Raiden
We can realise how far we’ve come in a myriad of unexpected ways. For me it was playing a game of Mortal Kombat 11 years after breaking away from the “Born Again” branch of Christianity. At last I can select the character of Raiden without any feelings of discomfort.
This may seem a bit bizarre to most people and believe me I am not immune to the irony myself. Yet it serves to illustrate that I have made further progress in deprogramming myself after 7 years’ worth of Christian doctrine.
So what’s so wrong about Raiden that selecting him is such a sin? He is, shock horror, a thunder god! It seems so tame and inoffensive when I say it now, but my old church would have frowned upon anything outside of the Holy Trinity being depicted as a deity. I would feel guilty for even playing Mortal Kombat in the first place and worry about incurring the wrath of almighty God. Now however I can look at the situation in its proper context: if God really does exist, the decisions I make in a video game are probably the least of his concerns.
The further I distance myself from my former religion the more I can see the ridiculousness of the rules I had to obey. Some people would even correct me for calling it a religion rather than a faith, because religion would imply that we were governed by rules and regulations, so if you like it was a bit like imposing a rule banning me from saying that I was governed by rules.
But I do still love the four Gospels’ depiction of Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, there’s parts of the Bible I am personally at odds with (especially the parts that I believe promote homophobia and the subjugation of women), but the tales of Christ stand apart from these in containing examples of positive ways to treat other people. Not that I believe everything in the Bible really happened. Yes I accept that the Jesus the Bible speaks of was based on a real person, but I consider those tales to be exaggerated to mythological proportions, just as they were with Robin Hood and Socrates. However that shouldn’t detract from its message, yes it’s a mythology but a beautiful and enchanting one.
Socialist Icon?
As a Born-Again Christian I was initially very right-wing in my political outlook. My crisis of faith came when I started leaning to the left and found myself increasingly at odds with the predominantly right wing views prevalent in Christianity (there’s a bit more to it, but that’s a story for another time). Considering that Jesus is often adopted as the mascot of the political right (especially in America), it may be ironic (and possibly blasphemous) to some that I consider him to be a socialist icon. His attitudes to looking after the poor and needy seem to contrast greatly with the actions and policies of Republicans and Conservatives.
A non-believer I may be, but in my own way I still try to live my life by following the example of the Bible’s Christ because his message is a positive one, whether how he is portrayed is fictional or not. Sometimes I fail in living up to these standards, but that’s understandable, I am after all just a mere mortal and will never truly achieve my “flawless victory”. 
Ha! Nice one Lee! Jesus was a lefty… Love it.
Gives me an idea for a post of.. The digg patriots are gonna love it.
Nothing wrong with being religious -my wife is a Christian (not born-again) so I have to say that :p -but when it gets to the point where you’re bein told what you can and can’t say and what characters you can and can’t pick on a video game, you have to wonder what the he’ll the point is in us having free will.
Thanks Dave. Yes I agree, there is nothing wrong with being religious, it’s just when religion oppresses people and restricts their freedom of speech (and thought in my case) that I have a problem with it. I might not agree with somebody who believes that homosexuality is a sin, but they are entitled to their opinion as long as they don’t go around oppressing the gay community. I’ve seen it on TV when christian groups protest outside gay events, calling people who cross-dress freaks, which seems a strange way to spread the love of Christ.
What constitutes a Christian is also a very contentious issue, especially with the branch of it I was involved in. The big question for me is: is it necessary for a Christian to believe the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to be the word of God? My old church would have said yes, but then again they were quite hard-line.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how noble your cause is, if you treat other people (or indeed yourself) badly then there is something going wrong somewhere. I think many people hijack things which may otherwise be good in themselves, and turn them into a reason to hate other people.
I’m sure many people gain comfort from the social aspect of attending church, etc. However, you always get these religious extremists who use it all as a reason to attack other people or even blow them up.
At the end of the day, I don’t even care what label someone attaches to themselves. All I care about is whether you treat yourself and other people well.
At the end of the day, simple concepts such as “treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself” and “try to enjoy life without hurting others” are powerful philosophies to live by, but really easy to implement.
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I really liked this post Lee, especially when you said, “I consider him (Jesus) to be a socialist icon. His attitudes to looking after the poor and needy seem to contrast greatly with the actions and policies of Republicans and Conservatives” I feel the same, they are so greedy.
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Hello! Just want to say thank you for this interesting article! =) Peace, Joy.
Muchos Gracias for your blog post. Great.