Father Raymond DeSouza has his own entry on Wikipedia, so perhaps he is more important than me and I have no right to complain here. However, there's a difference between stupid commentary and intolerable commentary, and this crap falls into the latter like a baseball player cleanly sliding across home plate. In his column for Canada's conservative National Post, he writes:
I learned the truth about video games the hard way, and so this is the lesson I offer for free: Don’t play video games. Don’t own them. And for the sake of all that is good and holy, don’t buy them for your children…
Since [deleting Tetris] I have never played another video game. It’s too dangerous. Video games take what is most precious — time and thought. And they are making kids fat.
Video games are like a black hole into which time disappears…They are the crack cocaine of the electronic world…
Did I mention that far too many video games celebrate graphic violence, multifarious delinquency and borderline pornography? I don’t have to. Tetris had none of that, and it was deadly enough.
You're wrong, Ray. Wrong. The reasons why abound, but the most glaring one is that you've never played a game since Tetris. There is something about the religious extreme that seems to encourage judgement without proper experience to base one's opinion on, and this is no exception. Also -- Tetris is "deadly?" How? Did the red blocks remind you too much of the blood of Christ?
This is unacceptable for a greater reason, however, and it will be the one least discussed in response to this tripe: Video games have saved a lot of lives. For me, it turned me from a lonely kid into a happy one, helping me through times in my life that other wise would have been dark were it not for the friends I made both in games and because of them. Likely, I'm one of hundreds of thousands that will tell you that story.
Lesson to take away, kids: Closed mindedness increases the chances that people will pray for you to die in a fire.
[Via GamePolitics -- Thanks Justin!]
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21 comments + 95764 views
I've read the entire bible and from what i recall, yes video games would be considered evil. Anything that doesn't put god first is evil.
Most games are very far away from the christian god.
Good thing i am not a christian. :)
This is a great post and I couldn't agree more with your comments. This Ray guy needs to stfu.
"Lesson to take away, kids: Closed mindedness increases the chances that people will hope for you to die in a fire."
The above statement is dripping with truthiness
I've read the entire bible and from what i recall, yes video games would be considered evil. Anything that doesn't put god first is evil.
Most games are very far away from the christian god.
Good thing i am not a christian. :)
Total uncontrolled douche.
that is all I will say for fear of having to debate religion on the interwebs
lolz,no wonder I wake up in the cold of the night jonesing for my next hit of Puzzle Quest...
Gee, and here was me thinking the lack of a healthy diet and regular exercise was what was making kids fat. How ridiculously stupid of I. This person clearly knows what they're talking about, and everyone in the world should listen to their super important opinion!
Seriously, videogames close to intrinsically evil?
Comment copypasta fuh tuh wuh.
I made a few corrections.
Since [deleting my Destructoid bookmarks] I have never visited another video game blog. It’s too dangerous. Video game blogs take what is most precious — time and thought. And they are making kids fat.
Video game blogs are like a black hole into which time disappears… Destructoid is the crack cocaine of the electronic world…
Did I mention that Destructoid celebrates graphic violence, multifarious delinquency and borderline pornography? That's awesome.
I wonder if he knows about the Left Behind games, or the veritable truckload of Christian games that have been chucked out over the years.
I wouldn't give Wikipedia too much credit, it doesn't even have an entry for Destructoid.
Video games are dangerous... for organized religion.
For too long has man been held by the dreams and delusions of religion. It is time to wake up. Brush the sleep from our eyes and live each moment of the precious little time we have in our existence to the fullest, whichever way we see fit.
Video games are dangerous... for organized religion.
For too long has humanity been held by the dreams and delusions of religion. It is time to wake up. Brush the sleep from our eyes and live each moment of the precious little time we have in our existence to the fullest, whichever way we see fit.
WTF does the "hard way" mean? He...played Tetris. And you know what? Video games are not the crack cocaine of the electronic world. Crack cocaine is the crack cocaine.
I'm addicted then.
How exactly does a home run cleanly slide to the plate?
And religion is the opioid of the masses.
