Gaming and MMO's - A Whole New World?

The article called “Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name by Constance Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams claims that “massively multiplayer online games” (or MMO’s) are a “third place” when speaking of social interaction. They compare it to things like pubs, coffee shops, and other common hang out places. They also suggest that participation with these MMO’s helps in the “formation of bridging social capital.” They say that these social relationships function as a way for individuals to be exposed to the diversity of worldviews, despite the fact that they don’t provide deep emotional support. Another reason they give for it being positive is that there are no “prerequisites, requirements, roles, duties, or proofs of membership”, and they can be seen as a home away from home due to traits like “rootedness, feelings of possession, spiritual regeneration, feelings of being at ease, and warmth.”

However, they also mentioned the fact that the effects are negative for both individuals and communities by adding a point from Oldenburg saying, "The essential group experience is being replaced by the exaggerated self-consciousness of individuals. American lifestyles, for all the material acquisition and the seeking after comforts and pleasures, are plagued by boredom, loneliness, alienation."

The article states that bridging social capital occurs when individuals from different backgrounds make connections between social networks. It also says that what these types of tentative relationships “lack in depth, they make up for in breadth.” Therefore, bridging social capital doesn’t provide a lot of emotional support, but it is good in that it can broaden social horizons and worldviews and provide the participants with “access to information and new resources.” They say it can also be a good thing in regards to the bonding type of social capital if it acts as a sort of “super-glue” to strengthen already existing relationships with family and nearby friends.

They come to the conclusions that MMO’s can have both strong and weak ties and that they function more as a bridging device than a bonding ones. They admit that the relationships built through gaming may not be as beneficial as “real-world” relationships due to “geographic dispersion and the nature of third places themselves.” They say there is importance in having a balance of both social bridging and bonding; strong and weak ties because on one extreme, a person is very connected but unsupported and uncared for, and at the other end, the person is loved and sheltered, but isolated from newness (Galston, 1999).

I agree that gaming can both be a positive and negative thing. I haven’t experienced much with it, but I know that if I were exposed to it, I would enjoy being a part of the gaming community and gain from it in some ways, while losing out on “real-world” social ties in other ways. I think that as long as you don’t become obsessed or overly dependent on it, it can be helpful to connect to others around the world so long as you still remember your real life and the people in it.

A New Found Old Way of Conveying Goodness!

In chapter 14, Thomas J. Carmody discusses how comic books are a great way to reach the masses and draw them into thinking theologically without feeling threatened by it. A book of cool graphics and a way to be entertained doesn’t sound nearly as daunting and serious as say a bible tract. Comic books and graphics have, in a way, been present for the last thousand years to convey biblical messages and stories in a way that is easy to understand and more attractive to potential viewers.

One reason that comics are a good way to evangelize, according to Carmody, is that they have a universal appeal across ages, culture, and even religions. Not only do they have an appeal, but they are also low cost, long lasting, and easy to spread around (especially if the comic books are digitally online).

Comics are also familiar to most people around the world, which is why they don’t feel threatened by this form of media. It is also easier to blur the lines between Christian and secular comics since many of the mainstream comics even have religious underlying messages or themes (for example, the classic good wins over evil theme). The more familiar and “friendly” it looks, the less intimidating or threatening it would be.

Comic books are also usually light hearted. They have serious messages, but they are portrayed in a light and fun way. Since language is such a barrier, I think it’s great that Christians have discovered the idea to make graphic books for them in their own indigenous languages. Pictures can be seen by anyone. No one has to be taught how to look at an image, therefore being a great way to spread the message of the gospel.

I especially liked a part of the chapter where Doug TenNapel is quoted as saying, “Christians are going to have to learn that art isn’t automatically good if it’s made by Christians. And Hollywood will have to learn that art isn’t automatically bad if it’s made by Christians.”

Carmody also says that evangelical fans are convinced that comics can contribute to the church and be relevant to the human condition by presenting evangelistic messages at home and overseas, teaching biblical precepts through storylines taken from the Bible or adapted from the lives of Christian missionaries, saints and leaders, reaching an audience that is predisposed to respond to vivid visual images, helping members of a specific tribe to become more humble by poking fun at themselves, and by aiding illiterate people to learn to read. I would have to agree with him on these points. I think it’s important to reach people in the most effective ways, and I for one would much rather look at visuals to entertain and educate me casually than read something that is boring or hard to follow.

With the POWer of comics, we can FIGHT the powers of EVIIIL. Jesus, is the real hero! Spread the word!

Retreats gone extreme?

I don’t know much about Christian Zionists, but if this is what all of them were like, I would definitely be wary. It seems quite extreme that these things actually take place. I can understand having a retreat that offers peace and healing, but casting out demons in this manner, speaking in tongues on command, and saying that your “wounds” are only a matter of generational curses just doesn’t rub me the right way.

I haven’t experienced the casting out of demons first hand, so my opinion is fuzzy on that matter and I’m not sure anyone can judge it until they’ve experienced it for themselves.

Speaking in tongues is supposed to be a gift that is given in order to speak to people who cannot understand your language. The bible says that if you speak in tongues but do not have an interpreter, it is useless. I don’t think just anyone can do it and if they’re saying they can speak in tongues on command, I don’t think that this is the truth, and even if it is, I feel that they are greatly abusing it.

A small part of me wants to believe in generational curses and blessings simply because my mother told me a few times how her great grandfather prayed hard for his family and all the generations to come. In a way, it’s a neat thought. Thanks great grandpa! But wait... what if it’s not true? Who can truly know? Every family has things that they were blessed with in addition to things they struggle with. I agree that a lot of times children end up becoming like their parents even if that’s the last thing they ever wanted to be. Maybe a slight portion of it does lie in the genes. Either way, I believe that we have to take responsibility for our own actions instead of just blaming them on people from the past and their mistakes.

With all that said, I can see how this Matt guy thought these people were crazy and out to conform the whole nation to their own teachings. They do seem kind of far fetched. If it’s true that they believe that they can hurry up the coming of Christ, they have another thing coming. Nothing can change the timing of God Himself. No one knows when the time will be. It is quite alarming to think that people who are perhaps not telling the whole truth and trying to get people to be almost hypnotized by their words are being followed by 4.5 million viewers alone. It’s true that many Christians do fit into a mould of habit and going through the motions and willing to hear a lot of what a preacher has to say because they trust them. However, it is up to every individual Christian to test what they are being told, to look it up in their own bibles and discuss with each other what the real truth is and if they agree. The bible also says that there will be false prophets and teachers and that we are to be very cautious in following anyone. A few points that Matt made in this article might have some truth to it, but I really hope people remember that he’s strictly talking about Christian Zionists rather than all Christians as a whole.