Kevin Schut will present on his book “Of Games & God” in tomorrow’s January Series. A 1996 graduate of Calvin College,  Schut is now a professor of media and communication at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, and brings a Christian perspective to the cultural phenomenon of video games.

Video games have become a billion-dollar industry, involving millions of dedicated players who spend time and money engaging in the adventures and adrenaline associated with games such as Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty.

Some criticize the violent nature of such games and blame them for influencing the violent behavior associated in many juvenile criminal cases.

Missing in this discussion is the perspective that Christianity brings.

Not only does Schut have a BA in Communication Studies (Film Studies) and History, he is also an avid gamer and uses that experience to inform the Christian community on the perils and promise in playing video games.

In an interview last May with The Evangelical Outpost, Schut explained that “My real passion is for the Christian community to learn how to engage video games in a healthy way, and that’s not going to happen without many voices speaking about games.”

Schut also believes that video games play a unique role in the lives of Christians today.

“Video games are such an important medium, and they have expressive potential that’s different from books and movies and radio and television and comic books,” said Schut.

“Christians need to do more than just learn to live with video games—I think we have a calling to make them well, play them well and think about them well, because that’s part of what God made us for.”