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Killing in videogames is not a sin: CONFIRMED!
8:28 AM on 09.21.2008, Jim Sterling 80 comments

Killing in videogames is not a sin: CONFIRMED! photo
     Religion

If you were worried that you'd be burning in Hell for all of eternity because you shot someone in Grand Theft Auto, then fret not, my son. According to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, a reader was seriously concerned about this, but their minds are sure to be at rest over the answer.

Q: I'm very sure that killing/suicide stealing and anything like that is not accounted as an actual sin if it's only in video games. But I'm still not very sure, when I play video games, I'm not murdering at heart because I would never try to take the life of any living thing. And whatever is a video game can't die because it's not alive in the first place, video games are a false alternate reality...

A: As normally defined, taking the life of another in video games (as in acting or in any other fantasy situation) is not a sin against God's prohibition to murder. If, however, what is done in the video game is an expression of hatred or callous disregard for human life, then the heart and motives are wrong, and then it is sin in God's eyes...

For the record, however, obsession with video games can involve other departures from God's will... Typically, this can involve a colossal misuse of valuable time and also end up diverting time and attention from more useful and valuable pursuits that better glorify God and serve our neighbor...

So, the main message here is to glorify God, not violence. I've never gotten that whole "glorification" thing, it doesn't sound like a very modest demand of one's followers, but I guess if I knocked up an entire ecosystem in a week I'd want an ego boost too. 

I still can't believe someone was genuinely concerned about this, though. That's just silly.


Next page: More Also, God stories




MrSadistic's Avatar
MrSadistic at 09/21/2008 08:35
So uh what about having awesome man-on-animal sex via Second Life?... I mean uh not that I've tried it or anything.


Just sayin'.
Iron Dragon's Avatar
Iron Dragon at 09/21/2008 08:39
"video games can involve other departures from God's will... Typically, this can involve a colossal misuse of valuable time"

Ohh shit... Wasting time is a sin now? I'm so going to hell.
nicojay's Avatar
nicojay at 09/21/2008 08:42
Seriously. I've been taking (the lives of) pieces in the game of chess for years now and I never even once thought about whether or not it was a sin.
Then again I also carved the faces of my enemies on all the pawns.
Cartman's Avatar
Cartman at 09/21/2008 08:47
Looks like we've dodged a bullet.
casualweaponry's Avatar
casualweaponry at 09/21/2008 08:54
Will teabagging my opponents corpse still send me to hell? Or is that cool too?
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 09/21/2008 08:57
So it's bad until you confess your sins and go to church on sunday?
Superfluous Moniker's Avatar
Superfluous Moniker at 09/21/2008 08:59
Wow, such a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I was extremely concerned an invisible man in the sky was silently counting every Goomba and prostitute I killed to use against me at the pearly gates. I mean, what would He have that's better to do?

But this was rather obvious. What I'd really like to know is whether it is a sin to put large amounts of small change in the collection basket. Or better yet, obviously counterfeit bills.
e-roder's Avatar
e-roder at 09/21/2008 09:07
we get the point jim, but some of the comments below mock christianity in quite poor taste. were they really necessary?
PKN's Avatar
PKN at 09/21/2008 09:21
I think it's cool that it was regarded as a serious question and answered in an honest manner. Too all the people reading who want video games to be widely excepted and mainstream.. There are still an ton of people on this planet who do believe in a God and want to play videogames!
faultymoose's Avatar
faultymoose at 09/21/2008 09:25
e-roder: Respect on the internet?! Don't hold your breath. And don't let it get to you.
AwesomeToph's Avatar
AwesomeToph at 09/21/2008 09:27
If I use a God Mode cheat in a game, does that count as blasphemy?
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 09:29
"If I use a God Mode cheat in a game, does that count as blasphemy?"

Only if you use it to summarily wipe out everything in the game.
Iron Dragon's Avatar
Iron Dragon at 09/21/2008 09:41
@PKN: Why would any gamer want games to go mainstream? How could that be a good thing for gamers? Sure it's good for the companies but mainstream = casual crap for the gamer. Yeah I said it.

Mainstream has done nothing but hurt what we gamers love. I speak of course about the Wii and Nintendo E3 08. I loved the crap out of my N64 and Gamecube but I haven't really touched my Wii for a while now.

It comes down to: Why spend the money to make Fallout 3 or other games when Wii Play will move more than 10 million units? Mainstream is "Zomg 10 buttons I r confused! Makez it simple!" and I'm terrified that they're going to steal the hobby we love so much and morph it into something for my mother.

