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Christian group wants games banned due to Norway killer photo

The Australian Christian Lobby is using the Oslo massacre to call for a ban on violent videogames in its home country, stating that the behavior of murderous idiot Anders Behring Breivik was evidence that games are evil, due to some logic

"The studied indifference of this killer to the suffering he was inflicting, his obvious dehumanizing of his victims and the evil methodical nature of the killings have all the marks of games scenarios," said Lobby MD Jim Wallace. "How can we allow the profits of the games industry and selfishness of games libertarians to place our increasingly dysfunctional society at further risk? Even if this prohibition were to save only one tragedy like this each twenty years it would be worth it."

Federal Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor, however, is backing games and still pushing for a widespread R18+ rating in his country, stating that we can't blame games for the actions of "a madman." Breivik did praise Modern Warfare 2 as a training tool, although it clearly didn't damage an already diseased mind.

Of course, given the possible religious motivation behind Breivik's attacks, it's hardly surprising that some Christians (no, not all of them) want to pin the blame on something else. After all, I can think of a certain book in which several protagonists inflict suffering indifferently while dehumanizing their victims. 

Breivik trained on Modern Warfare game [Sydney Herald via The Escapist]








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120 comments | showing # 1 to 50
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next 50 comments

Hugh G Rection's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:18
Hugh G Rection
But then we couldn't play Templar knights.
dare's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:18
dare
Let's ban movies and burn books, too, while we're at it.
Onyx Oblivion's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:18
Onyx Oblivion
Sound reasonable to me, Jim.

BAN THIS FILTH!
tehTommy's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:20
tehTommy
BAN THIS SICK FILTH RAAWRRR
llort het's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:20
llort het
Modern warfare is in fact a plague on society. But not because of this.
spot the spy's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:21
spot the spy
I AM A GAME LIBERTARIAN
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:21
El Conrado
I will never understand how a colony founded as a prision became so... prude.
rel123's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:21
rel123
Religious views making someone do something stupid and / or terrible? Who would have thought that people who believe in a magical sky wizard could ever suffer from an inability to use logic?
and0's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:22
and0
The dude wrote a 1500 Christian manifesto. In it he mentioned MW2 briefly. So... the Bible needs to be banned 1000x more?
Everyday Legend's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:23
Everyday Legend
You know, for a group so concerned with a "good book," they sure don't know how to read up on psychological issues.

If this were a valid point they were tryng to make, then by the same token, I should be able to ban them from operating because they represent the Christian faith, and therefore contributed to this man's warped sense of justice, right and wrong. Then, we go after churches.

But we wouldn't do that, because intelligent people look at the individual, not the scapegoat placed out there to distract people from what the problem really is.

Intolerance is what provided the main fuel for the fire. By kneejerking into another fit of intolerant behavior, you've made yourselves no better, even though you pulled no triggers.
SayWord's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:24
SayWord
I should dress up as jesus and show up on this dudes door with a gun in his face and be like who's your saviour now BIATCH!
Christophart's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:25
Christophart
The pinnacle of game fame, MW2 is in the bible?!
Jon B's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:29
Jon B
Can we come to a compromise, and just ban Call of Duty games?

That'd be swell.
MCBattery's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:29
MCBattery
Ironically throughout history religion,is responsible for far more deaths than anything or anyone else combined.
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:29
mix
People kill eachother over religion so why not ban religion?

SCIENCE!
YouWithTheFace's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:29
YouWithTheFace
well they actually have taken games off the shelves in Norway
specifically cod 4 to black ops counter strike and.. world of Warcraft?
MuddBstrd's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:30
MuddBstrd
Well, duh. After all, when a Muslim kills a bunch of people, it's because Islam teaches us to kill everyone. When a Christian kills a bunch of people, it's because of video games.
Jon Gritzer's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:31
Jon Gritzer
I will enjoy posting to destroy not only Jim's opinion but everyone else who did not read this man's manifesto

A majority of so called agnostics and atheists in Europe are cultural conservative Christians without even knowing it. So what is the difference between cultural Christians and religious Christians?

