“Grand Theft Auto IV” Has Lots of Critics –Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=27962

If the name "Grand Theft Auto IV" doesn't give away the violent and explicit content of the latest teenage video game craze, then the multiple warnings on the packaging do. "GTA IV," as it is called," carries a "Mature" rating for "blood," "intense violence," "partial nudity," "strong language," "strong sexual content" and the "use of drugs and alcohol."…The latest release, in fact, could become the top-selling video game of all time. It went on sale April 29 and already is the top-selling video game on Amazon.com. The game revolves around "Niko Bellic," an immigrant from Eastern Europe who lives in "Liberty City" –- essentially a faux name for New York City. The video gamer, playing the role of Niko, steals cars, kills cops and gang members, runs over pedestrians on the sidewalk, gets drunk, visits strip clubs and has sex with prostitutes. The game has multiple critics, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which is upset that players can get drunk and then drive.

Commentary

Parents and teenagers who claim to be Christians: be warned. Satan’s attacks are subtle. What some consider to be benign entertainment is no such thing. Every thing we see or hear comes from one of two worldviews: a Christian worldview or a non-Christian worldview. Too often Christians miss this reality. Equally problematic is the fact that those who understand such a dynamic often feel that filling one’s mind with such things has no effect upon them or that they can counteract the effect with a heavy dose of God somehow.

These notions are both ignorant and arrogant. The battlefield on which we as Christians wage war is the mind/heart. We are constantly told to “renew our minds” as Satan, the world, and our own flesh war against our souls. If we do not see our lives as a battle nor understand where the battlefield is, we have lost already. Our minds are corrupted daily with the constant onslaught of ideas contrary to God. Without a constant renewal of our minds we are unable to put-off the sin that so easily entangles us and put on righteousness.

Of course, the real question is simple: what does it say about one’s heart that loves the things portrayed in “Grand Theft Auto IV?” Examine yourselves. The true believer increasingly hates the things God hates and loves the things God loves.

Too often we reject the truth for fear of being equated with some form of legalism. There is no doubt that legalism kills and we must reject it as much as we must reject libertinism. But, it is not legalistic to say that filling one’s mind with images contrary to God is not only sin but destructive. Because of our flesh, we do not have the ability to fight off the resulting influence of such a steady barrage of the mind. In fact, our flesh loves such. And even if we could regularly take such a barrage unscathed, who among us is willing to say that God is ambivalent about the issue? These are the very things God hates. These are the very things that put Christ on the cross. These are the very things for which Hell exists. Argue with God if you will, but, Grand Theft Auto IV is grand theft of the soul.