He's just worried that something better is moving in on his territory. Now everyone kneel in prayer to Shigeru Miyamoto.
To play devil's advocate here, I think he was talking more about the addictive quality of games when he sourced himself and Tetris. He probably thinks that games are a waste of time that keep you from doing something productive with your time since you are assumed to be spending all your time on games like he must have been with Tetris.
Oh fuck! I can't stop playing these "demon possessed electro-tronics" Im so addicted its like im sucked into an intense demon portal! ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
I'm a Christian and yet I don't associate myself with people like this. He needs to play The Bible Game or anything that will shut him up.
Well I'm a christian, raised in a country where about 80% of the people are actually christian, I used to be forced to go to church untill I was like 13 years old... And yet nobody seems to care about the godlessness of video-games over here, they say "But its just a game!"...
why is it that the "american christians" always have to go through sooooooooooooo much trouble to prove to the world that they are a bunch of ****Tards (no NOT re-, otherwise there would be 2 stars )...
although i can't deny that games are addictive, they're just not as destructive to your body/mind as crack-cocaine...
Yes everybody! Let's turn this into a flamewar against religion! Best thing evar!
Seriously, though, that guy is a douchebag. And grrza, I think you meant "opiate."
I made a point not to dis Christians, because in fact my family are Christian and they are perfectly sane. The upsetting thing here is religious fanatics, not any religion in general.
"I haven't played anything since tetris but i can tell what games are like!!!"
@Brad Drac
What? You didn't knew that video games inject fatness into kids while they sleep?
Religion is fine. This guy is a douche though. But it's kind of funny. Who ever heard of someone blaming societies problems on Tetris?
LOL WUT
Religion is fine. This guy is a douche though. But it's kind of funny. Who ever heard of someone blaming societies problems on Tetris?
LOL WUT
I wonder if his opinion would change if he knew about Churches using Halo3 to bring in the kids? Something tells me it might.
What? You mean churches can use games to get new members? Oh well then I'm all wrong about them.
I think you're all missing the point. All he's saying is that video games can be addictive. The bit about delinquency and pornography, a generalization for sure but lets not misrepresent someone just do another rant against organized religion.
@mistic
Exactly. I'm also a Christian, and unless you have some underlying issues, you'd know that games are addictive and take up time that could be doing something constructive. You can't help ANYBODY by telling them their favorite pastime is full of shit, or else they'll lump you with every other radical religious person and embrace atheism like it was a warm blanket.
This guy needs to speak love and accept people as they are (like my friend Jesus)- then they can decide for themselves if playing games all the time is wrong or not.
With that kind of hate you'd think he had been playing Everquest. :3
Also, you know what? Videogames are fucking addictive. They aren't evil, but they're sure as hell addictive. Not as addictive as the internets, though. We should totally ban that.
He's probably a damn pedophile. He'd rather have kids playing with his "L-block" than the ones on Tetris.
"When Jesus said 'Suffer the little children, come unto me' that's not what he was talking about!" - George Carlin
lol @ ScreamingScarab and George Carlin
@ Eschatos: Ooops, yeah, I meant opiate. Though technically, opioids (endogenous or exogenous) are any chemical substance that act on opioid receptors... :/
[/nerd transmission]
->Christianity bashers: The problem is not and has never been religion. The problem is people using religion as a vehicle to try and enforce their own particular selfish beliefs. The problem is with scumbag zealots who use people's faith to control them. By saying "god wishes this to be so" people of that faith would be reluctant to disagree, because they don't wish to affront their gods. Rather than damning christians and making yourself look like an intollerant asshole, damn the people who fucking deserve it.
I say all this as someone who, given a choice between jesus and satan would pick satan every time(at least he knows how to rock out). Everyone is entitled to their beliefs as long as their beliefs do not tangibly harm others, or they don't attempt to force them unduly on others.
Hey Jetsetlemming when did you register here?
