Is This the Game for You?

“DEPENDING on one’s perspective, Doom is either a heart-​pounding shoot-’em-​up that takes computer games to a new level of technical sophistication or an orgy of graphic violence that takes computer games to a new low.” Thus wrote Peter Lewis in the “Personal Computers” column of The New York Times. Of course, many computer games are thinly disguised violence, bloody massacres, or even blatant pornography. The recent addition​—Doom II—​is expected to become a top seller even at $69.95. Is this type of game appropriate for peace-​loving Christians? Lewis’ continuing description may help you to decide.

“The player assumes the identity of a tough Marine stationed on one of the Martian moons when an industrial accident opens a corridor to Hell. . . . The Marine has to maneuver through labyrinthine hallways, . . . punching, shooting, roasting and chain sawing the demons and former humans at nearly every turn. . . .

“The advances in Doom II are easily summarized: More demons, more claustrophobic corridors, more weapons and more gore.”

Commenting on a computer convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, The New York Times stated: “This year’s most obvious novelty was multimedia pornography . . . It attracted some of the conference’s biggest crowds.”

The Bible writer James said: “The wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, full of mercy and good fruits.” (James 3:17) Parents, have you checked the home computer games your children use lately? Need we say more?