"We should remember to show the spirit of Christmas every day."
That's not an unusual or rare sentiment. Many people, I'd imagine, wish we as a collective human race would treat people with the kindness and friendliness that we reserve for the Holiday Season(TM) year-round instead. And everyone usually agrees with the thought: Peace on Earth, every day. But nobody seems willing to follow up on that.
Why?
No, seriously, why? Is it apathy? Is it an eventual lack of interest in doing good deeds?
I find myself at this time of year thinking in more charitable terms: wanting to do more, to help people more, to - for example - donate to things that will help people have a "Merry Christmas" when they otherwise would not.
Why don't I do this year-round? Why should one day matter? Wouldn't I be doing more good if I was willing to give of myself at all times?
The thing is, for many of us, the Holidays remind us that there's more to this life than just living, and we try and balance our spiritual checkbooks (for lack of a better term). I'm guilty of this too... since we associate this time of year with good feelings and (for Christians) the birth of the Savior of mankind, we think we should go out of our way at this time of year to show love to our fellow man.
I say we're wrong.
I say it shouldn't matter what time of year it is; we should constantly go out of our way each and every chance we get to show love to our fellow man, regardless of his or her's beliefs, race, sexuality, whatever. We don't have to agree with them; we just have to love them.
This is something I feel Christians are failing to notice, and is a reason why some don't feel comfortable choosing to believe. After all, Jesus didn't only do good works on His birthday (which Christmas may or may not be, but that's when we choose to celebrate it, so drop the issue). He did them non-stop, and ordered His followers to do so... can you imagine what people would accomplish if the Church (not buildings or organizations, but the entire group of believers) would actually do that?
So this Christmas, I challenge you to, indeed, live as if every day is Christmas. Because if we can do so, if we can show love and peace to everyone else every day, who knows what may happen?
Maybe through such actions we can convince others that He whom we believe in really is who He says He is. Maybe they'll see that He really can change lives, and that He is real... because the best way to tell if something's real is to see what it does, not hear about what it says it can do. And maybe believer and non-believer alike can find a common ground, so each doesn't have to worry about what to say around the other without fear of being misunderstood or judged.
Peace on Earth? Maybe not too crazy a concept after all.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Six Months Later
So today was definitely one for reflection. Six months ago an EF-5 tornado tore through Joplin and nearby Duquesne, leaving thousands suddenly homeless and killing 161 (somehow, only that many died). As I look around Joplin as it is today, it's still obvious something came through, but the devastation is hidden by progress now. Stores have re-opened, homes have been rebuilt and are in the process of being rebuilt, and the community has moved from reacting to looking ahead.
There are still those who dwell on the devastation, and I can't say that I blame them. There are those who see themselves as more of a victim than others; you can see one of my previous posts about those kind of people. But the majority of them are optimistic, even though rebuilding will take another year or so.
What happened on May 22nd, 2011 was a tragedy that I hope will never be reproduced. What happened in the days that followed were a miracle that I wish I could see more of, with strangers looking out for each other and neighbors coming together.
I'm not sure just how to feel about this 6-month mark. Perhaps I'm too close to the story; I've become somewhat callused toward it, but I would imagine you'd have to to keep from going insane. One thing I am sure of, though: I'm proud of the people here, of their spirit, and their dedication to both each other and their community.
I've only been here just under 8 months, but I feel like I'm a part of it too. They are Joplin, and so am I.
There are still those who dwell on the devastation, and I can't say that I blame them. There are those who see themselves as more of a victim than others; you can see one of my previous posts about those kind of people. But the majority of them are optimistic, even though rebuilding will take another year or so.
What happened on May 22nd, 2011 was a tragedy that I hope will never be reproduced. What happened in the days that followed were a miracle that I wish I could see more of, with strangers looking out for each other and neighbors coming together.
I'm not sure just how to feel about this 6-month mark. Perhaps I'm too close to the story; I've become somewhat callused toward it, but I would imagine you'd have to to keep from going insane. One thing I am sure of, though: I'm proud of the people here, of their spirit, and their dedication to both each other and their community.