Also I'm horribly off topic now... So how about killing those virtual people? Yep... *runs*
orao's Avatar
orao at 09/21/2008 09:42
Thank the fish for that! I was worried that pressing a button that instructed my pixelated pseudo-form to attack other pseudo-monsters and then have them undergo animations that depict dying.
Gameboi's Avatar
Gameboi at 09/21/2008 09:45
Ah... morality in games peeks its head above the surface once again. Silly people, games are games, and real life is real life. Two separate realms.
Joe Burling's Avatar
Joe Burling at 09/21/2008 09:57
What about in Viva Pinata when you make two pinatas fuck, then they have a baby, and you make the mom fuck the baby, then they have a kid, and you make the dad fuck that kid?

Is that bad?

Could you contact them and ask for me, Jim?

Wait, who is God?
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 10:21
"What about in Viva Pinata when you make two pinatas fuck, then they have a baby, and you make the mom fuck the baby, then they have a kid, and you make the dad fuck that kid?

Is that bad?"

BAD? That's apparently how we all supposedly GOT here!
John B's Avatar
John B at 09/21/2008 10:33
How unbelievably pathetic that some people actually think that the calculation of ones and zeros within a computer CPU can be equated to the taking of a human life.
Higgins's Avatar
Higgins at 09/21/2008 10:41
Well..the fundies are gonna come out of the woodwork and hate on you for this now. :P
TheDreadHawk's Avatar
TheDreadHawk at 09/21/2008 10:48
I can see the concern of some of the more "ignorant" Christian gamers. I never thought of it as a sin, and I'm a Christian, durf a durf.
KMCC's Avatar
KMCC at 09/21/2008 10:55
Someone was genuinely concerned about something, asked someone whose opinion they trust, and received a satisfactory answer. That is all.
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 09/21/2008 11:21
Well, that's a relief.
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 11:24
"Someone was genuinely concerned about something, asked someone whose opinion they trust, and received a satisfactory answer. That is all."

No, someone asked an antiquated, corrupt governing body a question about something that should've been so common sense, it shouldn't have even been asked. Hell, I probably could've told him that the only real "sin" was potentially idolatry - which could apply to golf, drinking, watching sports, and probably eleventy-billion other hobbies that are infinitely more interesting than mass and being molested in the rectory.
MaxVest's Avatar
MaxVest at 09/21/2008 11:34
Why on earth would anyone criticize religious figures for not being familiar with video games when it's clear that many gamers are not at all familiar with religion?

Here's a novel approach to life: if you don't know much about something, there's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut and your mind open. I'm no fan of blustering and hypocrisy, wherever it comes from.
KMCC's Avatar
KMCC at 09/21/2008 12:01
@Bioautographical:

What MaxVest said.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 09/21/2008 12:04
MaxVest is right, as usual.

And the guy who answered the question was pretty spot-on, in my opinion as a sensibly nutty Christian. Christianity is, in reality, about the heart, about the motivation. An action might be perfectly innocent in and of itself, but if there's a selfish or hateful motivation behind it, then it's no good. Also, for a Christian, God should always come first, even before vidya gamez. (Also also, "glorification" has nothing to do with giving God an ego boost. In Christianity, it's seen as the only appropriate response for creatures like us to have towards a being like God. He certainly doesn't need it.)

But hey, this is the internet, so let's mock and deride the religious people, because who do they think they are, having their own belief system that isn't anything like ours!
Wexx's Avatar
Wexx at 09/21/2008 12:06
Sweet, I'm not going to hell (for that).
mr spooky's Avatar
mr spooky at 09/21/2008 12:22
eating an apple is not a sin unless it bleeds or screams.
thinkfreemind's Avatar
thinkfreemind at 09/21/2008 12:22
This is a thought that crossed my mind for a few seconds a long time ago. I figured it out for myself of course and told myself that it would just be silly for God to hold it against me, but I can understand why someone would ask. There really is no such thing as a stupid question.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 09/21/2008 12:23
Lesson learned: Christian people don't like jokes.
Merry Ho's Avatar
Merry Ho at 09/21/2008 12:26
@MaxVest and Sharpless: Rock On

I'm really disappointed with many of the responses I've read here, because isn't this what we are looking for, someone to say that video games are not inherently evil, and who is not trying to bash them every chance they get? yet you all still want to mock him anyway just because of what he personally believes in. are you all really that insecure?
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 09/21/2008 12:30
"I'm really disappointed with many of the responses I've read here, because isn't this what we are looking for, someone to say that video games are not inherently evil, and who is not trying to bash them every chance they get? yet you all still want to mock him anyway just because of what he personally believes in. are you all really that insecure?"

I think most of the bashing is aimed at the guy who had to check if it's a sin to kill someone in a videogame. As I said, that's just a little bit silly.

And for my part, what I said about glorification in the article was a joke. There's something to be said about insecurity there as well.
Merry Ho's Avatar
Merry Ho at 09/21/2008 12:31
@Jim: there is a difference between joking and mocking

mock: To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride.

