(For a peek at what Skyrim looks like, and a short write up on Skyrim violence and language, see my New Skyrim Playthrough Let’s Play with Babe’s Got Bow. Don’t worry, the “Babe” is clean and mod free. June 22, 2015)
This post could be opening up a whole can of worms, but so be it. Why all the possible worms? When my son was very young I thought – based on so much of what I read and heard from Christians – that video games were just all from hell and will lead to hell. In more recent times, I have posted online with some Christians who still feel the same, though I’m hoping they don’t really think “Harvest Moon” or “Hello Kitty” games provide a direct ticket to the brimstone dungeon. There are nasty games out there for sure, games that relish dishonesty, crime, blood, gore, and killing. But does that make all video games bad? Putting aside the issue of time spent by the Christian on past-times (hobbies, entertainment, etc.), are certain video games not only fun and cathartic, but also potentially useful for stretching the mind and for witnessing? I think yes, so let’s take a look at Skyrim with its Dawnguard expansion (Hearthfire, added September 4, 2012, adds pleasantries to the game).
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The time frame in Skyrim seems to correspond nicely with the Iron Age in Northern Europe and/or France and the British Isles. Skyrim refers to a region in the continent of Tamriel, and is one of a number of games in the Elder Scrolls series. The region makes up the north central part of the continent, and its Nordic inhabitants are akin to the real world Norsemen (Vikings). For example, what is like heaven to the Vikings was called Asgard, and the honored hall Vahalla. In Skyrim, these are referred to as Sovngarde and Shor’s Hall (Hall of Valor), respectively. The Imperials, which very obviously correspond to the Romans, have kept order in Tamriel for some time, though they are present in Skyrim now in order to crush a rebellion. This isn’t just a little rebellion, but a power play that would affect all of Skyrim and its relations to the rest of the Empire. Spoiler alert: In typical historic fashion, the son of a king killed his own brother in an attempt to be high king. Each region in Skyrim has a king, and these kings choose a high king from among them. This was a spoiler since only one or two characters in the whole game actually tell you that the king killed was the usurper’s brother.
The point about this power play, however, is that the usurper, Ulfric Stormcloak, had gotten many in Skyrim behind him because he claimed that his primary goal was to reestablish the free worship of the god Talos. Talos used be just a man (Tiber Septim), but was made a god by the other gods (somehow – how this happened is unclear) and thus became worshipped, not just revered as a Dragonborn or for uniting Tamriel in the distant past. Why was the worship of Talos banned? To end a major war the Imperials and other leaders had signed a treaty with the High Elves, and part of this treaty prohibited Talos worship, as the High Elves considered Talos to be a false god.
Despite the treaty Talos worship was going on quietly, but Ulfric’s uprising changed that. Because of the rebellion, the High Elves began persecuting Talos worshippers, thus giving the Stormcloaks fuel for their fire. There are subtle complications added to the game to make the decision regarding which faction to follow not necessarily an easy one; it certainly shouldn’t be rushed. While most people in Skyrim revere Talos, there are some things said to make a player wonder about him. For instance, the self-proclaimed mouth-piece of Talos in Whiterun is annoying and may seem mad (he definitely is depicted as a melodramatic street preacher), and indeed, his feverish support of the Stormcloaks ignores both the reality of what is going on behind the scenes with the Imperials (many of whom also worship Talos) and the conniving and tyrannical nature of Ulfric and his Stormcloaks.
The Stormcloaks are pretty nasty, saying that if you don’t join them you’re against them (an enemy), yet the Imperials say no such thing. There is much more to seemingly righteous rebels behavior vs Imperial behavior, but I’ll leave that for your exploration. The Stormcloak rebellion is one of the two major plots/quests of the game, the other being Dragonborn’s (the player is the Dragonborn) destiny to rid the world of Alduin, the world-eater dragon. The quests are not totally separate. Without paying close attention, a player may totally miss that Alduin and Ulfric are intertwined.
For the Christian, Alduin is of great interest since he is a Satan figure (without the Satan figure, one could maybe take Talos to be a pagan mythological man-god). He claims to be the first born of the great god Akatosh (and some even worshipped him as Akatosh himself), but in reality he was created, and for a specific purpose. He defies Akatosh regarding his purpose, interferes with man, and is arrogant. Skyrim is full of hints and references to religion, folklore, history, and literature, although much of these are not wholly analogous. As might have been inferred by now, talking with someone about Skyrim can be a starting point to talking about Christ and even the existence of Satan.
An inquisitive player may decide it’s worth his or her time to look into the real-world peoples and such in the game. Besides the examples already discussed, there is the goddess Mara, who quite obviously corresponds to Mary, mother of Jesus. Elves are of course derived from folklore (as are the Dwarves), and their demise followed the acceptance of Christianity in European areas. The magical High Elves came from a large island to the southwest of Tamriel, and so this alludes to Atlantis. There are Bretons in the game and there are real world Bretons.
As with much fantasy in modern times, the game includes Orcs. Where did Orcs come from? Well, from the mind of JRR Tolkien (author of Lord of the Rings)! In Skyrim they are not just like Tolkien’s Orcs, but they are still a corrupted form of Elf. Without getting into a lot of detail, I was disappointed with the game in some ways. Skyrim seems to favor doing bad things, despite the character played being the Dragonborn, a person who brings good and who is in line to become Emperor. The game has achievements, and many of these involve doing evil things. This is unfortunate, and while a player is not at all required to do these things, some aspects of the game are closed-off if a player ignores these activities. The new expansion of the game, Dawnguard, seems to make up for this somewhat.
Most of the hype was directed towards the evil side of this expansion, involving vampires, but really, as far as I can see, the “good side” gains here. I also have to pat Bethesda (the game maker) on the back for making the vampires in fact gross and bad. Some may have a problem with the main vampire character being “good,” but at least they included dialogue for you to choose that shows your disdain for the whole idea, if you so choose to use that dialogue; there is also the possibility that this character will willingly give up her vampirism (become cured).
These games are made for the masses and they are not in business to lose money, so one has to take the good with the bad and make the most of it; in real life this is often murkier and harder to do than in games like Skyrim. That being said, the Dawnguard include in their ranks a witty, funny, smart, and spiritually active ex-priest. He adds a positive spiritual character that is a counter to the street preacher that so many players actually want to kill. Finally, I’ll leave you with basic good and bad points of Skyrim/Dawnguard/Hearthfire, and this quote from John Battle-Born of Whiterun.
This statement may very well be Bethesda’s commentary on the gaming world and not Skyrim, since there appears to be no connection to it and anything in the game–except perhaps that everyone that you encounter in the wild seems to want you to kill them!: “You know what’s wrong with Skyrim these days? Everyone’s obsessed with death.” Good points:
- Truly beautiful to look at and wander around in: HUGE. Our world beautiful, not abstract, though there are awe-inspiring places that mix underwater concepts into air-breathing spaces.
- Complicated main quests and min-quests that require you to listen to many characters to decide what’s best (if you do it right).
- Religious and political aspects and some real-world history, along with the fantastic. Real world lessons in deciphering the truth, in seeing through people’s blind ideologies or loyalties.