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian (p. 1307).
ManWithNoName's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:32
ManWithNoName
Am I a libertarian? Figures...

But yeah, the right wing fundamentalist christian part is being overlooked in this case.

But you know, blame COD.
Bealtespip122's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:33
Bealtespip122
Why don't they just go suck on a Bible or somethin'?
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:34
El Conrado
@MCBattery
"Ironically throughout history religion,is responsible for far more deaths than anything or anyone else combined."

This is a false and empty statement.

The collective motives for war, conquest and genocide are varied and complex, and cannot be summed up by a simple and unsupported catchphrase.
and0's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:36
and0
@Jon Gritzer, what are you even talking about, and how did that refute anything?
jjowono's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:37
jjowono
As an Australian AND a Christian I definitely have an opinion about this nonsense! A STRONG opinion, let me tell you!
Akelz7's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:37
Akelz7
You know I would take the risk of like a hundred people getting shot up by some maniac every t20 years \for freedom.
Aion of the Blades's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:37
Aion of the Blades
It seems that no one actually bothered to look at the manifesto. The killer used Christianity as a way to gather people, because neo-nazis and white supremacists had a bad reputation. He figured it was a more socially accepted banner to get people on his side. If you actually read anything that he had, you'll see that he was just as crazy as anyone else. Saying that Christianity is at all to blame for his actions is fallacious.

On the hand of the Christian group who wants to ban games because of this, they need to calm the hell down. They should realize that video games do not a homicidal crazy man make. Going straight to a knee jerk reaction makes you look like you're trying to accomplish an agenda in light of a tragedy. Go do what Christians should do, assist the families in any way you can, not blame everyone for the actions of a guy who is clearly off his rocker.
Jon Gritzer's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:39
Jon Gritzer
and0, the last two paragraphs are from his personal manifesto, the man never identified with Christ at a religious sense, he identified with the culture surrounding, aka the west, vs eastern intrusion based on Muslim ideals, therefore he was not a christian, therefore he was not motivated by a desire to Kill for God, therefore, calling him a Christian is retarded
TheNephilym's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:39
TheNephilym
I wonder how many lives would have been spared over the years if we banned the bible... How many died in that youth camp?
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:39
El Conrado
@and0

I may be wrong, since I haven't read it, but I think that's the part in the "Manifesto" where Breivik admits to being a Christian in name only.

Kinda throws a wrench in the whole "religiously motivated" argument.
Faux Furry's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:40
Faux Furry
The Australian Christian Lobby wants violent videogames banned? Does that include Bible Fight?
What would Jesus do in this case? Probably try to make it to the top of the leaderboard.
v0odka's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:42
v0odka
I heard he was drinking coca-cola before committing his crimes... we should ban it too!
manasteel88's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:43
manasteel88
yeah...I've always said books need to be outlawed because of the harm that the maniacs that read the Bible have caused throughout history.
Ziggy played whatever's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:44
Ziggy played whatever
Maybe Jim should've read the manifesto first.
Everyday Legend's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:44
Everyday Legend
@and0, @Jon Gritzer

Yeah, really. What WERE you talking about? It isn't about god. It isn't about Jesus. It's about people killing in the name of religion being wrong. Then, to make matters worse, the people who share the same religion seem content to bury their head in the sand about it and point the finger at another boogeyman instead of seeing that a radical sect of their faith is teaching the same level of intolerance they decry in other religions.

Has nothing to do with Jesus, just the kind of people that use his name as a shield when they don't have the strength of soul to take a good look at themselves and the hypocracy that some of their flock spit without sense of consequence.

