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Despite what some ignorant politicians and journalists might tell you, video games are fairly bland when it comes to how “adult” their content is. In fact they are usually too bland to emotionally engage and would be far better if they moved a bit in the “adult” direction. This blandness comes partly from their heritage of being seen as children’s entertainment when, in fact, far more adults than children play video games and the median game player is in their late twenties. Another reason for the blandness is the dull censoring hand of the platform holders who are amazingly prudish.
The fact is that established old media have vastly more shocking content than video games. This is an irrefutable fact. And often that shocking content has no age rating and is available to children from birth. Books are a prime example of this. And a prime example of a book that children are encouraged to read is the Bible.
There is a handy website that allows you to search the bible for content. Using this we find that the King James version has “harlot” in it 48 times, “sodomite” 5 times, “fornicator” 5 times, “smite” 133 times, “kill” 208 times and “maim” 7 times. This is shocking, you have to wonder what any right minded parent is doing exposing their children to this stuff.
What we need here is a level playing field. For books, television, video, film and games all to be age rated by the same people using the same criteria. Then the vocal anti gamers would be in for a big shock. Most games would be available much younger and many books would find themselves with an adult rating. Including many classics of literature. And possibly the Bible.
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hells yes finally someone calls out the bible
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Meh. The Bible is kid stuff — if you really want to go off the deep end of violence and barbarity, try reading the Koran.
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Yeah there is alot of Violence in the Bible, Its called reality Wars happened back then too but you cannot compare the contents of the Bible to the sex Game in GTA or killing someone Visually/Doing drugs. Dont get me wrong I completely believe if you dont want kids exposed to this then be better parents take an interest in what games you’re kids play so you can make sure they arent playing a game you dont want them too, its the same thing with movies Parents have no problem keeping their kids from goin to see Movies they dont want them to see.
Simple solution, Take interest in you’re kids life and show them why you dont want them playing violent video Games/Movies/Books/Pictures/whatever else you’re goin to whine about.
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Strict Bible adherents would (and will?) spend hours typing up heated attacks on this humble exposition of fact. Their primary argument, no doubt, being the myriad moral lessons behind these biblical moments of “violence” and “sexual depravity.” Lessons that are obviously not to be found in video games.
These will be the words of people who have never invested the time to mill over the tragic consequences of Andrew Ryan’s hubris in “Bioshock.” These will be the ravings of those who failed to understand the assuring message behind the necessary punishment of the Shinra corporation for their greedy exploitation of mother Earth in FFVII. No doubt the opinions of those unwilling to look beyond the “pornography” in “Mass Effect” to find a story encouraging diplomacy and moral action as one strives to achieve in the name of the human spirit.
The real tragedy, is that the opinions that I just theorized would fall on millions more sympathetic ears than this article ever will. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, thank you for writing this brief yet poignant piece.
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There is some difference however, simply because the Bible mentions “Kill” does not mean it is a violent book. (Not to say that it isn’t because it sure does have it’s moments) Simply searching for words does not give you context, and thus robs the words of their meaning… how many times does “do not” or something similar come up before the word “kill”? The Bible mentions that someone was a harlot, it doesn’t take you in for hot coffee and then let you kill the woman. Furthermore, the Bible offers a moral context within which one sorts out all of the good stuff and the bad stuff that happens, while video games do no such thing.
Furthermore, your definition of Adult and the journalists’ definition of Adult are quite different. You are using Adult to mean emotionally mature. Like a good Dramatic movie or television show. Journalists are using Adult to mean killing people whilst showing blood spurting from chopped off limbs. You are speaking character development and connection, they are speaking character disembowelment and destruction.
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first: i don’t think most video games are “bad” (GTA is the only game i think is over the top)
but this is ridiculous. if i make a website saying “cocaine is bad” thirty times but you search for the word “cocaine” it will appear as if my website was pro-cocaine when it would really be anti-cocaine.
the bible uses words like “fornicator” and “sodomite” only to condemn the behavior.
… and why does the WHOLE bible have to be “kid appropriate?”
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Fortunately The Bible is still available, and uncensored on the Nintendo DS.
The Moon Books Project – bringing classic literature and films to the Nintendo DS.
http://moonbooks.net
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I did a quick photoshop of the Bible as rated using official ESRB criteria:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darklyseen/2258996612/
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I dont believe having a level playing field for media rating would be benefitial.
