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From: homeier@aero.ARPA (Peter Homeier)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: One Christian's view on D&D games
Message-ID: <515@aero.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 28-Oct-85 19:46:09 EST
Article-I.D.: aero.515
Posted: Mon Oct 28 19:46:09 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 29-Oct-85 14:56:31 EST
References: <1515@vax3.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: homeier@aero.UUCP (Peter Homeier)
Distribution: na
Organization: The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 129
Keywords: D&D, spiritual warfare

[... munch, munch, munch ...]

This discussion on D&D and its effects has been fascinating to me.  It is
clearly very interesting to many people, judging simply by the quantity
of mail on the subject.  I would like to contribute as well, from the
experience that I have had in the game.

I learned D&D in 1974 when I entered CalTech, and I soon became engrossed
by this game.  I became one of the most involved members of the gaming
community, having an already formed interest in fantasy, especially the
works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

The style of D&D that we played at CalTech was somewhat different from the
version played by most other groups.  All we had to work from was the original
three books, and since these were clearly incomplete, the guys quickly
reworked the rules.

I eventually became a "dungeon master" myself, and moderated many adventures
into the underground world that I invented.  When I went home for the summer
I introduced my brother and friends to the game, and kept it going.

I say all this to emphasize that I am not a stranger to the game.  I was,
in my opinion, heavilly involved for several years.  I eventually had a
magic-user progress to the 22nd level, in a system where that was 
extremely difficult.

Through my experience, I have formed some opinions as to the popularity of the
game.  D&D has an intense attraction which is due to the involvement of the
player in the character or characters that he is represented by.  These are
sometimes alter egos, sometimes just imaginary friends.  The fact that the
game is so open-ended is fascinating.  You can literally have your character
do ANYTHING that a "real" person with those abilities could do.  This frees
the player from all of the danger of actually engaging in combat, magic, etc.
but gives a whole lot of the thrill, especially to young people or immature
adults.  Generally, the more powerful the player's imagination, the more
intense the gratification, and the more powerfully he can become bound to
the game.

One thing that makes the game fascinating is that you keep the same characters
from game to game.  This makes them familiar characters that you identify
with and project through.  As you continue to survive campaigns, you accumulate
experience, and for all characters, this means increased POWER in ways
particular to the class of character.  This increase of power means that the
character becomes ever more valuable, not just to the campaign, but since
the character will strengthen the party, the other players find the one who
owns the powerful character ever more important to them personally.  Thus
people can easily find that their own feelings of self-worth are tied to the
value that their characters are to the party.

Now I saw all of this happen, not only to myself, but to many other people at
CalTech.  People got swept into the game, and became inextricably fixed, 
without the power to drop it.  It provided an artificial success and a set of
peers that would give acceptance on grounds completely different from normal
human relationships.  I have seen it ruin grade point averages and isolate
people in an imaginary world.  I myself remember saying one night to some of
my friends, after a game that had gone on til the small hours of the morning,
"D&D is a way of life!"  And this was among intelligent, reasonably stable
young adults.

This was in a D&D system where the magic system was made like a kind of
science, where nothing was ever done in connection to real magic.  I have
watched the evolution of D&D as a system with mounting concern and horror
and disgust.  I have seen the rudimentary modeling of medieval clerics and
Biblical miracles in the first three books transformed into detailed 
involvement in the most pagan and Satanic rituals possible, with all the
world's most debased idolatry exalted to normalcy, even required for play.

And here we come to a point that may stir considerable debate, but I still
feel compelled to make.  And that is that there is a real realm of the spirit,
where some things exist that most people disregard as nonsense.  I warn you,
that there is a conflict going on today that is throughout the entire earth,
but is invisible to the physical eyes.  There is a general insurrection against
the just rule of God, and that insurrection is led by the fallen angel Satan.
This is what is described by the following verse:

    "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
     prinicipalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
     darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
     in the heavenly places."  - Ephesians 6:12

This is why, in the end, this is not just a game.  If we were talking about
things that were just not correct to imagine, or which were just inspiring
bad behavior, that would be bad enough.   But when people steep themselves
in these things, even if they would never say that they believed any of it,
"It's just a game!", they open themselves to influences from the spiritual
realm for which they have neither awareness nor defence.  I am not
saying that those who play D&D are possessed by demons.  Some might, but in
general I am talking about an oppression that is less obvious but nonetheless
real.  The kinds of gods and such that are talked about in modern D&D are
actual names in many cases of evil spirits that exist and work their darkness
in human minds today, anywhere they can find an entrance.  I warn you
seriously, if you play D&D, you are playing with fire.  You are dealing with
things which have a reality beyond what you know.  And they are not good
entities, but evil, plotting your destruction and enslavement in whatever
way they can.

Most of us can still walk away from the game if we want to.  There may be some
reading this that are not able to, either from force of habit or some dark
effect which bonds you to the game where you cannot stop.  Jesus is the 
answer.  In His cross, Jesus defeated all powers and principalities (biblical
names for demons) and made a show of them, disgracing them in Jesus's total
victory over them.  Call on Jesus, and He will deliver you.  All believers
have been given complete authority over all spiritual darkness.  I now exercise
that authority.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I now bind and compell all
evil spirits which are oppressing, influencing or possessing the minds or
spirits of those reading this to immediately cease all such activity, leave 
those people so afflicted and never return to afflict them again.  In the
name of Jesus, begone and do not return.

If you are playing D&D, I advise you to stop.  If you are thinking of starting,
I advise you not to.  There is nothing positive that you can get through it
that you cannot get through far more healthy ways, like making real friends by
being yourself, not some imaginary character.  Life is far more exciting than
the dark dungeons anyways.  The wildest things you have ever seen there do
not in any way compare with the excitement of knowing Jesus!  He is infinitely
more fulfilling.  And He loves you, which is something you will never get from
D&D.  You may get the acceptance of your peers, but that is only conditional
on your contributing to *their* fun and welfare.  Jesus loves you
unconditionally.  The Bible says, "He will keep you in perfect peace, if you
keep your mind stayed on Him."  That's a whole lot better than keeping your
mind on darkness!

-- 

Peter Homeier                                  ______
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