Intolerance and hate breed nothing but itself, and ignorance is the incubator.
Jon Gritzer's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:44
Jon Gritzer
well now that El Conrado and I have destroyed all other arguments for him being a christian, this thread can now end
HaVoK308's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:45
HaVoK308
How many people have been murdered because of religion again? Oh...that's right, millions! Many nations are engaged in a religious war at this very moment.

It's the let's blame something else while never holding ourselves accountable for anything game. Somebody needs a History lesson.
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:46
El Conrado
@TheNephilym
"I wonder how many lives would have been spared over the years if we banned the bible..."

Probably less than those "saved" if we banned the works of the enlightment movement: you know Nietzsche, Freud, Darwin, Kierkegaard... the guys that inspired Mussolini, Stalin and yes, dear, dear Adolf.

Heck, let's start banning everything!
Machine1981's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:47
Machine1981
Lets air drop Breivik, a ar-15, and a crate full of ammo (maybe some grenades too) right into the Australian Christian Lobby's HQ on a beautiful sunny sunday afternoon.
Everyday Legend's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:48
Everyday Legend
Also, his "manifesto" clearly comes from a diseased mind. Most Christians I know don't feel the same way he did...which, again, speaks to intolerance, hate and ignorance being the catalyst for stupid people doing stupid things in the name of their god of choice.
D-roy's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:49
D-roy
Unless Christians become bloody space marines fighting in the name of the God Emperor, they can suck my dick.

If they were I'd join them.
Zwiki's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:50
Zwiki
At least Mr. Brendan O'Connor has his head on straight.
Aion of the Blades's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:50
Aion of the Blades
@HaVoK308

Someone isn't a student of history. More people have been killed in purges in countries with institutionalized atheism, like Stalinist Russia and Maoist China than have been killed in any other war or state. Think hundreds of millions, if memory serves. It puts to shame any number of what 'religion' does. Also, you might want to actually specify what religion you're talking about. They each teach radically different things and to simply lump them all together is an inductive fallacy.
Bryce Nickel's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:51
Bryce Nickel
More like "Gamer group wants Christianity banned due to Norway killer."
TheNephilym's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:52
TheNephilym
@El Conrado

What do they have to do with anything? Religion has costs people their lives. More so than video games. If something causing a person to kill means it should be banned then it would make more sense to start with the bible than with video games. I'm just using that idiot's logic. I'd rather nothing gets banned. People should be free to think and believe what they want.
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:52
El Conrado
HaVoK308
"How many people have been murdered because of religion again?"

How many have been murdered by [insert-motive-here] instead?

Saying this is just part of the scapegoating.
Jon Gritzer's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:53
Jon Gritzer
oh god im loving this thread, you people are getting destroyed one by one, keep it up!

your tears are delicious
arkane9's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:53
arkane9
He also listened to trance. Ban that sick filth! NAO!

@El Conrado
Yeah, that's true. By his definition, everyone raised in a western culture could be considered a Christian, if I remember correctly.
El Conrado's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:57
El Conrado
TheNephilym
"What do they have to do with anything? Religion has costs people their lives."

Nothing, absolutelly nothing! Just like saying "religion kills people" means absolutely nothing.

MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED FOR THE RELIGION THEY FOLLOWED THAN BY PEOPLE FOLLOWING A RELIGION!

Read some history. Genocide has had many motives.
Yukichin's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:57
Yukichin
I second what Everyday Legend said.

El Conrado, I'm going to go on a limb and say that nobody here is actually advocating for banning the Bible, be they religious or not. They're pointing out that banning video games, when the man hid behind so-called Christianity, does nothing to stop the problem.

Banning violent video games doesn't make any sense. There are thousands of people who play them without incident, and instead people want to get rid of them due to a single madman?
Gib's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/29/2011 14:57
Gib
As already mentioned in the comments, he didn't kill anyone due to religious beliefs.
He was talking about christianity in terms of a cultural identy.

He even wrote that he thinks praying to god is a sign of weakness (or something like that).
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