The interpetation of how media influences consumers is very much open to interpentation.
In favour and against video games.
For instance in Film theory it is commonly accepted that the lack of control given to the viewer greatly enhances the effect a film has on its viewer’s sub concious.
This would mean any violent scene in a movie would be much more influential then an equivilent scene in a video game.
But in contrast many conservatives would argue the ability to control one’s actions greatly enhances the effect on one’s moral judgement in a negative way. This argument is further concreted by the introduction of the Wii with its motion control.
One could also argue that video games have always been well able to keep a distinguishing feature that ensures it is fiction over all other media. HUDS, lifebars, pause menu’s etc have all enforced the *game* aspect of video games thus (especially in multiplayer) harbouring a response similar to that of a game of football rather then violence and immoral judgement.
In comparision (and here’s the kicker) the lack of definite statement that the bible is fact or fiction and its ability to be open to many forms of interpentation has led to countless deaths and would be a valid argument of giving the book an adult rating…not to discorage religion but to allow one to make a rational decision on how one should accept its message. Fact/Fiction/love your neighbour/burn the heritics…
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Phil Travis nailed it. Regardless: games are not the violent hotch potch the media make it out to be, the Bible isn’t the violent or uncontrolled Bruce makes it out to be.
The problem isn’t violence anyhow, the problem is the infantile nature of the majority of games, the games industry and the people behind it. While increasingly powerful guns are the replacement for character development we’ll never get anywhere too far in terms of mainstream public acceptance or understanding and the Sun will always have it’s content served to them on a plate.
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Just to put this in context: I am a researcher who studies video games. In one study I had participants play 15 minutes of the game “Evil Dead: A fistful of boomstick” As part of the study I had people watch video tapes of the player’s game play and code it for the number of times people attacked a player (meaning shooting their gun or swinging their chainsaw) and the number of other characters they killed. I can’t remember the exact number, but the average number of attacks was about 700 and the average number of kills was around 150.
ANd that’s just in 15 minutes. Compare this to the 208 times the bible says kill, and how long it takes to read the bible. and I think you’ll want to readdress this question.
Oh and by the way, research has shown that violent passages from the bible can make people aggressive too. And in similar ways that video games increase aggression.
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Make sure you read this excellent article, written by experts on the subject: http://southeastpsych.blogspot.com/2008/02/video-games-and-aggression.html
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I’m all for a level playing field as an avid gamer and a programmer in the industry, but there is a distinction in my mind between reading/observing and participating. Reading about someone being killed in a book, even at its most graphic, is a far cry from being behind the controls and doing same said action.
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Religious youth generally don’t read the bible, but are taught it by teachers, parents, clergy, etc., who obviously chose when they are ready for the more adult content.
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I think some of you are missing the point. The point isn’t that the Bible = Grand Theft Auto, the point is that people are hypocrites.
Those that must rise up and save us from ourselves have absolutely no problem with their “own” little media adventures in sex and violence. You CAN’T say that “this” violence is bad, but “this” violence over here is fine because it’s MY violence… unless you’re a hypocrite, and no amount of rationalization is going to stop that.
YES, the Bible is violent. Tons of people die. People are tortured. Entire cities of children get killed in a single night. It’s NOT “better” violence because it’s religious. Cope with this fact. If you can have your violence, I can have mine.
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love – 442 times
joy – 187 times
compassion – 41 times
peace – 420 times
And ignoring context doesn’t really help the argument either. “not kill” came up 51 times, so… yeah… But whatever, that’s not my real point.
I think we can look at all the content of things in the world, the Bible included, and judge what could be a negative influence in almost anything, but I feel like content is not really the issue or problem at hand. Censoring content; easy. Banning games; not so hard. Asking why the adult content of our favorite games is being removed, while similar themes in the Bible remain; valid question. But, I think dealing with the heart issues and core lies that people are living with inside themselves is the hard part. If we can figure that out, then perhaps we will start to see a difference in the world. And perhaps that is a worthy topic for your next article…
Anyway, this isn’t a rebuttal. And I realize you used the Bible as a single example, so getting into a Bible debate isn’t your point at all, (despite your aggressive title, lol) and neither is it mine. You could have mentioned any Greek tragedy or anything else for that matter, and it’s all the same. But I think it’s important to think about the problem that goes beyond just protecting content from children. Because I feel like if just the content of the world was the real problem, you wouldn’t really have needed to have written that article, would you?
