Should a Christian play final fantasy 10?

Answer 1

Christians can have hobbies and playing Video Games is a decent choice of leisure pass times. As people who are designed for the good work of God, we must be careful about any media intake. Final Fantasy has been the cornerstone (in my opinion) of Japanese Role Playing Games for more than 20 years. They consistently include cutting-edge graphics, gripping story lines, unforgettable characters, dynamic soundtracks, ever-evolving gameplay, and challenging side quests to lengthen one's enjoyment of each title. There are some obvious good and bad points in the light of God's Word anyone can observe from Tidus and Yuna's quest in Final Fantasy X.

The Good:

1. Teamwork.

Not long after the first few scenes, you spend practically the entire game working as a party to defend Spira.

2. Hope.

Sin, the *primary bad guy* is huge and old. He has been wrecking the planet for centuries. These somewhat misfits are attempting to take him down against the odds.

3. Acceptance.

The party members come from very diverse backgrounds and yet overlook there differences to reach common goals.

4. Discernment.

Everyone is not as they seem. In the plot they learn to make hard decisions about who is friend and who is foe.

The Bad:

1. Witchcraft.

From spells to summons and praying to foreign dieties, it is all bad. We as Christians need to take inventory on this topic. Magic is real and not of God. Do not become desensitized to these abominable acts. Using them for good does not justify seeking power from anyone but God.

2. Nakedness.

Girls in video games never wear enough clothes.

3. Afterlife.

In a video game universe, the creators are "gods." They determine all the laws, good/evil, origins/destination of souls, and purpose. People die in this game and their souls remain floating around near the Guado's town. Some dead people possess bodies with the living as well...We as Christians, should not get caught up in a fantasy world that deviates so far from how the true system of Heaven and Hell works.

You Decide:

The Plot.

From a Christian viewpoint, there can be two ways to approach series of events in Final Fantasy X.

View #1:

When I played as a girl, I took the simpler (and more widely accepted) view of the story: In short, the heroes discover that the god of their universe (along with all his ministers) were undead, false, manipulators and that was all religion cracked up to be. It was all just an ancient hoax of rituals and prayers that only perpetuated the chaos. I thought that was a very terrible underlying message. I believe God is good. So from this standpoint, I do not see how any believer could see this as a proper choice for any youth of the church. We should not indoctrinate our children with this mindset anymore than society already has. We should combat it with the timeless truth of God's Word.

View #2:

Now as a more intellectual adult, I have assumed a second way of viewing the story line of this tail. I consider maybe this is not about My God, Yahweh. I see it as an inner struggle of any individual dealing with a false belief system imposed on them by wolves in sheep's clothing empowered by tradition. It is not at all addressing whether or not religion or worship is all bad. It just begs you to consider the source. It took a lot for the team to go against all they believed once they began to discover questionable activities from the higher ups. We all should do this. Too often we take for granted those with the title prophet, pastor, reverend, or father are really representatives of the True God of the Christian Bible. It would be nice if they brought it full circle to show a hint of hope for finding the actual God after unveiling the false one.

In conclusion, there are good and bad things you can find in this title. Know that it is a game not designed directly to bring more into the Kingdom of God by spreading the truth of Jesus Christ's gift of eternal life through His blood sacrifice. It may tell the story of the anti-christ though. We need to call it all into question. What you let into your home effects your thoughts and expresses your attitudes towards things like witchcraft and the undead. They are serious things but, if you feel you have made it very clear to your children the dangers in dabbling with that stuff and show them how our God is true and not at all like Yu Yevon, you may be able to introduce this to your teenaged kids with caution. You decide.