cgames 03 – Halo 3 at Church? Violent video games coming to a youthgroup near you.

What disturbs me most about the idea of drawing people with Halo3 or similar games is a sort of implied endorsement. It affirms playing video games as appropriate, worthwhile, even valuable behaviour for a Christian young person. If “fellowshipping” over a console game (and not the cultivation of spiritual disciplines or furthering of intimacy with Christ) is the picture of Christianity that we are sending out, will the strong believer disciple the new believer, or will the skilled Halo player disciple the unskilled? Will the presentation of the gospel be the feature presentation or merely the cover charge?

If bringing Halo into the church is a good idea for bringing in the lost, why not bring in strippers, or have an open bar? That would bring in lots of lost people. We could compete with the bar district! We could add _script_ure verses to the swizzle sticks in the drinks, have a big banner that says “Jesus loves you”, and have the band throw in one Christian song every set (not too many, or they might not come in).

This Halo idea reeks of compromise. What is our goal-to count bodies in the church building, or to set hearts on fire for Jesus?
Since when does God need a marketing campaign? Or are we so ashamed of the gospel that we have to take the edges off of it before we feel good about presenting it to the most lost in our society?

We do need to reach out to gamers. How? Let’s try the old fashioned, time and Bible-tested way of sharing the gospel with them, straight-up. Don’t they live in our homes, go to our schools and work in our offices? They’re all around us. The power is in the Gospel. Or don’t we believe that anymore?

To put things into perspective, the M rating that Halo got corresponds to an R rating for a movie. Its like allowing interactive R movies with no distinct Christian theme into junior high groups. Doesn’t sound like sound techniques to me. Plus, with the Dopamine being used up playing the game, kids often don’t have enough left to care what the youth pastor says.

>Brian

I am soooooooooooooooooo anguished over this disregard for the true gosple. watered down, trampled on absolute WORLDLYNESS!!!!!!!!! there is no difference anymore between the Holy and the Profane. Woe unto them that call Evil good and Good Evil. Thanks Church, my husband just sent my kids off to a youthnite tonight to play Guitar hero. its all in fun! no problem right?, wrong!!!! children will not be won by worldly attractions, its the Power of god and his true Word that will keep them.

I think that its fine, I myself have played and beaten both Halo and Halo 2 They aren’t as violent as everyone says they are. Frankly, if Halo 3 attracts more non-christian kids to come to a youth group then I applaud what the youth groups are doing, in fact I would say that if you haven’t even PLAYED halo 3 that you can’t go and judge it for yourself! I think that videogames can be a great medium for reaching non-christians. I believe that it is just judgmental and turns people off to christianity to judge games like this without playing them. Btw Brian, actually R movies are mcuh more violent than M games because if an M game is too violent than it gets the Adults Only rating and only people over 18 can play it. There is absolutely no comparison between Halo 3 and an R movie such as the Matrix Revolution because the people that give movies their ratings are much more permissive than the people that give games their ratings.

Chris,

I personally have no problem with Halo in itself. The problem is when the church espouses it. Halo can be a great medium for reaching non-Christians, just not at the expense of “weaker” Christians. Remember when Paul told the Corinthians how to deal with meat that had been sacrificed to idols? here’s what he told the Romans:

“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.” (Romans 15:1)

We don’t want to be a stumbling block for those who are struggling with addiction or are more sensitive to violence by supporting games like Halo in church.

Alright, this is an excellent learning opportunity because in reality the ESRB is not less permissive than the MPAA. There’s a conflict of interests involved in both cases. According to the ’05 MediaWise report:
“The ESRB video game rating system, like its cousins in the movie and television industries, is owned and operated by the industry it is supposed to monitor.”

A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 48 percent of the “T” games they studied contained violence not labeled by the rating system. This confirmed earlier studies showing the number was around 44 percent.

If you want to track them down:
JAMA 291 (2004): 856-865
JAMA 286 (2001): 591-598
At the Journal of the American Medical Association: http://jama.ama-assn.org/

><>Brian

Thomas,
This is a great interview with a true believer about a specific issue with church and a particular video game. You used a news article and ran with it.
I have listened to all of your podcasts on my iPhone, but it has been a while since you posted one. I am really looking forward to the next one.
Your comment, why not have pornography at youth group, that will certainly get a lot of boys to show up, sure makes your case.
Lift up Jesus and God will draw all men to Him. Don’t lift up computer games (computer games are not Jesus). Although there are many that make computer games idols.

It will definitely attract the kids, that’s for sure.

Im actually a video game designer. Killing in Halo 3 is merely an animation. Its not real.Thats like saying its wrong to watch a TV show about murders. And I hate it when Older people comment that video games make the youth go out and commit violent crimes. Name One incident of that happening.(And instead of Atrracting young people to church with video games, how about attracting them with sports or pool tables, or fun trips designed to help the needy aka the homeless. That will no doubt increase their self confidence and self esteem.Trust me Ive done so before.)

How would a church ever use video games to “attract” kids? Bait and Switch? Please. Never going to happen.

Here’s the thing. We can’t force Christ on anyone. To make a difference, it begins inside each one of us. What we need is to live as (and trust in) Christ. Be “ready with an answer”, don’t fake it, pose, or pretend. Mostly, pray privately for others’ salvation by grace. Rest assured, the Lord will have His way.

Boyad,

How’s this for you?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513975,00.html

Actually turns out that this man WAS IN THE MILITARY. If he can be pushed to this kind of violence with his training, who can’t?

So, what do you think? Is this kind of violence common or even worth paying attention to?

> <> Brian