Wired is one weird media company. But then so is Second Life.
This article in Wired’s online magazine brought up some interesting philosophical points regarding fantasy media games. I’ve never played Second Life and probably never will because I consider fantasy role-playing games a waste of time. If I can’t make money doing it then I’d rather be doing it as a hobby - and frankly, role playing games aren’t a hobby of mine, though, I must confess, I have enjoyed a game of D&D or two in my day.
Here are my responses to the most enlightening parts of the article:
Linden Labs recently outlawed gambling in Second Life, officially making cybersex the one interesting thing that happens there. A Jesuit scholar has suggested that Second Life is an excellent target for missionary work in an attempt to bring that number down to zero. The very concept of missionary work in an artificial world brings up a number of questions, many of them exceedingly creepy.
OK, it’s beyond creepy. It’s sick, for two reasons:
- I can only wonder if the missionary work is as much a part of the game as everything else, in which case the missionaries aren’t real missionaries, but people pretending to be missionaries
- If the fantasy missionaries are driven by real people who are seriously trying to convert the fantasy figures within the game, or their puppetmasters outside of the virtual realm, then those are scary people and I have to question their intelligence, and in some aspect, even their faith
If you’re a virtual missionary in a virtual world speaking to another virtual person, are you trying to convert the virtual person or the real person behind it?
Right at the heart of it all. Virtual media is make-believe. It’s fantasy. It’s not real. Why then would real people be seeking to convert fantasy figures? Or the real people who give those fantasy figures a life? How does one know whether the fantasy figure is a person of faith, or not? Furthermore, how does one identify a need for conversion in the heart and mind of the real person playing the fantasy figure if all you come in contact with is the personality and character of the fantasy figure?
All in all, I’d have to say that trying to convert - I mean, seriously making an effort to convert - people through the game of Second Life is, at best, a devil’s game. At worst, it’s pure evil.
Certainly you can look around for immoral behavior, but that leads to the tricky question of whether pretending to be immoral is actually immoral.
There’s got to be a joke in there somewhere, but I’m sure your local, friendly Baptist minister isn’t laughing. The whole idea of fantasy role-playing games is to give people a place where they can explore their deepest, darkest fantasies without actually carrying them out. Many religionists believe that games like Dungeons & Dragons are inherently evil. But why? There is no evidence that the game itself makes people lose touch with reality or steal because they are playing a thief in the game. D&D is no more immoral in and of itself than, say, a game of Monopoly, which doesn’t any more encourage greed than the former encourages the use of magic.
Let’s take a more recent phenomenon and pick it apart. Harry Potter is a wizard. Perhaps the most popular wizard in media history. The Bible says practicing witchcraft is a sin. Harry Potter practices witchcraft. Therefore, he is a sinner. Right?
Well, it depends. Do we believe that a fictional character can be sinful? Perhaps in the fictional world of make believe, he could be a sinner. But to apply the rules and principles of the real world to a fictional creation is, I believe, itself a sin. There is no Biblical precedent for it. The whole purpose to the fictional world created by J.K. Rowling is to entertain. As long as it does that then it achieves its purpose. There is no Biblical reason for believing that all forms of entertainment must adhere to a strict Biblical morality. Harry Potter may be breaking the Ten Commandments, but since he is a fictional character does it really matter?
To some, it does. These people will go so far as to say that it is sinful to read a Harry Potter book. Why? Because it contains magic? But reading about fictional characters in a certain media who participate in a particular sin is not the same as participating in that sin itself.
The logical, and most often repeated, response to this line of reasoning is, “Well, what about pornography?” Is it is a sin to watch pornography? Well, the Bible does say that a man who looks upon a woman in lust is committing the sin of fornication. That’s a paraphrase. But the essence is that lust is a sin. One doesn’t have to be viewing pornography to sin in that way. But to the degree that a person viewing pornography is lusting in his/her heart after the object of their desire then they are sinning. I guess that would be true even if they are lusting after a fictional character. But is it true if they are playing a game where within the game they are a fictional character lusting after another fictional character? I think that would be stretching it a bit.
And if you meet someone who appears to be a half-naked woman, have a long talk about God’s plan, and come back in a month to find them dressed as a nun, well, it’s possible that you had such an effect on them that they immediately joined a convent that gives novices internet access, but it seems more likely that you just convinced them to switch fetishes.
Speaking of fetishes, I suppose in the world of Second Life, and perhaps any fantasy media at that, it’s possible to find a porn king or princess pretending to be a Christian missionary seeking to win the lost souls of porn industry stars and prostitutes. But would they be winning souls, indeed? If they succeed in converting a media fantasy girl of Jenna Jameson’s caliber to their fantasy Christianity, would they be doing a good deed for God or merely engaging in moral role play? Would their fantasy conversion win them real points with God and secure their souls for heaven even though they may go back to their real world of perversion? The whole thing just seems ridiculous. After all, it’s just a game - this is the new media, it’s wired and it’s weird.