- No sex and little swearing.
- Fun and rewarding; tons of play time and things to do including blacksmithing, mixing potions, exploring, etc., besides fighting bandits and doing the quests.
- Absolute loads of books, notes, recipes, etc. (I believe there are over 1,000), promote reading and the value of the written word.
- The new Hearthfire expansion allows the player to – finally – adopt children, as well as do some fun housebuilding.
Bad points:
- Passive goriness along with some slow-mo killing scenes (however, using magic makes for really awesome slow-mo scenes).
- There is much fighting, which might not appeal to some. Play yourself to decide (use the Dawnguard crossbow and you just might get hooked – forewarning you).
- In Skyrim, the bad seems to be rewarded more than the good. The new Dawnguard and Hearthfire expansions seems to even this out some.
- The longer you take to finish the Vampire quest, the more citizens die in the towns – regular citizens, not just stand-ins.
- Glitches, apparently the more you play the more there are.
- This isn’t BAD, but just saying – it could’ve used more humor (there is some subtle dry humor in the game).
For more thoughts on Skyrim, particularly regarding its darker aspects and dealing with them with your children, see On Skyrim: A Vent from a Christian Parent (a mom who plays). November 5, 2012. I just found this out so I thought I’d pass it along, from the Bethesda Softworks site on October 26, 2012:
Earlier today, Skyrim came away as the big winner at the UK’s most prestigious gaming award show, The Golden Joysticks. The game captured the night’s biggest award, Ultimate Game of the Year, as well as awards for Best RPG and Best Moment (visiting the Throat of the World).
With Christian Eyes 
Thanks so much for the “likes” and the follows you guys – very much appreciated!!! I only see the Gravatar profiles and not your blogs, so when I get that figured out I can visit your blogs.
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no you shouldn’t let your kids play because there is nothing in the game that aims at a young audience in my country (australia) its MA 15+
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Sure, but 15 year olds are kids, so it depends what you mean. Here, a minor is someone younger than 18, and my understanding of minor is someone’s kid. In any case, I think people understand, generally, what is meant. Many minors that are younger than older teens are allowed to play games that really they shouldn’t be, basically because their parents either don’t care or don’t know what’s in the game. The MA 15+ seems like a good rating for Skyrim, unless a person thinks the gore at certain settings is too much (and I’m one of those).
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I love skyrim and I’m a Christian ! Sure their is some gory, kinda evil things but skyrim is a game where you as the player to either be the hero or to be the villain so what’s the problem it’s not like it’s gonna send your kids to hell or whatever ! Bethesda didn’t aim to make the game demonic ! Seriously stop worrying !
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Thank you so much for the review I thought there was naked people and stuff but other than that I’m good so I’m glad to here so much about it and ps my cousin has it I’m going to ask if I can have but the rating on the back of the game really worried me
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Thank you for the comments! Based on both of them, I went to the ESRB page where they summarize why the game is rated the way it is (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=31575). These summaries are always very well written, but upon reading the one for Skyrim, I can understand your concern. When it addresses the “sexual themes,” it describes what is said or written in the game; but it doesn’t say there is nudity, which is good since there is none. However, I can very much understand that if you saw “sexual themes” on the box, nudity would come to mind! There isn’t even any sex innuendo between married couples in the game, though, like there is in Fable. The things mentioned in the ESRB rating are verbal or written comments that the player may not even really notice or run across. Otherwise, the ESRB summary makes the violence seem worse than it is, too, in my opinion. As I say elsewhere, much of that depends on how you play the game – what settings and perks you choose – but the ESRB is obligated to rate the game on any possibility, of course. The violence and gore are not as bad as other Bethesda games like Wolfenstein, Dishonored, or even Fallout. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment!
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I am a Christian and a gamer and for me, it’s all about intent. I don’t play because I have a need to see headshots and gore, I play because of the challenge and fun. It’s the intent behind it. God knows our motives and If you’re playing because you simply like killing and the like then you need to check yourself. I’ve had many an excellent conversation playing games online on XBL about Jesus and all manner of biblical understanding, it can be a great tool. Skyrim is a great game (I have it on 360) and sometimes I just walk around in the forest soaking it all in. Gaming doesn’t keep me from studying the word, going to church, praying and teaching the Word of God to my family so I’m all for it personally but I guess that’s just me. Nice post.
p.s. They even have a bible app (Bible Navigator X) on XBLA that you get get, I use it all the time.
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Thank so much Larry, and blessings to you! I’m happy to hear of your conversing with people online. Those convos can be so great, and I didn’t know about the app – we don’t have that game here – maybe others will see your comment and get it. My son is a teen and while he plays Skyrim and some other types of games, the only games that he enjoys that are online with others are first person shooters, and it doesn’t make for conversation, lol (at least as far as I know – I know that he mutes everyone because many swear, talk about strange stuff, there’re even little kids on there . . .); it’s too fast-paced, I think. Oh, and Skyrim, yes, I love to just walk around there. We live in an urban jungle, so seeing all those trees, mountains, creeks, etc, is really great.
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Online chatter (especially on 3rd person and fps games) can be ugly-but I see it as a challenge. I almost always have people that appreciate the type of mature conversation that I try and bring to the table, and from that door being opened, you can witness. Sure, you have to put up with some ugly stuff that tests your patience, but if stand strong, stay respectful and keep on plugging away at it, you can (most of the time) find success.
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That is really great, Larry, and that’s what it’s all about. The world is the world, a very often unpleasant place, and we are called to be lights in the world. My son and I will have to check out that XBLA – I asked him about it and he doesn’t know much about it yet. Thanks for letting us know about it, and your work in the Lord; it’s encouraging.
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I’m trying brother…I’m trying. God bless you and yours and keep doing your thing.
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From my experience with other games, World of Warcraft and Everquest, most of the people aren’t into the role playing; instead they are into finishing quests to get the rewards for the acheivement (I know I always skipped the stories in the quessts and looked for the parts that tells me my objective so that I could finish the achievements and collect my reward). I think there is a danger in actually role playing where it seems to be real, especially if the games have demonic undertones. I think parents have to be really cautious. Most adults can distinguish between reality and fiction, and it’s something that I think every parent has to think about individually. I personally consider if it will affect my children-will it make them interested in demons, sorcery, and Satan where they will want to research it and learn more about witchcraft, or do they just ignore that part and play the game? Is this an opportunity to discuss demons, sorcery, and Satan and objective morals in real life and how we determine what are good things to do? Are the children at the appropriate age to expose them to those things? We do have Skyrim, but the kids nor my husband are playing it, so I don’t know how it compares to the other games I’ve played. So, I can’t give my personal opinion on that specific game, but these are the things I look for.
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Those are great points, Grace; thanks for bringing them up. I didn’t think of that aspect so much (getting into role-playing in a too in-depth way) since my son if very level headed in that regard, but yes, it’s been actually a blessing talking to him about game issues. The violence and all of that, and when things are not Christian at all in the game, what he thinks, etc. The parent has to know the child, but maybe also see how the child deals with things. It can be an eye-opener. But yes, there are people who for some reason become far too involved; there was even a guy who ended up dying a few years back because he stopped eating while he played for days . . . very odd and sad.
