- Sep 22, 2013
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On this season of the Rio Olympics, we can think about the human fascination with games and the competitive spirit and how it can motivate the globe to think about peaceful alternatives to war.
When I was in high school, I participated in the Model United Nations student debate program, which allowed youngsters to create mock-dialogues about international politics. I debated in the Security Council and the General Assembly, discussing things as varied as Chechnya and Third World debt relief. Every time I attended a Model UN conference, my mom would buy me a new pair of argyle socks to motivate me and make me feel more inspired about academics.
Negotiation is a key part of human politics (and education), and the Christian Bible says that the adversary of God, Satan (or the Devil) tempts man away from civics to undermine God's authority and challenge general wisdom in a 'metaphysics game.' Man's duty is to understand the value of loyalty and self-evaluation while playing this 'spiritual game.'
Of course, man has not always played well in this 'game' (e.g., Nazi Germany, AIDS, urban crime, etc.). Resilience (and faith) seem to be humanity's defining characteristics.
Religion helps us define ethics in black-and-white, and if we are to understand how modern era 'peaceful competitive games' such as the Olympics, chess, democratic debates, etc., encourage spiritual reflection on the dangers of violent competition (i.e., war), we should talk about how Christian mythos/ethos offers us insights about self-destruction.
Stratego (Game)
When I was in high school, I participated in the Model United Nations student debate program, which allowed youngsters to create mock-dialogues about international politics. I debated in the Security Council and the General Assembly, discussing things as varied as Chechnya and Third World debt relief. Every time I attended a Model UN conference, my mom would buy me a new pair of argyle socks to motivate me and make me feel more inspired about academics.
Negotiation is a key part of human politics (and education), and the Christian Bible says that the adversary of God, Satan (or the Devil) tempts man away from civics to undermine God's authority and challenge general wisdom in a 'metaphysics game.' Man's duty is to understand the value of loyalty and self-evaluation while playing this 'spiritual game.'
Of course, man has not always played well in this 'game' (e.g., Nazi Germany, AIDS, urban crime, etc.). Resilience (and faith) seem to be humanity's defining characteristics.
Religion helps us define ethics in black-and-white, and if we are to understand how modern era 'peaceful competitive games' such as the Olympics, chess, democratic debates, etc., encourage spiritual reflection on the dangers of violent competition (i.e., war), we should talk about how Christian mythos/ethos offers us insights about self-destruction.
Stratego (Game)
