Christians today often seem incredibly oblivious to sin, particularly in the cultural elements they consume. Entertainment is perhaps the most obvious area of this, with Christians frequently defending gory, pornographic, or demonic television shows and movies and video games. Why they do this has never been clear. It is certainly not because there is any Biblical value to these things. Perhaps the most recent example of this comes from the progressive Christian website Christian Post, which we recently responded to for promoting theistic evolution. This time they’ve gone further presenting blasphemy in a positive light.
For those who are not already aware, God has some very strong commands against blasphemy. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 tells us. God made it clear. His name was not to be used lightly, either as a curse word, exclamation or in general usage. God is not to be portrayed lightly. The ancient Jews were so particular in their observance of this command that they frequently did not write out the full name for God, leaving out the vowels, and did not use His name in conversation, instead using a different name. They understood that God was both holy and sacred and that He would hold them to account for blasphemy. This perspective is severely lacking in the church today. Many Christians flippantly use God’s name as if He is not truly thrice holy as He is described in Scripture.
All of the above is nothing new. It has been known the American church has a low view of God for some time. Which makes the upcoming video game published through the video game website Steam particularly disturbing. The game is entitled “I am Jesus Christ.” Obviously, the title itself is blasphemous. As it implies, the player plays as Christ and apparently performs some of His miracles through the computer code and so on. The entire premise of this game is blasphemous. Anyone attempting to be Christ is, by default, attempting to be God and that is blasphemy. (Note to any atheist reading this: There is a difference between condemning blasphemy, which I am, and calling for it to be banned, which I’m not and won’t). Obviously, the company has the freedom to publish such a game. America is a somewhat free country and blasphemy is not against the law, nor should it be. However, this game should not be played or promoted by Christians interested in being Biblical.
However, as usual, mainstream Christian culture finds a way to condone sin. The Christian Post published an article on this game. The article is not long and is written as a news article, but contains a fairly long quote from a pastor of a church who also works as a CEO for a tech-oriented group which is highly favorable to the video game. ”
Creating new ways to teach people formational Christian behavior using emerging technology is essential to the future flourishing of the church. Personally, I would very much like to see more virtue-based iterations in the tech community. I am glad to see that there are developers with religious inklings willing to brave into this rapidly expanding technological territory.” This pastor apparently thinks making a video game that causes the user to blaspheme is perfectly acceptable. What’s worse is Christian Post gives no refutation to his points. They are allowed to stand as if it is perfectly acceptable to blaspheme God for a Christian.
Please understand, it would not be an issue if Christ were to appear as an NPC (non-playable character) in a video game provided He was portrayed in a Biblical sense, nor is it an issue for Him to appear in films, books, and so on as long as He is portrayed Biblically. However, for a video game to have the player play as Christ is blasphemous. And for Christian Post to promote this video game, and essentially tell their readers that its ok is quite frankly, disturbing. Unfortunately, given the propensity of Evangelicals to ignore sin, it is hardly surprising that the Christian Post did so. Scripture is clear, blasphemy is sin, even when it is a video game.
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In His Image 