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Skyrim is nothing like WoW, for one it not online. It is a fun game but it is hard to get your self lost in it, just becuse what the game is about and what you do in the game.
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Ok, I’m quite peeved and dismayed that the new Hearthfire DLC allows you to build a house and have you family move in – according to Bethesda – but there is no option to have them move in. This is just ridiculous! The house is really so nice, with lots of room, that it would be great for the kids. It’s obviously meant to be a family place. I have all our beds in there now, yet, we can’t move in. Another reviewer built the whole place and still his family could not move in. Wow, major bug to fix!! Let me know if you experience anything different (it would be horrible if you could only adopt kids AFTER building the place . . . I’d have to start my game all over).
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Actually, the game finally let me move the family there. Don’t know why, to tell you the truth! The last wing isn’t on, so . . . But very glad for it. Everything is at that house, and all your belongings can fit there.
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Hey i have been trying to talk my mom into letting me get Skyrim for a long time but every time i ask to get it she tells me no because it has witchcraft in it. I have no clue what to tell her and i really need your help.
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Well, my head is not up to par today, but I’ll try to think of something helpful, lol. So I assume she’s a Christian and just wants you to stay away from all things witchcraft? Does she let you play other games? The reason I ask is that the character you play can use “potions” for your health and such. Now, this to me isn’t witchcraft in the game – it’s like making and taking medicine – and of course many of the things potions can do are simply fantasy.
One aspect of witchcraft your character is capable of doing if you choose, is necromancy. But you don’t have to do that, at all – it a role-playing choice. Even many of the characters in the game say that necromancy is wrong, so it’s not like it’s promoted in the game.
The other aspect to me is simply just beyond witchcraft and is just fantasy, and that is being able to use casting spells like fire and electric, etc. I wouldn’t want my son messing around with actual witchcraft either, but the casting spells are just so beyond anything like spells actual witches use, that’s it’s not in the same realm. It’s just fantasy. Many stories (and games) use stuff like that and don’t really put it in the same category as witchcraft. Otherwise, the game makes a point of being against witchcraft. Hags are nasty creatures that are almost always to be eliminated, vampires are very nasty too and to be gotten rid of, except with the Dawnguard DLC you can choose to be one if you want. Again, it’s a role-playing game and you can choose to play a totally good character who is getting rid of the baddies.
Skyrim, while it does allow you to be a bad character, is not as bad as some other games in this way and in general does not promote spiritually bad things. They allow it in order to attract more players to buy it, but it’s not really what Skyrim or the Elder Scrolls world is about. Many games today promote bad behavior, or are very neutral. Skyrim is just a fun fantasy game with some historical precedents. It’s far better to play Skyrim, I think, than games that use guns to basically and simply go through and shoot people. What is the morality or ethics of that? The Skyrim environment lets you see the bad in life, just as we do in real life, and choose what to do about it. A person doesn’t have to do any bad aspects of what might be called witchcraft, but, they can kill all the witches and vampires.
We are all Christians here in our house and the only things bad about Skyrim related to this (that I can think of), we feel, is that Bethesda went ahead and made such bad characters (vampires) that people could choose to be in order to make more sales, and the fact that, compared to other Elder Scrolls games, when you save the world and all that, you get virtually no recognition for it. There are other aspects to the game that we have some gripes about, but all in all, it’s certainly one of the better games out there for Christians. I’m not sure what else to say. I knew a Christian mom who, a long time ago, would complain about “Lord of the Rings” and tell people not to read it because it has witchcraft in it. She eventually changed her mind. There is evil in the world and there is nothing wrong with writing about and dealing with it! You will encounter far worse in your real life, regarding attitude and what people do with their lives (excepting the violence, I hope), than what is in Skyrim.
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This will sound nerdy: But the guy who killed the High King isn’t his son/brother. Hes the jarl of a city in skyrim called windhelm. He killed him to be high king though, and Each city has Jarls not Kings.
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Yes, he is the brother. It is hard to find out, but the dark elf there will tell you, if you get the right dialogue. She tells you she helped to raise both of them, that they were brothers. In another dialogue, Ulfric will say that he was his dad’s only son. I heard this AFTER the dark elf told me they were brothers. So it makes Ulfric’s actions even worse. This kind of thing was not uncommon in medieval Europe – brothers and half brothers killing each other over the throne, and so it reminds me of that aspect of history.
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they really aren’t brothers!!! Ulfric was the son of Windhelm’s last jarl, and Torygg’s father Istlod was high king before him. what dark elf are you talking about?
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So why didn’t you reply to Gabriel Sword’s comment?? He knows more about it. As he said, below, it’s part of the prophecy that, yes, they are brothers. The only thing I can guess right now is that the writers messed up and have contradictory info, but, my husband was going to try and find out more in order to write about it here. He’s been sick and busy, and neither he nor I so far have found Sybille’s dialogue written out where she says this. She talks about helping raise them and how awful it was that one brother killed another.
Your comment is the last accusatory (instead of simply academic/inquisitive) comment regarding this issue that I will approve. My husband and I (my son, too, but he doesn’t remember now as he doesn’t much care) both heard what she said and it was very clear. If it wasn’t, if it was only a hint or something, I’d say so. She said it in her bedroom, the first time I played (so I didn’t think to write it down) – apparently it’s either hard to get her to say it, or Bethesda took the dialogue out with an update. We’re not liars here. But, Ulfric is clearly a liar.
It would make more sense on Bethesda’s part to keep previous lore alive and accurate in these games, but maybe Bethesda was working on different story lines, as they have in the past, and things got missed in editing. Or maybe they wanted people to know that Ulfric is a liar. I’d have to go back and revisit all the comments, conversations, and writings about Torygg and Ulfric. But one thing I do know, if you listen to many people and read all that you can read, is that Ulfric is deceptive.
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I apologize for being accusatory, that was rude of me. what i should have said is that after looking again through the two big elder scrolls wikis ( http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/ and http://www.uesp.net/ ) and the few semi-relevant forum threads that came up on google, I couldn’t find anything that said they were brothers, or even any mention of the prophecy about brothers; and all available information about ulfric and torygg suggests that they are not brothers. I don’t mean to question your honesty, but the likelihood of this information being acknowledged as canonical at this time (like you said, someone could have put it in there and then taken it out later, for any number of reasons).
sybille stentor is recorded as having talked about raising torygg, and saying that torygg held ulfric in high esteem (e.g. here, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ulfric_Stormcloak in the section labelled “The Death of Torygg”), which i do remember hearing. but that’s all any source I’ve found has to say about any of her dialog referring to ulfric and torygg.
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So this is Gabriel Sword here… needed a new account… going on… the prophecy states that when two brothers wage war Alduin will return.
“And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled!”
It seems all other references were removed later on by an update, however this line from an old song is the only remaining thing. I believe that they changed it to make it less… disturbing. To kill your own brother for power seems worse… though let’s face it, anyone killing anyone for power is just plain wrong… here’s the whole song:
“Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay!
And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph’s shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!
Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago, and the tale, boldly told, of the one!
Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man, with a power to rival the sun!
