Jesus takes time to teach a child about the PS3 rumble feature

Jesus wept.

The Christian Examiner Online has weighed in with a lengthy dissertation on videogames in general and – gasp! – Grand Theft Auto in particular, outlining the evils involved in the medium and their contribution to the social decay afflicting the United States, not the world.

“The game delivers the kinds of thrills teenage boys love, with plenty of high-speed chase scenes, noisy shoot-’em-ups and risqué sexuality,” writes Steve Rabey. “But questions about the game’s violence and the ability of some gamers to unlock explicit sex scenes in an earlier version of the game have led to complaints and a class action lawsuit against “GT4’s” manufacturer, Rockstar Games.”

Posted through the “Christian Newswire,” the article is being touted as an “in-depth report on the impact of video games on families and the culture.” However, there are no quotes or statements from any learned scholars on the topic of videogame violence, nor scientific data regarding their claims to addiction, violent behavior, or anti-social tendencies.

The article also includes the usual tempered rhetoric of the Christian right that goes on to play their greatest hits: financial irresponsibility for buying virtual goods, a deluded work ethic for playing more hours of World of Warcraft than your nine – to – five job, and an honest to God Columbine reference.

The mind recoils in horror. This is quite possibly the most nugatory story regarding the ills of gaming that I have ever read, replete with assertions so banal that even Jack Thompson would blanche.

Source: christianexaminer.com

Tags: Grand Theft Auto 4, GTAIV, Jack-Thompson, Rockstar, The Christian Examiner Online

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2 Comments » max Applegate on August 7, 2008 9:48 am I’d like to know what GT4 is! haha GTAIV? Justin on August 7, 2008 9:52 am See, that’s what I’m talking about: by saying this is a learned paper they provide the veneer of scholarly work yet they can’t even get the name of the game right. There is nothing erudite about this paper that reads as if it was written on the back of a cocktail napkin. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.