What the heck are objectionable elements?

And what is CoalesceGames going to do about it?

You, dear reader, have inadvertently stumbled upon our comprehensive, one-size-fits-all, exhaustively inclusive, and all-around-best post of all time: the CoalesceGames stance on objectionable elements.

Pray tell, what are objectionable elements? Elements of entertainment, whether it be music, books, movies, or games, that are in any way morally objectionable. This means we won’t be talking about actual violence, necromancy or unchaste behavior, which we here at CoalesceGames, all agree are bad, but their use in entertainment. Good stories rise from good conflict, and good conflict can only exist if two parties are opposed and at least one is not good. Inevitably, something bad will happen, and what follows is our view on why it’s okay that bad things happen in good stories.

Still with us? Good.

Our Two Guiding Principles

Blanketing this entire discussion, we will keep in mind the following two principles: (1) what defiles us is not external but internal, and to balance out that idea (2) even though we have the freedom to do many things, respecting another’s conscience and even our own conscience trumps freedom.

Principle, the First: What defiles us is not external but internal

The objectionable elements we will discuss will not defile you, no matter how disgusting and sinful they seem. Nor will avoiding them guarantee holiness (if that sounds interesting to you google: Asceticism). The hard truth is that what makes us unclean is already inside of us. All of us are born sinners. All of us are broken, and as the Bible says, all of us are evil or wicked:

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them…. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person”.

(Mark 7:14-23)

For us at CoalesceGames it means that even if our entertainment has any of the above elements in it, shown implicitly or explicitly, or none at all (BOOOORING), our actual spiritual state is morally degenerate. And if we enjoy any of these games (or books or movies) for those elements specifically, they no longer are means to convey the story but ends of themselves, and we must not let that happen.  But even if we are enjoying the story with these elements in them, that doesn’t mean we are in the clear. Which brings us to…

Principle, the Second: Freedom is limited by conscience

Paul talks about this at length in first Corinthians. He says:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.^”

…

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

(Select verses from 1^st Corinthians 10)

In the interest of transparency, back in Chapter 8 he does actually say he’d rather forego the non-sinful action if that meant the conscience of another believer was not offended. But since (A) we have no idea who our games and entertainment are going to reach, and (B) we can’t cater to the lowest common denominator, it won’t be possible for us to make a hedge around all potentially offensive elements in games or entertainment. If we did that, we’d have very few games to play, movies to watch, and books to read. But…

We will never insist that you should play something that you consider sinful. We may gush about games, but never would we want you to go against your conscience to play them. Don’t do it. Sometimes, we change our stance on things. Become more liberalistic or more legalistic.

The one thing we will not do at CoalesceGames is encourage you to sin against your conscience. Which we know may mean you don’t play our particular games, or watch our entertainment. We would rather you not buy our stuff, than you sin against your conscience. Crazy, right?

Objectionable Elements

So, with the awkward line breaks placed for emphasis, we go on to the meat of this post. The aim of this article is to point out some items we at CoalesceGames have identified as potentially objectionable to gamers–whether that is you or your child.

Let’s jump into it.

