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Should Christians play chess?

Kiwi_Lion

Kiwi_Lion

New Member
I was reading a blog about how Chrisitans shouldn't play chess. http://www.e-hope4all.info/should-christians-play-chess/

Ethical issues in playing chess​

  • Like any other competitive sport, chess is war in miniature. The invention of the game came as a result of war experiences, and as a preparation for future wars. The pieces of the game are all part of the war, playing different roles. It’s a battle of minds.
  • It’s about defeating somebody else, about exploiting his/her weaknesses and conquering position after position. It’s about humiliating your adversary.
  • The game has nothing to do with Christianity, Christian character etc. It’s not about helping others to grow and to win/overcome, which we should do as Christians.
  • We can use its example as an illustration, as did Paul, but we can’t engage in something which doesn’t help us grow spiritually (and there is evidence that it does the opposite!), doesn’t benefit us or others in daily duties.
  • Chess is about memorizing hundreds and thousands of strategies and moves and using them to exploit the adversary’s bad moves. It is not so much about critical thinking, using your own mind to be creative. Memorization is specific to Catholic education which influenced massively the whole European education. This man-made religion encourages competition between students, they introduced the system of degrees. They have no interest to encourage critical thinking, self-determination. It’s good to have a good memory but it is not enough to be successful, even evaluated by the worldly standards.
  • The inventor of the game is not God and inspiration says that Heaven condemns it.
  • It’s a waste of precious time, which can be used much better in doing something helpful for us, family, society etc.
  • Our only competition has to be with self, not with our friends, neighbours etc. They are not our enemies. Satan is our enemy. We should try to help them be winners and not to try to exploit their weaknesses. God’s kingdom is about loving each (even our enemies) other and helping each other. What people need is not competition with others but inspiration. The best inspiration we find in the Bible, in the lives of Jesus and other characters of the Bible and in the life of the living saints Once you have the proper motivation to learn and to grow, there is no upper limit for development.
  • There is room for all. We don’t need to eliminate anybody to grow ourselves, to prosper.
  • The only enemy of prosperity is the sin and its propagator, Satan. They have to be eliminated from our personal lives. Chess teaches you that the enemy is outside not inside of you.
  • The competition mindset is a characteristic of the flesh. We are not in a 100m speed probe with one winner. We are in a big marathon where we have to finish the race and help others do the same. We can’t and shouldn’t use any sabotage, tactics etc to prevent others from winning, like you are taught to do in playing chess.
  • Love will always find solutions to support others. Competition will always strive to invent ways to eliminate others or just to make them stay behind us.
  • Our growth should have the purpose to be a bigger blessing for all those around us, not to dominate them, not to exploit their resources (as chess and competition is teaching us), not to step on others. This is a much higher motivational factor than the competition. I learn geography and history not just for better grades or to show others how much I know about other countries, but to become a better missionary one day, knowing better the background of other people, knowing their culture and the best ways to win them for Christ. And the same applies to any area on knowledge. Chess can not teach us these vital lessons of the Kingdom.
  • Can we really grow without competing with others? Jesus is an example that it is possible. Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist and so many others are examples of successful lives, a success measured with God’s standards. Heaven is not a place for lazy people, for self-sufficient people but for those who grow continually, who learn continually and share their knowledge with others. And all this growth is without compromise, without strategies from the darkness.
  • What you learn by playing chess can be also learned in much better and more innocent/blessed ways
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I have been trying to beat a 1400 bot on Chess.com for the last week or so and kept loosing. But today I finally beat it and won with 3 Queens and a Bishop. I thought is was a good analogy for polygyny given how difficult it is to get a pawn across the board before getting a second Queen.

DeepinScreenshot_select-area_20230223141953.png

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/computer/44435921?tab=analysis
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
Think of all the time the writer of that article spent writing that piece instead of reading Scripture... what a waste of time.
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I agree and see these sorts of arguments framed in much the same way against the things someone has a bone to pick about an issue. Using games of strategy or that require critical thinking can be used constructively with kids and adults. Provided the game doesn't involve or promote obviously forbidden practises, e.g. invoking demons, strip poker (unless it's with one's spouses), etc., it's for each to decide personally.
 
