Adult use of Video Games for Leisure:

A Christian Ethic
by
James Arthur Jardin
for Christian Ethics ST360, SP14
Dr. D. Doriani, Covenant Theological Seminary

Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

Contents

Introduction
.3-5
Video
Games.5-7
Adulthood
7-9
Play and Leisure
9-11
Consequential..
11-15
Deontological
15-17
Existential..1
7-18

James Arthur Jardin

Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

Conclusion.1
8-19
Bibliography.19
-21

James Arthur Jardin

Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

Introduction
Video games are violent, addictive, and pointless. This sentiment is often heard
when talking about video games. As I researched for this paper, one of my friends
commented that because so many over age 18 play video games, we are more stupid, out
of shape, and lethargic. On a LinkedIn discussion thread I participated in about the
positive aspects of playing video games one person commented: Its better to go do
some physical exercise outdoors. [Video games] are just stupid, says a well-known
megachurch pastor.1 Men are increasingly unable to have healthy social lives because of
a combination of video games and pornography, asserts a notable figure in the field of
psychology.2 A 24-year-old man used video games to prepare a to go on a murderous
rampage in a 2012 theater shooting in Colorado, (in which 12 people were killed and 59
were wounded) according to a criminal profiler on a CNN interview.3
We encounter these views implicitly on TV shows and movies4 and explicitly at
church and in articles and in their comment feeds on anything video game related on both
Christian websites like Focus on the Family and non-Christian websites such as CNN.
Meanwhile, releases for major titles continue to be huge events for retail stores and video
game production for a major game such as Halo yields millions of dollars on day one of
sales. Video games are here to stay as an entertainment medium. Are they a curse on our
civilization or can we be more positive about them? The opening statement is a powerful
value judgment on what a major portion of the American adult population5 (about 51% of
1

Mark Driscoll, Video Games Aren't Sinful, They're Just Stupid, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_embedded&v=ctQOmzsvisQ#t=93 (accessed April 1, 2014).
2
Nikita Duncan and Philip G. Zimbardo, The Demise of Guys, http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/23/health/
living-well/demise-of-guys/index.html (accessed March 13, 2014).
3
McKinley Noble, CNN Guest Blames Video Games For Dark Knight Rises Colorado Shooting,
http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/cnn-guest-blames-video-games-for-dark-knight-rises-coloradoshooting/?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150921022701507_22099817_10150921080791507#f218760fa84256a
(accessed April 1, 2014).
4
In TV and movies, characters that play video games are rarely portrayed positively. Video games are used
as a common prop to reinforce a characters narcissistic tendencies (House of Cards, Dexter), as a means of
escape from reality essentially through wasting time (House of Cards, House M.D.), to illustrate characters
as social misfits amongst the broader popular culture (Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons), to identify
characters as buffoons or man-children living with Peter Pan syndrome (30 Rock, The Office), or even to
make an association of violence with video games (Law & Order, Breaking Bad). Occasionally, video
games are used in a positive way such as a medical professional improving his dexterity (Scrubs) or
otherwise preparing a character for real life challenges (Chuck).
5
Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry, http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_
EF_2013.pdf, accessed 6 Apr. 14.
James Arthur Jardin

Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

all Americans over the age of 186 [over 124 million])7 uses for leisure8 time.9 There is a
general negativity toward the adult10 usage of video games both in and outside of the
church. Christians are called to be salt and light to the world.11 The way Christians
approach this topic reflects what they believe about the character of the God they believe
in and acts as a signpost to non-believers. The aim of this paper is to present a biblically
informed Christian ethic on the adult use of video games for leisure.
John Frame provides a working definition of ethics. He wrote that ethics is a
means of determining which persons acts and attitudes receive Gods blessing and which
do not.12 I, as the writer of this paper, dont have the authority to declare right and wrong
in an ultimate sense and neither does the reader. God does. He is the creator of all
things13 and He rules over everything He has created.14 Mankind was created in Gods
6

