Are Video Games Wrong? (Please Help)

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Okay, so I also want to mention I have OCD, so it can be a factor as to what is going on. But, I believe it to be a mix of belief as well. I am also sorry if this comes off as a little unclear as I am confused upon this myself.

What I want to say is that I really don’t practice any religion, but if I did, it would probably be Catholicism. Just lately has been pretty tough because I have been playing video games as I was young and it used to be one of my favorite hobbies (not recently because it’s giving me stress, although they’re fun). But, I’ve been stressing out so much because I keep hearing that violence in video games is bad and all that and I’m thinking if it can send me to hell and if it can desensitize me to violence in real life.

Now, I know the difference between fantasy and reality but it’s the thoughts that are overwhelming me. Video games have always been a way for me to relax and to not think about things, however, lately they are causing me so many problems due to me thinking I am doing something wrong. Yes, I know they are pixels but, I really don’t want to be a bad person or go to hell for it if possible. 😦

There’s not really much other hobbies I can do for a LARGE amount of time as the majority of my hobbies are physical. I also am a very independent person as I enjoy spending time for myself. I can not hang out with friends or my girlfriend for too long because that’s just how I am I believe (maybe it’s due to games).

But, idk, I’m so confused and dk what to do. Any help is appreciated on the subject at hand.
 
Here is my advice, honestly.

Instead of worrying about violence in video games, which might be something worthy only of slight concern at most, why not concentrate on developing your relationship with God and perhaps begin to practice Catholicism?

These are issues of much greater importance, and if you do this, then it will be much easier for you to discern the answers to small questions like these for yourself.

I am not sure about video games, but I am quite sure that God cares a great deal whether you follow Him when He calls you.
 
JakeSim said:
Okay, so I also want to mention I have OCD, so it can be a factor as to what is going on. But, I believe it to be a mix of belief as well. I am also sorry if this comes off as a little unclear as I am confused upon this myself.

What I want to say is that I really don’t practice any religion, but if I did, it would probably be Catholicism. Just lately has been pretty tough because I have been playing video games as I was young and it used to be one of my favorite hobbies (not recently because it’s giving me stress, although they’re fun). But, I’ve been stressing out so much because I keep hearing that violence in video games is bad and all that and I’m thinking if it can send me to hell and if it can desensitize me to violence in real life.

Now, I know the difference between fantasy and reality but it’s the thoughts that are overwhelming me. Video games have always been a way for me to relax and to not think about things, however, lately they are causing me so many problems due to me thinking I am doing something wrong. Yes, I know they are pixels but, I really don’t want to be a bad person or go to hell for it if possible. 😦

There’s not really much other hobbies I can do for a LARGE amount of time as the majority of my hobbies are physical. I also am a very independent person as I enjoy spending time for myself. I can not hang out with friends or my girlfriend for too long because that’s just how I am I believe (maybe it’s due to games).

But, idk, I’m so confused and dk what to do. Any help is appreciated on the subject at hand.
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Hi.

Another person asked a similar question. You can read about our answers to him in this thread, which might help.

God is real. The friends, family and objects about you require interaction. If you remember The Matrix, you should know of what you may be caught inside, living too much in a virtual world.
 
Just monitor your thoughts as you’re playing. What kind of thoughts are games giving you? How are they altering your behavior? If you do not believe they are doing so, then I wouldn’t worry about it, since the Creator of the Universe has better things to be concerned with.

If they are giving you negative thoughts or violent ideas, then I would worry quite a bit.
 
Spencerian said:
Hi.

Another person asked a similar question. You can read about our answers to him in this thread, which might help.

God is real. The friends, family and objects about you require interaction. If you remember The Matrix, you should know of what you may be caught inside, living too much in a virtual world.
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Thank you for the link and I don’t think I game TOO much however. I use a lot of my time towards sports and lifting and I go to school. Graduating now actually.
 
If you feel drawn towards Catholism perhaps you could enquire at your local parish, you are always welcome to find out more about it, without making any type of commitment unless you feel ready for it.

I don’t know much about video games, the last one I played I believe was pac-man.
 
