In real life God allows us free will through which we make our choices. Those choices are then attended to by God’s sovereignty. In some video games, such as Game of Thrones, in-game choices unlock different endings. Game code is, in this sense, ‘sovereign.’ Real choices create real consequences.
While discussing the ideas in my post Samson over Master Chief , the concept of God causing the demise of certain people or people groups may arise with your CTKid.
He may ask some version of, “You said God wanted Samson to kill the Philistines because they were bad. Does that mean that God is a kind of killer?”
If you have read the Bible, you can confidently say, “God is love, so He isn’t a killer. But He is also just. He makes sure justice occurs everywhere eventually—either on earth or in heaven. He sees everything happening and has sovereignty over everything. Yet He takes into account the choices we make. That means He brings about His final plans through our willing choices.(1) Although God gives you and I free will to act, ultimately he uses everything for His plans and His glory.”
If you’re next questioned about free will, you can further explain that free will is us making those willing choices. These are courses of action that have “real effects”(2). IRL, these choices may be good or bad—right in God’s eyes or wrong. Which leads us into the concept of choice-making in videogames.
When Game Choices are Like Life Choices
Games such as Game of Thrones deterministically take into account the player’s choices.(3) The game adjusts accordingly to give new consequences or endings. A player therefore takes a course of action and watches what new ending happens…how the game turns out.
You might ask your CTKid, “Do you play any games that allow you to make choices which actually change how the game ends? That is, games that bring about a different ending depending on your choices as a player?” (Even if he’s not sure, you’ve entered into a conversation about choices and consequences, biblical and otherwise. Enjoy.)
The point you are raising here is that in real life God allows us our decisions too. But God has final say in how things will turn out, because He is sovereign. He will decide the final consequences, the player or person doesn’t.
God may have ordained judgment on a disobedient group of people and used someone like Samson to make that judgment happen. But Samson used his free will to kill the Philistines. And God allowed it because He knew that the Philistines deserved judgment and punishment.
God can never be blamed for evil. That would go against his character. God is not a sinner like we are. Yet, He knows everything that will happen and He makes sure justice is served.
We are always responsible for our choices. That is, we’re responsible for how we use our free will. And here is where you can use a rhetorical segue to tie into some non-game choice your CTKid may have ahead of him (chores? homework? a decision about a friend problem?). Here’s his chance to show you some free will in action.
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(1) Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine. Zondervan. P. 327.
(2) Ibid, p. 331.
(3) TheGamer, “Games Where Your Choices Have Actual Consequences” “These games actually take into account how you [the player, like a free-willed person] choose to play your characters [yourself] and adjust [like God does] the game [life] accordingly.” Just like in real life, “[a]ll choices [in these games] have consequences.”