And the Voice, he did wield, on that glorious field, when great Tamriel shuddered with war!
Mighty Thu’um, like a blade, cut through enemies all, as the Dragonborn issued his roar!
And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled!
Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world!
But a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon’s lies, will be silenced forever and then!
Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin’s maw, Dragonborn be the savior of men!”
Alduin only is allowed to return to time when Ulfric kills Torygg. I wish I had more, but no one seems to have the old dialogue. I will see if I can’t find any videos with mention of it.
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Actually it’s referring to “brothers waging war” likely means the fact that it’s a civil war. Many families are divided and there are even instances, much like with the American Civil War, in which brothers are literally fighting each other. I’ve invested a good number of hours into the Elder Scrolls games and their lore and I’ve never found anything saying Ulfric and Torygg were related.
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I know, I know. Believe me, we’d produce more if we could. But we both heard the lady say it, that they were brothers and she helped raise them. The only thing I can think is that it was removed from the dialogue. We weren’t drinking or anything at the time, LOL. It’s just a video game, anyway–yet, it certainly would be more “intriguing” if they were in fact brothers.
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No. Torygg and Ulfric are not brothers. It’s not mentioned anywhere in the game either in dialogue options or in book’s or the Thalmor Dossier. There is no evidence at all of this and every wiki site and Syria resource on the net confirms this: they are not brothers. It’s not even alluded to. I’ve played 900 hours of skyrim and model the game rin thousands ds of ways, I’ve seen all the missing parts and cut scenes and dialogue left out of the main game but still left batched with the games main files because Bethesda were too lazy to decompile everything…. and Torygg and Ulfric are not brothers. Fact.
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This is pretty tiring by now. Good for you. I have not seen the dialogue again either after playing many times again. But we have witnesses. So be happy with your bad self, lol. It makes no sense that they’re brothers and I don’t think they are. But we heard and saw what we heard and saw. Whatever. It’s old old news now, so I don’t see why you’re even posting except to something like a braggart. I shouldn’t even bother approving more comments like yours, but it just goes to show how people will go on and on in an effort to try and prove how smart they are.
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Sorry, another nerd here, and realise this has been the cause of some unnecessarily heated debate but…I think you’ve got confused with the allusion to shield-brother which is more like saying they were brothers in arms or philosophy (Torygg was also a Talos worshipper). Very very easy to mishear. Lass you mention (Solitude court wizard?) isn’t a Dark Elf but is a Breton vampire. Conversely this is why she is referred to as a master of the magical arts – its a hint that certain restoration perks, combined with vampirism, can increase magical potency. (On that note there are several ‘good’ vampires keeping their heads down in Skyrim, I’ve always assumed they have not yet managed to find a cure, although the Breton is the only one that sends you out to kill any.)
I’m pretty sure Alduin and Ulfric aren’t connected in any real sense(apart from the war fuelling Alduins strength) – he torches Helgen to, rather ironically, find and kill the dragonborn before he comes into his power (discovered if you translate Alduin’s shouts in the opening sequence…I was very curious and very bored waiting for new PR to come in) but I’ve never found any direct connection with dragons and Ulfric either in-game or on the relevant wikis.
Brothers waging war refers to civil war, Ulfric never actually has a war with Torygg at any stage. Despite being forgiven for ‘the markarth incident’ he walks into Solitude and murders the boy under the dubious legality of a challenge – the civil war then begins because of this action and Ulfric’s subsequent escape.
The Dragonborn is never ‘forced’ to do anything morally wrong unless they wish to join a morally wrong guild i.e. not very hard to find Ratway without Brynjolf’s help, don’t have to complete Transmundane Q. to collect Elder Scroll.
Read through a couple of comments…thought you might like to know that Paarthurnax isn’t such a nice dragon – his name translates as ‘Ambition’ ‘Overlord’ ‘Cruelty’ – he wants to use the dragonborn to get Alduin out of the way so he can claim sovereignty over the dragons, admits as much in final scene. For me its little twists like this that make Elder Scrolls such interesting games.
Finally, and pedantically, Jarls aren’t Kings – a jarl is the title held by a territorial chieftain in Viking Age Scandinavia, ranking only below a Konung (king) to whom they would owe fealty. I believe there are still some modern Jarls around today.
Jarls were often chosen by those they led making them more like the Governor of a state – although in practice a lot of Jarls would probably have led a boatful or two of Viking raiders looking for somewhere to be territorial. Whatever their personal power Jarls were only ever answerable to their king (whereas a king is answerable to no-one except God).
Apologise for the essay but I’m more used to writing articles myself. Anyway I think its nice to be correct about things even if it is just a video game! On that note if you could see your way to amending/reposting the article this would help curtail a lot of ribbing coming my way from colleagues claiming christians can’t even get a video game right. If you doubt anything I have said feel free to do a little internet research or simply send a request to Bethesda.
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There are some things I’d like to check on regarding your comments, but I simply don’t care about what others think about Christians “getting a game right.” There are plenty of people out there, from the whole spectrum of non-believers to believers, who may or may not get either what the game is saying, or what someone might gather from it out of coincidence (there are a great many instances of a piece of art conveying something profound that that the artists or author didn’t originally intend), or what is actually Christian (in the Bible). So, all kinds of things in that regard could be gone around in circles. In regards to meaning, I like to educate in the sense of people getting an understanding of something. I have no idea what I wrote anymore, and frankly I don’t want to get into it again, but if I said a Jarl is something like a king, then I think people might understand that better than some other term they’re not familiar with; I don’t even know if I said that. In regard to Paarthurnax, I’ll check with my current play-through, as I don’t recall all the dialogue at this point. But I don’t recall that what you say is all there is to Paarthurnax’s motivations. Lastly, I never thought the Dragonborn was forced to do evil things, but that in order to do all or most of the game a player would have to do disagreeable things. Having a conversation is good, saying you know it all and telling me to change an old article is something else.
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Actually…. no. He was Ulfric’s brother. There is even the prophecy telling about when the brothers fight and he kills him that Alduin will return…. I mean, it’s really hard to miss that part in game…..
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I have a similar problem to Jacob. Except my parents are convinced that the magic in the game is witchcraft. They also are concerned about the worship of false gods in the game. They did allow me to read Lord of the Rings, which does mention a god, Eru. Lastly they claim to be concerned about the violence, which they believe is on the level of Gears of War. Is there anything I should tell them?
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Hi Steven. I wonder where your parents have gotten their information? I assume they have not played the game themselves, or talked with someone like who’s played? Just wondering, because the violence in Skyrim is pretty mild, for the most part. I asked my son about it compared to Gears of War and he said no, Skyrim is nothing like GofW when it comes to violence (or any other way, actually). That games had chainsaws and such. In Skyrim, you can’t cut people in half with chainsaws! Now, there are mods on the PC for all kinds of stuff, so maybe they heard from someone about the game with some mod, but the actual game is pretty mild – especially so for its M rating. I don’t even know why it’s rated M.
