Should We Be Disturbed?

[Jordan Ekeroth]

I think a lot of you have seen my site Follow and Engage already. What I do over there is link to articles that Christians write about video games. I’m working on creating a resource of good Christian game writing.

If it’s alright with you, I think I’m going to start linking to my content more regularly. I’d love to hear what you all think about it.

This week my post is titled “Should We Be Disturbed?” and I link to a few articles on the subject of how comfortable Christians should be with uncomfortable subject matter.

Anyways, here’s the link, I’d love feedback! God bless you all.

http://followandengage.com/2012/02/enga ... disturbed/

[ccgr]

I try to avoid overly violent games and reduce the gore whenever possible. Games can be disturbing in many ways, not just violence. I recently blogged about an awkward romantic story line between an adopted brother and sister. This site started when games like Ultima 9 incorporated magic that required you to gather reagents and place them in a pentagram and light candles around it. I found that disturbing.

[Nate DaZombie]

Good article. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I understand what kind of effect games can have on us, but at the same time, I'm not a pacifist. While I don't approve of games like Saints Row or GTA, I'd still be willing to play them if someone needed a review written. If I need to play a game so I can show somebody what kind of content is contained within the game, I will. God gave us free will, and people can decide for themselves whether or not they should be "feeding" themselves this content.

[Jordan Ekeroth]

Yeah Nate, I'm right there with you, I find myself going back and forth on this issue. Though for me it's less about the necessity of playing because someone asks me to, and more about a desire to explore what certain games are trying to say and be able to be conversant with the ongoing conversation taking place around them. For instance, if I had a friend who rejected Christianity on philosphical grounds, I would be interested in learning more about, say, Nietzche. Even if his writing disturbed me, it would be worth it for me to have that connection with my friend that we could discuss, so I could have more opportunities to love on him and point him to truth.

[Nate DaZombie]

Yeah, I know what your saying. Every once in awhile I'll read a book from a different religion, just to see their perspective. If it ever comes up in conversation, I don't want to say, "Well, Christianity is right because I say so, SCREW YOUR OPINION!" I want to show the truth, not beat them over the head with my opinions.

[Jordan Ekeroth]

As one of my good friends would say, "Totes M'gotes." Aka, totally.

[godsjedi]

If you're disturbed playing a game, find another game. One less disturbing, such as DataWare games. If you defeat an enemy in Dataware's games, the enemy just disappears from the screen.