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5 years ago ::
Jun 17, 2008 - 11:05PM
#51
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Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2001
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In general I avoid topics of religion but I feel like sharing my $0.02.
I'm an Atheist and have been for a very long time. I'd also classify my alignment as Lawful Good and I have D&D to thank for it. I've grown up in a very religious family. When I was young every Sunday I'd be at church.
As I got older I started asking myself those very deep questions that only I can answer. I eventually came to my answers and claimed the title Atheist. But I was still raised by a loving and good family.
When I started playing D&D they were concerned about my safety at first (afraid I'd die in a sewer) but didn't prevent me from playing. And it was from those sessions that my personality was shaped into what it is today. (Not solely those sessions obviously but still visibly so.)
Because of D&D and video games I always try to do the right thing. Sure I may not be going out to do charity work but I go out of my way to pick up trash, return shopping carts used by other people, and generally do what ever I can to help someone. Heck I'm even an organ doner because if someone can life for a few more years because of my heart, then go for it. I don't even believe a human being has the right to kill another human being.
In games I always lean towards the LG path and have to force myself to play differently.
I'm fairly sure that were it not for D&D I'd be some amoral jerk hole who probably pirate anything I could get my hands on and other naughty things.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 17, 2008 - 11:10PM
#52
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Heya Trinab and fellow posters, It has been quite a few years since I have read a thread about Christians (faith in general) and D&D, and noticed no one has touched the subject of how all this bagan. So, I was around during all this fun, let me tell you a little history. Pardon the spelling, my english sucks. To my first recolection in 1980 the first anti-DnD material came out. It was a small comic created by fundimentalists that portrayed a small well groomed boy going to a friends B-Day party. At the party he is stealthly usured into a back room in the house. It is portrayed like the little boy is entering some sleezy back door illegal gambling/speakeasy you see in movies. In this room are the most outragously evil drawn people sitting in a dark room rolling dice on a table with a pentagram on it. It then goes into these DnDers trying to convert the well groomed boy to the occult and the devil, untill his mom, jesus and god step in to save the day and his soul. As far as I can remember thats when the hype of DnD is evil began. It mellowed out for a year and a bit until 1982. You ever heard the old rumor of a group of people killing themselves after/during a game of DnD? Well that started in 1982 when a depressed individual named Irving Pulling comminted suicide with his mothers gun. His mother blamed his death on DnD and the occult. She formed B.A.D.D. Brothers about Dungeons and Dragon. and turned it into a very large religious campaign against the game. LAwsuits flowed, and they were all thrown out. Then this came out later that year. http://***************/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp Odd, it wont let me link it just sub the *** for www chick com. And after that, this http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.htmlThis last link is an amazing artical writen by a gaming Christian. It took a few years for the hype, rumors, etc, to die down but pop up once i a while. As for me, I have been playing for 20 years now and have had several faith vs DnD CR 60 encounters...sorry poor joke  I would feel odd talking about them with my view on the subject (I am very non-religious). So I will just leave you with the history I know. Hope you find it helpful, and I hope you find the knowledge you are looking for. Good luck!
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5 years ago ::
Jun 17, 2008 - 11:37PM
#53
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Date Joined:
May 28, 2008
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As one Christian to another I ask you; Do you glorify God when you play basketball? When you read a good book? (not the good book  ) How about when you exercise? Indulging in a role-playing game is no different. It is an indulgence, but it is not more harmful than playing a sport, or engaging any other hobby. D&D isn't a religious rite, but it doesn't have to be. So long as we play it with a Christian attitude.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 17, 2008 - 11:51PM
#54
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I can agree with the sentiment that DnD does nothing to acknowledge, glorify, or respect God.
That's not its job. That's the job of those that believe in god to do in their own lives. Its a form of entertainment directed to the masses, made as inconsequential and inoffensive as possible while still being entertaining.
DnD does nothing to acknowledge, glorify, or respect God. But that expectation isn't really fair. Its like me turning on Star Wars and going "It doesn't acknowledge, glorify or respect God." Its kinda like me going Congress doesn't acknowledge, glorify or respect God.
Its like looking at a Zebra and going "I was expecting it to be blue, I'm disappointed." Its not a fair expectation. If it was marketed as "Its a blue Zebra!" and in fact it was not, then its fair to be disappointed.
But that all said, I'm cool with people saying whatever they want about DnD or the games I play, or the movies I watch, or life I live. But as soon as they start telling me what I should be doing, or that I'm evil or wrong for the choices I make, well, that's offensive. That also being said, I'm not going to go cruising the anti-DnD forums and try to "win" on a forum. Its neither possible, nor healthy.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 17, 2008 - 11:51PM
#55
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Date Joined:
Aug 23, 2007
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As one Christian to another I ask you; Do you glorify God when you play basketball? When you read a good book? (not the good book ) How about when you exercise?