I don’t know, either, why they think it contains real witchcraft. I tried for a few minutes to find out more about this but didn’t get anywhere, and I didn’t want to direct you to a real witchcraft site . . . When it comes to the witchcraft in the game, or what could be construed as such, and the worshipping of false gods, I don’t get why ANYONE would be concerned. Do they really restrict your reading and learning to societies, both past and present, that worship only the Judeo-Christian God?? No reading ever of the Greco-Roman or Northern European gods?? The game does not promote the worship of the gods in the game! LOL. It’s a game with its own history, mythology, etc. It’s a story, a fantasy story, and that’s about all. I don’t see how anyone could come away from the game thinking they could do any type of “witchcraft” at all, or wanting to worship any god in there. It’s all pretty general in that regard, and the “witchcraft” is all very fantastical.
Its hard for me to take that parents are so concerned about a medieval looking game where a character can act out being a good person. My son plays Dark Souls and it looks that way too – perhaps more so, when it comes to the era – but it just doesn’t have the same things going for it. You always play in third person, it’s eery looking – like in a dream – the people talk like in a dream. When you find someone that talks! And it’s as irritating as monkeys trying to yank your hair out. Skyrim is a pleasant game compared to most games. It certainly is a pleasant game in its genre. The only real thing that disturbed me at when I first saw it was the slow-motion kills. They can be unpleasant, but they can be funny (lol?) too – it depends on the weapon used. Use weapons that do grosser kills and obviously the slow-mo is going to be a bit gruesome. Use electricity or something like that, and they can be quite explosively entertaining.
Anyway, I’m not sure how to convince your parents. I don’t know your age, and I don’t know where they’re getting their info from. It sounds like from sources that don’t know all about the game. It is up to them since they’re your parents, but they should know the facts, too. I don’t know how much you’d want to tell them about this article or the comments. We have a discussion board and they could go there and ask, if they were willing. My husband knows a lot about the Elder Scrolls, and most people commenting there have played the game. The board is at: http://www.withchristianeyes.com/phpBB3/index.php Thanks for reading and asking, and God bless!
PS. I found this on Yahoo, an answer to a question about witchcraft in Skyrim, from a mystery member: “Video games cannot be or cause Witchcraft. The Game does contain some occultism references due to its Based on Norse Paganism but to perform Witchcraft you would need things like Candles, Pentagrams, Incense Burners and Salt. I have studied but not practiced witchcraft and trust me Skyrim is not Witchcraft it’s a Video Game no more no less.”
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Get serious.Its wickedness and you turn away from it PERIOD. Get a G or PG rated game. God knows your heart..No..God said to turn away from ALL appaerance of evil. No need for a huge excuse. They have torture rooms for crying out loud
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They do in real life too – do you just ignore those??? Do you do good in the world, or just put your head in the sand? I do think it would be better if everyone had the energy and constant motivation to do good in the real world and not ever do anything to relax, but in these games, you can CHOOSE to do good and try your best to do good. Not a bad way to relax, really. Your attitude is very negative toward me, very mean I might even think. How is your attitude any better than doing good in a game where there is evil? Some people like playing a hero when in their real lives it’s so hard to do that, or see that their actions are helping people in any way.
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amen to that
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Just wanted to say I really enjoyed the post–and reading through the comments afterwards.
I was doing some research, because I’m looking into purchasing this game. This post is the first hit on google for “Christian review of Skyrim”.
I think you present a diplomatic, and realistic perspective on some of possible issues people might have with it. I thoroughly agree that most of the time what people brand as “witchcraft” bears little to no resemblance to the actual practices–and the motivation for such practices. Unfortunately, there is a fair amount of tilting at windmills that goes on these days.
Anyway, always nice to hear from intelligent people presenting some nice ideas.
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Wow, thanks so much, Drezden. It’s so nice to get a positive comment! The internet is just so full of people wanting to insult, so yeah, thanks for letting me open a window to fresh healthy air this morning! May the Lord return the blessing.
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my dad got rid of SSBB one day because i was fight FREAKIN GIRLS!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK!!
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Hi. By SSBB do you mean Skyrim? Do you mean that your dad got rid of the game because you had to fight with females? If so, I admit that when I first saw my son play a video game where he fought women, I was quite upset! Of course, my son was pretty young at the time, and I didn’t want him to think that was normal. He’s older now and knows you don’t go around having physical fights with women (!).
I do find it odd that many video games have all kinds of females in them that are violent and fight . . . I wish they didn’t have that generally since I don’t think it’s normal. Women will fight if necessary, but I do think it’s more “natural” that females are generally less aggressive than men, and that it’s not good to encourage men to be physically violent with women.
Just giving you some insight into how an adult might think. If your dad got rid of Skyrim, I don’t think that’ll help you feel any better, however. I don’t know your age – that might have something to do with it. But again, people seeing video games for the first time can be quite offended, I think, until they learn about the gaming world more. It’s up to parents to decide what their kids should be exposed to, and hopefully they won’t be too unhearing or unthoughtful or strict so that their kids end up rebelling. In any case, communication is always good so hopefully you and he can come to an understanding. Take care!
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God bless!!! This post is amazing thanks for taking the time to do this for us 🙂 the only thing that kinda makes me feel a little wired lol is when you speak to the dragon praapux I think is his name and he talks in a different language makes feel like he is speaking in a demonic language so I turn down the volume till its over. And today I just recovers the elders scrolls from the underground city and I had to go back to praapux (I really don’t know if I’m spelling it right hope you understand what dragon I’m trying to tell you about he is on the highest point of the map) I open the scroll and a bunch of symbles start popping out I was like in a trance (the character) then some other characters showed up and tried killing the dragon which at that point I got the shouts that I can command a dragon down from the sky (which is also wired) my question is, is the language of the dragons a bunch of giberish or! And actual language its almost like demonic tongs
also what do you think about al the symbolize in the game? I’m a 23 year old male btw married with a baby girl I play on PC
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Hi Mike, and thanks! Ok, so the dragon you’re referring to is Paarthurnax, and the language he speaks is just made up, and I’m sure they did his voice like that to try and convey an ancient, large, long-throated, powerful creature. Paarthurnax is a very interesting character in the game – I hope you have the subtitles on because what he says is both important to the story of the game and very relevant regarding a decision you have to make. Anyway, he did some bad things in the distant past and what he’s doing now with the Dovakin – your character – is trying to make up for those bad things and help you save the world. Dragons are kind-of like angels – Alduin is a Satan figure and Paarthurnax fought with him against humans until Alduin started claiming (falsely) that he was god. Paarthurnax is now helping you to defeat Alduin.
Daedra are other spiritual beings and most, but not all, are evil – some of the symbols and writing in the game comes from their language (well, everyone calls it Daedric, but they took it from one of the Elf groups). I would have to go back and play again (it’s been a little while, actually, since I’ve played), and read what I already covered in my posts, to see what other symbols there might be that I could discuss. Of course one of the most interesting ones is one I’ve already written about – Talos standing with his foot on the snake; Talos is the man who became a god (the game has nine divines and is not a direct analogy to Christianity at all). Thanks again for reading! Hope you’re having fun – God Bless you too!
