Church and charity leaders at a panel discussion hosted by the ELSPA came to the agreement that video games were a force for good in today’s digital society.
To quote Martin Houghton-Brown of The Children’s Society as reported by CVG:
“We now live in a digital age where the nature of playing games has changed. Children tell us supportive and loving relationships are key to a good childhood, we need to equip parents and carers to support children to stay safe when they play in the growing online world.”
They also stated though that video games need to be utilized in the right way so that it has a positive (and not a negative) impact on children. I.e.: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Pokemon, Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda = Good. Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil = Bad.
Mike Royal of the Lighthouse Group, which helps to educate children who have been excluded from school, said that gaming helps to build a dialogue with parents as well as children.
Joseph Steinberg of The Church Mission Society was apparently in agreement with these views as well.
In short, I think this is a very positive development. I know the pastor of my church and his brother have been playing video games since they were kids and thus are not against the practice. But they are also closer to the gaming generation age.
But I do think that the church will have a much harder time connecting with it’s audience, especially the younger ones, if they don’t face up to the reality that media is here to stay and not all of it is bad. Even so, it’s more about the person’s ability to see and recognize what is happening on-screen and to realize what it amounts to and make their own choices. I believe that there are positive and negative things that you can take from any form of media, and you often have to look below the surface and not take everything at face value.