The age of is 18 a common marker for adulthood in the United States even though it is a somewhat
arbitrary cut off date between childhood to adulthood. In the US, at age 18 one may vote, buy lottery
tickets (in many places), purchase tobacco products, and males must register for selective service.
However, there are other activities that are associated with later age gates. Some of these are: renting a
car without extra charges if under the age of 25 and legally purchasing alcohol at 21 years old. Add a
cultural expectation of the appropriate time to marry and have children and the idea of adulthood
becomes even more complicated. Because the nature of what it means to be an adult is somewhat
complicated, it will be addressed later in the course of this paper.
7
U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013,
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview. xhtml?pid=PEP_2013
_PEPANNRES&prodType=table (accessed April 21, 2014).
8
There is an particular category of video game player which plays eSports competitively for money but
that is beyond the scope of this discussion. This paper aims to address the issue of average adult video
game player who plays for leisure.
9
For some perspective using some other common activity data for comparison, in 2012, According to the
Outdoor Foundation, less than 50% of all Americans participated in outdoor recreation [http://www.
outdoorfoundation.org/pdf/ResearchParticipation2013.pdf, p.7, (accessed 6 Apr. 14)], just over 47% are
Christian church adherents [http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0077.pdf, accessed 6
Apr. 2014], and 64% of all Americans watched National Football League games in 2011 [http://tvbythe
numbers.zap2it.com/2011/10/14/no-surprise-64-americans-watch-nfl-football-73-of-men-55-ofwomen/107308/, accessed 6 Apr. 14]. More Americans watch NFL games than play video games but fewer
play outside or go to church. The point is not specifically to compare these activities for the sake of merit.
This comparison raises different questions for different readers. The question this paper addresses is: what
should the Christian ethic toward adult use of video games for leisure be?
10
On the age spectrum of young adult to elderly adult, this paper focuses on younger adults. This
discussion assumes that many of the issues regarding this topic are more relevant to younger adults than
older. Sin respects no age barrier so the abuses discussed referring to emerging adults possibly occur in
elderly adults but there is less cultural attention given to older adults who might play video games for
leisure.
11
Matthew 5:13-16.
12
John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (A Theology of Lordship) (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R
Publishing, 2008), 10.
13
Genesis 1:1
14
Psalm 103:19
James Arthur Jardin

Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

image and made able to make value judgments.15 The effects of sin however mar the
minds of all mankind16 so the value judgments we make are not reliable in an absolute
sense,17 but mankind is capable of making value judgments nonetheless.18 The minds
believers in Christ have begun healing and so begin to think freely without the bondage
of sin.19 Following Frame again, he remarks: Most people who think about ethics,
Christian and non-Christian alike, are impressed by the teleological, deontological, and
existential principles.20 Respectively these are consequential or results based,21 duty
based,22 and character based23 principles. With a framework in place to approach the
concept of ethics, a few other factors must be addressed in order to answer the main
question at hand.
Video Games
What does this paper refer to when considering video games? The definitions of
the following terms will frame this discussion: game, play, and finally video game. The
Oxford American Dictionary (OAD) defines them respectively:

game: a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according

to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.24

play: engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather

than a serious or practical purpose.

15

Genesis 1:23-24, 27
Romans 1:18
17
Psalm 53:2-3
18
Romans 2:14-16
19
1 Corinthians 2:10-16
20
Frame, 49.
21
Romans 14:20-21
22
Romans 13:7-9
23
Matthew 15:18-20
24
Simulators should be considered distinct from games as a category because many simulators do in fact
exist not for enjoyment or recreation but for a practical purpose. For example, the U.S. Army used
simulators for soldiers going on convoys where they would sit in a mock up of a vehicle with simulated
weapons and engage simulated enemies. Out of its context in a place like Kuwait where soldiers are
preparing to go to Iraq, this might look like an elaborate arcade game you would play for several dollars a
round. In its actual context, it is a training aid and it is used for that end. Describing it as a game in its
proper context is inappropriate.
16

