Christianity And Explicit Content: When to play and when to back away from virtual immorality?

In 1978 Country-Musician, Kenny Rogers, introduced to the world the song, The Gambler; a song about when playing the game of poker one ought to know when to persist or pack up for the night. However there is a nuanced layer to this chorus. Rogers is singing that there is a time when you have go to "[know] when to walk away and know when to [run]"[i] from the game. This wisdom is applicable to many forms of entertainment also; to put it simply there are forms of entertainment that one should simply walk away from while others they should run away from as fast as they can.

There is a common belief that the participation in  violent forms of virtual entertainment (video games, movies, etc.), but specifically the former, allows people to get in touch with their Mr. Hyde persona more so than their Dr. Jekyll persona. However the question is why? BBC News Journalist, David Lee writes about a study involving a violent video-game called Half-Life 2. Lee records researcher from the Oxford Internet Institute, Andrew Przybylski calling

...for more sophisticated research into violent gaming. 

"There's a need for researchers who are interested in these questions not just to pull two video games off the shelf from the high [street.]... We need to have a more sophisticated approach so we're all reading from the same experimental methods."[ii]

In sum let's research the effect that violent video games have on people to see what *all* is involved and not chalk it up to the immoral act of killing, even if it is only virtual. A test was done where

...researchers created a modified version in which rather than violently removing enemies, the player would instead "tag" foes who would then evaporate. This version was tested alongside the normal, violent version. However, only some of the gamers were given a tutorial before playing the game so they could familiarise themselves with the controls and game mechanics.[iii]

What was their results?

The researchers found that it was the players who had not had the tutorial who felt less competent and more aggressive, rather than people who had played the more violent version of the game."[iv] 

Lee summarizes Przybylski in saying

We focused on the motives of people who play electronic games and found players have a psychological need to come out on top when playing,... If players feel thwarted by the controls or the design of the game, they can wind up feeling aggressive. "This need to master the game was far more significant than whether the game contained violent material.[v]

Researchers are saying that much more research is needed; but the results are undeniable:`

Players of games without any violent content were still feeling pretty aggressive if they hadn't been able to master the controls or progress through the levels at the end of the session.[vi]

So indeed, there is a factor in violent video gaming that has nothing to do with the violence itself. However does this mean that engulfing oneself into entertainment that promotes immorality is okay? Would it be okay for example to expose a child to a violent video game as long as they first master the controls? Simply, no as the immorality of the entertainment plays a significant part. USA Today journalist, Julia Savacool records professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, Brad Bushman in saying:

We just finished a major review of studies, looking at 381 effects of violent video games in over 130,000 [people.] ... We found that violent video games unmistakably raised levels of aggression and heart rate, and decreased feelings of compassion toward others."[vii]

Could it possibly be that this decreased feelings of compassion is due to the aforementioned disability to master the mechanics of the game? A frustration with the game controls sure plays a part but there is a difference between being angry because of a failure to achieve a goal and loosing one's feelings of compassion for others. Savacool continues to allude to "[a] study in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Psychological Science found a correlation between the type of character people chose to play and their behavior immediately following the session. Assuming the role of a virtual villain, for instance, prompted players to treat people in negative ways after the game concluded, according to study co-author Patrick Vargas, a professor of psychology at University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. Meanwhile, those who played the virtual hero acted more generously toward others in a post-game setting."[viii]  An evil character encourages evil behaviour in the real world. In sum "[emotions] and attitudes generated in the virtual world do not simply disappear once the game is finished, and the interactive component of video games enhances this lingering effect."

