Post by Mave
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This idea for an article is one I've been kicking around for a while now. It's one that I have tried starting before, but could never find the words to say or find what my point was. I'm still not sure if I'm standing on solid ground with this thing, but I'm just gonna go for it and see what we get.
I don't want to, but I think the only way to start out is by saying that yes, I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ was a person that existed on this earth and he died on a cross. I believe that by doing so, even though I live every day of my life as a sinner, I know that my sins are forgiven. I believe this. I know this. I don't do the best job (or even a mediocre job), but I try to live my life for him and be the person he wants me to be.
I know that some people find this blasphemous. It's widely know that Christianity is one the largest religions in the world, but I feel that to a lot of people, Christianity is a passing belief. Everyone goes through troubles in their life, and they may come to Christ for help. But as time goes on, they strafe away from the idea that a man dying on a cross has anything to do with them personally. They look at the politics of the situation, and the politics of the world today, and see a place that makes absolutely no sense. As they take a step back, they look at this one man, this one belief, and even though it may never be a verbal statement, they stop being a Christian.
I'm not going to sit here today and tell you that it makes the most sense in the world to be a Christian. I don't think being a "Christian" is the answer for everyone. What I mean by that is, our modern belief in what a "Christian" is.
Jack Thompson is an icon that the gaming community largely despises. He has spent much of his legal career trying to bring down video games and create laws and such that would affect the sales and production of video games. While I think he is largely misunderstood and not nearly as much of a villain as he is painted out to be, there is no denying that much of his bad reputation is his own fault.
That all being said, he is a Christian who is not a quiet one. He has been very vocal about how he believes that he has a purpose and that he, as a Christian, is doing this because he feels it's the right thing to do. When a non-believing video gamer checks a site and sees some of the "questionable" things Mr. Thompson is doing, why would anyone want to replicate his actions?
Perhaps you know someone else who is a Christian. Perhaps rather than feeling invited by this person, you feel alienated. You feel that even though they claim to be "saved" they make no effort to invite you into being saved, and thus, you see no point in it. You see the way they live their lives; they sin. Often. They think they are a good person, and they go to Church every Sunday, and they might read their Bible, but in the end, they are human. They do things that we all do, and you see your life, and you see theirs, and having this cardboard label of "being a Christian" doesn't seem to have an real benefits.
If that is what being a Christian is, why should anyone be one?
Strangely enough, I recently saw the movie "Angles & Demons" in theaters a few weeks ago. One of the lines in the film really hit me. It was like someone finally put my thoughts into words. Tom Hanks character is asked if he believes in God, to which he basically says no answer. The character who is asking him states, "Religion is flawed. But only because man is flawed."
The thing that I think so many people misinterpret is that being a Christian isn't looking at other "Christians" and trying to believe what they believe or act how they act, but what a personal relationship with Christ can do for you.
I just want you all to understand that I am not typing this article to make you believe that a being existed thousands of years ago and made the universe. I want you to understand that my goal is to not have you read this and become what the world defines as a Christian. I just hope you understand where I am coming from. If that does anything for you, then that's fine, but if not, then that's fine as well.
Is there irony in the fact that I play games like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil? One could make a good argument about it. I will look at anyone and tell them that one of my favorite games of all time is "GTA San Andreas" specifically for the story and the setting. That being said, there are a ton of very questionable things in that game that if someone from my Church were to find out, would I be criticized? I could of course use the argument that playing a game like San Andreas is no different than watching the newest SAW movie, but that's not really the point.
Some people live their entire lives by reading God's word, doing his work, and staying away from all things that could be otherwise. Of course these people are bound to be sinners, though I am no one to judge them, but we know that all men are sinners.
Then there is the argument that in order to make a difference and teach people about (a relationship with) Christ, we must go into territory that might not be so safe for Christians. Jesus himself would go into places where he was not wanted and be amongst people who did not believe in God and with people who doubted his abilities.
I think that when Chrisitans claim that playing violent video games and watching "Rated R" movies or listening to un-Christian music is wrong, I'm not so sure that's the way to think. If I pop in GTA San Andreas and go right into the game and make CJ pick up a hooker and just have a blast doing it, that's not the most "holy" thing I could be doing with my time, but like "The Game Overthinker" himself stated; there are more to those games than just the issues that are on the surface. Things like "shooting hookers" and "running over pedestrians" are the issues that are brought up on FOX News and NBC, but anyone who takes the time and plays through the game sees all the options that one has. In fact, one could make an argument that playing a game with so much freedom (like GTA) could be a more Christian video game than "Bible Games" itself.
My point is, life is full of options. We are constantly surrounded by evil things, and while we must try our best to stay away from letting these things get a hold of our life, is the solution to lock ourselves in a room and read the Bible? If I play Grand Theft Auto 4, for example, I can choose to start a relationship with a girl, take her on a date, go to a comedy club, and drop her off at her apartment with no sex involved. I can take my cousin (Roman) out for an evening and we could go play darts. I can choose to go into a fast food restaurant and buy my food rather than shoot the place up. Granted, there is no option to read a Bible to a stranger on the street, but all the decisions I make can be good ones; one that, theoretically, could make others in the game think positively of Niko, and thus want to live a life like him.
And THAT is a huge part of being a Christian : living amongst others on this earth, but doing good things and helping others so that they may see what I am doing and want to do the same. Through that type of lifestyle, people can come to know Christ because of the person he was and the things that he did. They can see how positive someone lives, and eventually, when they themselves are in a state of depression or a state of question, they will remember the good acts that someone did for them, and use their life as an example, and hopefully, they may begin to live a life with Christ.