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

video game: a game played by electronically manipulating images produced

by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen.25

Practically stated, this paper is composed with games within the mainstream in mind,
ranging from a smart phone game like Flappy Bird to an PC game like World of Warcraft
(and all variations of video games in between), which are played by adults but not for
profit or vocation.
Video games have matured as a narrative medium and share some of the same
characteristics of cinematic blockbusters. One can play a game with a relatively simple
narrative and linear game such as an old Super Mario Brothers for the original Nintendo
system. Here, the game is cartoon-ish and light hearted with very little in the way of a
substantive message to take away from it. Here the player can only kill the bad guys.
One can also play a game such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, with an expansive virtual
world with interweaving character stories, adult choices about justice and mercy, the
clash between goodness and wickedness, and spiritual overtones. Or they could play
Bioshock: Infinite, and be confronted with both issues of religion and race in a similar
vein to a political science fiction/fantasy novel. In these latter two, the violence is
graphic and in Skyrim, the player has the option to kill bad guys and good guys alike.
Video game narratives may also link in well with the Biblical framework: Creation,
Rebellion, Redemption, and Restoration. Games like LittleBigPlanet, Minecraft and Sim
City encourage mimicking Gods own creative acts through building. Games such as
Fallout, Borderlands, and Grand Theft Auto exist in worlds that are dystopian and deeply
broken, crying out for redemption and restoration but only give you fleeting tastes of
relief. Other games like Halo, Legend of Zelda, kami, and to some extent Call of Duty
games allow the player to take on the role of a messiah-like character (or characters) who
restores the world. Every time a game comes to a satisfying conclusion where wrongs
are righted and a hopeful future is established, players connect with a taste of the promise
we are longing for of a world with no suffering or death, which Scripture tells us comes
about at the restoration of all things. On the knowledge of religion, John Calvin said:
Since the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of God, he has been
pleased, in order that none might be excluded from the means of obtaining felicity, not
25

Italics added for emphasis to all definitions.

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

only to deposit in our minds that seed of religion of which we have already spoken, but so
to manifest his perfections in the whole structure of the universe, and daily place himself
in our view, that we cannot open our eyes without being compelled to behold him.26 In
the same vein, Jerram Barrs writes: It seems that among every people on the face of this
earth there is recollection of the original good creation; there is awareness that the world
we now live in is broken and fallen, and there is recall of the promise and hope of the
restoration of what is good. This true knowledge exists sometimes in stronger form,
sometimes in weaker, but is always present.27 Christian and many a non-Christian alike
share this awareness, as Barrs calls it. Video games are a venue for these observations
and recollections to happen.
Kevin Schut points out: Video games absolutely do not need to be solitary
activities. Rather they are social spaces.28 Some games such as World of Warcraft or
League of Legends have fostered community amongst friends who commit to playing
with each other regularly to enjoy adventures together in these virtual worlds. In fact,
27% of all Americans play games with friends at least an hour a week.29 This diverse
video game world is what should be remembered as this discussion progresses. Video
games in general are as much of a valid form of leisure as watching a Hollywood movies
or reading fictional stories because they often share much common ground both in terms
of narrative and content.
Adulthood
What makes this problem unique when considering adults? Scripture makes it
plain that there is a way of living like a child, which is different from living like an adult.
The Apostle Paul keyed in on this reality when considering our continual development in
life in light of Gods unchanging truth.30 God created all things in history and mankind
carries this sense of development over the passing of time.31 We must admit that there is
ambiguity in Scripture on what exactly constitutes an adult while still acknowledging that
26

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 1997), I, v, 1.
Jerram Barrs, Echoes of Eden (Crossway), 2013, 74.
28
Kevin Schut, Of Games & God, Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2013, 150.
29
Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry
30
1 Corinthians 13:11
31
Genesis 1:31
27

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

there is a clear distinction between child and adult. Generally considered, children are
physically weaker, think simply, and are dependent upon others for their well being.
Conversely, adults are physically more capable, think more complexly, and are more
capable of fending for themselves. Experientially, we feel it when we see things that are
appropriate for children versus adults. We react differently if we see a small child or an
adult reading Hamlet (complex thinking) and if we see an adult or a child eating with
toddler sized eating utensils (physical capability and dependency). The OAD defines
adult as: a person who is fully grown or developed. Consider the words: fully grown
or developed. When referring to physical development, there will likely be much
consensus on what constitutes a fully physically grown or developed person. However,
there is growing complexity in other areas of development.
When specialists speak of developmental stages, a somewhat new stage as been
identified: emerging adulthood (as opposed to full adulthood, which is culturally defined
as by the end of schooling, a stable career, financial independence, and new family
formation).32 Christian Smith says this age group is made up mainly of 18- to 23-year
olds.33 He points to six major changes in the broader social scheme in America which all
contributed to the rise of this distinctive group.
1. Emerging adults live in a world where higher education opportunities have
ballooned and some remain in school into their 30s before beginning a
career.34
2. This age group is in no hurry to marry, waiting to be 26 to 28 years old before
marrying for the first time.
3. They have grown up in a world where the economy has undermined stable
and lifelong careers and has replaced them with careers with less stability and
require ongoing new training and skills.
4. Parents of this age group, aware of the previous realities, are financially
supporting their children into their 20s and 30s.
5. There is less pressure to settle down after having a child. With the dawn of
birth control, casual sex has become a common part of relationships and there
is no pressure to become a parent while remaining sexually active.
6. The diffusion of postcultural and postmodern thought has fostered a
celebrated sense of uncertainty, difference, fluidity, ambiguity, multi-vocality,
self-construction, changing identities, particularity, historical finitude,
32