Anyway, good article, ’cause I don’t usually comment on this kind of stuff …just my two cents…
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To #4
Wrong.
This strict bible adherent’s primary argument is that parents allow children to read the bible for the same reason history teachers allow children to read history books. To learn about history.
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I like what Phil Travis said. And Chris Caskie–though I understand you’re trying to make your own poignant statement, it baffles me that you can agree with a guy that makes no sense.
He compared video game violence to the Bible only to cause a stir, and in the end, used an example that proves nothing otherwise.
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please. at the End he is still talking about books in general. Take the books from steven king as example i can remember class mates reading the book in 5-6 grade. just because he mentioned the bibel it dosn’t mean THAT IT IS ALL THE TIME ABOUT THE BIBEL!! damn it -.-
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The point I am trying to make is in my press release quote:
Bruce Everiss explains: “Video games are just another form of media like books, film and music. It is the content that matters and it is irrefutable that games have far less sex and violence than books or television. Yet, amazingly, books and television have no age ratings whilst video games do”.
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one big difference… the Bible is life as it happened, games are making a game of violence. To me, that is no comparison at all, making your comments invalid.
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Thanks for reading the video game article. Great stuff here too. People really need to become better critical thinkers and question more about what they believe and why they believe it.
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I wonder how the Koran would compare?? Is there a website to search that too?
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Everyone knows that the video games are fake and that the Bible is the only real media.
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In reference to comment #12:
Well that is a poorly done article. All it does is refute evidence from one study. Sure correlational studies are not that great as you cannot show causality. But there have been numerous experimental studies that have shown the same effect and due to the procedures used can show causality.
In reference to comment #20
Sure, lots of media have violence in them. But in no other form of media are people so frequently exposed to the violence. Additionally, books, music and tv are somewhat passive. You can have the TV on and not really be paying all that much attention to it. Games on the other hand require active participation. As such they require an increased level of attention.
So yes, lots of forms of media are violent in nature. This does not absolve violent video games in any way. And if anything there really should be greater concern when considering violent games compared to other types of media
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I keep saying. The best input about gaming from psychologists is this. They work in the real world with real people with real problems: http://southeastpsych.blogspot.com/2008/02/video-games-and-aggression.html
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Yes, I read the article that you posted there. But again, the data that they are refuting is only from one study. There are plenty of other studies using methods that can infer causality. Additionally, the author of that article is making the same mistake that he points out is a problem with the research on violent video games. Namely that correlation does not equal causation. Just because the violent crime rate has gone down in recent years (and actually is back on the way up) does not mean that violent video games do not increase aggression. If you want to read a well conducted study follow these links:
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2005-2009/05CA.pdf
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/00AD.html
And if the best input comes from psychologists then I’ll tell you: I am a psychologist myself. I have done research on the effect of violent video games on aggression. I have never found the reverse effect (that violent games decrease aggression). I know a lot of people who have tried to show the reverse, and they have all been unsuccessful so far.
Additionally, if the best input comes from psychologists, then even better input would likely come from psychologists who actually study the effect of violent video games on aggression. The author’s of your posted article have never done any research on this issue. Rather they are being speculative and nitpicking on individual studies rather than looking at the wealth of research on the issue. Every psychologist knows the problems with correlation. This is why we run experimental and longitudinal studies. This type of research can show cause and effect relationships
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That was fresh. I think the point Bruce is trying to make stands as it is: Video-games are being overly bashed upon by conservative media and by elder generations. My guess is that the main reason to this is the same as why a non-religious person will never understand love for God or vice-verse: they have no experience and/or connotation of what the effects are.
Instead of monitoring children, why wouldn’t an objective psychologist go and play games himself and see if he turns into a heartless, overly aggressive murderer and rapist? The ESRB will rate the games so that only the right people can play them. Lack of enforcement is not the fault of the games. Do we blame the horror-movie industry if a 12 year old kid is allowed to see Saw or a similar movie and has nightmares afterwards?