Indulging in a role-playing game is no different. It is an indulgence, but it is not more harmful than playing a sport, or engaging any other hobby. D&D isn't a religious rite, but it doesn't have to be. So long as we play it with a Christian attitude.
Of course you do. You're glorifying the abilities God gave you and thus glorifying God.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 18, 2008 - 12:02AM
#56
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I'm a Christian, raised by Christian parents, and I am also a Sunday School teacher. I've been playing D&D since Basic Edition.
I DM'd my dad for one session - my first ever attempt at DMing. I'm not sure if it was an attempt at quality time or if he wanted to see for himself what I was spending so much time doing. Either it wasn't his cup of tea, or he was satisfied it was harmless, or I was a lousy DM (due to both being young, inexperience asa DM, and a little awed at running my dad through a dungeon). I suspect a mix of all three. In any case he never asked to continue the game, but my parents never hassled me about playing it.
I don't mind any aspect of D&D - it's all a game of make-believe, with a helping of impromptu acting thrown in. And it's social, and fun.
Sure, there are religious elements in there. Just because I'm playing a character who may worship a fictional deity does not in any way mean that I worship that same fictional deity myself in real life.
Yes, I will discuss points of religion if they come up and I am asked. I don't bring a bible along so I can thump and get my preach on.
Oh, and some trivia regarding monopoly: It was originally invented to demonstrate the 'evils' of private land ownership. So using it as an example here is somewhat ironic.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 18, 2008 - 12:04AM
#57
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Date Joined:
Mar 16, 2001
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If you're a Christian and games like D&D aren't affecting your ability to behave in a Christianly manner, I don't see any reason to stop playing. Gary Gygax was a person of faith, and it never stopped him.
Gary was more than just a person of faith.
He was what most people would call an extreme fundamentalist. And he knew his stuff. He was not just a "Because the preacher said so!" type, he had his chapter and verse down and then some.
He was not however an exclusionist. He did not merely put up with people with differing beliefs, including myself, he accepted them as people worth communicating with on a long term basis, even though he absolutely disagreed with some or many of their beliefs.
So while there was a whole lot of what he believed that I do not, if I had to choose between all of the big name ministers and priests and whoever else with a combined total of a million doctorates in religion saying that D&D might be evil, or does not do this or that, and just simply knowing who Gary was and that he created the game in the first place . . .
I will take Gary's example that a Christian can play D&D with no need to be concerned about anything. Even when he was flaming me for getting something "wrong" he was a better person than too many others who claim to be able to say what is right for everyone.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 18, 2008 - 12:39AM
#58
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We've got everything from determined Atheists to Wiccans to fundamentalist Christians in our group, and we all get along fine. Indeed, D&D seems to be one of the ever-dwindling number of activities in this world that unites people rather than divides them.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 18, 2008 - 12:41AM
#59
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- Unleash the robotic My Little Dinosaurs!
Date Joined:
Jan 13, 2003
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hardcore christ
Because Jesus is effing metal!
———
One of the best things I've learned from Jehovah's Witnesses* is that some matters of right and wrong aren't clearly defined in the Holy Book, and one must use his own judgement when it comes to those gray areas. I believe D&D is one of them. It includes many things that, IRL, are not okay in God's eyes, but it's just a game. If it starts affecting one's real life, that's a different problem entirely.
*Not one myself, but I find that it is necessary to hear, and learn from, all Christian view points.
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5 years ago ::
Jun 18, 2008 - 12:42AM
#60
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2008
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[FONT="Times New Roman"]I'm a Chaplain's Assistant in the Army National Guard. I am entering the R.O.T.C. later this year and plan to go into the Chaplain Corps when I graduate. I am a youth minister in my church and am going to a Christian (Quaker) university...
Now, with the proof of my Christianity...
I play a Paladin in D&D and DM for a group in my school as well as a group of youths in my church.
The thought that casting spells in a game is akin to real life, then anyone who has ever played an MMO is going to Hades. Anyone who has ever played a fantas video game is going to Hades. Anyone who has ever read a fantasy Choose-your-own-adventure book is going to Hades.
My thought is that it is fantasy and a good way to exercise the mind and imagination. It teaches critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, strategic and tactical awareness, and picturing situations in three-dimensions (which is not normal). It is a great tool for relaxation, teaching, and social interaction. It is not a physical game and your only limit is the persona which you take (one of the handicap youths in my youth group plays a flying superhero when we play Champions).
D&D is not evil, it is a game much like Monopoly or Risk. The difference is that you can wield the iron to defeat the car and haul a couple of hotels away in the wheelbarrow.[/FONT]
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