Christian Smith, Lost in Transition: the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood (New York: Oxford University
Press, USA, 2011), 14.
33
Ibid, 3.
34
Ibid, 13.
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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

localism, audience reception, perspectivalism, and more35 amongst this age

group.
The American experience has changed a good bit for adults between 18 and 30. Some
are unaware just how much the cultural landscape has changed in the generational gap.
These changes foster a greater space for play and leisure in the lives of many emerging
adults than previous generations experienced at that same age of life. Emerging adults
are likely to treat their experience, which includes greater space for play and leisure, as
normal and therefore good or better than previous generations. This will naturally lead to
conflict with their elders from earlier generations who saw their alternate experience,
which allowed for less space for play and leisure, as normal and therefore good or better
than younger generations. They may be less understanding of the present realities that
their generation contributed to and dont understand why some young adults wont just
act like adults in their day. This means that in forming ethical expectations of
adulthood, it is all the more important to consider data from outside our personal
experience, both young and old, and seek to critically consider what adulthood is and
isnt about. C.S. Lewis gave a helpful word of caution on this issue as he wrote:
Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive
term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to
admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being
childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in
childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young
things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early
manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development.
When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had
been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a
man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to
be very grown up.36
Play and Leisure
What does the Bible have to say about play or leisure? Scripture offers some
guidance regarding these ideas. When using an English word search in the English
Standard Version bible translation, play turns up 56 times. Five Hebrew verbs37 and
35

Ibid. 14.
C S. Lewis, A Harvest Book, vol. 317, Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories (New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1975, 1966), 25.
36

37

qxf, hnz, !gn, [[v, qxc

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

three Greek verbs38 are used to produce the English word play in the ESV. When we
read it in the ESV it usually refers to unfaithfulness (29 times hnz),39 use of a musical
instrument (22 times !gn, , , ),40 entertainment or amusement (4
times qxf, [[v, qxc),41 and honoring oneself as one with great wealth when actually
being poor (1 time dbk).42 When counting the occurrences of all the variations of both
the Hebrew and Greek root verbs where the ESV translated play, the number rises to
135 times, with the New Testament accounting for only six instances out of the whole,
exclusively referring to using musical instruments. The verbs that refer to the kind of
play relevant to this discussion show God describing how He will treat his people as a
mother bouncing a child upon her knees,43 they describe delight in the Law of the Lord,44
both positive45 and negative46 laughter, as well as celebration and mirth.47
The redemptive historical arc of Scripture makes little sense without the positive
elements of celebration and play. The establishment of feasts and celebrations throughout
Scripture reveals God cares not only about the work we do but has an appreciation for
having fun. Dan Doriani makes the following observations to this point.48 Jesus was
committed to His fathers rest as opposed to ceaseless work,49 went to enough parties that
he was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard,50 and even His teaching had elements
of playfulness.51 Jrgen Moltmann reminds us: Easter begins with celebration, for Easter
is the feast where the resurrected Christ makes a thank-offering in gratitude for his
38

