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Day 18
The Computer Game Impact
By Al Menconi
I
once received an email from a young man
who disagreed with our review of “point
and shoot” video games. He claimed
that since he had never killed anyone,
it proved that playing violent video
games hadn’t affected him. When
we cited research that suggested violent
video games increase aggression in every
player, he claimed that
playing video games was a good “release” for
pent-up frustrations and anger. This
is how we responded to him:
“You’re right. The study
we cited doesn’t prove that
playing violent video games will make someone
kill people in real life. But it does
show beyond a shadow of a doubt that
playing these games increased every player’s
level of anger and aggression. Nor can
we prove that playing video games made
the boys at Columbine kill anyone. But
all the research indicates that it helped
increase their anger and hostility toward
their classmates.
Those boys had never shot anyone before,
but they had little trouble actually
doing it when the time came. Why were
they so successful at killing? They had
extensively practiced ‘getting
their aggression out’ through first-person
shooters. These games didn’t make
them better shots, but there is no doubt
that they reduced their inhibitions to
make them willing to kill their peers.
They had built up their aggression
and practiced acting it out thousands
of times on their computer before they
played the life-size version. They “cleared” rooms
one at a time just like they practiced
in their first person shooter games.
And when they had ‘earned enough
points,’ they ended their own lives.
Game over! Yet you claim that playing
video games didn’t influence them.
Really? How do you know?
COLOSSIANS 2:8 says: "Don't
let others spoil your faith and joy
with their philosophies, their wrong
and shallow answers built on men's
thoughts and ideas instead of on what
Christ has said."
What is a violent video game but some
man’s or woman’s ideas written
down and produced as a video game (or
a TV program, movie, or rap/rock song)?
God’s Word says that if we continue
to focus our minds on the empty philosophies
of this world, it will eventually undermine
our faith in Jesus and the joy of our
salvation.
Which leads to some obvious questions:
how is YOUR faith and joy? Do you ever
think that perhaps you’ve lost
your salvation? Do you ever wonder if
there is a God? Is Jesus Christ really
God? (That’s faith….) How
about your joy? Do you have love, joy,
peace, gentleness, meekness, etc. in
your life (Gal. 5:22 -23)? (That’s
joy….)
I also want to suggest that playing
violent video games does not relieve
the anger and pressures of daily life,
but instead, it rehearses and reinforces
them. Even after hours of satisfying
game play, your problems are still with
you. You haven’t really dealt with
them at all. The game just allows you
to avoid real life for a couple of hours
in a digital world, but that’s
NOT reality.
How should Christians deal with the
stressful problems of life? The Bible
tells us to bring all our burdens to
Christ in prayer (Phil 4:6). He would
like to relieve them from you. Playing
violent video games may not make you
run out and kill your neighbor. But maybe
playing video games is Satan’s
way to keep you from dealing with your
problems in a biblical fashion.
Also, as a Christian, we are saved
to serve others (Eph 4:28 ). Did you
ever think that the hours you spend hunched
over a computer ‘getting your aggressions
out,’ could be better spent serving
others in your church or community?”
Reflection: Do you still believe
it doesn’t affect you? How do you
know?
Response: Make a
list of first person shooter (FPS) games
that you, family or friends have played.
What character trait do they have in
common? Compare this list with the Fruit
of the Spirit. In what ways are they
similar? In what ways are they different?
How many hours a week do you spend in
a digital world “escaping” reality?
Verse of the Day: Romans 16:17b
"Stay away from those who
cause divisions and are upsetting people’s
faith, teaching things about Christ
that are contrary to what you have
been taught." (Living Bible)
So much of today’s popular music,
television, videos, movies, and computer
games mock Jesus Christ and Christian
values. This verse says to stay away
from that type of person (entertainment),
because it will cause divisions in the
home and will upset an individual’s
faith.
How is your faith? Are there divisions
in your home? Could it be the influence
of your entertainment? You have to remember
that it is always more than just a movie,
or a TV program, or song, or game. The
most effective teaching tool invented
by man is audio visual aides. And there
are no more effective audio visual aides
than today’s movies, TV, videos
and games.
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