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I am very appreciative of this post. I am a Christian, or trying to be, and I very much enjoy Skyrim. I love building and crafting, and when I can afford to do that more in reality I will. I believe that no one can say “stop doing this, or that” because we need to go to the Bible to find the answer, and pray on our knees. I have played through the entire game of Skyrim and there are things that do catch me as being very evil. For example, I was playing through the game at an early level and got lost and came across some characters that I fought and fled from. Later on I caught the vampire disease and did not even realize it. Towns people started attacking me and I didn’t know why. There were two ways to get rid of it, two that I know of,; to become a werewolf, or to meet with this guy, but I had to kill people to get their souls or something like that.
All in all, I believe that we should seek the answer to our questions through prayer and reading our Bible.
Also, I believe what Larry Ragland Jr. posted on this topic is important to consider as well; a persons intent in playing a game. If your intent is strictly to kill and murder then check yourself because then the devil will use that part of a game to cause you to sin and become numb to your actions. Now, not everyone that kills people in a game will become a murderer, however it does allow the devil to come into your life.
Deciding whether or not a game is acceptable to play can be difficult to determine because the Bible makes it clear what to steer from; witchcraft, drinking, murder, theft, and much more (read your Bible), but all many of the things are just things you can do in the game, you don’t have to do them. Yes, you will have to fight and kill, but you don’t have to murder. (SPOILER ALERT!!) I joined the Dark Brotherhood in the game because I wanted to get the horse Shadowmere, but I had to do a lot of evil things. Murder people, speak with an evil dead women and it felt so evil in what I did. BUT you don’t have to do it, you can ignore the Brotherhood and never participate in that quest line. In life there are even more evil things that we can do compared to a game. Just like in reality, as is in some games, we have choices we can make, good or bad. So pray about it. I am getting Skyrim again, because I no longer have my Xbox 360, and now am getting it for PC. I am going to pray about my decisions in life, as well as in game. But read your Bible, because I cannot tell you whether you should play it or not. God can answer our questions better.
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You missed the points you could make getting the Mace of Molag Bal who is obviously a deadric entity. In order to unlock the power you must a priest of Boethia at the alter of Molag Bal. There are many quests of this nature in this game. I’m quite certain it doesn’t go well with Christian views and completely goes against teachings of the Church.(I’m catholic, any denomination you’d belong to would be abhorred by such things.)
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That’s why you don’t do those types of quests.
I’m beginning to wonder if people don’t see the difference between a game where you can and are supposed to CHOOSE, and being tempted beyond hope in real life. If any person is a Christian, they will have a struggle with SOMETHING, at least for a time. It is much harder in real life (in my experience) to avoid temptation than in video games. If you are also in the missions field – which frankly, we all should all be in, even if it’s at home – you will run into people who do evil deeds. Do you run away from them, saying they are too evil to touch? Do you not rescue people out of evil situations because you can’t get near ANYTHING evil? In this evil world, you will have to “get your hands dirty,” in a sense, in order to do anything. While prayer and recharging in a closet is fine, Christians shouldn’t be hiding in one.
This game has good vs evil in it, just like virtually every story does, so there’s not much difference. (We shouldn’t read stories??) However, there is some difference, and it’s my biggest complaint of the game, which I’ve made clear in articles and comments. And that is that you are rewarded for doing evil just as you are rewarded for doing good, and in Skyrim, you even get more game time when you’re in the thieves guild, especially. So, to me, it’s more a matter of “do you want to support a company by buying their product that seems to promote the doing of the more evil acts in the game?” Vote with your money, or write to them. Skyrim otherwise is a game that actually DOES have good in it, that also promotes doing good. These days, that’s not bad – most games try to remain neutral (or they approve of homosexuality, which Skyrim didn’t) in order to not be controversial and gain more buyers.
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Are people confused about Skyrim being an RPG – role playing game? It is not a game where you are required to do evil side quests in order to do the main quest, which is good (saving the world from the actions of the Satan figure). Some games that call themselves RPGs are not true RPGs, but just have you follow a story-line, period. Skyrim is not like that. There are many things to do in the game, and you choose which ones to do.
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Thank you for this post my family and I are Christian and I really want this game I think I can handle it because I watched some gameplay of Skyrim and you really explain well the good and bad points and I’m 12 and I’m mature do you think I should get the game thank you and god bless you
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Hi Yuri, and thanks! Well, really, that’s between you and your parents! The blood and gore in the game are more passive – blood and bloody bones are on the ground and in the environment – but you don’t see much in the “action.” Except if you turn on certain perks as you level up. It is not necessary to turn those on, of course, so the gore can be kept to a minimum (using the larger weapons or dual-wielding knives can still result in heads rolling, however). For someone who wants to avoid that altogether, playing as a wizard helps – though it’s harder to play as the game progresses, I find. It takes more strategy to play as a wizard all the way through. Also, the Dawnguard DLC probably has the most passive gore, and playing as a werewolf is also disgusting (but that DLC is awesome otherwise and I’m not saying not to play it, just describing it some; I can’t imagine Skyrim without that DLC).
So . . . it’s up to you and your parents, if they would let you do anything at all or restrict you in certain ways with the game, and your maturity level. It really truly amazes me how kids these days are so exposed to violence, sex, etc. It’s really sad that innocence has basically been dumped out the back door by so much of our society/culture anymore. You know, the flip of that is that it also amazes me greatly – in the very urban area where I live – when I come across a young person who is just happy and nice and has an innocent air about them. It’s like a miracle anymore!! So, that was an aside . . . If your parent or parents had the time, playing Skyrim themselves would probably help. Anyway, God bless you as well, Yuri!
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Hi I’m 12 and i was wondering do you think it is bad for a twelve year old to play this game and why do you think it is rated M, i want to play its but my mom says “if someone not christian rated it M than how do you think a christian would rate it” And another why she wont let me play it is because of the rating M, she doesn’t really care what my other friends are saying “oh its not bad i don’t know why someone rated it M i think it should be T” so now she wont even listen to the description can u leave some comments for me to show my mom that it is not a bad game to play?
Thank you and god bless
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Oh and i heard you can talk to the dead is that optional or is that just a few parts of the game
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Hi Even. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I had conversed with another 12 year old at one of my Skyrim articles and I was maybe going to point that out, but frankly I’ve been lazy and didn’t look for it. As far as I remember, that person had a bit of a different issue, anyway.
First off, I’m not sure I would’ve let my son play Skyrim when he was 12, but I didn’t know as much about video games then as I do now, either. I do remember having problems with my son “killing” females in games when that first came to my attention. Since I play games now, I just have to accept that they can be enemies as well. And in Skyrim, there are many female combatants.
You specifically asked about speaking with the dead. Yes, that’s one thing I actually avoid in the game – which you can do – is practice necromancy. You don’t speak with the dead, you can raise them and use them, just for short times at first. But like I said, I don’t use that ability. There are some other spirit things in the game, which is kind-of expected in a fantasy game like this.
Otherwise, should a 12 year old be allowed to play the game? It doesn’t have sex in it, and very little swearing, so what’s left is the violence. If a parent knew about the game, they could control what their kid uses and chooses in the game. It can be relatively tame if you don’t use large weapons, certain perks, and don’t get into being a werewolf or vampire. There are many people who just play good characters because they choose to. So it is up to the parent to decide. I really can’t say for sure what I would decide if this game was out when my son was 12. I think I would’ve had to play it to see, and decide if my son was mature enough yet – or if there were things in it I didn’t want him exposed to yet. I’m thinking I probably would’ve wanted him to wait until he was 14, anyway.
