Page - 203 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

Book Review: Gaming and the Divine | 203 matics, this one is – at least in the European tradition – genuine fundamental theology. Here, Bosman engages with the critique of religion found especially in the aggressive (and often not well-founded) diction of the “new atheists” (205) and identifies five categories, again based on extensive references to games, of religion as fraud, as blind obedience, as the source of violence, as madness and as an instrument of oppression (206–240). He concludes the chapter with thoughts on how to deal with this challenge and pleads for a digital iconoclasm as a befitting strategy. His interpretation of iconoclasm offers new elements and refers to the shattering of religious idols (including false images of God). Bosman suggests that players integrate the inherent cri- tique of religion in the games and use them to “critically examine their own collective and individual behaviour and history” (243). In his conclusion, Bosman comes back to his two hypotheses from the introduction (video games as genuine loci theologici and video gaming as a po- tentially religious act). He finds them validated and adds that the player does not have to be aware of the implications he has carved out in this book. He draws parallels between the Donatist dispute and the orthodox characteris- tics of a sacrament (in both Catholic and Protestant traditions), finally stating that video games have sacramental potential (256): “They are new vehicles of God’s self-revelation and grace […] God did not die; He has been hiding him- self, waiting to be found by the gamer.” I am impressed by this book. Bosman demonstrates not only praisewor- thy scholarship and a talent for systematic thinking, but also an instinct for burning questions. Above all, he draws on plentiful resources from his own experience, being a gamer himself. Yet there are some issues that dampen my enthusiasm somewhat, most of them minor, such as the dating of the rise of liberation theology (15) or a less than convincing definition of the terms “ethics” and “moral” (esp. 155–158). In terms of ethics, an additional challenge would be to explore the behav- iour of players not only in-game, but also in their game-related practices in real life. Do they use a legal copy of the game, a walkthrough or a savegame editor? Even though these aspects are not strictly in-game, it would be very interesting to have at least some paragraphs on them in the next edition of this book. And how about illustrations? The print version of the book does not include a single screenshot. This absence is a pity, because video games offer plenty of opportunities to illustrate the theses Bosman develops. My major concern is Bosman’s conclusion about the potential sacramen- tality of games (255–256). I am not convinced by his arguments. Even if one www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 200–204