I am not trying to condone anyone going out and playing "No More Heroes" or "GTA" or anything. Those games are full of images and sounds and such that do not send a Christian message. The Bible tells us that what our eyes see and our ears hear; these things go straight to our heart. Things like that have the potential to corrupt someone. They may begin to take too much joy or entertainment and even have difficulty separating the positive feelings a game can give them and a positive feeling that one gets from living with Christ.
But that is just one more reason that gaming has to be seen as simply an element of one's life. If anything, video games included, take up too much time or too much of your passion, then there probably will not be much good in that. It may not happen now, but down the road you may run into issues. The same can be said for anything; it's the simple logic that too much of one thing is not a good thing.
One thing I'm trying to say is that someone, a video gamer, in this case, should not be judged for what games he play, but rather what that video gamer does as a person and how he lives. If someone goes on XBox Live and calls another player a racial term, yet wakes up the next day and goes to Church, what message does that send? What good comes from any of that?
We are finally at a point in history where video games are becoming just as much of an art as movies or music or photography, but SO MUCH good can and is coming from this. We have families now that meet up for a 'family game night' on rainy days. We have kids that wake up and track their fitness with "Wii Fit" for a few minutes before switching over to play a few rounds on "PunchOut!!". A father can sit down with his kids and play through a game like "LEGO Batman". I know these are all obvious things to us (gamers), but in a world where video games are still conceived as being "a waste of time", it could not be farther from the truth.
For myself, as a human being, as a video gamer, and as a Christian, all I can do is live my life the way that Christ wants me to. I pray all the time. I pray that my choices are the ones he wants me to make. I pray that I can influence others and that they can see Christ living in me and want to come to know him too. I pray that the games that I play are ones that will not "corrupt" me, but rather that I can enjoy them and the experiences I take from them will be put to good use in terms of speaking with others about them.
I am not perfect at all. I am no better than any man. If you would ask me if I think I am a good person, I might answer yes, but in reality, what makes a good person? We have to realize that every man, by his own standard, tries to be a good person. We all have things that we may regret, but every man believes that the decisions he makes and the way he believes is the way he was intended to. However, by God's standards, no man can be a good person, because we are all sinners.
Living as a Christian and doing what God wants want that person to do is a simple answer; one that I cannot take credit for at all.
A. Admit you are imperfect person. Every single man would answer that they are a good person by their own standards, but what good is that? Who are we to create our own standards, when we live in a world where so many believe us to be nothing more than just a "chance". Realize that no one is perfect.
B. Believe that you have a purpose in this life. Believe you are not just a "chance". Believe that there is a God who created us al. Believe that he has a son who lived on this earth. Believe that when he died, all of our sins and our mistakes can be forgiven.
C. Confess your sins. Look back on your life, and think of the mistakes you have made, but think of the good you can do.
D. Demonstrate your faith through Baptism. Demonstrate your faith in the way you live your life. Act out and try to be the person that God wants you to be.
But most importantly : pray. Pray that you can come to know Christ. Pray that you can come to believe in God. Pray that you can come to believe that you have a purpose.
I pray every day that the actions I do and the decision I make will be for the better. I pray for those who do not know Christ, but that instead of alienating them, they may feel invited.
I tried not to litter this post with quotes from the Bible, but I'll end on this :
1 Peter 3: 18 - 22
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Being a Christian is a choice. It is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, the man who, yes, actually lived on this earth and died for everyone.
I really don't mean to turn this into a sermon; that was never my purpose. I could say that I'm just having trouble wrapping this up, but I'm just typing and typing.
I think the best thing I can do here is just express how I feel personally about myself as a Christian and myself as a video gamer.
The games that I play vary greatly. I can honestly say that I put just as many hours into "Mario Kart: Double Dash" as I did "Resident Evil 4". I have no real filter that I use when I purchase a game. If the game looks fun and catches my interest, it's probably a game that I will buy, regardless of the rating.
As far as my faith in relation to the games that I may sometimes play, my reasoning is likely flawed. Some people might look inside my video game cabinet and see games like "Madworld" and question how seriously I take being a Christian. I really don't think it's a valid argument to say that certain actions that people do always track back to video games, whether they be good or bad, but speaking for myself; I feel I can certainly seperate the video game world and reality. I think most gamers obviously feel this way. I may play something like "Assassin's Creed" and then go out and start doodling little pictures of Altair when we should be taking notes in class, or maybe I just got done playing Banjo Tooie and all I keep laughing to myself of the dialogue with Jolly Roger. There is no denying games play a huge part of my life, but they are just one element of it.
And...I am just at a loss for words here.
Call it bad journalism, which I will admit this piece of writing is not so well put together, but it is so hard for me to end this. Perhaps there's too much to cover, and I feel like I'm searching around for the point that I was even trying to make. I don't want to have to defend the games I play, but at the same time, am I so arrogant that I think (as a Christian) that it's OK that I own a game where I can go out and kill people left and right with no real reason?
It's a subject that really has no end. I guess "religion" is such a complicated thing that one can never really justify it. That is why, to me, my faith is more than just a "religion" that can be classified. It's belief. A lifestyle.
I am a Christian. I am a gamer. I hope that in some way, this article provided even a slight bit of interest to you.
Thanks for reading.
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My name is David, but on most places online I go by "Mave."
I currently write for -
http://www.raginggamer.com/
And my own site of -
http://www.airshipoverwater.wordpress.com/