, ,
Jeremiah 3:1, 6, 8; Ezekiel 16:15-17, Hosea 4:10-15
40
Genesis 4:21; 1 Samuel 16:16; 1 Kings 1:40; 1 Chronicles 16:5
41
Job 40:20, 41:5; Isaiah 11:8, Zechariah 8:5
42
Proverbs 12:9
43
Isaiah 66:12 uses the same root verb as in Isaiah 11:8 ([[v) translated play in the ESV.
44
Psalm 119:16, 47, 70
45
Genesis 21:6, 9; 26:8
46
Genesis 18:12, 13, 15; 39:14, 17; Exodus 32:6; Judges 16:25
47
1 Samuel 18:7, 2 Samuel 6:5, 21; 1 Chronicles 13:8, 15:29; Job 40:20, 41:5; Ecclesiastes 3:4; Jeremiah
30:19, 31:4; Zechariah 8:5
48
Dan Doriani, The Life of a God-Made Man: Becoming a Man After God's Heart (Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2001), 180.
49
Mark 6:30-32
50
Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34
51
Matthew 23:24. The Greek shows the playfulness of the sound of Jesus speech: gamla [gnat] / kamla
[camel].
39

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

resurrection and breaks bread with the disciples.52 Tellingly, Scripture comes to a close
with a picture of Gods people celebrating with Christ at a wedding feast.53
Play is a subset of exercise, leisure, competition, and games.54 So, in relation to
play, as in the previous distinctions between childhood and adulthood, the culture has
unwritten expectations on what children versus what adults ought to do for leisure. Both
adults and children may enjoy water balloon fights and throwing a Frisbee but, generally,
children would be more likely to enjoy making crafts out of macaroni. Is there something
inherently wrong if an adult enjoys making things out of macaroni? I did a quick internet
search for macaroni art turned up an extremely detailed sculpture of a head made of
different shapes of pasta.55 With imagination and creativity, adults take the seemingly
most childish building blocks and make surprising creations with them. It is
unnecessarily narrow to suppose that adults cannot appropriate (seemingly) simple things
for the more developed sense enjoyment that adults commonly share. Now that the terms
have been explained, the exploration of the three different ethical perspectives can begin!
Consequential
Pragmatism is in the air we breathe as Americans. If it works, do it. Most all
things are judged by their usefulness and the outcomes they produce. This is the
consequential ethic. Using a consequential approach, adults playing video games for
leisure is a good thing if the results are positive and a bad thing if the results are
negative. Because this is the primary way that one makes their case in the public forum
in America, arguments on either side ought to be scrutinized for bias. Within both camps
of those who are pro- and anti-video games, both are guilty of making overly generalized
value statements about their data. Emotional appeals are made on both sides but serious
consideration of dangers and benefits are fewer and harder to find than stories that seem
to be written to appease those already convinced of a position. While there are other
issues that continue to come up when video games are discussed, three will be addressed
here: trends toward practicing violence, addiction, and social impairment.
52

Jrgen Moltmann, Theology of Play (Harper & Row), 1972, 30.

Revelation 19:6-10
54
Doriani, 175.
55
Pastahead was spotted at http://www.younggourmet.com/a/76.html, accessed 18 Apr. 14
53

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

Are adults who play video games for leisure more likely to engage in violence?
Some research suggests that some individuals who already have an inclination toward
violence can be made more violent by playing violent video games.56 One might consider
it this way: because some people have a genetic inclination toward alcoholism does that
make drinking alcoholic beverages absolutely inappropriate for everyone? The answer is
no. The data is inconclusive about the link between video games and those who act out
with violence. The killers in the Columbine High School massacre were fans of Doom.
A Norwegian man claimed to play many hours of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to
prepare to shoot sixty-nine people in 2011 but the man who committed the massacre at
Virginia Tech in 2007 apparently didnt play video games much, if at all57 As video
games proliferate, the crime rate has actually been declining in the United States and
Canada since 1990. One might expect the opposite trend if violent behavior was
inextricably tied to video games. Individuals who already have violent tendencies should
take the links between violent video games and physical violence seriously. While some
adults most certainly have and do engage in violence after playing violent video games,
the problem of assigning blame to a common activity without conclusive data to back it
up is nothing new. T. Atilla Ceranoglu wrote in an article for the American Psychological
Association on Video Games in Psychotherapy:
Skepticism and reflexive blame on new media or new pop culture for societys
ills even when data for harm are absent are not new. Throughout history, new
media forms or leisure activities went through a similar process that video games
currently navigate. In 1314, the mayor of London banned playing soccer because
of concerns about the emerging violence and vandalism during and after matches
(Carnibella, 1996). Theater in late 19th century, dime novels and comic books in
1900s, TV programs in 1970s, and the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons
in 1980s all received criticism based on the notion that they led to violent
behavior despite the lack of conclusive data that showed them to cause harm58
Statements that assert that videogames absolutely lead to violent behavior are too general
and therefore inaccurate.
Are video games addictive for adults who play them for leisure? Some research
indicates that online games in particular can lead to process addiction (as opposed to
56

