Pastors and ministers at churches across the country are reportedly using a violent video game, Halo 3, to reach young congregants.
Ministers have held Halo nights, in which they use the game to attract youths. If young people stay to play the game, pastors hope youngsters will also stay for the biblical message.
The first-person shooter game, which is rated M for mature audiences, depicts a cybernetically enhanced super soldier shooting at alien invaders in a lethal attempt to save Earth.
Critics, including religious ethicists, say the approach to using the game for ministry could have a negative effect on children, because it connects the thrill and arousal with killing.
What do you think? Do you agree with this approach to furthering a ministry?
War- and killing-themed video games used as entertainment is a disappointing indicator of our culture today. Since earliest times, people have fought and killed to defend their families and homes. No one thought of this violence as an after-school or church youth group activity.
In the article “Religious Influence in Society,” L. Ron Hubbard states, “When religion is not influential in a society or has ceased to be, the state inherits the entire burden of public morality, crime and intolerance. It then must use punishment and police. Yet this is unsuccessful, as morality, integrity and self-respect not already inherent in the individual cannot be enforced with any great success. Only by spiritual awareness and inculcation of the spiritual value of these attributes can they come about. . . . When a culture has fallen totally away from spiritual pursuits into materialism, one must begin by demonstrating they are each a soul, not a material animal. From this realization of their own religious nature individuals can again come to an awareness of God and become more themselves.”
I appreciate the relevance being attempted by churches today to encourage youth to enter the church fold. Churches, synagogues and temples provide for participation by all members of the family. And while there are many paths, Scientologists still believe churches to be the foundations for a moral society and through religion, seek to promote ethical action within our community. Isn’t it really our mission to ensure the children of today become the ethical, compassionate and spiritual leaders of tomorrow?