1. Violence and Gore. Giblets. That’s a thing, google it. Or maybe don’t. At CoalesceGames we believe that violence for the sake of violence, to revel in it, is wrong. Proverbs 3:31 comes to mind: “Do not envy the violent, and choose none of his ways.” That said, there are many fun and competitive games that take their conflict from themes of war or war-like, from the realistic to the fantastical. So in our entertainment, we will not show gratuitous violence and gore, nor will we ever make a game with that in it either. However, we do not feel that all violence and gore is unnecessary. They can actually contribute to the story. For example, the Bible specifically tells us that Ehud shoved his sword into the fat gut of the king Eglon, so much so, that the sword got slurped up by his belly fat. Yeah, those are details actually in the Bible (Judges 3:12-23). Did the Bible really need to tell us that? Sure. Why? Maybe God’s hatred of the pagan Kings that his people have fallen slaves to? Maybe the zealousness for the Lord that Ehud had? In any case, God included it. Our entertainment and games will have violence and gore, but it will never be for the sake of having violence and gore in it. It will be contributory to the game, the story, or the experience.
2. Language.
   1. Using the Lord’s name in vain. Using Jesus as an expletive, or flippantly swearing (in the oath-taking sense). Don’t do it. In our company, we desire always and only for God to be glorified. Even if that means our company crumbles. That being said, we will not use the Lord’s name in vain, nor will we create a game that does, or offer entertainment to you that does.
   1. Coarse language, cussing, cursing. Some have four letters. We won’t use them in our vocabulary. We don’t want kids to use them. We will tell you if there is going to be any of that ahead of time. Please note, it’s not a particular sound and its associated meaning that is morally repugnant. Jesus points out just using a mild word like “fool” could be a serious sin if there is hate behind it. This category, we will avoid mainly out of respect for societal norms, not for moral reasons. This doesn’t mean there won’t be some strong words or language that we use in our games or the entertainment that we talk about. If it’s in games we make, it will be limited.
3. Substance abuse. Alcohol, tobacco. Their use in moderation is offensive to some, their use sans moderation is offensive to God. In our games we may make reference to the use of substances, but its abuse will always be painted in a negative light. In entertainment, if such things are present, we will give ample warning and give instruction for how to skip past it if possible. The Bible presents the use of wine in both a positive and negative light. Negative in the sense that it can lead to a life that is dominated by it, but positive in the sense that it can be used to facilitate celebration and merrymaking. However, when used in excess, the Bible ALWAYS condemns it.
4. Sexual Content. Can be implicit or explicit. Sex is God’s gift to a married man and woman. Outside of that, despite what we or our culture would prefer, it’s sin. If it’s a punchline, it’s usually not a very funny joke. Sometimes, sex is just part of a good married relationship (AC: Origins’ Aya and Bayek, not very showy.)  In the Bible we are privy to a large number of sexual acts, primarily when they are out of the context of a married relationship. When this is the case, it is always spoken of negatively, and always produces difficult consequences. But because our content is primarily visual and not written, we will steer clear of most of this material. Just because sex between married couples is sanctified, it doesn’t mean it is okay to have a front row seat to watch. Even if this content is implicitly included in our games it will be to drive the story and painted in the appropriate moral light based on the marital relationship status. In our entertainment, if we feel as though the content fits those parameters for the piece we are focusing on, we will warn you well in advance.
5. Nudity. Unlike most other objectionable elements, this one can be much more potent and alluring. Can be broken down into:
   1. Sexual: provocative, and explicit. Usually unnecessary. There is never a point where this will enter our games or entertainment. We won’t even blur it out, we’ll simply skip it altogether.
   1. Non-sexual: cute babies, marble statues. Wolverine running across the background buck-nekked in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While this is not morally wrong, we don’t know what causes a spark in your gut (Wolverine naked was just hilarious to us), we’ll be sure to make sure you know it is there.
6. Philosophies of the World. Sneakier than most other forms of objectionable elements, less showy, but in the long run, probably more dangerous. Here are just some:
   1. Moral relativism: Things like the Creed in the Assassin’s Creed franchise: Nothing is true; everything is permitted… yeah, that first part is logically problematic, the second practically, and both biblically. In our games this will not be present except as a negative example. In our entertainment, we’ll be sure to point this out when present.
   1. Humanism: Putting humans as the highest good in this world. Human achievement as the mode for our salvation. This is in direct conflict with the Matthew passage we revealed earlier where we pointed out that evil comes from within us, not from outside us.
   1. Universal depravity: No good guys anywhere. In some sense, the opposite of humanism. Watching The Godfather is enjoyable and darn-near required education to be culturally literate, but have you asked yourself… who is good here?
   1. Legalism or abused Individualism: Every religion excluding Christianity essentially communicates the same concept repackaged. That concept is that mankind can work for and earn some measure of goodness by themselves.
   1. Intellectualism: The grand-baby of classical Gnosticism (all that is spiritual is good and all that is physical is bad. Must pursue secret knowledge). The acquisition of education and knowledge is man’s chief end. Faith is a crutch of the weak minded
   1. Theism In various forms
      1. Any theistic perspective besides monotheism, specifically with Yahweh of the Bible, we would deem objectionable. 
      1. In our games we may dabble in some of these. Stories allow you to present theological truth in theologically incorrect ways, but we view that as ok. It is called allegory. In our entertainment, we’ll be sure to point this out when present.

This could go on indefinitely, we have to stop eventually. Many more modern sentiments are incompatible with the Bible. We’ll be happy to discuss these with you if you feel so inclined. And rest assured that such elements will be highlighted in works we use or reference, and will be limited or excluded from our own works.

