Virtual Reality - Blessing or Curse?

The HTC Vive VR headset from HTC and Valve Corporation is one of many virtual reality products

Ecclesiastes 2:1

​While visiting Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry about 20 years ago, a Creation Moments staff member stood in a long line, waiting to take his first look at what we now know as "virtual reality". Today you can experience virtual reality – or VR for short – on your smartphone with a headset that can cost as little as ten dollars.

When you strap the glasses onto your head, your eyes are presented with two slightly different images, which your brain fuses into a single three-dimensional image. This is far beyond anything you experienced as a child, looking at 3D photos with that plastic toy. While wearing VR glasses, you can look up and down and all around you. You can skydive, go deep-sea diving and walk on the moon, all without leaving your home.

As exciting as virtual reality may sound, it is not without its risks. As futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts, "By the 2030s, virtual reality will be totally realistic and compelling, and we will spend most of our time in virtual environments…. We will all become virtual humans."

This is truly escapism brought to a new level. With all of life's pain and problems, we can certainly understand why people like Kurzweil are eager to escape from reality. However, virtual reality – just like alcohol, drugs and over-indulging in sports or entertainment – ultimately fails to provide relief that lasts. Only Jesus can fulfill our deepest needs, both now and in eternity.

Notes: Monica Kim, "The Good and the Bad of Escaping to Virtual Reality," The Atlantic, 2/18/15. Photo: Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Hakken. (CC BY 2.0). ​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

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