Hello xxxxx,
Thank you so much for your e-mail, and may God bless you in your studies and in the pursuit of your vocation.
I am pretty much the only writer on this blog now and I don't contribute to it enough either, I think I started helping on it when I was about 24 and now I'm 32. I was a seminarian when I started and now I have been a priest 3 years.
I take the view that video games are a medium, just like film, music and literature. There are books that Catholics should not read, there are music types Catholics should not listen to, there are films Catholics should not watch, but this does not mean a catholic should not read any books, not listen to any music, not watch any films.
I also take the view that games are a kind of sport/ leisure activity a way of re-creating, of "playing" which according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is a necessary element in being a flourishing human being.
So with those points put together we get-
1) everyone needs to play, to recreate themselves,
2) video games are a medium, a type of entertainment and like any medium in itself it is morally neutral. The particular message or content that comes from the game will define its morality. I am quite strict with myself on this- games with swearing, impurities, or games where you summon demons, I avoid those- sometimes I have bought them and stopped playing them- like 'the last of us' which i thought was too vulgar language. So you're right GTA is going to be something to avoid. But there are plenty of games that are perfectly fine, just as there are films and books and music.
Obviously, for play to fulfill its job as recreation it will, by definition, be in moderation, because pay is there is help us re-create, to de-stress, it should be to let off steam and not a central part of our life. I probably only play maybe 2-3 hours a week.
I think priests who oppose video games are weird and inconsistent. ... do they have a problem with someone playing a sport? of course not! Do they have a problem with someone reading a decent novel? no.
Video games therefore are fine so long as they are morally neutral games (like for example Pac Man, or Candy Crush, or Mario Kart or a spots game or a platform game), or even, on the rare occasion morally positive (where you have an RPG with an inspiring and christian themed message) and always only as a distraction, a small amount of play or diversion to provide recreation which we all need in order to flourish.
1) everyone needs to play, to recreate themselves,
2) video games are a medium, a type of entertainment and like any medium in itself it is morally neutral. The particular message or content that comes from the game will define its morality. I am quite strict with myself on this- games with swearing, impurities, or games where you summon demons, I avoid those- sometimes I have bought them and stopped playing them- like 'the last of us' which i thought was too vulgar language. So you're right GTA is going to be something to avoid. But there are plenty of games that are perfectly fine, just as there are films and books and music.
Obviously, for play to fulfill its job as recreation it will, by definition, be in moderation, because pay is there is help us re-create, to de-stress, it should be to let off steam and not a central part of our life. I probably only play maybe 2-3 hours a week.
I think priests who oppose video games are weird and inconsistent. ... do they have a problem with someone playing a sport? of course not! Do they have a problem with someone reading a decent novel? no.
Video games therefore are fine so long as they are morally neutral games (like for example Pac Man, or Candy Crush, or Mario Kart or a spots game or a platform game), or even, on the rare occasion morally positive (where you have an RPG with an inspiring and christian themed message) and always only as a distraction, a small amount of play or diversion to provide recreation which we all need in order to flourish.
In Christ,
with the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Fr Higgins
with the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Fr Higgins
Posts
3 comments:
Hey! Thank you for letting this info here. I was really confused between whether or not playing games was a sin. But truly your write up has helped me a lot in figuring out my confusion. Really appreciate your work.
365 Games Discount Codes
Jesus Lover 69 made the following comment, I had to edit it in a small way as it mentioned something too impure for the audience.
"I think that you have made a serious error in this post. Video games were designed by non-Christian forces in order to disrupt our quest for Christ. Even so called morally-neutral games that you mention like Candy Crush are in fact the agents of the devil. I presume you did not know that Candy Crush can refer to something impure [this sentence alone has been edited by me], additionally the games development was funded by anti-Christian forces like George Soros & Saddam Hussein. Surely you would not be encouraging Catholics who are not secure in their devotion to our Lord to take part in these deeply disturbing and un-godly activities.
My own children have often begged me to allow them to play video games, however I continue to refuse. Instead, I provide them with numerous Christian ways to play. These include "Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Sinner", "Twister with the Holy Spirit & room for Jesus", manual labour, and attempting to show their devotion to God by throwing stones at the houses of local atheists, protestants and liberals. I would encourage you to promote these activities in your parishes Children's Liturgy group.
God bless and I shall pray for you and all of the contributors to this blog,
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