I enjoy chess when I have time, but not very good...
 
This Christian shouldn’t play chess. It costs me sanity and salvation. What’s your screen name on chess.com, I’ll challenge you. We had quite the BibFam chess club going briefly but in the end there can be only one…..
 
Kiwi_Lion said:
I was reading a blog about how Chrisitans shouldn't play chess. http://www.e-hope4all.info/should-christians-play-chess/



I have been trying to beat a 1400 bot on Chess.com for the last week or so and kept loosing. But today I finally beat it and won with 3 Queens and a Bishop. I thought is was a good analogy for polygyny given how difficult it is to get a pawn across the board before getting a second Queen.

View attachment 4508

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/computer/44435921?tab=analysis
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He forgot that it's feminist, because the queen is the most powerful piece. Surely if you were genuinely trying to find reasons to not play chess you couldn't miss that one. Unless you are a feminist yourself...
So we can dismiss what he says because he's clearly a feminist. Chess is good. :)
 
"The competition mindset is a characteristic of the flesh."
"Like any other competitive sport, chess is war in miniature."
" It’s about humiliating your adversary."

Yet more examples of how modern 'Christianity' is against the Bible, against nature and offensive to God given masculinity.
 
The Revolting Man said:
This Christian shouldn’t play chess. It costs me sanity and salvation. What’s your screen name on chess.com, I’ll challenge you. We had quite the BibFam chess club going briefly but in the end there can be only one…..
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It's exponent_nz
 
rockfox said:
"The competition mindset is a characteristic of the flesh."
"Like any other competitive sport, chess is war in miniature."
" It’s about humiliating your adversary."

Yet more examples of how modern 'Christianity' is against the Bible, against nature and offensive to God given masculinity.
Click to expand...
Doesn’t our Lord Jesus Christ wear a robe dipped in blood and have a two edged sword coming out of His mouth? Didn’t the “friend of God” kick the a$$es of five kings with his own private army, that was trained in his house? Didn’t the “man after God’s own heart” not only slay the philistine with a sling, but then he chopped off his head with his own sword and carried it home as a war trophy? God seems to be pretty pro war when He is humiliating His enemies, and punishing evil.
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
Doesn’t our Lord Jesus Christ wear a robe dipped in blood and have a two edged sword coming out of His mouth? Didn’t the “friend of God” kick the a$$es of five kings with his own private army, that was trained in his house? Didn’t the “man after God’s own heart” not only slay the philistine with a sling, but then he chopped off his head with his own sword and carried it home as a war trophy? God seems to be pretty pro war when He is humiliating His enemies, and punishing evil.
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So... that's the secret to playing chess? Humiliate enemies and punish evil? 😎
 
Good Christians never prepares for competition, adversity, uses anything invented by any human, winning in game is evil etc....

Let's not add mindset issue: all causes of your problem are you, never anybody else.

Sound crazy.
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
Yes! Why? Do you play it for unbiblical reasons?? Geesh
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I play to see if I can get more queens. Then, I found out that's biblical...

Maybe monogamy only Christians shouldn't play chess... Hmmm.. now there's an argument to put out there... 🤓
 
I have no problems with playing chess. It's a good game in that it makes you think about the moves you're going to make and not just the moves you're making. There are also lots of object lessons inherent in it about taking responsibility for one's mistakes and it is indeed humbling to those who arrogantly assume they can always win.
 
MeganC said:
There are also lots of object lessons inherent in it about taking responsibility for one's mistakes and it is indeed humbling to those who arrogantly assume they can always win.
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This is the value of all competitive endeavors. And strict rule based games like Chess without any random element of chance have the added dynamic of eliminating any blame other than one's own performance.
 
rockfox said:
This is the value of all competitive endeavors. And strict rule based games like Chess without any random element of chance have the added dynamic of eliminating any blame other than one's own performance.
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Poker is better game for learning life skills because in a life there is often element of chance.
 
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