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.