Joke: Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement

jokes are fine, its when they start mocking that it goes to far, use common sense if you are having trouble.
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 12:35
<i>Here's a novel approach to life: if you don't know much about something, there's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut and your mind open. I'm no fan of blustering and hypocrisy, wherever it comes from.</i>

The "bluster", I suppose, is a matter of opinion (one with which I don't agree), but I'd love to see where "hypocrisy" came from. How exactly did I hold anyone to a standard to which I myself don't adhere?

<i>But hey, this is the internet, so let's mock and deride the religious people, because who do they think they are, having their own belief system that isn't anything like ours!</i>

Bottom line - people "obey" and talk to thin air, and yet are so in the majority, that others who rely on the common sense needed to realize that you can't have a relationship with a non-responsive nothing are the ones who are "crazy" or "weird" and in the minority. I can look at the ground in front of me, not see a chair, and state "There is no chair here" as an empirical fact, and that's fine. Acknowledge the same of "God"? No, no, no. Something is seriously wrong with that.

Am I about to throw anyone on the stake for it? Never. But make fun of them when they do idiotic shit like wring their hands over whether or not "gaming is a sin"? Absolutely. I suppose it's difficult to understand why that paints the epitomized picture of utter insanity to me, but it does.
mrplow8's Avatar
mrplow8 at 09/21/2008 12:37
I think they've got it a little backwards. All the time people waste in church is time that could be spent playing video games.
Merry Ho's Avatar
Merry Ho at 09/21/2008 12:44
"I think most of the bashing is aimed at the guy who had to check if it's a sin to kill someone in a videogame. As I said, that's just a little bit silly."

Well if you really think about it it's not all that silly, its not the act of killing someone in a video game that is a sin obviously, its when a video game replaces God in your life that it becomes a sin, same goes for anything that replaces God. And this only applies to believers anyway, those of you without God in your life are living in sin whether you play video games or not.
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 12:44
"mock: To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride."

And like he hasn't done that with . . . just about everything else? Depending upon who you are, or what side of the fence you stand on, it's either funny to you or it's not. Jump on the religion, and all of a sudden, no one can laugh at it. We can make fun of certain game devs, hypersensitive "feminists", hypersensitive race card players, but heavens no, not the Christians!

By all means, make jokes about atheists sometime. "Those idjits, not reading the Bible and praising Jesus, lulz!"
Bioautographical's Avatar
Bioautographical at 09/21/2008 12:46
"And this only applies to believers anyway, those of you without God in your life are living in sin whether you play video games or not."

HAHAHAHAHA.

I knew it would eventually come out, I figured we'd just be somewhere towards the 100-comment mark before it did.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 09/21/2008 12:46
I actually had a friend that brought this kind of thing up when he was about 13 years old. Although he wasn't actually concerned, he was trying to blow my mind I think.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 09/21/2008 12:48
"Although he wasn't actually concerned, he was trying to blow my mind I think."

Well? Was your mind blown!?
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 09/21/2008 13:04
The Bible is rife with depictions of people getting killed for a variety of reasons. I wonder what this guy has to say about destroying rows of blocks. That has to count as trespassing against one's neighbor for tampering with their property.
loquax's Avatar
loquax at 09/21/2008 14:05
Jim, religion deserves respect. What you wrote at the end about glorification is unnacceptable. God created the universe, and to disrespect him is to sin at the highest level. For this reason I will no longer be reading any of your posts.

As Jesus once said, "we're no strangers to love. you know the rules, and so do I"

I think we should all follow this rule, the goldenest of goldens.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 09/21/2008 14:08
loquax:

So let me get this straight. I mock, criticize and satirize everything I can get my hands on in all my articles, but I make one offhand joke about one thing that YOU personally hold dear, and that's it, off you go.

Okay, fine. I'm sorry you feel that way.
GeneralWong's Avatar
GeneralWong at 09/21/2008 14:13
@ Ioquax

God does not exist.

Looks like I'm going to hell, I often look for Africa and Chinese people to run down while playing GTA and sometimes when Im just driving home from work.
joemoemino's Avatar
joemoemino at 09/21/2008 14:25
I remember my dad not wanted me to play games where I kill people in them. He even didnt want me playing Descent those many years ago.

But wheres the fun in a game if somethings not getting shot or blown up?
loquax's Avatar
loquax at 09/21/2008 14:35
I shall respond by quoting further scripture.

JOHN 4:20
"Never gonna give you up."
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 09/21/2008 14:37
loquax is a cunt.

What's worse is that I read the first quote you made and thought "that sounds familiar ..."
Velt's Avatar
Velt at 09/21/2008 14:53
I remember a time when videogames were a sin and sex was dirty.
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