I am so excited to do a blog on this subject matter! I can’t even being to describe how long I’ve been waiting to do something like this! If you know me, you already know that I am indeed a gamer, and if you don’t know me- you do now! But lately, it almost seems that people outside the Christian Community have a hard time imagining that, and there’s even people within the Christian Community to have a lot of questions about the gaming community. Now as I already stated earlier a few sentences ago, I am a gamer, but understand that I love games but not to the point where it becomes the only thing I live and breathe. There’s gamers that love games and there’s gamers that LOVE games (yes, there is a major difference). But here’s what is going to be shocking for a lot of people, and mainly the Christians out there. The games I am going to talk about are not games like Captain Bible or Noah’s Ark 3D (basically, it was a DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D clone but of course with Noah…yes this actually exists), I’m going to talk about games that has gotten a lot of attention in terms of controversy and popularity. Yes, I’m going to talk about games like Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Halo, Mass Effect, and so on! I truly believe that like movies, there are biblical themes that can be taken in presenting the Gospel to an unbeliever, and Dr. Stephen Rummage said one day at Bell Shoals, “Our main business is to reach out to lost people.”
I am really excited that my first blog on this subject matter will start off from a series I have thought about for years since I became a Christian. A series that touches on a certain gaming company that has been known throughout the gaming community, and has stirred up a lot of controversy rather it be parent groups to media news outlets like Fox News and yes, even the View (which by the way, I wouldn’t waste any time watching the View…they are not that funny to begin with). I am referring to the company known as Rockstar, and if you don’t know who they are, you’ll at least know of their brand name game…Grand Theft Auto. And luckily for the rest of you, that’s the game I’ll be talking about, and another game that I really love from them known as Red Dead Redemption (it’s basically a Western game that has a legendary status, and ask any gamer, most of us will agree with this).
But first, let me just reason with all of you about Rockstar games, and why they are very popular, and exactly what biblical themes I am getting from GTA (I will mostly be discussing GTA V and a little bit of IV because those are the only GTA games I have played from the entire series) and Red Dead Redemption. Let me just address that yes, a lot of Rockstar games are not for children! I will say it again, they are not for children! In fact, that’s what makes their games controversial. It’s because Little Jimmy keeps finding ways for his parents to buy him a copy of GTA, and his parents will give in, and then once Little Jimmy starts dropping f-bombs or God knows what, then parents get upset and then somehow say it’s the game’s fault! No, it’s not the game’s fault, it’s the decision of parents and not seeing the impact of said decision let alone saying the game promotes vulgar behavior (which by the way, studies have been investigated concluding that games are not responsible for bad behavior). What makes Rockstar games so controversial is that if anyone matured enough to play the games can bluntly tell you that most of their games (like GTA) has a lot of social commentary in terms of society, violence in gaming, drag racing, narcotics, government, and even bullying and religion. And of course, this makes certain people mad, and parents explode all over the world. That is the purpose of social commentary, it’s sophisticatedly made to get people talking about it, and of course to get people to buy the game.
Now, let’s talk about the first game…Grand Theft Auto (GTA). As I said, I’ll be mostly going over GTA V and a little bit of GTA IV because those are the only ones I have actually played (and for those who are already gasping at the fact that a Christian has played a game like GTA, save your gasping and shock because I have already stated that GTA is one of those games that are NOT for children). I remembered one time during my Public Speaking class, I had the pleasure to make a little friend with one of the only four men in that whole class, and his name was Joey. One day, as we were waiting for class to start, I remembered him and I geeking out over certain games and one of those games ended up being of course…GTA V. We did agree like the rest of the world, that GTA V is the most life like game that has ever existed in the history of gaming, and something he said caught my interest. He basically said that the overall theme of the game has to do with fakeness and the lack of content.
The game features three different characters that drives the overall narrative of the game and are affected by the world around them in some way (like one character is a retired robber who is unhappy with his wealth, big house, and sadly enough his dysfunctional family, another character is wanting to be more than just an average street hustler, and another one is just pure insane that he too is a product of the fake environment despite him trying to go against it), the stuff that can happen in that game, and even the radio stations are oddly hilarious and yet capture just how certain things appear on the surface with open intentions. Even the music in the game captures the theme of how fake life can seem (there’s a song that Phil Collins sings called I Don’t Care Anymore and another song called Sleepwalking by the Garage Band of 1974).
Even GTA IV has to do something with a theme like this, and it was the first GTA game to start focusing more on life. In the game, you’re playing as an Eastern European immigrant named Niko who is simply wanting to make a new life for himself…the overall importance of what we call the American Dream, and the struggle of doing so. The other games I guarantee you has social commentary that is just as deep, but overall the game clearly does not endorse the kind of behavior that most of us think it endorses. The game clearly wants people to think, and not let the media always be in control of our lives and make us believe what we think we must have.