In any case, cause and effect between games and aggression is non-existant at this moment. I think it will remain non-existant. I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve read oh-so-many different takes on the subject that I’m certain that in the end, they’ll find the truth in the middle: there is no effect – not for good nor evil.
As to react on several rather bland statements here:
– #2 Charles Martel on 02.11.08 at 8:35 pm
I wonder if you ever read the Quran. It appears to me that you’re just another randomist that likes bashing on things that are popular. Yes, Quran is more violent than the Bible. No, that doesn’t make it barbaric. I’m a muslim myself, and I can assure you that any sane muslim would take a lesson of peace and tolerance out of the Quran:
“O ye that reject Faith!
I worship not that which ye worship,
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship,
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
To you be your Way, and to me mine”
– #13 Colin
That makes no sense. Books allow people to imagine every gory detail. It has been proven that your mind is more active and vivid when filling in things than it is when given every detail. For example, they’ve proven that censoring the word ‘sex’ in an article makes it a more offensive article.
– #21 Jo
That too, makes no sense. Why wouldn’t a game be based on historical data? Rome: Total War, for example, is a pretty darn accurate simulation of how war could’ve been in the days. Most WWII shooters are pretty accurate in what might’ve happened back then. Fictional stuff is only a part of games. Your statement makes me wonder if you know what you’re talking about.
– #27 Seth
I love how you say that you haven’t found the reverse effect. Basically, you’re saying you haven’t found the effect you’re implying neither.
I must applaud Bruce for breaking open such a discussion, even though the article leaves something to be wished for (taking context into consideration might’ve been smart).
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Sir! I think you should look to the meaning of Bible verses, not merely look up words.
“But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?” 2 Kings 18:27
What video game speaks so honestly of dung-eating and piss-drinking?
“And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.” Deuteronomy 28:57
Seldom in a video game does the Lord threaten that He will make a mother eat her own children, as He does in the Bible. Praise God, for He is immeasurably more explicit in His wisdom than the FCC would normally allow. Consider His description of death by rectal prolapse:
“And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.” 2 Chronicles 21:19
I counsel you: look for the MEANING in the Bible, and you shall indeed find what you seek. Of the great Book Mark Twain said,
“It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.”
But he was probably agnostic, so Christians don’t give a flying meatball what he said. Only the Bible, as Jerry Falwell reminded us, is the perfect and inerrant source of all knowledge. Amen.
~~ OEJ
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While reading the Bible or any other book for the matter. Be sure you read everything in context.
Otherwise ignorance plays in and fingers start pointing.
🙂
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While talking about any video game be sure you mention everything in context.
Otherwise you can look a right prat.
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The evil, ugly side of life in the Bible has a reason. Light can only illuminate at its optimal as it shines through darkness…through evil. The Bible’s bottom line is the light of Jesus.
And yes that light has been grayed by us murky-at-best Christians. But the Bible ultimately is about the betterment of the human race.
Yes I admit us Bible believers have failed miserably in carrying the message adequately.
Here’s the big question? What’s the high calling of video games?
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Many “Christians” will watch whatever on tv and play whatever video games they like because they don’t care what God thinks in the first place. As a Christian, I can do what I want, because my sins have been forgiven regardless of what I do. But I live for Jesus because He died for me. Christianity is freedom, not rules.
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ok people, im a 16 year old teen. That loves to play video games and watch gory movies and im a christian. So because I play gory games with drugs and sexual content does that mean im a bad person? No, so people get over your self please!!!!!!
wolf out
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there is a thread on develop mag website about all this that is raging on.
http://www.developmag.com/news/29892/BBC-Newsnight-report-sparks-developer-unrest
Rudy
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It’s horrible that some people try to justify playing games. God doesn’t want any of His saints wasting their time on empty pleasures that never give any real satisfaction in this life or the next. Also, CHRISTIANITY IS NOT FREEDOM! No person is truly free; only the Almighty is free. The apostle Paul always referred to himself as a servant (a slave in some versions) and he truly meant it. A servant, especially a slave, of Christ cannot do what he wants. Paul said that we should no longer knowingly sin against our Creator, and playing games is sinful. Everything that isn’t of God’s will is sin- and does God want us to play video games? Of course not!
