have done, take steps to have your gaming moderated when you know you can't trust yourself. Which is a good step no matter the subject when we know we have problems in that area.
Is it sinful to play video games?
No, as long as you don't spend all your time doing it, and have some guidelines for what you will or will not play, just like with tv, what you read, music, you need guidelines for yourself.

You migth have a probelm here. We as humans tend to lower our standards of what seems like a sin in our own eyes when it is something we enjoy. Your guideline should not be what is right to you, but what is right according to the word of God.
Judges 25:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

2:
11Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD

They kept on doing evil because they kept on doing what seemed right in their own eyes.

 

Thanks for the links natters. In response to CY questions #1. No #2. Anykind of answer would probably conflict with number 1. BTW Warcraft and Starcraft are excellent games.(if you like Warcraft you might try Rise of Nations.) Welcome!

 

I generally don't encourage people to play Warcraft. But it has less to do about the addictiveness, and more to do with the fact that I stink at it.

Seriously, though, I've done my share of Warcraft tournaments with friends and family, and it can be quite fun. Obviously, with anything, one must avoid abuse. If you think you're spending too much time with it, you probably are, and I would make attempts to curb the amount of time you spend with it.

I would, though, encourage you to refrain from assuming that everyone who plays Warcraft is likewise addicted or abusive.

 

I don't think it's any different from anything else one does for entertainment. Shoot, I have a neighbor who plays golf whenever he can, regardless of weather. Another one is the same with horseshoes. He has a horseshoe course in his yard, and he was pitching today, with the temp at 11 degrees F. Both those men otherwise live normal lives, and their recreation doesn't doesn't interfere with their family or worship lives.

Yes, we can overdo ANYTHING, including these message boardzz!

 

As in most things, moderation certainly is the key, I think you did wisely. I know it is easy to become addicted to games just like it is easy to become adicted to TV, the internet etc.

I don't see anything wrong with gaming in moderation though- since I do it myself. Try Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2 some time. Great WW2 games.

 

Some video games focus on or glorify occultic powers. It seems a lot of the characters of Warcraft are like this. They have the shaman, a priestess of the moon, a Necromancer, a sorceress, and mages who can summon the elementals. There are people in the occult who do actually practice summoning elementals (which they believe are nature spirits). This stuff is not just "pretend" for a lot of people who actually practice these things.

Just as one example, the description of the shaman on the Warcraft site says:

The shaman is supposedly "good," but he is practicing what God forbids. This kind of game desensitizes young people to actual occult beliefs and terms.

I realize this is all a strategy game, but surely there are some strategy games that do not use so many occult ideas in them.

So, christianyouth, my view is to stay away from games like this one. I may get criticized for saying this, but that's okay. Even if it's just a game, exposing your mind to these concepts and terms over time can desensitize one. Would it be okay to play a game pretending to be a prostitute, to rape or to kill policemen (like Grand Theft Auto), or to sell drugs? Most Christians would say "no." The occult is no different.

 

Marcia, I agree 100%! Besides teaching cultic principals (many games as well as movies) and as you have said is forbidden by God (learn not the way of the heathen...), it can lead to having the attention span of a cockroach (my sister suffers from this as a dirct result). It is my understanding that some of these games (as Legend of Zelda) that by the time you finish the game that you will know enough about witchcraft to be accepted by the witches. It's been said that Satan uses 98% truth and 2% lie (yea hath God not said!). BTW CY just for a thought, the word muse in Greek means to think or ponder and if you add an a in front of it (amuse), it means the opposite (to not think!). Marcia, I think I too will be criticized for this but sobeit. Obviously CY is having some conviction on this and what would be the worst thing to happen if CY quit playing vid. games, more time to read and muse on God?

 

A big problem with video games is that they create bad habits of the heart. As has been mentioned, the attention span is shortened. They become addictive. They are easy to "reset" if things don't go your way.

Many of the themes of modern video games are things that a Christian should not involve themselves in (cf. Eph 51-8).

I would be willing to bet that people who spend hours playing video games don't spend that amount of time reading good books. As a result, their heart has been trained by wrong means.

Some video games are not bad in and of themselves (some are). The problem is that they create bad habits in the heart.

 

It all depends on the video game. Some can play a game for a short time, others will spend all of their time playing, sometimes not sleeping in the process. This is obviously the extreme, but in people I know, video games can easily addictive in nature. Set some boudaries for yourself and be very careful about the games you play.

 

I'm wondering if it 'depends' on the video game at all. A year or so ago I found myself playing one of the card games to distraction. Meals were delayed, beds not made, house unclean, because I was "getting the hang of it."

There is something mesmerizing about any of the games on the screen, occultic or not. Occultic adds an extra horror, but from my own experience, even Freecell, Hearts, or any of the other innocuous games can be quite disruptive in a person's life!