The biblical theme I get from GTA, and every time I do think about it, simply comes from one of my favorite books from the Bible, and written from a king who was wise, had everything, and yet proved a very important point…I am simply talking about the book of Ecclesiastes written by none other than King Solomon. Remember, this is not just any king, this is the son of King David! Solomon had everything, from the best real estate to the thousands of wives he married, and even wealth, and what did he have to say about this? Most of us would be blessed to have this much prosperity in a heartbeat, but Solomon took everything to its logical end and said it was all vanity of vanities! What makes Ecclesiastes my favorite book is that it is a constant reminder of the thing that has been placed in our hearts already by God, and that is longing for eternity with God, and that is what we were made for, to know God and then one day spend the rest of our days with Him in eternity! Not for earthly riches, rich properties, and stuff, but for eternity! Even Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 reminds us that we were made for eternity and not for this world, and it is bold statement about why tragic things happen in this world. Ecclesiastes is written by one of the greatest kings in the Bible, he has everything, and simply expresses how miserable he is because stuff cannot fulfill the emptiness in our hearts like God can.
Again, as I said, this game is not for children (I will keep hammering that fact so if you’re already annoyed with it, than deal with it). But I truly encourage Christians to see that games like GTA does not encourage the kind of behavior that somehow involves turning people into criminals, and if you’re a gamer like myself, use it as an outlet to reach out to lost people. But do be careful, because like I said, there’s a major line between loving something and LOVING something. And if you’re very sensitive to the kind of content in GTA, then don’t touch it! I will touch on other games that you can use OR you may even have something already in mind. I’m not promoting the game based on the gameplay, but the content of its story and promoting it to talk to lost people about why having a relationship with Jesus is not just pure religion. You get the idea I hope.
Last but not least, this next game I will talk about IS one of my favorite games…Red Dead Redemption. My family and I are big lovers on Western movies (my personal favorite Western movie is True Grit…the remake version). And of course, I find it rare that many games can even consider doing Western games when most of the games out there involve science fiction becoming reality, first person shooters, fantasy, and even Japanese games (I gave it its own category because well it technically is its own category), and a lot of times Western games are usually first person shooters and only tells a story of revenge. What makes this game legendary is not the fact because of how much more open the game feels (compared to the urban jungles of GTA), but the story of the game and how deep it is told.
The story is simply about a former outlaw named John Marston, and he is assisting the early FBI in taking down his old gang. Throughout the game, and of course depending on your actions, Marston is holding onto this character of a changed man and simply wanting to do good instead of evil, and even wants his family to be what they were not before. And while the ending is bitter sweet (I won’t spoil it for you), Marston remains the former outlaw wanting to do good and not evil. In a sense, and this may not agree with some people, but I sort of see the Apostle Paul in this game.
I mean let’s think about it. Saul of Tarsus was a pretty evil man that the Pharisee allowed him to persecute the old church and its followers. And then as we know, as he was traveling down the road towards Damascus, Jesus himself blinded Saul for three days! And after Jesus appointed Ananias to disciple Saul, Saul ends up becoming the Apostle Paul who ended up making a big impact on the church; he even wrote 2/3 of the New Testament! It clearly shows us that God can change the most evil men into doing good men, and wanting to pursue good and truth! The game of course has social commentary especially about the dying of the old West, but the biggest commentary I get from it is what redemption truly looks like, even if you will end up dying for it. It is worth it! And it also points to me that a lot of Christianity depicted in the game has to do with more of damnation of sinners rather than displaying grace, even to go out of their way in saying the Old West is full of savages, but it is a great reminder for Christians that if we simply show the same kind of grace Jesus displayed for us, people can change. Not by us of course, but by the power of the Spirit.
To wrap things up, I already mentioned that this will be a series talking about the other Rockstar games, and I will talk about other games of course. But the overall point of this is to simply reason to my brothers and sisters (mainly to the older generations too), that like movies, we can use them as an outlet to reach out to the lost. We should not isolate ourselves nor should we be a part of the world, but we as Christians need to go out into the world and boldly proclaim this amazing grace! I mean, how does the message spread if no one is moving their feet or using their hands? It reminds me of a Casting Crowns song that reminds us that we are the body of Christ, and we need to move with the message. I said we, and understand that I’m even putting that upon myself to not isolate myself from the people that need to hear.
We are simply sailors sailing on heavy seas, and even though we may stop at different ports and pick up certain exotic goods, we should take that opportunity to reach out to the lost people, because Jesus loves them as much as He loves you and I. He even fought for their salvation as He fought for ours, and He wants them enlisted in His kingdom’s army and adopted into His family. I know a lot of lost people who play video games, and sometimes I wonder if they find it hard to believe that a Christian plays video games like GTA, but if they somehow come across this blog, I just want them to know that this is for them, and for you my brothers and sisters to reach out to the lost before it is too late.
J.R. Kruse Blog 