Duncan and Zimbardo

Schut, 55.
58
T. Atilla Ceranoglu, Video Games in Psycho Therapy, American Psychological Association, Vol. 14,
No. 2, 141-146, (2010), 144.
57

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

substance addiction).59 Process addiction is a category for problems such as habitual

patterns of behavior related to an activity, and can include gambling, spending, shopping,
eating, and sexual addictions.60 Video game addicts experience problems not unlike that
of those who become addicted to television: heavy playing, problem playing, craving for
playing, and withdrawal.61 A study by Searle Huh and Nicholas David Bowman on
addiction and online gaming suggests that those who suffer from video game addictions
may be disposed to it on account of their personality makeup. This indicates that as a
general statement, it is misleading to say: video games are addictive without adding
for some people. Video game addiction is just as real as addiction to any other activity
that takes over a persons life. The alcohol comparison may be helpful again here.
Drinking responsibly does not equal being an alcoholic but the risk is real for some, but
not all people.
Are adults who play video games for leisure unable to have healthy social lives?
The famous 1971 prison experiment researcher, Philip G. Zimbardo, on a CNN article
titled The Demise of Guys, raises this problem.62 Zimbardo and Duncan tie the use of
pornography63 and video game usage to creating a generation of risk-averse guys who
are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life
relationships However, unhealthy use of video games is a presenting symptom of
deeper problems that drive these individuals to live as Duncan and Zimbardo describe.
Previously in the description of emerging adulthood, we saw how the cultural landscape
has created a sense of disequilibrium in that age bracket. This disequilibrium forces some
to reach for the cheapest and most readily available anesthetics they can get: video games
and pornography. In Duncan and Zimbardos article, we see that some are retreating
from healthy relationships and running to diversions from the troubles of their life.
59

Searle Huh and Nicholas David Bowman, Perception of and Addiction to Online Games as a Function of
Personality Traits, 2008. Online Publication Date: April 26, 2008. Journal of Media Psychology, V 13, No.
2, Spring, 2008.
60
Ibid.
61
Ibid.
62
Duncan and Zimbardo.
63
While pornography is included in Duncan and Zimbardos article, it will not be addressed in detail here.
A discussion of the problems of pornography, while absolutely worthwhile and ripe for Biblical correction
and counsel, is beyond the scope of this paper. Pornography, which is inseparable from adulterous activity,
is inherently more damaging as a category of media than video games are. It is unhelpful to blend them
together for the purposes of this presentation.
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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

However, video games and pornography are unthinking things and certainly shouldnt be
blamed in and of themselves64 for these peoples social problems. Video games make for
an easy punching bag as opposed to addressing the more complicated issues associated
with the factors that influenced the formation of the emerging adults. The veracity of a
value judgment of someones social health is likely to be tied to the previous problem:
addiction. If they are addicted to video games, the individuals ability to enter into
healthy relationships will be impacted negatively. However, as stated above in section on
Video Games as a category, a large percentage of adults play with friends regularly.
While negative examples exist, not every adult video gamer is the overweight 33 year
old, alone in their parents basement, unwashed, wearing their pajamas, and screaming
profanity at preteens over Xbox Live. This stereotype is so strong, that for some it is
symbolic of everything wrong with video games and the people that play them. Doriani
cautions us: To base our attitude toward play on its abuses is like basing a book on
humanity on visits to prisons.65 It is easier to get people to pay attention to a disaster
story than to tell of those who dont make a mess of themselves.
The Bible clearly has some consequential arguments that are relevant to this
discussion. For violence, Jesus warns the sword drawing disciple Peter, to put away his
sword for all who draw them will die by them.66 The Psalms warn that those who plot
violence will have it fall upon themselves.67 As for addiction, many passages that speak
to idolatry are applicable here. Scripture warns that someone worships an idol they will
become like it: dumb, blind, deaf, numb, and still.68 For the last question of healthy
social life, at least part of the root of what some are concerned about here is laziness, and
Scripture speaks to that as well. The Proverbs warn the sluggard of many a problem that
waits should they not change their ways. Their failure to get up and do necessary things
will lead to their poverty,69 sense of dissatisfaction,70 and physical hunger.71 Biblical
authors were they living today, would likely tell us that committing murder, even in the
64

See previous footnote regarding pornography.