I don’t know about you and your experience with video games, and life, so I wouldn’t know. If your parents are concerned about why it’s rated M and what those elements are, I don’t blame them, but those elements can also be minimized by game the choices during game play. God bless you too, Evan!
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Hi, I am a 13 year old who has the main game but am not allowed/not sure i should have dawnguard. If my parents (and me) are OK with dragon born and hearth fire will they be OK with dawnguard. If not why not.
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Hi. It depends on how you play that dlc. Dawnguard adds gorier and more evil content to the game, but it doesn’t force you to play out those gorier/evil parts. The werewolf and how it feeds is already part of the original game, but it adds more to the werewolf. The Vampire element is greatly expanded, and you can play on the “dark side” as a vampire and become a vampire lord. There is much to the dlc without playing as either a werewolf or a vampire, though; the dlc adds a lot of content, actually, and the cross bows are great fun. Anyway, when exploring the Vampire castle there is much blood and many bones, but the level of gore is not raised to anything like what is seen in the Fallout Series, say, where heads and limbs are blown off in a gruesome manner with bones bared and such. In the dlc, as in the original game, there are certain “perks” you can choose to make the game grosser, but again, a player does not need to choose those perks. Skyrim is one of the few games out there where you have some control over how much physical gore or psychological trauma you allow yourself to experience. If your parents let you play Skyrim at 13 and they haven’t bought Dawnguard yet, I’m assuming they know something about the game and the dlc, thus their hesitation. But if they’ve been supervising you to some degree, it seems like playing Dawnguard would be about the same experience for all of you.
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Thanks! You’ve been really helpful – I’ve shown your reply to my parents and sister and they are considering letting me have it. Thanks again!
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I am completely shocked at all of your ignorance. I am not even a gamer and I can see that Skyrim is primarily popular because of different mods that allow the user to alter the game. Suddenly we have an ability to make fire more real and plant Japanese cherry trees around. Then we change women’s looks and add high heels, catwalk and gorgeous features. Then we add a prostitution mod, a rape mod, a sex mod that allows pretty much everything a porn site does and all of you gamers are considering allowing this to your preteen kids. Again I’m not even a gamer and I cannot believe the ignorance you have. Google skyrim sex and you will find out what really made this game so popular. I came here looking for christian advice and found nothing but naivette. If my 40 year old husband doesn’t think there is anything wrong surrounding himself with 12 skimpy clothed followers that you can marry, have sex with, cheat on, have kids with and divorce, what makes you think a 12 year old will stand firm. You might as well say [bizarrely included link to actual porn site removed] has some positives and some negatives. Ridiculous!
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Emalie – the only reason I approved your message was to have the opportunity to respond to it. Your comment is a perfect example of why people roll their eyes at Christians and have no respect for them. Because, people like yourself are the ones who don’t get it and are ignorant. If you read these posts and comments, you’d know that my reviews of this game are based on original CONSOLE play, which means there is no modding. I just have to laugh. Plenty of people play this game as it was made, on consoles, with no modifications. Also, the reference to “Skyrim Widow” (in your other unapproved comment) is silly, since any game can have the same effect on certain people (as well as football, gambling, etc.).
You are ignorant of the large and dedicated fan base of the Elder Scroll series, of which Skyrim is the 5th. You also seem very ignorant of, and therefore very insulting to, gamers who like the story and other aspects of the Elder Scrolls series that have absolutely nothing to do with what you complain about. Honestly, it’s just laughable. If wives have husbands who turn all to porn, then I’d very much question their salvation; parents, too, obviously aren’t raising kids right if they do all that stuff. It’s called “living in this world” and “having choices.” That’s what being Christian and striving to be holy is all about – making the right choices. Also, I didn’t realize that your reference to a porn site was real, so I’m going to assume you’re fake anyway and the link will be removed from your post. Bizarre, indeed (especially since you had another comment, unapproved, that talked of prayer).
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That is not why Skyrim is popular. You’d do well to do some REAL research on the Elder Scrolls games… yes, bad people make bad mods. You don’t HAVE to use them, you don’t HAVE to have it on pc where you can use them. Doing so is a choice, and most games are changeable in this way. Skyrim doesn’t force you to use these mods, and looking at the game itself and seeing what makes it good is what’s important. Those mods couldn’t come out on day one. Did you even know that? They had to wait because the modding tool was not even done yet! So mods like that had to wait. Do making such mods make a game bad? No, it makes those who use/make them bad. I play Skyrim, and Oblivion, and Morrowind, and you know what? I have NEVER used a mod like those. Why? Because I know they are wrong, and I know that they have NOTHING to do with the game…. Don’t want kids to see that? Get the xbox 360 version. It’s darn near impossible to add mods to. But you can say the same about youtube as well, since there you can find these mods and look at them, or even view adult videos (I have those blocked in my settings on youtube, the fact that it is an option is a testament to what’s on there). It’s far easier, faster, and simpler for people to go to porn sites than it is to run/mod/and play Skyrim in that fashion. Take some time to educate yourself about the world in which the game takes place, the lore, the ideas, and not bad people trying to make it bad.
Also, that little .com thing you put in, shows up as a link, I assume you’ve been to this site eh?
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Wow this makes my idea of this game nice I’ mean there’s an and I quote “Sexual Themes” on the back so the weird mods are the weird strange disturbing people so that’s nice to know I can play without any thing to worry about thank you to every one on this page
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Or you could just… Look at the rating, right where it says “M”
That “M” tells you that children should not play the game for various reasons, and in writing this article, you have simply asked and answered the question, “Should I let my kids play a game the ESRB says I shouldn’t?”
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If it were that simple I wouldn’t have written the article. Thanks for the insult.
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1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
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But it’s OK to do actual evil? Go tell that to all the employers paying people far less than a living wage, and any companies that are using “dishonest scales,” then I might have respect enough to listen to you. There are so many hypocritical Christians out there–that’s what is keeping people from coming to Christ in this country. We are to advocate for the weak and poor. Do that, and it will mean something. How much easier it is to come on some internet site and insult other Christians over a simple past-time–one that often involves some thought instead of just having the “participants” sit and watch. Anyway, appearance of evil? Lol, this country has evil seeping from it. If you’re so worried about it, go and help the poor and weak, who are taken advantage of legally in this country.
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Hello! I just wanted to say that I’m 16 and I’ve played Skyrim since the day it came out (I was about 12.) I have yet to acquire any problems from playing this game that involve me being pushed away from worshipping God. I would like to ask this though: if I did the things such as necromancy and using spells etc., would I really be sinning? Consider the fact it is a video game.
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Hi Christian. Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m not sure if your question at the end there is rhetorical or not, or if it’s addressed to the author (me) or the other posters. But, and I think people can get a feel of what I think in that regard by reading my articles and comments, I don’t think in-game activities like that are sinning unless you feel that they are. The spells are just silly fantasy things and nothing real.
