Christians and DnD

[Mercule]

So far very few intolerant Unitarians... but give me time.

I've encountered a few. Just like anyone else, some will disagree (or agree to disagree) with you, and some will tell you you're a moron.

 

[Lamoni]

Sigh, it is generalizations like this that show tht Christians aren't the only ones to suffer from intolerance. You might say 'many Christians', or even 'some Christians' and be more accurate. Christians are people, I have run into intolerant Jews, Muslims, Athiests, Christians, Agnostics, and Pagans. (So far very few intolerant Unitarians... but give me time.) And gamers, lots of intolerant gamers. (I have been at a LARP that was held at the same time as a Christian conference, guess which group had members who were screaming epithets at the other...)

You are very right. And I didn't mean to imply that because Christians were 'some' of the least tolerant people around that no one else was intolerant. Because they only make up some of the whole, the rest of the whole comes from every other group. I didn't even mean to imply that all Christians made up the 'some' I mentioned. I have since changed my post. I apologize for my unintended implications.

 

[Turanil]

[RANT MODE]
Can anyone see that the guy may be Christian, may be American, may be a scrawny nerd, may be anything you want, his attacks against D&D are strictly related to his mental illness. The fact that he uses the Christian faith as a justification to his sayings is irrelevant IMO. I am no Chrisitan myself, and usually more prone to see the evils some Christians performed in the past, rather than see what good some other Chrisitans may have done. Nonetheless, we should not accept the justification of this "Chick". That is: not accept that he uses Christianity (or anything else) to justify his opinions which are not so opinions but the insane babbling of someone affected with mental illness.

Next time you meet someone telling the same kind of insanities, don't discuss about religion and tolerance, because it is irrelevant. Just politely tell such people that they suffer from some form of mental illness, and that they should tell their stories to a psychiatrist rather than you.
[/RANT MODE]

 

[Torm]

that said it sticks in my mind that FR contains maybe half a dozen real world Finnish deities*, plus at least one Roman** (and of course the Mulhorandi pantheon is the Egyptian one)

Right. THAT was what I meant by "real" - really believed in by real people, as opposed to invented for a work of fiction. (Although, some of those gods have attained REAL followings as well....)

The fact that Tyr is one of my patron gods IRL was completely beside the point.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

You are very right. And I didn't mean to imply that because Christians were 'some' of the least tolerant people around that no one else was intolerant. Because they only make up some of the whole, the rest of the whole comes from every other group. I didn't even mean to imply that all Christians made up the 'some' I mentioned. I have since changed my post. I apologize for my unintended implications.

Thank you.

The Auld Grump

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I like Lasagna.

It's really quite yummy.

Some folks like it with Eggplant, but I prefer ground beef. The amount of Ricotta to be used is a point of debate, of course, and whether to use those precooked noodles or not.

Some folks prefere Manicotti, and don't even like Lasagna.

Heck, some folks doen't even like pasta.

Me, I really like Lasagna.

Like I said: it's yummy.

*Gobble Snarf Munch*

What was the question again?

The Auld Grump, omnivore means 'all eater'... and I'm an omnivore...

 

[MerakSpielman]

I think, as a Wiccan, I am at least as insulted by this tract as most of the good Christian folk who read it.

Though I have hypothosized that the recent (past century) trend towards the mystical, imaginative, fantastic, and/or magical is a subconsious psycological rebellion against the increased influence of science and rationalism in our daily lives.

 

[Torm]

Though I have hypothosized that the recent (past century) trend towards the mystical, imaginative, fantastic, and/or magical is a subconsious psycological rebellion against the increased influence of science and rationalism in our daily lives.

I think its more likely that there has been a resurgence in the public awareness of these faiths based on increased religious freedom. (As you're probably aware, it was still a crime punishable by death in Britain to be a witch up into the 1950s, and the Governor's Order making it a Missourian's "duty" to shoot Mormons on sight was not repealed until the 70s.)

It also helped that key people realized that there was MONEY to be made with these alternate faiths - money not controlled by an established Church. Anton Lavey (Church of Satan), L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), Gerrald Gardiner (Modern Wicca), and several other founders of New Age faiths were all well acquainted with one another, and Avon (yes, the makeup people) actually paid for the authoring of the Satanic Bible due to the rise in interest in the occult - seemed like it would make them money.

I'm not saying there's no validity to any of what the aforementioned men wrote - just that they mostly nicked their ideas from stuff that had been around the whole time, just more underground than it had finally been allowed to be.

 

[WayneLigon]

Though I have hypothosized that the recent (past century) trend towards the mystical, imaginative, fantastic, and/or magical is a subconsious psycological rebellion against the increased influence of science and rationalism in our daily lives.

I wish I could find the source but I have seen something relating popular TV shows to periods of 'unrest' in the US and the world; it found that as the general perception of the US/World moves towards 'unrest' that TV shows with more escapist themes become popular. I don't think we really have a long enough trial period to establish that as fact but it made a strong correlation between the Vietnam War/Civil unrest at home to the upswing in popularity of fantasy shows like 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Bewitched'.

 

[FCWesel]

Please clarify. It seems you are applying a negative stereotype to sports fans. I'm willing to bet you didn't mean it that way, but your post seems to paint sport fans as idiots who neglect family, religion, and their jobs, all in the name of fandom.

However, the point is well taken that being a fanatic about <you name it>, can impact other aspects of your life in a negative manner.

Well, extreme or fanatical sports fans DO do that, yes. And since we were talking about "extremes"...

Are all sports fan's idiot fanatics? No, of course not. Are extreme or fanatical sports fans idiots. Absolulty, yes. Pretty much in the manner that "any extremist is an idiot".

Average sports fans on the whole are fine...hey, everyone has their own way they want to waste their spare time, and that's all good...but mainstream-sports fanatics of any one given sport are far more dangerous and are in greater numbers to others and or themselves in general then all of the roleplaying folk combined.

Yet, sports (even sports like poker, which I love to watch and play) is okay where D&D is the devil's tool...