Violent Video Games in Churches?

No, I didn't learn about this from The Onion, but from the New York Times. Churches are using the video game Halo to lure adolescent boys into church. The video gaming industry has rated Halo M for Mature, meaning only adults should play it. What this means is, evangelical Christians are promoting a video game to young people that even secularists believe is too violent for them..

I have nothing against Halo. I have (adult) friends who love the game. And I'm not saying Christians - or anyone - should pay attention to industry ratings. But if anything, you'd think Christians would be more concerned about violence, not less.

Parents who let their kids play M-rated video games but don't let them see R-rated movies will have some explaining to do. Apparently, the F-word is more troubling than blowing people up.

Hat Tip to Doug Newman, who has a good commentary on this.