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Christians often struggle when it comes to pop culture. It seems like we tend to either be all-in or isolated entirely. We will produce Christian media, but usually, the only people reached by Christian media are…well…other Christians. The world just isn’t really interested in or drawn to what we produce.

Technology in and of itself is not good or evil, but it can be used for good or evil. Right now, there are technological developments that seemed so far off into the future when I was growing up. I currently live in New Orleans and thanks to an Echo device, I can talk to and see my parents every single day even though they live in Knoxville, TN.

While Christianity and the area of apologetics are my main passions, another passionate area of mine is video games. I plan to write several articles on the topic of video games and Christianity, so consider this an introductory one. Why do we need to talk about this?

To start, in describing myself, one aspect gamers use to show our age is to ask what our first system was. For me, it was a Colecovision, and if you ask, “What’s that?” then that tells you I’m likely older than you are. If you know what it is, we’re either the same age or I’m younger. To this day, if I saw a Coleco collection show up on the Nintendo eShop, I would buy it immediately and play some old classic games.

I am a Christian about to graduate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master’s in Philosophy and working on a PhD with a planned dissertation on video games and Christianity. My thesis is that we play games and find meaning in them because we all have a God-given need for story, quest, and purpose. I will be making many more important claims about the benefits of gaming.

Also, I am on the autism spectrum, which gives me a strong, obsessive focus on topics that I care about. I also find that it gives me a unique perspective on various matters. In future articles, I will write about how gaming has helped me tremendously in this area.

To get to the point, like it or not, video games are here to stay. The genie has been released from the bottle, and it is not going back in. That being said, ff C.S. Lewis is correct in saying that the devil and God are in a constant battle to have Lordship over reality, that would include the world of video games.

Before someone dismisses this idea, remember video games are a medium for conveying ideas and shaping worldviews like other mediums. Books, plays, radio, films, and television have been used to convey good ideas and bad ideas. The medium in and of itself is not the problem. It is it is used that is the problem.

That being said, video games do have something that is quite different about them from other forms of media. In other forms of media, people are passive recipients of what is going on. You can read Lord of the Rings several times, and what happens on the journey will never change. Frodo will always toss the one ring into Mt. Doom and destroy it. You might notice new things in one reading that you didn’t notice before, but the story will never change.

If you watch a TV series, the series will never change on repeated viewings. J.R. will always get shot in Dallas. In a movie, Wesley and the Princess will always come together in the end of The Princess Bride. If you know the material well enough, you can quote the lines as they are being said.

The difference with video games is that the participant plays an active role in the story. Let us go back to The Lord of the Rings. If you watch the movies, they will play out the same. If you read the books, they will play out the same. If you are playing the game, maybe Frodo will die before he gets to Mt. Doom. Maybe Sauron will win because the player was incapable of overcoming his forces. Of course, in most games, the player can challenge enemies multiple times until he gets it right, but the quest will only be successful if the player actually guides the character or characters properly.

In this sense, players can get more immersed in a game, and this can be either a good or a bad thing. If they get so immersed that they destroy relationships and quit their jobs and other such changes take place, then they have a problem. If they do not, then it can be compared to getting caught in a good book, movie, or TV show.

This also means that games can and are being used as a teaching tool and one that is more effective in many ways because the players have a vested interest in what is going on and the outcome of the game. They want to win. In various games, as I will describe in future articles, this can lead to moral quandaries. If the player wants to do whatever it takes to win, will he do just that? Will he cross over moral lines to reach a goal or not? Will those decisions affect future moral and ethical decisions in life outside the game?

Games are also now a social aspect of the way our culture interacts. As I have said, I am on the spectrum, and thus, I struggle with social interactions, but if in my job at the seminary Post Office, someone comes in and I have music from The Legend of Zelda playing on YouTube, and they recognize it, that can be the start of an instant friendship. We share a common experience in playing a game, and we can relate to one another in that way. Gamers have communities like any other group.

I will also eventually be answering questions about violence in gaming. But again, this is an area where we can easily make mistakes. If we say, “I will allow no content with violence into my house,” then wouldn’t we have to throw out your Bibles as well? Just consider many of our favorite Bible stories and how many of them have an element of violence in them. David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, the Exodus from Egypt, and even the resurrection of Jesus cannot be reached without the violent crucifixion coming first.

Again, consider this an introductory article explaining why this topic matters. If you are interested as I write future articles, please feel free to comment and raise a specific question or point to consider. I will be glad to do whatever I can to assist and engage.Ω

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Nick Peters is a student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and is nearing completion of a Master’s degree in philosophy. He has been studying apologetics and Christianity for 25 years. He blogs regularly at Deeper Waters Apologetics. He is also on the Autism spectrum and speaks on topics related to Christianity and Autism. He is about to enter the PhD program at NOBTS and is planning a dissertation on video games and Christianity. He lives alone with his cat, Shiro.

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