Redeeming Elements

But with all these terrible, horrible, no-good elements, how can anyone just sit there and watch them? It’s the stories they tell. God made us with a sense of imagination and a need for the saga. We were made to read and play and watch and enjoy epics, at whatever scale they take place. Whether they are true ones, found in the Bible or in biographies, or ones that aren’t true, but still have Truth, capital T-truth. Good may not even win in the end, but if the story shows that there is good, and that it’s worth fighting for… Samwise Gamgee, you will bring a tear to the eyes every time. That’s Truth right there. No, it’s not the Gospel. But it’s part of the world we find ourselves in, rightly seen, as God made it. That’s Truth. And if you want to get really technical about it – pretty much every Objectionable Element we mentioned previously is in the Bible somewhere. “The Bible has sex it in?” Lots. “Nudity?” Yep. “Violence and gore?” You betcha. And through all that – truth is conveyed.

But how much is too much? I mean can I watch an entire movie filled with objectionable elements but because someone says the sky is blue (truth) it is ok?  No. That isn’t what we are saying at all. Let us mention two last points before we close out this discussion.

Last Point, the First: Balance of Value

Balance of value is a term that we literally just made up. Just now. Please hold your applause. So what is it? Balance of value is a term we are applying to measure the redeemable elements against the objectionable elements. It is a way of seeing a piece of art holistically, and assessing whether or not it is valuable based on the balance between redeemable elements and objectionable elements.  And to help us explain, think of a rice cooker.

Now perhaps you haven’t made rice anytime recently. Let us start here. When you put rice and water into a rice cooker and begin the cooking process, the water soaks into the grains and the heat serves to break down the starches in the rice. In other words, boiling water achieves that wonderful al dente bite of rice. But as the starches break down, they form an almost soap looking kind of foam. As the heat increases and the starches continue to break down, the foam continues to build, until… spillage. Gross. To prevent this, you must stir the rice often, and even decrease the heat as it cooks.

What does this have to do with Balance of Value? Or anything at all?

As you consume a piece of art, all that you take in resonates with who you are as a person. Not just on an emotional level, but even on a spiritual level. Seeing violence affects you, even in the world in which Samwise Gamgee has to say “that there’s some good in this world Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.” Art speaks to what is within us, what was placed there by God, AND what was placed there by sin. As these two truths battle within us the bubbles form. And the redeemable elements serve to stir the rice. The objectionable elements produce the foam. When there is too much foam, there is only a mess at the end.

How much is too much then? Unfortunately – going back to Principle, the Second – we can’t really decide that for you. But it doesn’t mean that you can ignore this question. Was the truth worth the price?

Last Point, the Second: Pushing an Agenda

Another thing to consider when asking the question “how much is too much” is somewhat unrelated to objectionable elements, but also connected to it at the same time. Why do we speak in riddles? We are wizards I guess (also we like LOTR).

Every author, writer, artist, musician, developer, and producer of any work of art is coming at their work with some sort of an agenda. We are included in this 100% statement. Now that doesn’t mean that the agenda is bad. In fact, many agendas are good (we’d like to think our agenda is good).

But… (Always one of those isn’t there?)

Many agendas can be quite damaging to young or unaware minds, and the more you immerse yourself in any agenda, the more likely it is to seep in and incorporate into your worldview. This kinda has to do with the AMOUNT of content we consume, as well as the KIND of content we consume. A small amount of alcohol in your system (like cough syrup) is easily processed. But large amounts can be dangerous. A small amount of humanism can be somewhat ignored or processed, but in large quantities, eventually, we start to believe it.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

(Philippians 4:8-9)

Closing Thoughts

Let’s take a step back. Remember when we wrote that what defiles us comes not from the outside (objectionable elements and all), but from the inside? Well, that’s because we all desperately need Jesus, first to save us from our past and second to aid us in our continued journey Heaven-ward. There is potential for good in each of us, some remnant fragment of bearing God’s image, but since the fall of man in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3) that good has been polluted and poisoned by the evil of sin. So much so that even in our best efforts to do good, we still come up far short of God’s standard. Which is perfection. You don’t need the Bible for this, a quick look at today’s news will confirm that for you. If you have seen this to be true of you, and wonder if there is any hope to cure the poison of sin, please reach out to us and we’d love to share with you what the Bible says on the subject.