Gary Gygax and Religion

[M.T. Black]

Something a bit different to my usual questions about empty rooms and wizard towers...

I was reading the wiki page on Gary Gygax today, and it suggested he was quite religious. I was curious, and did a bit of googling. I was only able to find two pieces of "primary source" evidence -

A letter from Gygax written in 1969 where he identifies himself as a Christian (Jon Peterson, who I trust, specifies Gygax was a Jehovah's Witness at this time) [click here]

A letter purportedly written by Gygax just before he died, stating he had "found Jesus Christ" (but the link with the source is now dead) [click here]

I was wondering if anyone had anymore information (with sources)? This is purely a curiosity thing.

 

[M.T. Black]

I've now found a link to the source of the second quote in the Wayback Machine [click here]. The source of the quote is Michael Gross - not sure if anyone knows him or not.

 

[Celebrim]

By his own testimony and the litter of his philosophy in his works, Gary had a complex spiritual journey. You can probably find one period of his life that corresponds to just about any set of beliefs. I know that late in life, he became both more pious, and if I may use the word more orthodox, and at the same time more reticent about speaking about his beliefs in part because of the detritus of that aforementioned questing life.

I don't have any documentation for you, but if you are really curious I'd suggest reaching out to Derek White at http://geekpreacher.org/. I understand he and Gary had some contact.

 

[darjr]

That sounds.... Very interesting. It's the first time I've heard of such a broad spectrum of belief by Mr. Gygax.

 

[M.T. Black]

Thanks Celebrim - very helpful as always. I'd also heard that Gygax wanted to keep his religious beliefs private because of the residue of the whole "satanic panic" thing (which is what got me interested in this topic in the first place). But I haven't seen any strong evidence to support this idea.

 

[Celebrim]

I'd also heard that Gygax wanted to keep his religious beliefs private because of the residue of the whole "satanic panic" thing (which is what got me interested in this topic in the first place).

Unlike many of the EnWorld posters, especially the older ones, I never actually knew Gygax. But, that's what I've been told as well, and I've no reason to doubt its veracity.

I could speculate on his thinking, but it probably would be better to speak to people he knew.

 

[Brandegoris]

Something a bit different to my usual questions about empty rooms and wizard towers...

I was reading the wiki page on Gary Gygax today, and it suggested he was quite religious. I was curious, and did a bit of googling. I was only able to find two pieces of "primary source" evidence -

A letter from Gygax written in 1969 where he identifies himself as a Christian (Jon Peterson, who I trust, specifies Gygax was a Jehovah's Witness at this time) [click here]

A letter purportedly written by Gygax just before he died, stating he had "found Jesus Christ" (but the link with the source is now dead) [click here]

I was wondering if anyone had anymore information (with sources)? This is purely a curiosity thing.

I DO have more info...
When he passed away he was a 15th level Cleric and had just learned Mass Heal.
He was purported to have fed the entire county of Gohndaharn by turning rocks into Fish and Root beer into Wine.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Peterson is probably the gold standard for authoritative sources, but Witwer’s Empire of Imagination is pretty well-cited, and I think has some references to his beliefs.

 

[Mad_Jack]

Yeah, Witwer's book talks about Gary's faith a bit as well. Gygax had a few spots over the years where he wasn't quite as "pious" (the man partied like a rockstar in the 80's), but he always maintained his faith as a Jehovah's Witness...

 

[Henry]

I want to say he made references to his faith in some of the old Q&A threads in the ENWorld Archives, but i'm not certain.

I can't find what I was looking for, but:

There's an email from Gary that former Site admin Eric Noah reposted on a health update:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?83690-Gary-Gygax-health-update&highlight=Jehovah

For anyone who doesn't know Eric, Morrus would certainly vouch for him, and I'm 100% percent sure that was from Gary at the time, myself.