The necromancy, well, how do you feel about it? I very rarely use necromancy because it conflicts with my knowledge that we’re not supposed to do that kind-of thing, that we’d be messing with people’s souls and God’s authority. But aspects of it in the game can be just funny, like if you resurrect a chicken to walk around with you. Otherwise, as believers, we’re in different places in our “walk.” Because you do something “wrong” in the eyes of someone else, doesn’t mean that you actually are doing something wrong in God’s eyes, or, it could be that the Holy Spirit will get through to you eventually and you’ll be convicted and learn from it. Seek God’s instruction and approval, not man’s, and all will fall into place sooner or later. God bless!
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I’m just saying that it’s just a game, so as long as I don’t believe in what I’m doing I should be fine right?
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Hey, welcome back! I believe I understand what you’re getting at, but I think some people might apply that idea to things like romance and sex in video games. While just having a spouse that hangs around the house, like in Skyrim, doesn’t necessarily lead to adulterous thoughts (I hope not, lol), other games go farther with romances and sex. Even though an in-game character is obviously not real, one’s thoughts of cheating on one’s spouse are, if one indulges in that activity. So to me, it all depends on the activity in the game and what you do with it, kind-of like anything else in life. If you do something like necromancy in-game, but don’t think anything of it because it’s so “not real,” I guess that would seem like an innocent attitude to me. But, I don’t know your heart and mind, only God does, and your relationship with Him is what matters. My husband says that if it makes any difference, necromancy used to be outlawed in the Elder Scrolls universe because it was morally bad. Some people, when they role play, stick to the lore and act accordingly with their character. Personally, he says, it does make him feel bad to raise a good person, but he doesn’t feel too bad about raising an evil character. =D
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Thank you a lot for replying to me 🙂 I appreciate it
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The major things to notice in this game are the blatant references to baphomet, the satanic pentagrams, the fact you have to pledge your allegiance to evil gods for powers and in most cases to do so you have to perform some sort of evil act like sacrifice an innocent victim (the more innocent the better) and the use of magics of all kinds. If you look at it from a biblical perspective you basically have to do all of the things that the Bible warns you not to do. Murder, use of magics and potions, idolatry, and many other things as well.
Of course you dont have to do any of these things but that means you wont partake in any of the games content except walking around, exploring the surroundings and shutting it off. to do any of the quests at some point it is a sure point you will have to do something that will compromise your true Christian morals and values.
The best thing to do is pray about it and see what Yeshua tells you.
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That’s interesting, and thanks for the comment. In the game, though, the player does not need to do all those things, unless s/he does certain quests. The imagery is there, but most often it doesn’t mean much or require anything, it’s just imagery (and the vast majority wouldn’t know what you pointed out unless they looked it up). There are quests in the game that are evil, and one can avoid doing them. That is one of my complaints – a player can’t play the full game unless evil choices are made. However, most of the game can be played without those choices.
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So the main issue with the evil imagery is called satanic indoctrination. it subtly gets the viewer used to the images and make one desensitized to them. this is a constant in media and can literally be seen in all aspects from building design to clothing and everything in between. to see the baphomet symbolism is especially horrible due to what that thing represents and who it is. this is where discernment comes into play. what you feed your eyes you feed your soul.
judge the tree by its fruits right? how good can that fruit be if it is covered in satanic bugs? i mean in the end God knows your heart, Elohim will let you know thru the Ruach if you should or shouldnt be playing the game. Also for full disclosure i put 1500 hours into this game before God called me away from it. My eyes were opened and I couldnt stomach it anymore. That is part of my walk tho. No condemnation to any Christian that plays Skyrim. I know i wont tho. Even with the remaster coming out in October.
GBU all.
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I would say it has to do with a person’s “walk” and temptation level. Think of the early Christians, not just us. They lived among varying levels of satanic influence and worship. (Just as we do today, frankly.) Could they “check out” of their culture, their environment, without simply moving to the woods? Can we? I think living life everyday, real life, is far far more influential and difficult than what I experience in a game or book. If we’re interested (in our spiritual health and relationship with God) and thoughtful, we’ll be concerned about every interaction we have with people. Not that we have to be worried about how others will interpret every little thing, but the issue is how we ourselves deal with things, where our heart is and how hard (or not) our hearts are. If you felt you had to leave the game, that’s fine. We should all follow our conscience, listen to God’s quiet voice. I just get concerned that many people (and I’m not including you) go on and on about how bad games are, when they seem like they aren’t concerned about their own hard-heartedness, unthoughtfulness, or blindness, or they don’t call out the sin all around us that is hurting just so many people – greed. To me, this is by far the number one thing that the church has failed to call out and deal with in our world today, and why the church is so weak.
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I think you touched on a lot of great points there. The church is weak in my opinion because it cares to much about denomination rather than the love and teachings of our Messiah Yeshua. I believe the Bible is true word for word. It is the only book in existence that tells the past, present and future. If you have a red letter Bible then those words come directly from the mouth of our Savior. That is what He said, and that is what matters.
Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist – and so on – these are divisions caused by our enemy and as such has been successful in causing chaos among the Benai Elohim – The children of the Most High God –
Truth be told anything coming over the television is against you as a believer in Elohim. Movies, music, apps, and pop culture including sports are all designed to draw you away from Elohim. To be truly focused on God is to devote your life to his teachings, believe with your entire heart, mind, and soul the Yeshua is Messiah, died for all of our sins, and defeated death, sitting at the right hand of the Father waiting to return.
I know all these truths, I am a mortal man and stumble, I am a sinner. I know that Yeshua loves me, forgives me, and is there to pick me up when i fall. This goes for all of us even those that play games, watch sports and fall the the traps of the enemy. Believe in Him, repent for your sins try to sin no more and if you do turn back to Yeshua and ask for forgiveness.
This is what counts in life. If you truly want to judge what you should and shouldn’t be doing then ask yourself one simple question before you do anything you question. Would you do it if Yeshua was right beside you, would you expose yourself to it with Him right there?
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Thank you for you thoughtful review of skyrim. I would like, though, to share my thoughts on the rewards for evil characters:
Evil is supposed to be easier, and appear more rewarding than being good; thats a fair model of real life, where sinful behavior, as long as it isnt blatantly illegal, is often ignored, or even rewarded. Meanwhile, doing good is a reward in its own right.
Its much the same reason I have the mod that allows children to be killed in my PC play-through; its not that I want to kill kids, but rather the fact that now that they are vulnerable, I must take greater pains not to harm them, and actively work to protect them from the dangers of the world. It encourages me to be more “heroic” in my deeds, trying to save as many as I can from harm.
It should also be noted that in the vanilla game, there is a quest to kill the Dark Brotherhood (the assassins) if you prefer that to joining their evil.
With the new expanded version that will allow consoles to use mods, you will also find mods that allow the same for ending the Thieves Guild, if you want.
It is a game where you get to decide to be a hero or villain, and how much of either you want to be.
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Great review! Thanks! My son is almost 16. I’ve held off until this year getting him Skyrim. Seems like the time is right. Much better to have him playing Skyrim that have the news on and hearing President Trump – I feel that would be much more damaging to his psyche!
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