Is this scandal?

[JackVk]

I stopped playing a video game called Fallout New Vegas because I thought the content was immoral and felt like I was holding out of God for playing it, even though I wasn’t tempted to sin by it. However, my brother, a fallen-away Catholic whose heart is incredibly hard, swears and blasphemes all the time, is a huge racist and a litany of other bad things, asked me for access to my still-existing account for the game, and I gave it to him, even though I thoroughly explained to him why I thought it was wrong and against my conscience. He wrote me off as being hypersensitive, as I expected. But since I let him play that game, am I causing him to sin? I told him why I thought it was wrong (and a few things in it, although very subtle and inconspicuous, could be seen as blasphemous), and he didn’t listen, so I just gave him access to my account. Is this scandal?

 

[RedSoxFan]

Perhaps it wasn’t the best move, but I would not consider this to be a sinful act as I do not think you intended to sin. The question of sin, in this case scandal, is a valid one. In this particular case it seems to me that your brother is responsible for his own scandal, as he pressured you to give him access to the game which you had sought to withhold thereby causing you to sin.

Here check out this out to see what you think:
newadvent.org/cathen/13506d.htm

 

[JackVk]

Perhaps it wasn’t the best move, but I would not consider this to be a sinful act as I do not think you intended to sin. The question of sin, in this case scandal, is a valid one. In this particular case it seems to me that your brother is responsible for his own scandal, as he pressured you to give him access to the game which you had sought to withhold thereby causing you to sin.

Here check out this out to see what you think:
newadvent.org/cathen/13506d.htm

But I never really objected to him playing it. Whenever I try to tell him I think something is immoral and a sin, he just writes me off as being “hypersensitive”, so I just went with it, knowing he shouldn’t be playing it either. So for it to be scandal, do I have to be doing it with deliberate, malicious intent of causing him to sin?

I hate thinking this way. Going down to the letter of the law makes me feel like a Pharisee.

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

I haven’t played New Vegas, but I have played Fallout 3. I want to play New Vegas, I just can’t afford it yet.

Media is a matter for individual constitution. For example: I have NO problem watching a movie like Titanic. However, it’s not something my husband could watch without problem (breasts just don’t do the same thing to me that it does to him!). Anyway, it’s a very personal choice and must be left to every individual to discern. Some things are obviously wrong (porn, etc) while others really depend greatly on the viewer/player.

As for the other part of giving him access to your account to play it - there’s nothing wrong with that. (Not sure if this was something you were wondering about too) Licenses are set up this way so only one instance of the game is running at a time to prevent piracy. As long as you didn’t make a copy for him, all rules were followed.

As an overall note, I think that we as catholics/christians are overly concerned about the media and actions of others who are fallen away. You say your brother is fallen away. In this case I think the least of your worries is New Vegas. Even if he never plays this game, he is still rejecting Christ or not loving him to the best of his ability. This should be something you should be working with him on (through love and kindness! Lead by example!) than the video games he is playing for the time being. This is why I rarely if ever tell a christian that they shouldn’t be watching/playing something. The one time I did I totally ruined a relationship with a friend. She was getting into homosexuality fanfiction with a mutually loved fantasy genre series. I called her out on it and she was so embarrassed and felt unworthy to talk to me anymore…so she did just that. She stopped talking to me, confiding in me, and felt uncomfortable around me. Now in my older and slightly wiser years, I know that I should have been talking to her more about Christ and praying with her about life in general and let CHRIST work on her heart.

 

[JackVk]

So, could I still receive communion tomorrow? I also suffer from scrupulosity and don’t like having to grab a priest before confession for one thing, especially when my last confession was on Thursday.

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

So, could I still receive communion tomorrow? I also suffer from scrupulosity and don’t like having to grab a priest before confession for one thing, especially when my last confession was on Thursday.

Yes. You didn’t commit a mortal or even a grave sin. If it weighs heavily on your conscience anyway, confess as soon as you can. I’d also try to talk to your priest about scrupulosity - this can be a big problem if not addressed. Sadly, I know too many people who got frustrated and left due to scrupulosity. I know there are a lot of groups here on CAF that talk about their struggles with it.