In the meantime, some of you may be interested in this discussion on biblical scholar Ben Witherington's blog. I know some of you that read are Christians who also enjoy the game Halo specifically, or even video games in general. If so, you may be interested in the post and the discussion. Ben is questioning the use of Halo (and by extension, I think, some other video games as well) at youth group events, and seems to me to be questioning whether its ok to play the game at all as a Christian (although I don't want to put words in his mouth - that side of the discussion seems to be implicit in the conversation). I'd be interested to hear what you think - its turning into a good discussion so far.
If you know me, you probably know I've enjoyed the Halo franchise for years, and am particularly enjoying the third installment, which came out almost 2 weeks ago.
12 comments:
after reading his post and all the responses, i am having a real hard time trying to keep a level head. there is a lot to be said in retort to his statements, and Jake, i think you are saying it all and quite well. its just very clear that he does not get that part of culture and has completely written it off. so in a sense, it makes his thoughts on the subject moot.
frustrated. but glad you are fighting.
Justin,
Hey man - thanks for responding! I would say that Ben is exhibiting a lack of knowledge about the video gaming community and that he's jumped to some conclusions - which frankly surprised me a bit. But I wouldn't want to go so far as say his thoughts on the subject don't matter. He does raise some good questions - and I do think as Christians we need to wrestle with the issue of violence in media in a deeper way than we typically do. Obviously I play Halo and don't find the violence problematic - at least not to such a degree that I find it harmful for myself to play.
Regardless, its an interesting discussion and I'm trying to offer a corrective on several points where I think he misrepresents (or perhaps better, misunderstands) elements related to gaming.
Frankly, the more popular video games become, the more we'll need to think through some of these issues - partially because they are important and haven't been considered adequately since it is a fairly new medium, but also because I think there are large segments of the Christian community that judge video games more harshly than other entertainment media. I do think the issue of interactivity is significant and makes video games a little different - but I also think that sometimes too big of a difference is assumed between video games and other media - especially films/television.
Don't give in to frustration though - these are discussions that need to happen. Its natural that some people with no understanding of the gaming community will react in certain ways - those of us who are more involved can act as a corrective.
I found this blog entry from a guy:
http://jasondwilcoxon.blogspot.com/
Its the second blog down. see what you think.
Thanks for the link. I'm not sure how well he argues his position - I don't want to make a blanket statement that violence doesn't affect people in any way, and simply saying "I know there are studies. I don't care" is a pretty poor line of reasoning.
Still, I do agree that their are obviously fundamental differences between video game violence and real world violence, and that no 1-to-1 correlation between video game violence and real world violence exists. Does that mean it has no effect? Not at all. But the effects of such games are more complex than some people want to allow (and certainly the factors leading to real world violence are way more complex than "Halo 3 made me do it"). The topic is worth study - but I think some people are far too reactionary about video games - and that perhaps a distinction exists between games like Halo and games like Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, and Hitman, where it seems to me the violence is much more problematic.
I'm kind of frustrated that the discussion has ceased on the other blog. I spent quite a few minutes writing a response and have yet to see it posted.
I am as well - I replied 2 days ago and have yet to see anything. For some reason Witherington turned on moderation approval for all comments, but it seems like he's not checking it. Its weird because I don't think I've ever noticed him doing that before - and he certainly didn't seem bothered by the discussion. I keep checking back and hoping he's finally approved the comments, but no luck so far.
Jake,
Did you make a reply to Witherington's blog outside of the two already there?
since Omaha church's are having Halo welcomed into the church,when we finally allow Bible Prophecy teachers to speak at our churches or is that years away before Omaha churches will preach on Bible Prophecy
Carl,
Yes, I did post again. I don't think he's blocked my post at all - there's no reason he would, and NO posts have appeared since that time. I think he's either a) not had time to check and approve, or b) decided he doesn't want the discussion. Probably option "a" - I'd be really surprised if it was "b".
Hello, Anonymous (I mean Joshua),
First, in what sense are Omaha's churches "welcoming" Halo? Yes, I personally enjoy the game - no, as far as I know our student minister does not use it in our ministry. I can't speak for other churches, and you'd probably find different opinions on our staff about the game. You need to be much more careful with the blanket statements that you make, as often they are not accurate.
Second, I will ask (as I did in the previous thread) what bible prophecy has to do with this discussion. Further, your definition of "bible prophecy" seems to mean discussing a particular view of the "end times" - which is a pretty narrow definition of bible prophecy. Honestly, our church does talk about it from time to time. But it is not nearly as big a focus as you apparently think it should be. Frankly, the Bible has much more to say about how we live our lives now than what is going to happen in the future.
Regardless, this thread is not the place for this discussion. Anyone else have anything to add about the original post?
Jake,what I was talking about Pacific Springs AOG having a Halo 3 Tournamant at their church when I was mentioning.
BP has nothing to do with the discssion but I think considering the times we are in,churches should be talking about little more than we already are. BTW WHY isnt as big a focus as you apparently think it should be.
I agree Bible has much more to say about how we live our lives now than what is going to happen in the future but I also believe in what it says in Luke 21:28 to be watchful of the times we are in.
Joshua,
I'm not familiar with Pacific Springs, but I would again say you need to be careful making blanket statements. One church does not mean all of Omaha.
Be careful you don't misread my comment. I did not say that prophecy was not as big a priority as I thought it should be - I said we don't make it as much of a priority as YOU apparently think it should be. I already said why - because the Bible says much, much more about how we live our lives today than about the future. In fact, we are told at several points not to concern ourselves with the future (cf. Matt 6:33-34; 2 Thess 5:2). The reason, as is clear in 2 Thessalonians, is that we're not going to know when Jesus is coming back. Our job is to be ready - not by trying to follow esoteric "signs" (which runs counter to what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians), but by living within the Kingdom of God by seeking to be like Jesus.
Seriously, though - that's as far down this road as I'm going to go. This thread is about discussion of the post, which is about Halo and Christianity/the church. I'd appreciate it, Joshua, if you would stay on topic and stop trying to move all discussions towards "prophecy".
I'm still quite disappointed that the discussion on the first thread at Witherington's blog seems to be "shut down". That was my first time commenting on his blog, and when my response (along with probably several more) never even makes it to the page I'm not sure I'll bother again. Its too bad, because I think its a good blog, and they often have good discussions in the comment section - so I'm quite puzzled by the problem this time.
Regardless, Witherington has posted again - this time it is an email discussion he had with his son regarding Halo and gaming in general. His son has some excellent thoughts and I highly recommend reading the post. It looks long but didn't take long to read at all.
http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007/10/no-halo-for-halo-3.html
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