I've only been here just under 8 months, but I feel like I'm a part of it too. They are Joplin, and so am I.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Survivor's Greed
I've been noticing a disturbing trend recently on Facebook. I'll see a good story posted about a Joplin tornado victim getting a donation, or a similar blessing, there will be several "likes" and such, maybe a positive comment here and there, but then a certain type of person shows up.
You know this person, although it's not just one or two people. It's the "but... but... but..." type of person. The comments are immediately noticeable:
"That's fine, but what about the other families?"
"So how about that donation be put (insert their place of choice) instead of (actual place) because (reason)?"
"I can think of many other people that deserve this over (name of family this poster doesn't like)."
But usually it starts with "but what about X?" "What about Y?"
Let's be honest, people. We're all adults here. What you MEAN is "But what about ME?"
You see, I've been working in, around, and with the public long enough to know when someone's just jealous, and jealousy is seemingly rampant online, as the not-picked get all uppity about the "chosen" while at the same time trying to sound like they're only interested in the greater good.
"I lost my place in the tornado too, and it'd be nice to have some of that money, but don't worry about me, I'm more interested in (random special interest group even Satan wouldn't say anything bad about)."
Let's edit the above phrase into what the poster really means:
"I lost my place in the tornado too, and it'd be nice to have some of that money, but don't worry about me, I'm more interested in (random special interest group even Satan wouldn't say anything bad about)."
Ah, there we go.
Now, maybe it's just the cynical side of me acting up, but NEWS FLASH: these people were chosen. They didn't do anything special to get whatever special honor/donation they're getting, and I'd be willing to bet they'd rather have NOT lost a home/family member in order to get it. Heck, chances are, they'd be more than happy having not been affected by a friggin' tornado, and let someone else get the blessing.
I lost MY home in a tornado, too. You don't see me crying about it every time someone else has something nice happen to them.
Bottom line: stop whining. Someone else got something you didn't. If you're jealous, be jealous, but don't drag these people down in the process. You're the equivalent of a child whining because someone got a lollipop but you didn't.
Grow up. Joplin's survivors deserve better than that, and survivors that get jealous over someone else's good fortune are a disgrace to how the people of this city have represented themselves.
You know this person, although it's not just one or two people. It's the "but... but... but..." type of person. The comments are immediately noticeable:
"That's fine, but what about the other families?"
"So how about that donation be put (insert their place of choice) instead of (actual place) because (reason)?"
"I can think of many other people that deserve this over (name of family this poster doesn't like)."
But usually it starts with "but what about X?" "What about Y?"
Let's be honest, people. We're all adults here. What you MEAN is "But what about ME?"
You see, I've been working in, around, and with the public long enough to know when someone's just jealous, and jealousy is seemingly rampant online, as the not-picked get all uppity about the "chosen" while at the same time trying to sound like they're only interested in the greater good.
"I lost my place in the tornado too, and it'd be nice to have some of that money, but don't worry about me, I'm more interested in (random special interest group even Satan wouldn't say anything bad about)."
Let's edit the above phrase into what the poster really means:
"I lost my place in the tornado too, and it'd be nice to have some of that money
Ah, there we go.
Now, maybe it's just the cynical side of me acting up, but NEWS FLASH: these people were chosen. They didn't do anything special to get whatever special honor/donation they're getting, and I'd be willing to bet they'd rather have NOT lost a home/family member in order to get it. Heck, chances are, they'd be more than happy having not been affected by a friggin' tornado, and let someone else get the blessing.
I lost MY home in a tornado, too. You don't see me crying about it every time someone else has something nice happen to them.
Bottom line: stop whining. Someone else got something you didn't. If you're jealous, be jealous, but don't drag these people down in the process. You're the equivalent of a child whining because someone got a lollipop but you didn't.
Grow up. Joplin's survivors deserve better than that, and survivors that get jealous over someone else's good fortune are a disgrace to how the people of this city have represented themselves.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Problem with Christian Games
As many of my friends know, I'm a gamer. As all of them (I hope) also know, I'm a Christian.
One should not have to be separated from the other, yet plenty of times I've heard criticisms from both sides... gamers who think Christians are "stuffy, narrow-minded, ignorant, weak-minded, delusional, etc.", and Christians who believe games are "of the world, full of temptation, cause laziness, too violent, a waste of time, childish, etc.", you get the idea. And I know I won't change the minds of members of these two extremes.
