Post a Comment On: Catholic Video Gamers

Though the reception of "hate mail" is certainly not something exclusive to Christian circles, it seems to me that Christians (especially in the age of the neo-atheist/secularist/Dawkins-lover types) are more often on the receiving end of the hate than anything else. As a Catholic, I'm actually not bothered by it; in fact, it has this paradoxical effect of boosting my ego rather than having the intended effect of dragging me down. Why?

"Blessed are you when others insult and hate you and ostracize you,for my sake" (Luke 6:22)

Heck, the main problem with most of the "hate mail" I've received is that it tends to instill a wrongful sense of pride; it's all too easy to make the hate mail to excuse myself from the other daily devotions that bring me closer to God; while the reaction of the Christian is never strictly "Sweet! Hate Mail! Kingdom of God here I come!" (it's more like, "OOO! Hate mail! I must be doing something right!"), it's easy to get carried away. Being the target of hate mail may be a very minor form of martyrdom, but it's not like I've actually been murdered for the faith or anything, and letting it "go to my head," as it were, really doesn't make it a martyrdom at all.

Case in point? Well, this morning, some guy I played in 1 vs. 100 LIVE last night (I recognized his gamertag) sent me two hate messages (one written, one voiced). The reason for the message isn't clear, as he didn't actually specify has such in his message. Was it because I outscored him in the game? Possibly, though I can't recall if I actually DID outscore him. I'm of the opinion that he did it because of the description on my gamertag: "Contributor for Catholic Video Gamers blog." So what do I do in response? I write this blog post bragging about it!

Pride scrupulosity notwithstanding, it would be nice to have an experience online where there's a genuine sense of community being fostered. Clearly, hate mail ain't gonna make that happen, folks. Still, not all is lost. I tried out Blazblue online for the first time last night before my 1 Vs.100 fiasco, and my opponent, a person with the gamertag "TRU CHRISTIAN," kindly accepted my friend request posthaste. Thank you, sir! Pity others can't have your common sense and decency, regardless of whether or not they share your worldview!