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Sad
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I came to this page because I was looking for an answer to a question that has been bothering me for the past few days. I have read all of the posts above. Some of them helped me to solidify what I believe, and others raised good questions. I am a person who wants to follow Jesus Christ. No, I’m not preaching to anyone, just sharing my opinion on what I have read. I read the post #36. Though I believe that it is true that God does not want His Saints wasting there time on useless self indulgence, I do believe that we are FREE. All people are free to make there own choices. Whatever choice that may be, good or bad, there are always consequences to those choices that go against the will of the Almighty. It is written that “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Freedom.” It is written that Jesus said that He came to free us from the consequences of our sin. The problem is that many “Christians” including myself have used this as an excuse to do whatever we want because after all “Jesus died for my sin, right?” Lets take violent video games, because that is what this article is talking about here. Today’s society would call games entertainment, even games like Doom, Diablo, Gears of War, Condemned, and others. Look, I enjoy video games like these, but I have been wrestling with my conscience on this issue for a while now. I’ve been thinking about it this way. Back in the day when the Romans ruled a large portion of the world they had forms of violent “entertainment” as well. They were called gladiators. Gladiators would fight to the death, they would fight wild animals to the death. Sometimes the Romans would just simply throw a slave into the arena to watch him be devoured by wild animals. That was there entertainment. Now, any life loving person can understand that this was wrong. The crowd that watched the events in the arena did not control the violence but they also did not stop it. What is a violent video game? Watching and controlling “virtual” violence for the entertainment of it. I understand that you cannot put every person into the same category. Not everyone will take that violence as an excuse to cause someone harm in real life, but a child who has not been taught the difference between good and evil, right and wrong may not understand. It has been shown in many studies that people who were abused as children often, but not always, become abusers themselves. If parents don’t teach there children the difference between good and evil and help them understand that violence can only lead to pain, then the freedom that Jesus Christ came to give us was for nothing. Post 36 says no one is truly free but the Almighty. I argue that when a man or woman is set free by Christ to serve God it is truly freedom not enslavement because that person made the choice to put himself into the servitude of the Almighty. It is written in 1 Corinthians 13 “love does not demand it’s own way.” I agree that when a person is born again they should no longer choose to disobey God, but out of the Love that God has shown that person they should want to do what is good and obey God. Do I believe that video games are sinful? Some. Do I believe that video games are a waste of time? If you are truly a follower of Christ, yes. Do I believe that God would ever force any person to not play video games, no.
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I am a youth director, and avid game player. I consider myself to be open minded and in the pursuit of reasonable justice. I have seen numerous “offensive” movies, games, listened to the “taboo” music, and indulged in art that was “questionable”. I deal with students everyday who are directly affected by these factors and I can say without hesitation that the censorship imposed on these media outlets are far from fair, far from equal, and sadly lacking. I am an adult, and, as such, I enjoy adult oriented games (read: not referring to “adult” in the sense of “look, there’s an adult video store” but as is “not made for children”). I appreciate reality. I also appreciate a certain amount of idealism. I can appreciate censorship to an extent. I believe the video game industry is unfairly heralded as the catalyst for teen violence and immorality. I will not deny a belief that all the choices we make in life directly effect our existence, including video games; however, I believe the intent of the heart will lead people to find violence when they want to or lead them away from it even when it is available. How foolish is it to blame the industry for the interests of the public? How foolish is it to hold the gaming industry to a slighted standard because we are disillusioned with the idea that it is predominantly a market to children. The youth I deal with have equal access to Grand Theft Auto and The Devil’s Rejects. The difference between the two are staggering, and yet one is dealt with far more heavily handed than the other. Free will is as it sounds. Legislation will never bring about morality or eliminate violence. It is the hearts and the intents of the individual which will lead to life choices. Let’s be fair.
And yes, the Bible is a strict account of life. They did not have to record the details of acts such as dismemberment, masturbation, and torture in the Bible, yet they did. I hope our nation never resorts to censoring the Bible. Why should games not have an equal fighting chance? If it is not socially acceptable then the society has chosen not to accept it. If society chooses to accept it, no amount of laws will stop it (I.E. Marijuana).
Thank you for an enlightening and intelligent post.
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http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
Anyone who wants to read an objective analysis of the bible should visit the above web site.
In response to the claims that the bible contains nasty stuff because it’s historical, you have to note that a lot of the nasty stuff was directly ordered by prophets or by God.