That's not why you're here today. You're here to engage in a discussion with me about so-called "Christian Games" and why they, frankly, suck. And don't worry, the paragraph above will come back into play soon.
Let's start by looking at some of the most recent releases in the "Christian" gaming market: Guitar Praise, Left Behind, and The Bible Game. These are the three most well-known and highest-profile releases from strictly Christian developers. All three also share one crucial detail: they're pretty bad.
Guitar Praise, probably the best of the bunch, is a Guitar Hero clone featuring all Christian music. Not a bad idea, and it was actually pulled off rather well, with one glaring exception: most of the gamers the developer was trying to reach prefer consoles to PCs when it comes to rhythm games, while this was strictly a PC/MAC release. Perhaps they were unsure they'd get permission to release on the consoles, what with the "controversial" messages of peace and love and hope? Doubtful, since Rock Band actually features Christian music as downloadable content. It was also apparently much easier than the secular games, and lacked the polish they had, but not bad, overall. In fact, the type of game GP is actually makes it the best "Christian" game out there; it's not trying to turn a real-time strategy game into a witnessing tool, it's not trying to force religious learning experiences into being fun. It's just a game, with a fake guitar, playing Christian music. The simplicity in the idea really helps its cause.
Not so for the other two of my examples.
The Bible Game (which I think should've just been named "The Old Testament Trivia Experience" since the New Testament is nowhere to be found and this just barely resembles anything that's an actual GAME) suffers on several fronts, but the biggest is the fact that it seems the developers actually forgot why they were making the game. Many of the mini-games that pop up between trivia questions actually have very little, if any, to do with the actual biblical content they're based on. It's a disconnect that doesn't help their already bland presentation and the fact that many of the questions are actually what I'd consider to be too hard for anyone except a full-on biblical scholar. And the fact that they never touched the New Testament, which in my opinion, actually makes the Bible... well, THE BIBLE. The Old Testament, or at least a large amount of it, is made up of the Torah, which is the Holy Book for Jews.
And finally, the worst for last.
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a real-time strategy game in the vein of Civilization, Command and Conquer, etc, where you face off against the armies of the Antichrist. It's based off the Left Behind novels, which I love. But I cannot stand this game... the pacing is way too slow at the start, frustrating scenarios (protect a church without firing back at a tank that's... you know... attacking the church), one of the enemy types is "rock musician" (because surely, someone such as myself who enjoys rock music must be evil), the ability to kill people who won't convert (very Christ-like, you know) -- and I'm not talking about violent enemies on that last one, but neutral folks too.
So we've got three vastly different games... you'd think the only link would be their affiliation with my faith. Nope. The other link? None of them were willing to truly be like Christ... they're far too exclusionary, not nearly bold enough. I'd go as far as saying these games (Guitar Praise largely excluded) are videogames' equivalent of the Pharisees.
Let's look at Jesus for a second. Who'd he hang out with? Sinners. Prostitutes. Liars. Cheats. The general scumbags of society... and He didn't get corrupted, didn't forget who He was.
Who were the Pharisees? Religious folk who didn't want to associate with anyone else... they wanted to do nothing more than stand at a distance from the non-believers and simply shout at them that they were going down the wrong path, without being bold enough to walk WITH those people and bring them the understanding that they apparently so lacked.
Now let's look back at these games: made exclusive for a religious audience, to the point that they can feel judgmental to non-believers (especially Left Behind). When you want to learn more about something or get into something you're new at, do you want the people who know about it to welcome you or let you know right from the start that you're an outsider?
A lot of Christians -- especially talking heads in conservative circles -- believe that those who enjoy secular games are wicked, depraved, and surrounding themselves with sin and violence. They believe that the only way Christians can enjoy a video game is if it's "family friendly." NEWS FLASH: THE BIBLE IS NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. It features murders, wars, sex (go ahead, read Song of Songs), and, oh, yeah, executions via torture. And as I said before, Jesus HIMSELF, who is to be Christians' example, was willing to surround himself with sinners so He might reach them, just as the Apostles did after His resurrection. Last time I checked, the best way to get people to learn about Christ? GOING WHERE THEY ARE AND TALKING TO THEM. You can't do that when you're in an exclusive club, or playing games that are only geared toward believers.