Doriani, 179.
66
Matthew 26:52
67
Psalm 7:14-16
68
Psalm 115:4-8; 135:15-18
69
Proverbs 6:6-11
70
Proverbs 13:4
71
Proverbs 20:4
65

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heart, is unacceptable for Christians. Further, they would likely warn against the
potential hardening of our hearts and turning away from God by rehearsing realistic
gratuitous violent acts against realistic representations of human beings and animals.
They would likely affirm our freedom in all things as believers in Christ while warning
us against idolatry through addictions.72 Finally, they would probably remind us to do all
things for the love of God and our neighbor73 and that it is difficult to love your neighbor
well if we spend an inordinate amount of time in our leisure activities.
Deontological
While non-Christian ethicists are challenged to seek for an authoritative source
for a categorical imperative (such as Hegel, Hume, and Moore),74 Christians have the
challenge of interpreting the commands that God has given them in the Bible. While
there are other ways to approach the issue of video games and Gods commandments,
consider the Ten Commandments75 in how they might impact this discussion. First and
second, the Lord commands that we have no other Gods76 and that we shall not worship
idols.77 Allowing video game use to become an addiction violates both of these
commandments. If they rule over us, they have become false gods to us. The act of
playing video games could be making idols for the addict. Thirdly, the Lord
commands that we shall not take His name in vain.78 If we find ourselves invoking Gods
name in what should be a restful activity, we have broken this commandment. Fourthly,
He commanded that we keep Sabbath holy unto Him.79 While leisure activities are good
on the Sabbath,80 if they become absolutely self-serving, we lose sight of the holiness of
that day. Playing video games may or may not be done from a place of gratitude to God
for making good gifts for us to enjoy and may become about just getting a selfish fix.

72

1 Corinthians 6:12
Colossians 3:12-17
74
Frame, 105-125.
75
Exodus 20:3-17
76
Exodus 20:2-3
77
Exodus 20:4-6
78
Exodus 20:7
79
Exodus 20:8-11
80
Doriani, 182-183.
73

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

Fifthly, we are commanded to honor our mother and father.81 This means that if we are
going to use video games for leisure, we cant use them to the detriment of our parents.
The sluggard discussion is relevant here too. If we have squandered our time and
cannot support our parents into their old age because of it, we violate the fifth
commandment and must heed the warning of 1 Timothy 5:8.
The sixth commandment tells us starkly: no murder.82 Playing at murder in a
video game is spiritually dangerous. Also, some people get so angry in playing video
games that it may well approach the kind of hate within the heart that makes us guilty of
murder.83 The seventh commandment forbids adultery.84 Many video games present
people erotically, intended to awaken sexual desire. Jesus warning is clear here: lusting
in the heart is committing adultery.85 The eighth commandment forbids stealing.86 This
means that games that encourage players to practice stealing might very well be
encouraging hearts to explore forbidden territory. Proceed with caution. It should go
without saying that downloading illegal copies of or otherwise stealing games is a
violation of this commandment as well. The ninth commandment forbids bearing false
witness.87 While the original context is primarily for a courtroom setting, other places in
Scripture88 point to the underlying issue in all passages referring to truth telling:
preservation of justice, community, truth, and respect.89 Some games overtly present
ethical dilemmas with optional truth telling.90 Is it a sin to lie in a game? Is the game
letting the player decide to uphold or nullify the values that truth telling is really getting
at? Again, the heart of the player is the issue. Does the player take the game lightly and
tell the (virtual) lie in good conscience or does the player feel a sense of guilt from telling
a lie even in a game? Murder shouldnt be taken lightly in a game and neither should
bearing false witness. Another way one might violate the ninth commandment while
81

Exodus 20:12
Exodus 20:13
83
Matthew 5:21
84
Exodus 20:14
85
Matthew 5:27-28
86
Exodus 20:15
87
Exodus 20:16; James 1:26-27, 3:8;
88
Ephesians 4:25
89
Frame, 834.
90
Many games with role-playing aspects include this dynamic. These kinds of choices are present in Elder
Scrolls, Mass Effect, Fallout, Borderlands and many more.
82

