Are "Violent" video games wrong?

[Ngakunui]

Seeing as how my free time is usually spent playing games in which violence is at least a minor part of the gameplay(with some exceptions), I would like to know if anything in the Bible would advise against such a practice.

Personally, I don't even feel like I'm doing anything violent in most of them. It's more like "Oh no! It's the enemy-shaped horde of polygons! I must left-click at them!"- oddly, I feel more violent when playing non-violent games most of the time. In addition, I'm making a first-person game using Game Maker that's coming along decently and has fighting a war as a theme, and I just recently thought "what if this isn't the best thing to do?"

Then some times I think about games like Doom, which I played at a very young age. The whole goal of it is to kill demons and demon-possessed zombies(and it's certainly rather gory), which I guess probably wasn't the best thing for me to play when I was about five years old(It really didn't scare me that much, because I thought they were Nazis or the U.N. or something as opposed to demons-and yes it was Doom; not Wolfenstien 3D). I don't see how killing demons in a videogame could be a particularly offensive theme to God, but I'm not so certain about the senseless violence.

I could certainly say that I had a "violent" stage in my early childhood, but I know for a fact that it had nothing to do with "violent videogames", because that was also when I was more interested in "amateur film making"(Which, having only myself to produce and act everything, starred "Lego People" as actors instead), those films however, were centred around vicious things like "deathmatches" and "weapon testing on living subjects". I also made custom components to simulate the characters having holes blown into them.

But back on the subject, would you say that Violent video games as a whole aren't that great a mode of entertainment for Christians, or am I just obsessing over a stray thought that sprung to mind? I never really even felt like there was much of anything wrong with most of the "violent" games I've played, except for a few- even then, it's not due to violence.

[Kurieuo]

I'd be hypocritical to say don't play them.

I know many Christians would digress, but I don't see anything inherently wrong with violent games. If violence were all that were to such games, then I'm sure many would tire of them. People like feeling like they are good, trying to be the best, being apart of a team, strategising, excitement, stories, r&r.

If it is purely the violence one likes in such games then perhaps they should be seeing a counselor? As for Christians, whether reading a book, watching a movie or documentary, one should be aware to the anti-Christian themes and stances (e.g., Doom was quite purposefully satanic, GTA often mocks Christians, etc).

[harth1026]

In my opinion, violence in games or any other form of entertainment isn't wrong in itself. If the goal of a game is to defend your home from invaders, you will have violence. However, glorifying violence is wrong. Glorified violence (ie excessive blood, extreme killing methods, etc) is unnecessary and in my opinion doesn't make a game any better.

[jlay]

not to mention they are a humungous waste of time. garbage in, garbage out...

Imagine if the time you spent paying games was spent in prayer, study of the word, witnessing, discipling, or mission work

Excuse me, I have to go get a plank out of my eye.

[StarGazer]

Now that videogames are becoming much more integrated into mainstream media and society, we're now finding much younger kids playing very violent games.=[

i was shocked when i babysat a church going parent's child and he told that he loved to play grand theft auto and shoot grandmas...o__o

overall,its not so much the violence,than who is being susepted to it.i can be susepted to it no problem.

atleast,in my opinion,violent games are only a problem with immature minds.

[Lorden]

Video Games are not wrong. Video Games do not kill people. People kill people. If your worried about your kid getting influenced by a video game and doing immoral things, then you have raised your kid wrong. Remember to take everything in moderation and your fine.

[jlay]

Yes moderation.

remember only a little poison. only a little adutlery. only a little smoking crack. Only a little thieving.

moderation is the key.

Pardon my sarcasm. Some video games are outright WRONG.

[TellMe~Ily]

Well,I think that if you like the part of killing people and seeing all that blood,then it could be wrong. Keyword: could.
Then again,I like to play this skiing game on my Wii and run into people on purpose (because they make this weird sound and some give you the x( face ) and sometimes I wonder if it's wrong or not.

[ageofknowledge]

Too much of even some good things can be bad for you (e.g. vitamins for instance). I would say playing a lot of violent games for long periods of time isn't healthy.

[nd925]

I don't think the video game itself is a bad thing. I think what you need to consider is what God saying to you on the issue? If He is telling you to lay off the games for a while then you should lay off. If you don't then that's a problem.

[ageofknowledge]

I don't think the video game itself is a bad thing. I think what you need to consider is what God saying to you on the issue? If He is telling you to lay off the games for a while then you should lay off. If you don't then that's a problem.

I agree. We had one of the leaders at Celebrate Recovery recently confess he had spent way too much time playing computer games and not enough time with his family because of that.

[Gabrielman]

I also agree that if God tells you to lay off you should. He wants you to spend some time enjoying yourself, but not so much that you get wrapped up in the game and forget about the world. Since we are on the topic of games I have a question I have wanted to ask for a while. Is Morrowind or other magic based games okay? I enjoy it and I even think I found a Christian message with in, you may need to look up the story line to get that one along with the seven graces. Thanks and God bless!

[ageofknowledge]

Also, there is the problem of people spending all of their time becoming wealthy and powerful in an online game at the expense of real life where they end up poor and ignorant as a result with stunted socialization. I was reading about some young men in Japan that literally almost never leave their room. They game from the time they get up until they pass out at night and do this for years on end.

[Gabrielman]

What!? Really!? That's sad.

[ageofknowledge]

What!? Really!? That's sad.

It's serious. These "hikikomori" constitute 1% of Japanese society http://www.shuttingoutthesun.com/hikiko ... hesun.html.