In my opinion I guess it would really come down to the type of game. Like I played WoW for many years and you were going around killing people but it was obviously fantasy. Even games like Left for Dead or Gears of War, its complete fantasy. Then you get into games like Modern Warfare where the killing is more realistic, but it is War games so I guess like one of the other posters above said, it is mainly about what thoughts are running through your head. If you going around thinking how great it is that you got to kill somebody, that might be an issue. But if your goal is “Cool I unlocked another achievement” then that’s more reasonable. But games like Manhunt where the main goal is to come up with inventive ways to kill people should probably be avoided. If you are completely worried there are TONS of games out there that don’t involve killing at all. But like I said this is just my opinion.(I love to play video games too)

As for worrying about going to Hell, I think you should really look into going to Mass. Even just go once and see if it works out for you. I did and I loved it. You can talk to a priest and get his opinion on things. Most of them love to talk to the parishioners and they would have the correct answers here.
 
SeekerDan said:
In my opinion I guess it would really come down to the type of game. Like I played WoW for many years and you were going around killing people but it was obviously fantasy. Even games like Left for Dead or Gears of War, its complete fantasy. Then you get into games like Modern Warfare where the killing is more realistic, but it is War games so I guess like one of the other posters above said, it is mainly about what thoughts are running through your head. If you going around thinking how great it is that you got to kill somebody, that might be an issue. But if your goal is “Cool I unlocked another achievement” then that’s more reasonable. But games like Manhunt where the main goal is to come up with inventive ways to kill people should probably be avoided. If you are completely worried there are TONS of games out there that don’t involve killing at all. But like I said this is just my opinion.(I love to play video games too)

As for worrying about going to Hell, I think you should really look into going to Mass. Even just go once and see if it works out for you. I did and I loved it. You can talk to a priest and get his opinion on things. Most of them love to talk to the parishioners and they would have the correct answers here.
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Hmm…but isn’t the goal to kill in some games like MW2, Gears of Wars and all that? Especially in multiplayer modes? Is that such a bad thing to play game modes like Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch and all other kind of modes?

There’s even achievements for destroying a certain number of pixels.

Does that fall into the category of “oh, that’s good that I killed him”? In other words, is that such a bad thing?
 
There is allot of death, destruction and killing in the Bible. Is it bad reading about that? No, of course not.

1 Samuel 15:2–3
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey,”

Video games are entertainment, that’s all they are, just as long as you keep it in the video game. I see nothing wrong in having a good time destroying pixels.
 
Hey guys,

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that posted, I appreciate you guys trying to help me!
 
outfctrl said:
There is allot of death, destruction and killing in the Bible. Is it bad reading about that? No, of course not.

1 Samuel 15:2–3
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey,”

Video games are entertainment, that’s all they are, just as long as you keep it in the video game. I see nothing wrong in having a good time destroying pixels.
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I’m sure I’ll figure things out, things happen for a reason.

Thank you for the response too though, I appreciate it!
 
As a sort of “apologist” for video game violence, it really boils down on how well you can distinguish fantasy from reality.

Killing things on a video game screen is really no different from shooting moving target signs in real life. The only difference is that the things on the screen are more animated.

Also, you’ll find plenty of games where even the violence within the game’s context is pretty morally legit.

For instance, I’ve played a game called Fable and eventually, I end up fighting human bandits. These bandits do all sorts of evil things like attack traveling merchants, help the main bad guys, not to mention they’ll try and rob you once you’re in their sights. Even in real life, you wouldn’t expect to just stand there and not fend for myself. The Church declares that we are in every right to defend ourselves against aggression.
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
As a sort of “apologist” for video game violence, it really boils down on how well you can distinguish fantasy from reality.

Killing things on a video game screen is really no different from shooting moving target signs in real life. The only difference is that the things on the screen are more animated.

Also, you’ll find plenty of games where even the violence within the game’s context is pretty morally legit.

For instance, I’ve played a game called Fable and eventually, I end up fighting human bandits. These bandits do all sorts of evil things like attack traveling merchants, help the main bad guys, not to mention they’ll try and rob you once you’re in their sights. Even in real life, you wouldn’t expect to just stand there and not fend for myself. The Church declares that we are in every right to defend ourselves against aggression.
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Hey Lost Wanderer,

Thank you so much for the response as it gives me a little more insight on what the community around here believes!

I would also say defending yourself to a certain level is acceptable!
 
I think anything can be taken to extremes. I used to frequent the video arcades in the 70s and 80s when I was younger. Wasted a lot of time and money, pumping quarter after quarter into those machines. I knew some guys who’d practically blow their whole paycheck on video games.