Now of course it isn't this simple as just because someone plays an evil character like GTA-5's Trevor Philips, once, twice or even 100 times, doesn't mean that they will adopt his worldview, even on low and still very legal levels; as most people have a moral compass allowing them to simultaneously hate immoral acts but nevertheless still enjoy a fictional character type like Trevor Philips. As Savacool points out "...thousands have played violent games and not gone on to steal motor vehicles, join organized crime gangs or physically assault other [people.]"[ix] However what about prolonged exposure to immorally motivated entertainment? Is it possible that after years of exposure to one kind of entertainment genre may it be by cinema, a video-game or literature that someone's morals and values could change; or at least cause them to be desensitized to immorality? In discussing the relationship between video-gaming in teenagers BBC journalist, Sean Coughlan opens his article with

In-depth research into the behaviour of about 100 13- and 14-year-olds found over-exposure to violent games weakened empathy for others.[x] 

The key word is 'over-exposure', hence a prolonged subjection towards violent content, especially with developing minds and video games. In coming to a close in his article Coughlan states that the conducted studies showed that the de-moralization in a teenager's worldview arises when they had

...spent more than three hours every day in front of a screen, continuously playing these violent games without any other real-life interaction. Empathy, trust and concern for others, which should develop as teenagers grow up, were found to be delayed.[xi] (my emphasis)

He summarizes that:

It was the combination of the content of games and the amount of time that seemed to affect teenagers' attitudes.[xii] (my emphasis)

Now of course this discusses the developing minds of teenagers; however how might this play out in the adult brain? At the 2011 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America at the Indiana University School of Medicine a study was discussed that analyzed the brains of young men between the ages of 18-29 years of age regarding the effects of violent video games on the brain. The study shows that:

Sustained changes in the region of the brain associated with cognitive function and emotional control were found in young adult men after one week of playing violent video games,...[xiii]

Dr. Wang says that the "...findings indicate that violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain [functioning.] These effects may translate into behavioral changes over longer periods of game play."[xiv] So adults are likewise not immune to longterm behavioural effects due to prolonged violent video gaming.

So what can one do to prevent being effected? ANSWER: 1) Engulf ones self into a wide variety of games! There is nothing wrong with playing games with mature content, but participating into family safe games is also wise. 2) Spend more time in this real world than in the virtual world. 3) If a game impedes one's moral view of life and respect for the basic human rights - stop playing the game and get rid of it; as Kenny Rogers might say in The Gambler: you got to know when your controlling the entertainment and know when the entertainment controls you; know when to give up a method of pass time away and know when to destroy it with prejudice.
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[i] - http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kenny+rogers/the+gambler_20077886.html - accessed April 13, 2014
[ii] - http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26921743 - accessed April 16, 2014
[iii] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[iv] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[v] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[vi] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[vii] - http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/03/30/video-games-violence/6437253/ - accessed April 16, 2014
[vii] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[viii] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[ix] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[x] - http://www.bbc.com/news/education-26049333 - accessed April 14, 2014
[xi] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[xii] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014
[xiii] - http://communications.medicine.iu.edu/newsroom/stories/2011/violent-video-games-alter-brain-function-in-young-men/  - accessed April 16, 2014
[xiv] - Ibid.,- accessed April 16, 2014

Christianity And Explicit Content: Do we have the freedom in Christ to enjoy immorally motivated fiction?

In an article I wrote recently, located here, I wrote about the moral quandary that a character that I made-up had about his Christian responsibilities to represent Jesus and what he stood for and the legal permission to enjoy entertainment that utilizes immorality like murder and theft to tell a story. My fictional character, knew that him being a legal adult he had access to forms of entertainment that he would discourage children and youth from partaking of, such as violent video games. I suggested that a Christian should feel free to enjoy non-Christian forms of entertainment which includes those with a M (for mature) rating.

