I agree with the Cathedral's stance on this one. The computer images that are inside of the cathedral are without a doubt Manchester Cathedral, and i think that this is a good opportunity to promote debate on violence within computer games.
Running around the city centre randomly shooting people on a computer game is horific, because the cathedral is used doesn't make it any more horific but gives legitimate grounds to be critical of the myth of redemptive violence.
I agree.
Re: "the myth of redemptive violence" - words that I honestly try NOT to utter during almost every film/ reel spirituality night we run - and end up succumbing to almost every time. Hollywood seems to say it's ok to kill as many bad guys as you need to get the girl/ avenge your aprtner/ protect your family/ uphold civilisation as we know it/ etc...
By 
LauraHD, at 12:29 PM BST
I read Margaret Atwood's 'The Penelopiad' recently which seemed to challenge this idea, that heroes go off and kill people and fight monsters and woo women, while their wives stay at home and are good and loyal and hopeful.
I love the way feminist literature can challenge unconciously*-help stereotypes.
*My brain will not allow me to know how to spell this correctly at this time. Apologies.
By Sarah, at 5:44 PM BST
Well the cathederal had allegedly already given permission for its images to be used, then 7 months later, instead of phoning Insomniac (who made the game, sony are only the publishers) they very publically go after the 'big fish' to get money*. On a Friday evening, just so it gets a whole weekend before the company can respond properly.
Very stage managed and very fishy.
It's clearly got nothing to do with the game or game violence itself (which is just an extension of TV/Film violence anyway.. The previous weeks Dr.Who had a big fight in a church for example). It's all about cash. Which is really sad.
btw. I don't think 'redemptive violence' is entirely a myth.. it's just in the real world there isn't a straight right/wrong of good/bad like there is on films, tv and games. In stories you can create a situation where the enemy is entirely 'bad' from all angles - in fact you have to, otherwise nobody would enjoy the story because they'd empathise with the other side. The Old Testament is full of stories where the 'bad guy' is killed for some 'good' reason... entire cities destroyed including women/children. Nobody questions that, but there's absolutely no difference between that an a hollywood blockbuster (except if you believe the stories to be literally true, real people were killed in the OT).
* They have demanded "a substantial donation from the game's profits" http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070610/tc_afp/britainanglican
By Tony, at 10:35 AM BST
The myth of redemptive violence isn't that it's not true. The myth is that redemptive violence makes all things okay, and that violence is a good way to solve conflict.
By Ben, at 1:34 PM BST
