Video Games and the Christian

   A good deal of my thinking gets done in the car. I suppose that driving is an expression of freedom, in which I direct the car whichever way I will it to go. The environment out the windows changes drastically as the Broncito takes me from Nebraska's plains to mountains, rivers, and coastlines of the great American landmass. However, the car also forms in itself an exact, almost unchanging environment. It supplies its own white noise with the road and engine, creating a set background of sound to the conversations I have with myself or my wife. Perhaps it is because of this constancy amidst diversity that we seem always to return to the same few topics of conversation. These are:

1. Kvetching about relationship stresses
2. Baby topics
3. Rehashing old hobbies and happenings
4. Video Games, their use, abuse, and place in society and our own lives (mostly my life)

   As we drove along NE-2 East of Broken Bow, recently, Amelia and I got onto that topic of video games, once more. I think it is because I grew up playing games like Commander Keen and Jetfighter 2 on our old 486. Though I never became a very intense gamer, due primarily to the fact that I did not get a real job until I was finished with Bible school, I always enjoyed various types of virtual entertainment.
   Now I am married, and my wife Amelia is not at all a gamer. She grew up reading a lot, and doing crafty things, and generally taking care of everyone around her and being a productive individual. This, it seems, was antithetical to the acquiring and playing of video games. Thus we discuss the history and evolution of games on consoles and pcs, and my personal experiences with various games, and at times even find spiritual significance in some of the parallels which games make to real life. On this particular afternoon, we reached the topic during a discussion of guilty pleasures.
   Guilty pleasures are those activities which, while not bad of themselves, make us feel guilty when we enjoy them. Video games have often played this role in my life, softening the cry of my heart for closeness with God and my fellow man by keeping my brain occupied for a few hours. However, the annoying thing about this guilt I felt was that I really could enjoy video games in what I thought to be a perfectly righteous way. I could enjoy relationships with fellow humans, exercise my mind (and occasionally a muscle or two), and delve into a deep and involving story, all while enjoying the art and craftsmanship of an industry filled with energy and talent. So, how could we redeem the use of these pleasures from their guilt?
   The key, we felt, was in exercising our minds to prevent the wrongful use of video games. The principles of this were pretty similar to those by which we can enjoy any other media, whether it is attending live theater, strolling through a gallery, listening to music, or watching television. Essentially, we exercise our minds and attempt to understand what the artist is trying to convey (not only cerebrally, but what he wants me to feel or do, to), then we compare that with what Scripture says about reality, and we evaluate what we've seen. More often than not, in today's world, we will usually find the message of a film, game, or canvas to be very far off from the Message of the Scriptures, but we can still see glimmers of God's image in the artist's attempt to make his worldview correlate with what he knows ought to be true. This engagement with the art and the artist will be beneficial to the Christian and to society, Lord willing.
   So, as we continued to discuss things, Amelia and I hashed out a few major points, which I decided would be worth posting on for a little bit. Perhaps this will provide the sort of mission I can keep writing about. We thought about writing reviews of some of the games coming down the pike, so hopefully in the future I can do that and exemplify some of this interaction with games that I would like to promote. The following points will serve as an outline for our introduction to the topic, after which I will try to tackle some of the biggest games around nowadays, and perhaps explore the different uses of games in the various genres of gaming.

• Typical Responses of Christians to the Idea of Video Games
• The Danger of Guilty Pleasures
• Reasons to Play a Video Game or Two
• A Christian's Unique Perspective on Gaming... and Everything Else

   And with that, I will sign off for now.

Setting up a pc

There is something inherently soothing about setting up a pc, whether it is a new pc with a bunch of factory nonsense software to root out or an old one that just needs to be freshened up for continued life. I am enjoying this today, and thinking about the wonderfulness of AVG Free and trying out the excitement of Google Chrome. Good windy, cloudy day fare.

Christians in the Workplace

I have been thinking a lot about Christians and their vocations, and I will start by examining some of the texts that I find relevant and throw in some topical discussions based on it. Are there any particular passages or topics that ought to be covered? I was planning to hit up at least the following:

• Genesis 1 - 3
• The story of Joseph
• The Law and its teaching on property and slavery
• The promises in the Pentateuch and the work required in them
• Jesus' teaching on masters and slaves
• Masters and slaves in Ephesians and Colossians
• Service to masters and government in Peter's epistles

So, those are the places to which I am particularly eager to turn, but maybe there are some other such and such as it comes up. I had a list of the topics, but I set it down somewhere and I will have to find it.

<3

Sorry I've been a little slow to post.

I got engaged at about 1am Saturday morning to Amelia Hajda... and I haven't been able to think of much else for a little while.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Evangelicalism?

Contemporary Theology always makes for an interesting Tuesday morning. Today we discussed Evangelicalism and its relationship to Fundamentalism in America. As the class ended, we the students tried to deal with the question, "What am I?" Here are some important aspects of the consideration:

1. Does it matter what I am called?
2. If it does, should I be in either of these camps?
3. If I am neither Fundy nor Evangelicalisticist, what am I?
4. What is the historical context of the question?
5. How do the camps differ theologically?
6. How do the camps differ culturally?
7. How does my choice of a camp affect my continued ministry?

We discussed some different names. Jake said he'd create the Modern Moravian Mission Movement, but thought that the four Ms might appear too cultic. Otherwise, I am game.

What do you think?

Oh! That was it!

So, I remembered what I was supposed to be doing, and will start doing it now. I have to get ready for tonight's practice for Annie Get Your Gun. If you want to know more about the dramatic feast which will hit the southern Kansas City area this March, cruise on over to Calvary Bible College's website, calvary.edu, for more info. You can even buy tickets there!


I am going to play Frank Butler, if that means anything to anyone. We'll see how it goes. For now, the play's the thing catching my conscience. Ciao!

Don't Lick the Polls...

So, there is a poll above here.
It is not a totally arbitrary and nonsensical poll right now, rather, I'd really like to know- how would you like to go about studying the Word and life? While this is Table Stichomythia needs to "keep true to its DNA," as Alton Brown said, it still would be nice to have a direction to steer its blogging course (it's like when The Blob jogs...).
So, let me know!

So, I just spent 20 minutes responding to a very simple question from my sister. I am beginning to wonder if it really is always necessary to trace the historical development of every theological discussion...

What's in a name?

I just now surprised myself by actually spelling "stichomythia" right on the first try. I was typing in the little box that looks at Webster's Dictionary for me, and got this result:

Greek stichomythia, from stichomythein to speak dialogue in alternate lines...especially of altercation or dispute delivered by two actors in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama)

As with most fancy words thrown out onto the internet, this one has been yanked far away from its natural habitat. So, what does "Table Stichomythia" mean?

It begins with Martin Luther's Table Talk. This was a publication back in the 16th century of the good things Dr. Luther would say while eating (and drinking!) with friends. Luther's followers organized and published Table Talk as a guide to the practical, Bible-centered approach to everyday Christianity which was so important in the early German Reformation.

Table Stichomythia adds the Table Talk practicality to the open dialog of several voices, or stichomythia. The idea of this is to start with a steady diet of the truth contained in God's Word to show us what Christianity is. That will take the form of a weekly Bible study, led by me (I'm Stephen P. Rodgers, by the way; nice to meet you. You have such interesting eyes, I just wanted to say... oh right). When this is posted, we can start the discussion, the argument, the plans for making our lives line up with God's best, and the whatever else floats our collective boat. We'll wrap up all that at the end of the week and have a new post ready a day or so later!

Well, that there's what is that's in the name, as awkward as it is! 'Til Mercy join our paths again,


Stephen