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| One of the many moral arguments in Triangle Strategy |
Triangle Strategy is a 2022 strategy game for the Nintendo Switch. In this game you have to organise your party by upgrading their individual skills and weapons, clever positioning and terrain management to lead them to victory in various battles. The style of battling is similar to Final Fantasy Tactics.
Where the game differs is that the three advisors you have in the game, Benedict (your retainer), Frederica (your betrothed) and Roland (your best friend) sees morality in three different ways. Benedict tends to favour utilitarianism (i.e. greatest good for the greatest number of people). Frederica tends to argue for liberty (i.e. individualism), while Roland stands for morality (in this game, he favours honour and duty).
Thus such conflicting viewpoints often forces the player character (Sereona) to make a stand. Such decisions (in the game) will alienate some allies while elevating others.
The great thing about this game that it forces players (in this case, my wife and I) to discuss hypothetical situations and defend the moral decisions. In this post I want to examine the game's moral system from the view of Christianity.
Christianity and morality
Right of the bat, it is important to note that Christian philosophers have discussed morality to great detail.
William Paley (the Father of Intelligent Design) was an advocate of utilitarianism. In his book Moral and Political Philosophy (1785), he argued that God's laws as laid down in Scripture were intended to promote widespread happiness. He saw Christianity as a rigid and logical system in which the greatest utility is produced if everyone followed God’s will.
There is also justification in Scripture for the importance of honour-based morality. Theologians have argued that honouring parents, the Sabbath and marriage were instituted by God for eternity. It was also pointed out that in 1 Timothy 5, Timothy was instructed to honour widows in a time and place when they were second-class citizens. This implied that Biblical concepts of honour sometimes goes beyond the culture of the era
Lastly, the Bible has been used to support individual liberalism. In Luke 15, Jesus uses parables to describe the importance of every lost sheep and coin, and these parables have been used to support the worth of every person.
Christianity recognises the complexity of morality
Yet Christianity rejects the simplicity of moral issues. In many scenarios, the Bible highlights the complexity of making moral judgements, and focuses on reflection rather than establishing an outright decree. In Exodus 18, Moses himself was advised to appoint men to aid him in judging moral decisions. In 1 Samuel 24, David (against the advice of his men) refused to kill Saul (who was masterminding David's assassinations).
Christianity is more than just morality
The main purpose of Christianity is to be more than moral. Yes, Christianity does contain certain moral principles (like the importance of obeying God over man is advocated in Acts 5:29). However, Christianity is not just adhering to moral teaching or principles.
It is about forming a lasting relation with Christ and to be reconciled with Him. In it we will grow in our moral insights.
