D&D Still Satanic? "So my mom threw away all my D&D books..."

[Katana_Geldar]

I'd bought both Heroes of Shadow and Paizo's Inner Sea Guide and had both of them on my desk (well I was flipping through the ISG) and my mom came in and asked how my day went. I told her it went great I finally got the two books I'd been waiting for.

So she starts flipping through my Heroes of Shadow and suddenly sees stuff like Soul Sacrifice and Shadow Sponsorship and things like that in big scary letters and she just freaks out. She starts yelling at me about how D&D is satanic and that I've been lying to her all along about it.

She took all of my d&d books and put them in a cardboard box out front for anyone to take =( It was gone this morning. That was over a 1000 dollars gone. I know WotC has no interest in turning our souls over to Satan (afterall they wouldn't see any profit in it, so why bother?) but couldn't they have hidden the darker themes of the book deeper inside it or something? I'm sorry. I know it's not WotC's fault. I'm just mad and looking for a target.

I really feel for this guy

...

I thought this sort of thing died out in the 80's.

 

[HeavensThunderHammer]

Further in that thread, he mentions luckily, that his friend grabbed all of the books for him.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As long as there are religious conservatives who don't want to listen to counter-assertions, this will continue for RPGs, as well as other forms of entertainment like certain novels (including classics of literature) and music (especially "fringe" genres like metal).

Not dissing religion per se- I'm a practicing Catholic, after all- but that's generally where this particular conflict arises- other cultural/ethical/moral/faith positions have their own unique bugbears about which they will not hear dissent. IOW, its not religion but that whole "unwilling to listen" thing that is the issue. I had my own "battle" with my parents (and some other relatives and mentors) over RPGs and metal back in the original "Satanic Panic" of the 80s and 90s. However, most- but not all- were willing to listen to what I had to say.

That, plus the fact that I was a PRACTICING Catholic got me past all that without loss of game or albums. I even established a gaming club at my Catholic private HS. No Monks pitched a fit, nor struck wrists with rulers over it.

 

[Dykstrav]

I thought this sort of thing died out in the 80's.

Nope. My father had a baptist minister counsel me and do a prayer session over the eternal fate of my soul in the mid-nineties (and also threw out all of my 1E and 2E material). He went to his grave believing that his church wouldn't grant him a deacon position because I had played the game. A radio show called Adventures in Odyssey still broadcasts an episode designed to "warn" children and their parents about fantasy role-playing games--I heard this episode as late as last year... Whit's End - Castles & Cauldrons, I

You can't really reason with people about things like this. They've already decided what they believe and will selectively ignore any fact that doesn't support it. Since ENWorld has a direct policy against discussing religion, I'll leave it at that. Suffice to say that I'm an active Christian myself and things like this, unfortunately, don't surprise me.

I know that it's not a popular stance, but I also believe that a parent has every right in the world to decide what their children can and cannot be involved in while that child is living with them. I spent five years rebuilding my 1E and 2E library after leaving my parent's house... It certainly sucks, but at least there's eBay and other online merchants to help with that once the OP gets out on their own and can play all the RPGs they want.

 

[billd91]

Satanic as it ever was... which is not particularly Satanic, admittedly.

Where is this guy posting from? I ask because (aside from the dollar amount) most of the testimonials I've seen about this lately have been in Australia. I wonder if there's been a localized religious backlash against D&D there that isn't as fresh in other parts of the world.

 

[Katana_Geldar]

He's posting from the US or Canada undoubtedly as he uses the word "Mom".

 

[pawsplay]

I know that it's not a popular stance, but I also believe that a parent has every right in the world to decide what their children can and cannot be involved in while that child is living with them.

I agree. But I also agree that a child has every right, in turn, to lie to their parents and disobey them.

 

[Dykstrav]

I agree. But I also agree that a child has every right, in turn, to lie to their parents and disobey them.

I don't know if it's necessarily a "right" to lie, per se, but I'd certainly expect it. It's a perfectly reasonable response under the circumstances. I know that my own D&D games didn't miss a session because of what my father did. I never directly lied to him about it... He never brought it up again. If he'd asked me, I wouldn't have lie about it. I think he knew but went into denial after that. I don't see as I have anything to lie about--I'm not doing anything wrong, so if I lied about it, that'd reinforce the idea that it is something to be ashamed of. Hell with that. I just stopped doing it in his house and that was it.

For what it's worth, I wasn't allowed to date whatsoever or attend parties or any type of gathering without his direct supervision. I managed to get around entirely under the radar. I didn't ever really lie, I just learned to be exceedingly subtle and have a poker face. I never gave him a reason to think I was up to something.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

Whatever.

Harry Potter is WAAAY more satanic than D&D.


http://www.exposingsatanism.org/harrypotter.htm



BAN HARRY POTTER!





(Point being, that people who react before thinking often have ill thought reactions...go figure.)

 

[pawsplay]

I don't know if it's necessarily a "right" to lie, per se, but I'd certainly expect it. It's a perfectly reasonable response under the circumstances.

Certainly, if a parent is incapable of seeing to their child's well-being, that child, if they have the ability, must see to their own.