Nowadays, it’s a bit different, since people can play video games at home and not have to go down to the arcade. I used to think that it would save money to do that, but with the price of some games out there, I can see where some people could still blow their whole paycheck on video games.

Then there are some of these online interactive games where people are using real money to buy imaginary houses on imaginary islands. That’s something I simply can not understand. Then there are other programs like “Second Life,” which I’ve only recently become familiar with. I’m not qualified to say whether it’s right or wrong, but it just seems wrong to me in some way.

But video games might have some use, if it’s the right video game used the right way. For example, an interactive historical computer game might encourage greater interest in the study of history than just reading words out of a dry, boring textbook. I recently read an article about that. So, some video games might be useful and productive, depending on how they’re used.
 
stevicus said:
I think anything can be taken to extremes. I used to frequent the video arcades in the 70s and 80s when I was younger. Wasted a lot of time and money, pumping quarter after quarter into those machines. I knew some guys who’d practically blow their whole paycheck on video games.

Nowadays, it’s a bit different, since people can play video games at home and not have to go down to the arcade. I used to think that it would save money to do that, but with the price of some games out there, I can see where some people could still blow their whole paycheck on video games.

Then there are some of these online interactive games where people are using real money to buy imaginary houses on imaginary islands. That’s something I simply can not understand. Then there are other programs like “Second Life,” which I’ve only recently become familiar with. I’m not qualified to say whether it’s right or wrong, but it just seems wrong to me in some way.

IBut video games might have some use, if it’s the right video game used the right way. For example, an interactive historical computer game might encourage greater interest in the study of history than just reading words out of a dry, boring textbook. I recently read an article about that. So, some video games might be useful and productive, depending on how they’re used.
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Hi stevicus,

Thank you for your response! 🙂
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
As a sort of “apologist” for video game violence, it really boils down on how well you can distinguish fantasy from reality.
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👍 Agreed.

There are lots of violent games but as a good example I recently played through the story mode of the newest Mortal Kombat game and can’t remember the last time I played a more violent game. It was a blast and I loved it and continue to play through the regular arcade mode from time to time.

The question is… after playing do I have the urge to try to become a ninja who can teleport behind my enemy and knock him upside the head or fire a spear out catching him in the chest and yanking him to me shouting “GET OVER HERE!” then beat him to a bloody pulp. No… I did not. On the contrary I usually turn it off and watch a movie, read (fiction or the bible if I’ve not read it that day) or go out to dinner with my girlfriend or a variety of other activities that involve no violence.

Video games like all things are only sinful if you allow them to be. If you allow yourself to be influenced in such a way that you take on the characteristics of the characters you’re playing… that’s a problem in both the spiritual and mental sense. If you play them so much they detract from the rest of your life then it’s just a matter of excess and you need to chill out a bit… all things in moderation. 🙂

To the OP you mentioned that you would practice Catholicism if any religion at all. I would strongly recommend taking that next step and asking God for help. That really is all it takes. He’s always listening… you just have to ask.
 
mdrummer5 said:
👍 Agreed.

There are lots of violent games but as a good example I recently played through the story mode of the newest Mortal Kombat game and can’t remember the last time I played a more violent game. It was a blast and I loved it and continue to play through the regular arcade mode from time to time.

The question is… after playing do I have the urge to try to become a ninja who can teleport behind my enemy and knock him upside the head or fire a spear out catching him in the chest and yanking him to me shouting “GET OVER HERE!” then beat him to a bloody pulp. No… I did not. On the contrary I usually turn it off and watch a movie, read (fiction or the bible if I’ve not read it that day) or go out to dinner with my girlfriend or a variety of other activities that involve no violence.

Video games like all things are only sinful if you allow them to be. If you allow yourself to be influenced in such a way that you take on the characteristics of the characters you’re playing… that’s a problem in both the spiritual and mental sense. If you play them so much they detract from the rest of your life then it’s just a matter of excess and you need to chill out a bit… all things in moderation. 🙂

To the OP you mentioned that you would practice Catholicism if any religion at all. I would strongly recommend taking that next step and asking God for help. That really is all it takes. He’s always listening… you just have to ask.
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Hey mdrummer5,

Thank you for taking the time and responding!
 
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