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

playing video games is playing them for leisure during business hours instead of doing
assigned tasks. If they pretend that they have been busy working the whole time when
reporting to their supervisor, they bear false witness about themselves while at work. The
tenth commandment forbids coveting.91 Video game culture can be consumerist. How
does it make us feel when somone has the latest state-of-the-art video game or console?
Technology has a shorter and shorter shelf life as it advances by leaps and bounds along
with the prices of the hardware. Many people will not be able to afford the newest
system. Can we rest easy if our neighbor has one and we dont or does our heart feel sick
until we have it too? This is coveting which could then spill over into violating the first
and second commandments about no other gods and worshipping idols.
Existential
The final category of ethical approach is the existential or character-based. We
behave as who we are. At our most basic level, all human beings are created in the image
of God. God is God and we are not we are finite. We must breathe, eat, and rest.
Adults who use video games for leisure who are not anchored to this truth are likely to
have problems. One Korean man who lost sight of his finitude died of cardiac arrest after
50 hours of playing Starcraft in 2005.92 Even God rested after creating the world on the
seventh day.93 We must remember that though we do not live for pleasure (Prov. 21:17; 1
Tim. 5:6) or leisure, leisure is not evil.94 The effects of the Rebellion / Fall are real in our
lives.95 At birth, our minds and bodies suffer the effects of the curse and we are enslaved
to sin. We are all children of Adam who need redemption by the greater Adam: Jesus
Christ.96 We who take the effects of the Rebellion / Fall seriously will recognize our
ongoing need to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent, and be transformed by the renewing of
our minds.97 As believers in Christ, we take on not only the identity of image bearer but

91

Exodus 20:17
Duncan and Zimbardo.
93
Genesis 2:1-2
94
Doriani, 185.
95
Genesis 3:17-19
96
Romans 5:12-21
97
Romans 12:2
92

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

also Child of God.98 This means that adults who want to use video games for leisure must
be on guard for the unique temptations that are present there (as in any leisure activity).
We are to be sons and daughters of God first, and gamers somewhere else down the line
of all the other roles we have in our lives. Our use of video games for leisure cannot be
allowed to overtake the importance of seeking to follow after Christ in word and deed.
Children imitate their parents and we ought to imitate our Father in Heaven and Jesus
Christ in His gracious care and love for those around us. After all, God did not rest when
we were in need but gave us His own Son over for us while we were yet still sinners.99
Conclusion
Whether in work or in leisure, mans chief end does not change: to glorify
God, and to enjoy him forever.100 Adults who use video games for leisure may use

them in good conscience when they use them according to the law of love.101 God rested
after creative work. Jesus was tired rested both on Sabbaths and in feasts.102 To work
unendingly even in leisure is not a quality of adulthood but rather a quality of sinful
pride. Since it is perfectly acceptable to rest while accomplishing nothing by sitting by a
lake for leisure, the same is also true of using video games for leisure. Moltmann warns
against losing sight of our finitude when he wrote: [Our tasks], if we take them
seriously, loom larger than life. Yet infinite responsibility destroys a human being
because he is only a man and not god.103 Gary Thomas states it well: We do not need to
fear pleasure; we need to fear the alienation from God that corrupts our sense of pleasure
and that makes the pleasure drive so potentially dangerous.104 While playing games for
leisure is permissible and even good in some cases, it is harmful and should also be
discouraged in others. In playing video games for leisure, we should not play games in
walking faithfully with the Lord. Otherwise, every good gift (which video games can be)
98

Romans 8:12-17
Romans 5:8
100
Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Suwanne: Great Commission), 2011,
Question 1.
101
Matthew 23:35-40
102
Mark 6:30-32
103
Moltmann, 23.
104
Gary Thomas, Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel so Bad About Feeling Good? (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2009), 44.
99

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

is from the Lord and we ought to celebrate His goodness as we use them for His ultimate
glory. In using video games for leisure to the glory of God, as in all things, we must
avoid falling into the proverbial ditches on either side of the road of lawlessness and
legalism. The Apostle Paul is our teacher and he wrote us words that are invaluable as
we each walk with the Lord. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians
3:17).

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Adult use of Video Games for Leisure: A Christian Ethic

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Other resources consulted for conceptual development:

Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens
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Ryken, Leland. Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1995.

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