Gamer Christianity: Why All People Will Never Be God’s People
For some, Christianity is a business. For others, it is a social club with nice people in attendance. Another group sees Christianity as a game.
In our gaming culture, it is natural for the carnal church to invite the gamers into the fold. These people have the mindset that God is the game master, who has set up obstacles and rewards for getting to the next level. The goal of Christianity, in the mind of the gamer, is that we need to make all people become God’s people (perfect game score). Game on!
Ignorance of the Bible produces deficient theologies, which are sadly rampant in American culture. The American culture is a very strong influence upon the church in America. Forsaking the ancient paths of our Christian fathers, these idea innovators are like the men of Athens (Acts 17). They lust after something new to help them achieve their un-biblical goals.
Gamer theology in America is teamed up with the ancient heresies to present a god, foreign to the Bible. Their deist god has created everything, provided the possibility of salvation through Jesus Christ, and then, with the Holy Spirit constrained, the work of the ministry is turned over to the gamers to achieve high scores in the soul winning game.
In this game, performance means everything. The more you do for the game master, the more he gives you. Your bold, daring moves to secure the enemy bunker, wins you a cache of weapons (ie. Call of Duty, Halo, etc.). There is really nothing new from the world of heresy. It is the latest, updated version of the original game. Works-based justification is still in play for many gamers, but more subtle, and more prevalent is works-based sanctification, which is the gamer version taking you back to the Old Testament. It ignores the Holy Spirit, and often times is a practical denial of the finished work of Christ.
Like Pac-Man gobbling up pellets for reward points, while trying to avoid demon ghosts chasing him, gamer Christians are busy, busy, busy. The goal, since God has turned the salvation enterprise over to them, is to score points by manipulating conversions. Conversion points vary from proselyte to proselyte. Children converts represent low score points, especially if they grew up in a Christian home. These Christian converts, for instance, represent lower scores than drug addicts or gang members. Muslims are worth bonus points. Confirmed death-bed conversions win high score.
The goal remains: All people as God’s people. After all, God loves everyone. Christ died for everyone, “Now it’s our game! Let’s have a revival pep rally and see what we can produce.” Of course, gamer Christianity is a game of utter uncertainty because the game would be no fun if it was not a game.
In contrast, to the game of chance, is the certainty of salvation with our sovereign God. The Bible clearly teaches that all people are not God’s people (Rom 9), nor is there a game of chance where all might possibly become God’s children. Gamers drop their joy sticks and insist sovereignty would be the end game, “I don’t want to be like lazy Calvin, or Luther, or Knox and just sit around while God does His sovereign will and work!”
In truth, biblical truth, God has designed a world in which He is the Savior of the world. He is the Hero who rescues His people from behind enemy lines (Gospels). He is the Champion, who defeats an evil opponent (Revelation). He is the Lover, who gets the girl of His choice (Song of Solomon). He gets the glory because He does the work. We are clay objects at His disposal (Jer 18; Rom 9). When He chooses to fill us with Himself, we get the inspired task of bearing witness to the fact that it is all Him (Acts 1:8).
All people are not in His predetermined plan of salvation (Acts 13:48; Rom 1:18–32; 11), which is clear for anyone who actually reads from Genesis to Revelation. Instead, gamers read the latest church guru, who is a repackage expert of old heresies. Christianity is not a game. It is the story of select covenant love…God’s love for His chosen people.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
September 1, 2021