As for the issue of whether young children read the bible. Church services are very boring and there are plenty of bibles in church. What do you expect a child to do in church apart from read the nastier sections of the Old Testament for entertainment? It’s what I used to do in church when I was young.
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/gen/19.html#30
Also please note that the bible is NOT a strict account of life. It’s a very biased account of one side. Even on the Internet it’s rare to see a description of incest that portrays the children as attackers in the manner of the above reference.
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No one thinks that any video game is a real account of events but with the bible its different. I’ve studied the bible deeply and thought it was a bit strange that God kills countless people. (In Exodus 32 God wants to kill those people who make a golden calf, moses calms him down) the bible is a collection of archaic and symbolic stories, but people take it literally. How many people can explain why it is that the order of creation of beast and man is reversed in the first 2 chapters of Genesis? Ask anyone who believes in God where God is, they will say Everywhere. That of course implies that God is absolute, but don’t realise that it’s impossible for the absolute to have attributes because attributes need a point of origin to extend from, so if God gets ‘angry’ God ceases to be absolute and is subject to our physical laws.
Video games are just a bit of fun
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Ok Al if you want me tobe part of this little “Debate” you got it. Listen to what I have to say. Many people of the human race belivie that if you can’t see it, smell it, hear it, or feel it, it doesn’t existent . That is a dead out lie. Just because you can’t see God doesn’t mean he’s not real. Besides, if you saw him you die in a second. Why did you think he told Moses to stand behind a rock when he walk past him where he told Moses to write the ten commandments. The israelites couldn’t even handle Mose’s face when he got back because God made it some stinking bright.
Also videos are not bad unless they are rated M-A. But do be warned, the T rated games are a bit more tricky to tell from. If you don’t now what I mean with tricky, check the bottom right of the back of the game you want to get and you see what I mean.
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hehe, just linked to this old post ,
can anyone think of ANY video game that would ask a man to sacrifice his own son to prove his faith? no , well i cant at least.
but it’s right there in the bible…so what sort of example is the bible setting for young children and adults alike?
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now the thought strikes me … wouldn’t the bible make a great game … you could have huge wars, burn heathens, have thousands of wives and a couple of boyfriends like king Soloman, etc ,etc , the list is endless.
shame about the expansion pack tho (“The New Testament”) it totally failed to live up to the origional game concept.
yeah , i went there , i’d soo totally burn in hell if i wasn’t a 21st century pagan.
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@ Seth
I hate to be completely out of context, but Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, while being awesome in it’s own right, is still a terrible game. The people who were studied probably didn’t mention the awful and frustrating controls.
As far as the “Bible vs Video Games” goes, I find it better to compare the two. The Bible mentions a holy God who rules above us, telling a fantastic story of his son, ect. Video games mostly have a fictional plot that is a fantastic adventure centering around a protagonist. David managed to take out a giant (which do not exist) named Golaith, while Ness and his friends destroy an alien evil. Without making a huge diatribe about it, the Bible shouldn’t be treated differently… it’s a work of fiction. If only it were marketed that way…
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The argument made in the OP article is frankly, ridiculous. There’s a cavernous difference between reading that ‘x was killed’, and witnessing the killing in real-time, portrayed in maximum glamor for your entertainment. It’s a boneheaded comparison. By that reasoning, the newpaper is horribly violent, because it mentions that x was raped, y was murdered. Never mind that it doesn’t describe the actions in detail, its JUST like violent video games because the word ‘murder’ is present. Worst logic ever.
The graphic experience of hacking off limbs, raping or murdering is similar to real life for say, people who lived in Rwanda in the 90’s. It’s not the same, as reading TIME magazine, or the bible, or any other literature that goes into minimal or zero detail.
I understand that there are books which are extremely graphic, but the bible which is this author targets is not one of them. The most graphic descriptions involve only cursory descriptions, with little to no expansion and no glamorization. The point in the bible, history books or other similar tests, is to report the event. Compare this to the point of being involved or emotionally drawn into it, in violent video games.
Anyone who believes this comparison is legitimate, should see no difference between showing their kids pornography, or allowing them to read a news article stating that this or that official had an affair. It’s all the same right? Give your head a shake.
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i agree with derek the bible is used as a guide to life style for those who want to understand gods veiws and teachings . I also under stand how you feel about how groups using the internet to scam people out of money .