Let's look at some games that are doing it right: Dante's Inferno, Darksiders, and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. All three made by secular publishers, for the general gaming crowd. All three feature (gasp!) violence, but also stories with spiritual references and themes. Heck, with the exception of Darksiders (which features a more general apocalypse story than a Biblical one except for the names of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), they all feature content directly referencing or pulled from THE BIBLE. This is GREAT... it opens discussion between believer and non-believer alike, it plants a seed (you know, something Some Guy once talked about), and they're all good. I mean, really, really, good. Even Mass Effect, especially Mass Effect 1, dealt with discussions about such hot topics as God and abortion in a mature, responsible manner, and somehow also managed to have awesome combat and an epic story. IN SPACE.
The big difference between the first three games and the second three? The latter group is willing to let everyone experience their message, willing to take chances, and willing to deviate a bit into fiction while still containing messages that Christians wish to get across: that God is real, that Jesus saves (seriously, Dante's Inferno is a great example of having Christ in a game without ever referencing Him by name) and that these are themes that everyone can understand and process. Christian game developers need to be willing to come out of their shells and take some risks -- including possibly making games that aren't completely squeaky clean, and Christian leaders need to understand that believers can be trusted to play these so-called "wicked" games; if they're really believers, then fictional experiences won't shatter or shake their faith, and if a believer loses faith after playing a video game, then there should be questions over the legitimacy of their belief in the first place.
One should not have to be separated from the other, yet plenty of times I've heard criticisms from both sides... gamers who think Christians are "stuffy, narrow-minded, ignorant, weak-minded, delusional, etc.", and Christians who believe games are "of the world, full of temptation, cause laziness, too violent, a waste of time, childish, etc.", you get the idea. And I know I won't change the minds of members of these two extremes.
That's not why you're here today. You're here to engage in a discussion with me about so-called "Christian Games" and why they, frankly, suck. And don't worry, the paragraph above will come back into play soon.
Let's start by looking at some of the most recent releases in the "Christian" gaming market: Guitar Praise, Left Behind, and The Bible Game. These are the three most well-known and highest-profile releases from strictly Christian developers. All three also share one crucial detail: they're pretty bad.
Guitar Praise, probably the best of the bunch, is a Guitar Hero clone featuring all Christian music. Not a bad idea, and it was actually pulled off rather well, with one glaring exception: most of the gamers the developer was trying to reach prefer consoles to PCs when it comes to rhythm games, while this was strictly a PC/MAC release. Perhaps they were unsure they'd get permission to release on the consoles, what with the "controversial" messages of peace and love and hope? Doubtful, since Rock Band actually features Christian music as downloadable content. It was also apparently much easier than the secular games, and lacked the polish they had, but not bad, overall. In fact, the type of game GP is actually makes it the best "Christian" game out there; it's not trying to turn a real-time strategy game into a witnessing tool, it's not trying to force religious learning experiences into being fun. It's just a game, with a fake guitar, playing Christian music. The simplicity in the idea really helps its cause.
Not so for the other two of my examples.
The Bible Game (which I think should've just been named "The Old Testament Trivia Experience" since the New Testament is nowhere to be found and this just barely resembles anything that's an actual GAME) suffers on several fronts, but the biggest is the fact that it seems the developers actually forgot why they were making the game. Many of the mini-games that pop up between trivia questions actually have very little, if any, to do with the actual biblical content they're based on. It's a disconnect that doesn't help their already bland presentation and the fact that many of the questions are actually what I'd consider to be too hard for anyone except a full-on biblical scholar. And the fact that they never touched the New Testament, which in my opinion, actually makes the Bible... well, THE BIBLE. The Old Testament, or at least a large amount of it, is made up of the Torah, which is the Holy Book for Jews.
And finally, the worst for last.
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a real-time strategy game in the vein of Civilization, Command and Conquer, etc, where you face off against the armies of the Antichrist. It's based off the Left Behind novels, which I love. But I cannot stand this game... the pacing is way too slow at the start, frustrating scenarios (protect a church without firing back at a tank that's... you know... attacking the church), one of the enemy types is "rock musician" (because surely, someone such as myself who enjoys rock music must be evil), the ability to kill people who won't convert (very Christ-like, you know) -- and I'm not talking about violent enemies on that last one, but neutral folks too.