I however also, but merely, alluded to a school-of-thought that a form of entertainment that promotes evil, e.g. violence, crime, sexual immorality, etc. should not be a part of a Christian's entertainment library because the nature of those actions is evil; and thus the act of entertaining evil so to be entertained is ontologically evil; it doesn't represent what Jesus would promote and so the Christian should likewise not promote it. What might encourage such legalism? Philippians 4:4-5 & 8 clearly encourages us Christians to

Rejoice in the Lord always. ... Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  ... Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Paul encourages the Philippian church to 'rejoice' on the "...grounds and occasions..."[i] that warrant rejoicing; and examples that fall into any of the above categories: true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable would be grounds for rejoicing. As such then murder, theft, physical assault, foul language, sexual immorality - all facets that are not noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable - should not be a part of one's life, even fictionally. Moreover, Paul encourages us to 'dwell' (λογίζομαι [logizomai][ii]) (cf. Phil. 4:8 - NASB) or reflect[iii] on such things. One could argue then that engaging into entertainment that has an immoral content, especially if it is the type of genre one likes, is dwelling or reflecting on the opposite of what Jesus would have us do.

Furthermore Paul informs the Corinthian church that an aspect of the nature of love is that it "...does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." - 1 Corinthians 13:6. The phrase 'but rejoices' (sygchairō [συγχαίρω])[iv]) connotes celebration[v] - thus 'but celebrates', - with the truth. This begs the question then: what is the truth? Paul tells the Galatians that

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. - Galatians 5: 19-21

In vs. 21, rendered in the NASB as, "those who practise"  (prassō [πράσσω][vi]) Paul warns us that those who practice such deeds will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So we are called to not delight (NASB / chairō [χαίρω][vii]) in or rejoice in or be 'glad'[viii]) in evil, but celebrate the truth namely the desires of the flesh are to be steered clear of because they are condemning.

USA Today journalist, Julia Savacool points out that thousands of people play "...violent games and not [go] on to steal motor vehicles, join organized crime gangs or physically assault other people.[ix] In the same way, thousands of Christians enjoy non-child-safe games and watch television shows and movies that are geared for adults, but still live their life as Christ would have them do; but are they? Is it not hypocritical for a Christian to speak out against the immorality of the maltreatment of people yet condone it for adults via video games such as Grand Theft Auto, but restrict such entertainment from children? When the Christian enjoys a murder mystery or an episode of CSI aren't they being 'glad' with 'the world's den of violence and debauchery in its fictional form? Arm't Christians called to a higher standard and demonstrate Godliness in virtually everything they do (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:31), which would logically include entertainment? Thus doesn't the Bible restrict Christian to exclusively God glorifying content?

It is not hypocrisy for a Christian to speak out against the mistreatment of people but enjoy without apology entertainment that involves moral crimes; and when a Christian enjoys a murder mystery or some crime drama, or even a story about bad-guys doing bad things such as the blockbuster movie Ocean's Eleven they aren't by necessity being 'glad' with such worldly values. 

One can easily enjoy a story and still be hotly against the morals that it may portray to move the story forward.

Christians are called to a higher standard in how we live our lives in both word, deed and thought; and the Bible does not restrict Christian to exclusively Christian propaganda.

Paul commands his readers in 1 Corinthians 8 to refrain from eating meat that was sacrificed to idols; but it wasn't because the meat was prepared for a fake god that taints the meat, but rather it is for the sake of new the believers whose faith may be negatively effected if they see mature Christians eat such meat. Even though for the Christian the meat is just that 'meat' i.e. food, its preparation for idols may give the message that eating of food with such preparation is parallel to endorsing service to idols.

In the same way then forms of entertainment are perks, not priorities; ones faith and representation of Christ comes first and as such a Christian may feel the necessity to discontinue fictionally violent  entertainment for the sake of those younger Christians in their life who may be turn off or understand the wrong message; and to also be witness for those who are yet still dead in their sins, (cf. Ephesians 2:1).

However Paul makes it clear not to force that sort of practice onto other Christians. To the Romans he states:

One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. - Romans 14:1-3

In the same way then, the one who chooses to activate his freedom in Christ to partake of certain kinds of appropriate but morally questionable content in entertainment "must not treat with contempt the one who does [not.]" But the one who chooses not to "must not judge the one who [does.]" Of course each person should be given the chance to explain why they hold to their view and let the hearer make the choice for themselves.

