What would you think about a video game called “Abortionist Extreme”?
In it you play the abortionist and go in to the womb of a woman with your scalpel, kill the baby and then extract it. The faster you can perform the abortion without perforating your patient’s uterus the more points you score.
Would you recommend the game to your kids, or to your Christian friends? Would you see a movie based on the game? My guess is, “Probably not.”
What interests me in this hypothetical are the reasons Christians would find the game or movie objectionable. Some would say, “Abortion is murder and we shouldn’t glorify it or make sport of it.” Others would say making a game or movie about abortion will encourage kids to become abortionists. Still others would say glorifying violence will only ensure we breed more of it.
I think all of these objections are valid. So, here is the question: What is the difference between “Abortionist Extreme” and “Soldier of Fortune” or “Mortal Kombat”? And what is the difference between “Abortionist Extreme: The Movie” and any modern Hollywood flick that is packed with violence?
Some might say that Soldier of Fortune is just a game. So is Abortionist Extreme.
Some might say abortion is immoral, and war is not necessarily immoral. However, that is really a distinction without difference. At best, war is a necessary evil. If your best friend broke into your house and tried to kill your wife and you killed him to save your wife, is it something you would want to make a video game out of it or glorify it merely because the killing was necessary?
I’m not saying soldiering is immoral, nor am I saying it’s the same as performing an abortion.
What I’m thinking is that if watching and play acting violence is bad for our souls, it’s bad regardless of whether it’s fed to us in the form of a soldier or an abortionist.
I’m not a prude or a pacifist. I’m just a guy who wants to be more like Jesus, who is asking questions.
I don’t know what motivated James Holmes to walk into a movie theater in Colorado and start killing people. At this point it is pure speculation. What I do know is his conduct is consistent with our culture.
The Romans had their gladiators and games, and so do we. GS
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