So we've got three vastly different games... you'd think the only link would be their affiliation with my faith. Nope. The other link? None of them were willing to truly be like Christ... they're far too exclusionary, not nearly bold enough. I'd go as far as saying these games (Guitar Praise largely excluded) are videogames' equivalent of the Pharisees.
Let's look at Jesus for a second. Who'd he hang out with? Sinners. Prostitutes. Liars. Cheats. The general scumbags of society... and He didn't get corrupted, didn't forget who He was.
Who were the Pharisees? Religious folk who didn't want to associate with anyone else... they wanted to do nothing more than stand at a distance from the non-believers and simply shout at them that they were going down the wrong path, without being bold enough to walk WITH those people and bring them the understanding that they apparently so lacked.
Now let's look back at these games: made exclusive for a religious audience, to the point that they can feel judgmental to non-believers (especially Left Behind). When you want to learn more about something or get into something you're new at, do you want the people who know about it to welcome you or let you know right from the start that you're an outsider?
A lot of Christians -- especially talking heads in conservative circles -- believe that those who enjoy secular games are wicked, depraved, and surrounding themselves with sin and violence. They believe that the only way Christians can enjoy a video game is if it's "family friendly." NEWS FLASH: THE BIBLE IS NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. It features murders, wars, sex (go ahead, read Song of Songs), and, oh, yeah, executions via torture. And as I said before, Jesus HIMSELF, who is to be Christians' example, was willing to surround himself with sinners so He might reach them, just as the Apostles did after His resurrection. Last time I checked, the best way to get people to learn about Christ? GOING WHERE THEY ARE AND TALKING TO THEM. You can't do that when you're in an exclusive club, or playing games that are only geared toward believers.
Let's look at some games that are doing it right: Dante's Inferno, Darksiders, and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. All three made by secular publishers, for the general gaming crowd. All three feature (gasp!) violence, but also stories with spiritual references and themes. Heck, with the exception of Darksiders (which features a more general apocalypse story than a Biblical one except for the names of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), they all feature content directly referencing or pulled from THE BIBLE. This is GREAT... it opens discussion between believer and non-believer alike, it plants a seed (you know, something Some Guy once talked about), and they're all good. I mean, really, really, good. Even Mass Effect, especially Mass Effect 1, dealt with discussions about such hot topics as God and abortion in a mature, responsible manner, and somehow also managed to have awesome combat and an epic story. IN SPACE.
The big difference between the first three games and the second three? The latter group is willing to let everyone experience their message, willing to take chances, and willing to deviate a bit into fiction while still containing messages that Christians wish to get across: that God is real, that Jesus saves (seriously, Dante's Inferno is a great example of having Christ in a game without ever referencing Him by name) and that these are themes that everyone can understand and process. Christian game developers need to be willing to come out of their shells and take some risks -- including possibly making games that aren't completely squeaky clean, and Christian leaders need to understand that believers can be trusted to play these so-called "wicked" games; if they're really believers, then fictional experiences won't shatter or shake their faith, and if a believer loses faith after playing a video game, then there should be questions over the legitimacy of their belief in the first place.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
October 18 is Batman Day
At least, that seems to be what DC Entertainment may be framing 10/18 up to be. While Batman: Year One is available now on iTunes and Amazon on-demand, the physical release of the DVD/Blu-Ray is 10/18. Same day as Batman: Arkham City for the PS3 and Xbox 360, which is the followup to one of (if not the) best superhero games of all time. Apparently Game Informer, the magazine belonging to GameStop, is pretty high on the game.
Let's just assume that, while DC Universe Online's Free-to-Play model hasn't launched yet, it may happen on 10/18 as well. After all, DCUO features Batman pretty prominently. You know. Because he's Batman.
I also wouldn't be surprised if we got a new Dark Knight Rises trailer.
So, I encourage you, celebrate Batman Day with someone you love. Or, if you want to go the extra mile, celebrate it while desiring vengeance for someone you love who was wronged while completely ignoring the possible physical and psychological ramifications that show up when you dedicate your life to terrifying criminals.
As for myself, I plan on playing Arkham City while propping my feet up on a Batman ottoman. While wearing one of these.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
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