The Board Game Faith Newsletter, Issue 26
Hello, Board Game Faithful!
Daniel: I have enjoyed getting to know a play therapist who is a member of our church. It’s inspiring to hear her speak on the role of play in encouraging healing and wholeness in people from a variety of ages and backgrounds. It reminds me of themes that our guests and discussion books have often mentioned on Board Game Faith–how play helps us to be present, and how it can touch on something unforced and beautiful in each human heart.
Behind the Episodes
Daniel: It’s been great to see the response to our episode with Shem Phillips. Listeners and YouTube viewers really seem to connect with his story of faith and gaming. I’m so grateful that he was willing to join us, and that Kevin suggested him!
Kevin: Yeah, that’s a great episode. Shem’s kindness and humility really show through in the episode.
Coming Up
Daniel: In next week’s episode we will discuss part 3 of Jürgen Moltmann’s Theology of Play (pages 25-36). It’s probably my favorite section so far: Moltmann does a deep dive into the meaning of Christ’s cross and resurrection. Plus, he lauds the seemingly “purposeless” of play, which resonated deeply (and unexpectedly) with some part of my soul. You can hear more about it in the episode next week!
Kevin: Lauds? He lauds? Daniel is clearly doing some worship preparation at the same time as writing this newsletter.
Daniel: Got it. No more worship prep while writing this newsletter. Message received laud and clear.
Games We're All About Right Now
Kevin: Scholars of the South Tigris! Scholars of the South Tigris! Scholars! It’s so wonderfully addicting – you only get 1 action, and there are so many delicious possibilities. You have to keep an eye on both the manuscripts that need to be translated, and the translators to employ and which languages they speak. It’s almost like creating your own tech tree. And of course there’s a great solo mode.
Daniel: Ginkgopolis! This one has been on my wishlist for a very long time. After a particularly long week last month, my wonderful spouse Kristen said, “you should get yourself a game,” and this was it! It has not disappointed. It’s a fantastic tile-placing and layering game, with a simple rule set yet extremely clever mechanisms that make the game flow smooth and engaging. It feels kind of like a sports car that is clean and sleek on the outside, but inside it has well-designed machinery hidden away to give it power and fun. I really like it!
Spirituality
Daniel: Moltmann’s discussion of the seeming purposelessness of play has lodged itself firmly in my soul. It reminds me of an oft-repeated theme from the great Buddhist author Thich Nhat Hanh, who says that “ideas always bring suffering.” Part of me rebels and pushes back against this teaching, but another part of me feels like there is truth to it as well. How often do we bring suffering to others and ourselves because of our busy and noisy preoccupation with what Thomas Merton calls the “grand plans” of life, when–perhaps–all God really asks of us is to be present to each other and to do our best one moment after another to love the folks around us? If you’d like to listen to a song that wrestles with this theme, check out “Wishless” by one of my favorite singers, Joe Reilly.
Kevin: Ideas always bring suffering? That is absolutely fascinating and possibly dreadful. But … it might be kind of true? Hmmm. Our Sunday School class is continuing to read through the gospel of Mark, and it continues to surprise. Jesus comes across, to me, as someone who is combative and surprising, and the gospel moves in such odd directions from your expectations. The early chapters feature little teaching and mostly Jesus healing. There are 2 detailed and strange accounts in Mark: the exorcism of the Legion demons into the pigs, and the execution of John the Baptist due to Herodias’ dancing. The Bible always surprises and questions us as much as we question it.
Media We're Digging Right Now
Kevin: Infinite Jest, I’m finally about to finish you after months of working through you. It was like taking a difficult but rewarding class in college because this book makes you work with its unnecessary details, endnotes, and excessive vocabulary. But it’s so worth it because this book haunts me so deeply. Poor Don Gately, and maybe poor Hal, I’m still not sure how things end for him.
Daniel: How have I lived for so long without listening to "Sleeping at Last"? My friend Chris recommended them to me several years ago, but for whatever reason I didn’t really get into their music until the last couple weeks. It’s so good! My favorite so far is a track called “Saturn,” which is a musical journey through the eternity of the universe and our frailty at the same time.
Thank You!
Thanks so much for being a part of the BGF community. We are grateful for each of you and the ways you make the world more awesome. And if you haven’t had a chance to tell us a little about yourself yet, we would love it if you could fill out this form please!