You mean to tell us your parents had the NERVE to be concerned about the flashin' lights on a video game ?????
after all the flashin' light they put up with bein' a Jehovah's Witness ???
WT cautions against playing pac-man 1982 Awake
by EndofMysteries 57 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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wha happened?
Frogger yea! Damn, I'm must be a hard liquor drinking, purse snatching, homosexual deviant
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lifestooshort
Breakfast of Champions-that is too funny, ghost made pac-man bad, LOL. It made me remember when I was a kid my squirt gun was taken away by my mom because it was "playing with guns".
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CaptainSchmideo
July 15, 1983 Watchtower
The Video-Game Craze
In recent years, a new fad has swept the world: video games. Each year, billions of dollars are poured into arcade machines, and billions more are spent on home video games. Are the games harmful? ‘No,' say some. ‘They may even be beneficial.' But they are banned in some lands, and local communities in other lands have tried to keep them out. Is this an overreaction?
Well, consider the kind of games that are played. Some are based on sports, but most are not. "The ultimate object of virtually all video games," says the magazine Natural History, "is survival. In the space games you must shoot them before they shoot you. In the Pac ‘person' genre, you eat them before they eat you. And in the comic character games, you assault the creature . . . before it assaults you." Why is it the violent games that have caught the imagination? Historian Jack Colhoun feels: "These games are a product of our times." We live in a violent world, and young people are trained to view violence as exciting rather than repugnant. Yet the Bible says: "Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, and anyone loving violence His soul certainly hates."-Psalm 11:5.
The magazine Psychology Today indicates the harmful effect these games may have: "The video games . . . may not only be socially isolating but may actually encourage violence between people." Young people can be especially harmed by such an influence. Hence, columnist John Rosemund insists: "Video games are junk food for the mind. The younger the mind, the more detrimental their effects."
Video games may even be addictive. A university professor explained that addiction to video games is both physical and psychological. He said: "Players experience adrenaline rushes, elation and, finally, despair, as well as whole ranges of aggression and violent reactions." A mother in England says this about the addiction of her 14-year-old son: "It is like having a teenage alcoholic in the house. These machines have corrupted him . . . He is like a caged animal if he can't get to them." An extreme case? Perhaps. But the widespread occurrence of "Pacman finger," "Space Invader wrist tendinitis" and other game-related physical problems shows that addiction is not uncommon.
Youths naturally crave excitement and are fascinated by novelties. But how wise it is for Christian youths to be careful to let nothing prevent them from living "with soundness of mind and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things"! (Titus 2:12) They thus will not allow the Deceiver to rob them of their time, or their mental and emotional energy, by getting them addicted to video games.
Some physical exercise, certain music, many games and various movies are entertaining and relaxing. But remember: Such things can also be a vehicle for unwholesome influences. Be alert and on guard against these. The Great Deceiver, Satan, may seem interested in your having a good time. But in the end, his influence will harm you. Do not let him into your home or into your life. "Oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you."-James 4:7. -
lifestooshort
It all boils down to more no fun rules.
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breakfast of champions
LIFESTOOSHORT - yeah same here. Even if the water gun was bright see-thru orange with no resemblance to an actual gun, it was still A GUN.
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Seraphim23
I got angry reading Blondie`s quote of the WT here:
*** w52 1/15 pp. 42-43 pars. 21-22 Training Children for Life in the New World ***
Furthermore, modern theocratic parents have to combat a rising tide of old world propaganda calculated to capture and twist the minds of the young. The radio, the television, the cinema, the comics and the press in general are all full of untheocratic, unwholesome instruction. The prudent parent must minimize these sources of demon-inspired utterances and shield the minds of their young from their evil influence. (1 John 4:1, NW) If and when the radio, television and the cinema are resorted to the wise parent should be selective.
22 At this point we must consider the matter of “family responsibility” as legally presented in the Scriptures. Under the Biblical principle of “family responsibility” where the father or the mother or both become iniquitous, adverse judgment comes upon the entire household of minor children. Take the example of Achan, who committed a fatal trespass against Jehovah. By so doing Achan brought condemnation upon his whole family of children and they were all stoned to death with him. (Josh. 7:1, 24, 25) Paul speaks of this principle in the reverse, which might be referred to as “family merit”. If the father or the mother of a family is a believing and practicing Christian he or she brings merit to the entire family of children. Paul writes: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in relation to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in relation to the brother; otherwise, your children would really be unclean, but now they are holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14, NW) Therefore this proves that minor children of Christian parents are indirectly sanctified or counted worthy of protection in God’s sight until they reach the age of individual responsibility. Hence in this day of final judgment since 1918 parents are responsible for the final destiny of their minor children. When Armageddon strikes all minor children who are not under such “family merit” arrangement will meet annihilation with no hope of a resurrection. This is strongly indicated at Ezekiel 9:6 (AS), where it is written: “Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.”
The reason it makes me angry is because they quote Ezekiel 9:6 to promote such a nasty view point that kids will get judged because of what parents do, yet less that ten chapters from the verse they quote Ezekiel says this, in Ezekial 18:20 :
"The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them."
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WTWizard
I would rather "waste" my money on playing video games than in field circus, donations, and littera-trash. When I was at home, I would be able to occasionally play a few games. Nothing like playing all day for days at a time--just a few quarters here and there. In college, I started playing certain games more seriously. While that did cost me a few more quarters (quite a few) in the short run, once I got better I would actually save money by playing the games which I got very good at. Where else am I going to be able to get a few hours of fun for a single quarter? Certainly not at the fair, movies, or eating out.
Time wise, I can understand some people that cut classes or stay out until all hours of the night playing video games. But, compared to the time wasted being a jokehovian witless, the video games are actually quite tame. No suit time. I can play when I damn well feel like it. If I have plenty of time, I would play something like Centipede (where I could play half the day on a single quarter). If I had less time, I could play something I occasionally play--Missile Command, Pac Man, and the like. Or I could simply watch others play--learning from where they screw up. Beyond that, I could quit if I feel like it--walking out when someone is playing, or dogging a game so I get out soon if I see fit. Try that with field circus--try dogging a call so you can go in when you wish to.