However do we really have the freedom in Christ to partake of fictional entertainment with immoral values? To put it simply evil is a part of this world; even the most God glorifying, Gospel focused movie or book will have, perhaps even 'must have' a villain with a level of immorality - in fact the Gospel message only makes sense in light of evil. So if one is going to forego immorally motivated entertainment then they will have to be prepared to be limited to a very small array of novels, movies or television shows. Christians have the responsibility to represent Christ and thus just as a parent does with a child the Christian is commissioned to teach Christlikeness and show it in their life; however playing a fictional thief or reading about a murder in a novel is not killing (cf. Exodus 20:13) or stealing (cf. Exodus 20:15). As pointed out in the previous article one has to ensure that they effectively separate their two worlds - fiction and factual.

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[i] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=VT0002348 - accessed April 12, 2014
[ii]  - http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Phl&c=4&t=NIV#s=t_conc_1107008 - accessed April 12, 2014 
[iii] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=VT0002977 - accessed April 12, 2014
[iv] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Co&c=13&t=NIV&p=0#s=t_conc_1075006 - accessed April 12, 2014
[v] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=VT0002348 - accessed April 12, 2014
[vi] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gal&c=5&t=NIV#s=t_conc_1096021 - accessed April 12, 2014
[vii] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Co&c=13&t=NIV#s=t_conc_1075006 - accessed April 12, 2014
[viii] - http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5463&t=NIV - accessed April 12, 2014
[ix] - http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/03/30/video-games-violence/6437253/ - accessed April 12, 2014

Christianity And Explicit Content: How should a Christian look at explicit content in entertainment?

Joe was conflicted about his desired choice of entertainment for less than family-appropriate video games like, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) - a game that is centred around fast cars, stealing every drivable vehicle ranging from cars, to city busses to military airplanes. GTA also invites players to participate in gang wars, drug dealing and robbery. However one feature of the GTA series, and more-so with the later instalments of the series such as GTA 4 & 5, is its allowance for players to immerse themselves into the game outside of the storyline and merely be a citizen of the city and virtually do anything they want. Such as participate in senseless vandalism of public property and beat up and kill people, for whatever reason pops in the player's head; and of course the game also allows the players to enjoy more light hearted activities like buy-up property with the money they steal from street mugging, bowling, darts and checking out the strip-clubs.

Joe was a church going Christian; he served as a Sunday school teacher and a youth leader. As a result he felt hypocritical because on one hand he would encourage his youth not to play games like GTA, and GTA specifically; yet he's enjoyed many hours of virtual carnage and virtual car theft, virtual assault and virtual murder.

The relationship between entertainment that adults and children can play have been a point of personal preference with people, parents and single persons alike forever. Many adults don't feel hypocritical when they tell a child or teenager: "Do not watch that movie!" or "Don't play that video game!", but play that game or watch that movie themselves without any concerns; yet there are many people who feel that if a movie or video game is bad for their child or teenager then its just as wrong for themselves (or anyone) to watch it or play it - in sum don't play that game or watch that movie or TV show because its content is ontologically bad - you are glorifying evil - and doing that is itself evil.

It is true that a world where there is no immorality - a world where everyone loves everyone and does no harm to anyone - would be a perfect world; but such a world is fantasy - this real world is filled with evil and so trying to hide ourselves and our children from the world's ills is futile. Now of course a level headed adult should never give as a birthday gift to a 10 year old a game like GTA; however the question is why? Is it because subjecting our children to entertainment that promotes immorality is wrong? In sum is it the "immoral values" that are held by the form of entertainment that is wrong?

