# D & D WRONG?



## ServantofGod (Mar 27, 2006)

I hope this is the place to put this, but I've wondering for a while, is playing Dungeons and Dragons always wrong? Is there ways to play it that aren't wrong? Are all RPG's wrong? What say you?


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## VictorBravo (Mar 27, 2006)

Yes, it is always wrong--for me. I wouldn't presume to say it is always wrong for you. But I know my heart and I know that such games take my mind off of God's reality.

It is good for you to question this, though. There is liberty in Christ and there are ways to abuse liberty. I am sure some could play these games in a harmless manner. But they can become addicting (like almost anything) and many players are heavily involved in the occult. For me, as a former occult dabbler, that is enough to steer way clear.

Vic


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## ServantofGod (Mar 27, 2006)

> For me, as a former occult dabbler, that is enough to steer way clear.



Have you seen exwitch ministries? That was started by ex-occultists. You should check it out.http://www.exwitch.org/mambo/smf/index.php


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Mar 27, 2006)

See this thread.


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## satz (Mar 27, 2006)

I would not say all rpgs are wrong, but i would have a hard time ever justifying D & D. For me, it is the occultic elements, as opposed to role playing that crosses the line.


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## C. Matthew McMahon (Mar 27, 2006)

Things that teach you witchcraft, or those things that would tend to teach things "amoral" should be shunned as evil. Paul says we should abhor them.

Romans 12:9 Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 

As a matter of fact, even if it "seems" to be evil, we should avoid it - 

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Things like Harry Potter, D&D, games like Doom, Gunsmoke, Grand Theft Auto, etc., are teaching those who play them to steal, kill, commit adultery, learn doctrines that are espoused by the devil, etc. There is a difference between, for example, LOTR and Harry Potter, or things symbolic demonstrating things in reality. The nature of those things should always be scrutinized.

We would do well to rid our lives of these things, from games to movies.


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## Mike (Mar 27, 2006)

> _Originally posted by ServantofGod_
> I hope this is the place to put this, but I've wondering for a while, is playing Dungeons and Dragons always wrong? Is there ways to play it that aren't wrong?


I don't see how the Biblical case can be made for universally prohibitting playing D&D.



> Are all RPG's wrong?


Certainly not.


D&D and other RPGs can certainly lead to evil things and be practiced evilly, but we probably shouldn't have to append these kinds of disclaimers to everything.


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## Mike (Mar 27, 2006)

> _Originally posted by C. Matthew McMahon_
> Things that teach you witchcraft, or those things that would tend to teach things "amoral" should be shunned as evil.


D&D no more teaches people whichcraft than Star Trek teaches me about interstellar relations. It teaches nothing meaningful about reality in the fact that it involves magical forces.



> Paul says we should abhor them.
> 
> Romans 12:9 Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.


He says here we should hate that which is evil. I do not think we can categorically place D&D there. That is, obviously, the point of contest.



> As a matter of fact, even if it "seems" to be evil, we should avoid it -
> 
> 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.


This would seem to be both an inacurate translation and an impossible command.



> Things like Harry Potter, D&D, games like Doom, Gunsmoke, Grand Theft Auto, etc., are teaching those who play them to steal, kill, commit adultery, learn doctrines that are espoused by the devil, etc.


We can learn about these things even in the Bible. What we must determine is some meaningful standard for whether we are actually sinning in dealing with fictional or recorded sin.



> There is a difference between, for example, LOTR and Harry Potter, or things symbolic demonstrating things in reality.


My understanding is that Tolkien contended quite clearly that LOTR was not prinicipally symbolic, but rather fantastic in nature.

Still, I fail to see how magic in clearly intentional allegory (with a clearer example like the Narnia chronicles, perhaps) is different in our exposure to the demonstration of such things.



> The nature of those things should always be scrutinized.


I am not sure exactly what you are saying here, but I am inclined to agree.



> We would do well to rid our lives of these things, from games to movies.


I don't see how games and movies cannot be edifying. I certainly do not see how the Christian does not have liberty to enjoy games, movies, books, beer, the internet, music, visual art, surfing, and the knocking over of dominoes.


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## RamistThomist (Mar 27, 2006)

> _Originally posted by ServantofGod_
> I hope this is the place to put this, but I've wondering for a while, is playing Dungeons and Dragons always wrong? Is there ways to play it that aren't wrong? Are all RPG's wrong? What say you?



I have never played D&D, so I can't rightly say. However, I used to be (sort of still am) a Warcraft fan. But I gave up Warcraft because it was a time eater. I don't see how a case that all RPGs are bad can be made.


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## Pergamum (Mar 27, 2006)

I learned a lot about the occult from my D and D experiences. Plus, I wasted a lot of time when I could have been sinning in other ways....(thank God for that part!)


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## Bladestunner316 (Mar 27, 2006)

Never played D+D but really liked final fantasy 8 and the SuperNES Zelda still cant beat both


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## py3ak (Mar 28, 2006)

Matt, as I recall when you wrote an article on Harry Potter in which you made a very useful distinction between content and message, your conclusion was that the problem with HP was worldliness --lumping it in with D&D now seems to be a change of stance. Is that correct? Have you concluded that JKR is seducing people into paganism --or more precisely, that that is her intention?
I am biased, of course: I just re-watched Chamber of Secrets; Hagrid is great.


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## srhoades (Mar 28, 2006)

I personally take it a step further. I spent countless hours as a kid playing video games. I especially love RPG's. I have dabbled in them as an adult, mostly playing the classics, but I have found the problem of videogames twofold. One, it is a poor use of time, and two, its just a form of escapism.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 28, 2006)

> _Originally posted by srhoades_
> I personally take it a step further. I spent countless hours as a kid playing video games. I especially love RPG's. I have dabbled in them as an adult, mostly playing the classics, but I have found the problem of videogames twofold. One, it is a poor use of time, and two, its just a form of escapism.


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