"MMORPGs are like a black hole into which time disappears…"
Fixed.
quite stupid if you ask me. this is why religion cannot be taken seriously. they damn everything that is evil "in His eyes" and praises anything that's deemed good by "God's representetives" eg a bishop. thank god for atheism :D
(seriously though, i don't like bashing religion. i just plain don't like it)
I SEE THE LIGHT!Games lead to idle hands,idle hands are the devil's playground!Throw away these things that gives thee a false sense of accomplishment and hope!Destroy these false idols named Mario and master Chief,they are LIES that the devil uses to dim our sights to the true path!Coombayah!
Oh shit is Tetris the reason were at war right now? i was misinformed
at the very least with video games you can get high scores and achievements...
which is more productive than praying id say
@ brad drac
Too true. I, as a Christian, am disgusted at some of the stuff members of my religion do. I agree with everything you said (except for the Satan bit).
I enjoy video games, and I know that addiction is bad, but this guy just takes it way too far. And TETRIS? Cripes, man, at least play something like a console game! Also, @Gangles: Lol.
Satan speaks to me through tetris blocks..
I'm glad someone is willing to make a stand against evil.
I loved the little "and makes them fat" comment on the end. Classic.
It's a good thing I spend every minute of the day praying. Now that's a good productive use of my time.
It's funny how people will use any excuse to trash Christianity, even when it's not the root cause of something. And by "funny," I mean "shitty." Grow up.
This guy is just plain lacking in intelligent thought, regardless of who he is. There is absolutely nothing to his argument. Essentially, he's upset with an activity because he once overindulged in that activity. That's like saying, "Alcohol is evil, because it made me an alcoholic!" No, dude, you did it to yourself. Just because you slacked and procrastinated, bud, it doesn't give you the right to blame gaming itself. If it did, there'd be a lot of evil sports out there, and God save us from Star Wars.
Much like Brokaw's blogs statement, this argument is almost a non-issue because it's so nonsensical.
This is unacceptable for a greater reason, however, and it will be the one least discussed in response to this tripe: Video games have saved a lot of lives. For me, it turned me from a lonely kid into a happy one, helping me through times in my life that other wise would have been dark were it not for the friends I made both in games and because of them. Likely, I'm one of hundreds of thousands that will tell you that story.
Well, I’m certainly right there with you. I didn’t have many friends in grade school and junior high, but that all changed in high school on the day I overheard some people talking about WWF SmackDown! on the PS1. I’ve been best friends with those guys ever since.
@njsykora: We’re getting there — I’m working on it. But you can help: go to the work-in-progress article and improve it!
Yeah I try not to trash on Christianity too much, mainly because it's like shooting fish in a barrel and I prefer a challenge.
Strip away all the religious issues and what you have is a guy who became obsessed with Tetris while in college. There are a few easy directions to take this. First why did he become so enamored with Tetris? Was he really "addicted" or was he using it as escapism from some other problem. Or is he just some douche who can't manage his time with anything he does and video game addiction was an easy scapegoat for the guy.
I've had a few friends that fell into the "mold" of being "addicted to games". The thing is that they weren't addicted to games, but it was other events in their life that they were using games to escape from. One of my friends lost his father not too long ago to cancer. He started playing games all the time from when he got home from work 'till he had to go to sleep so he could show up at his day job. It wasn't that he was "addicted" to video games it's that he was using them as a form of escapism from trauma of losing someone he was very close to.
The last time I checked a true addiction will actually show physical withdrawal symptoms appear. The last time I checked if I haven't played any video games in a while I don't break into a cold sweat or start suffering from DT's.
So in summary Man Up and take on some personal accountability. It was the guys own actions that did it to him, unless he wants to claim that Satan was holding a gun to his head as he played Tetris.
*weary, disheartened sigh* Simply yet another anti-gaming asshat. Nothing worth seeing here. Move along. Move along.
Um lets see so tv, movies, books, sports, they don't all do the same thing? Consume time and thought? We can't spent every moment of our day worshiping the lord...this is just some religious extremist
"And they [u]are[/u] making kids fat."
Damn.
"Also -- Tetris is "deadly?" How? Did the red blocks remind you too much of the blood of Christ?"
Hahaha! I don't comment much, but that was hilarious.
Back to lurking for me...
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