Educational Entertainment and a Double Standard:

However virtual violence in entertainment such as movies and video games could be looked at in terms of 'education'. Playing a video game character who is an American WW2 Soldier fighting the Nazis might be looked as educational for the player. The PlayStation 2 video game Medal of Honour: Frontline starts the player off taking the beach at Normandy on that fateful day in 1944 infamously known as D-Dday. One might argue that its interactively educating its players of the reality of what we all learned about in history class.

However is there a point of education in games like GTA? No; but is there a benefit to playing gratuitously violent games like GTA? USA Today journalist, Julia Savacool states that Andrew Przybylski, a researcher from University of Essex teaches that at least part of the attraction towards video games (in general terms - not singling out violent video games) "...is the chance to explore aspects of our "ideal selves" in a make-believe world without consequences."[i] Przybylski states:

Imagine, for instance, someone really wants to be a more extroverted person in their daily life but cannot expand themselves at work or at home, ... Games can provide this person a context to 'try on' a more extroverted self who is more assertive and sociable by running a large team, such as a guild in the game World of Warcraft.[ii]

In sum "[if] your character saves the world from forces of evil, ... you've earned the respect of your community and landed on higher moral ground."[iii] Moreover, Savacool also states that there are studies that suggest "...playing electronic games provides a form of stress relief; other research cites the social aspect of gaming with friends as a major benefit."[iv] So not only it allows someone to be someone who they perceive they are not, gaming is a social activity and a way to blow off steam. So for some people to curl up in bed with a good James Patterson murder mystery and at other times go rock climbing with a friend or two are pass-time activities and for some it is playing the redneck psychopathic killer, Trevor Philips from GTA-5. However is playing the role of a psychopath in a video game really the kind of material one should pass time with? But is there really a difference though between reading about a murderer in a Patterson novel or watching an episode of Criminal Minds and being the serial killer in a video game? In short, no. How many people (Christians and non-Christians alike) speak out against video games like GTA but don't think twice about watching TV shows like Criminal Minds? Isn't TV shows shows like Criminal Minds promoting immorality i.e. murder in the name of entertainment?

The only exception however is, games like GTA-5 are largely not scripted - they are open for the player to determine what kind of day the character will have and what they will do. In sum the one difference is in sandbox games like GTA-5 the player has total autonomy over the character's actions; whereas in a movie the character is a robot of sorts, with every move and line pre-scripted. Therefore games like GTA allows the player to not merely watch virtual evil, but commit it. However it is a moot point because it is a double standard to speak out against entertainment that utilizes evil as a character in one format but be fine with the same evil in another format such as via television shows or movies.

How should Christians look at immoral entertainment?

So how should Joe look at evil content when it is presented in the form of entertainment? ANSWER: Learn to divorce reality from fantasy and keep those worlds separate. Everyone, Christians included need that escape from reality, but given the morals held within the Christian Bible (cf. Philippians 4:8-9) is not such behaviour dwelling on the stark opposite of what is nobel, right, lovely and admirable, but glorifying the spirit of evil (1 Corinthians 13:6) by playing video games like GTA? The answer is - intentions. In a video game or a movie where the fictional character steals from another fictional character and or kills them may be necessary to move the story along; however if someone does the actions of killing a virtual person in a video game or watches a person being murdered in a movie, but in their heart the fictional character is a surrogate for a real person (someone they know or even just a stranger) then for them it isn't merely an escape from reality - fantasy has become a surrogate for reality. To reiterate Savacool teaches that one reason that people play video games is to get"...the chance to explore aspects of [their] "ideal selves"...". If one starts to conform that place in their soul that only they and God knows about and will, ideally, never be shown to another living person - to the ideals of the evil character that they play this is when immorality in entertainment becomes problematic and therefore just as Jesus states:

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. - Matthew 5:29

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[i] http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/03/30/video-games-violence/6437253/ - 
[ii] Ibid., accessed, April 8, 2014
[iii] Ibid., accessed, April 8, 2014
[iv] Ibid., accessed, April 8, 2014