is D&D evil? Thoughts please

[castlewalls]

I have a friend who I used to game with way back when.... He became a born again (nothing wrong with that...). Unfortunately, I came across this site & sent him the link: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp - thinking he MIGHT get a laugh out of it. The debate started.....

I have been having an online debate with him about how gaming isn't evil. He comes back with quoting scripture,..." The appearance of witchcraft..." that sort of thing.
I asked him why as a former player, he subscribes to that kind of thought and he say's "If I knew then what I know now..."

Your thoughts -
Have you encountered people/friends/family that actually believe that D&D or ANY other kind of RPG is evil?

Have you seen any websites/articles that support that it is evil or support gaming as a good healthy thing?

Please be nice in your response as we all know that many people have become brainwashed by just about anything and everything and we don't wish to insult anyone,... leave that to me. -Jim

 

[Tsyr]

I've met people who thought DnD was evil. My grandmother on my fathers side comes to mind. Generaly I just ignore anything they say on the subject... if I don't I get mad, and I dislike being mad at people that I care about.

Although I can't provide links, I HAVE run into a number of articals both ways on the issue... it's hard not to.

Generaly, the most rational arguements (IE, the ones that don't disolve into "DnD is Satanic because I say it is, and I hate kids having fun with a book other than the bible!") against DnD boil down to the concept that you are "worshiping or at least pretending to worship false gods", and that you are "practicing or pretending to practice magic".

A couple articals I've read (and liked) from religious folks said, essentialy, there is nothing wrong with DnD... As long as you have the will and the ability to keep DnD seperate from reality.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Your thoughts -
Have you encountered people/friends/family that actually believe that D&D or ANY other kind of RPG is evil?

Yes, my uncle does not like it all- and out of respect to him I don't even go near the subject around his 7 kids.

I can't help you with the websites, but if this guy is a former gamer- then this should be simple.

What does he now see wrong about rpg's?

1) That it teachs the people the occult?

Did he learn any occult?

2) It persuades people to do harm to themselves or others?

Did he do any harm? Or witness anyone in the group do harm to themselves or others due to the game?

3) It moves one away from religion?

Well, there are plenty of fantasy writers who were very religious. They were able to roleplay the scenarios out in their mind to put them on paper, but still considered themselves religous people.


I have never understood the difference between an rpg and a community putting on a play. The only major difference is in the rpg- the actors write their own parts and the conclusion is not set in stone.

FD

 

[teitan]

Heh, the occult isn't evil. My butt is more evil than the occult. Noxious gas alert.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Heh, the occult isn't evil. My butt is more evil than the occult. Noxious gas alert.

Yeah, but considering the heinous (hanus?) acts your butt has committed in the past- do you think that is a good comparison?

FD

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well, I grew up in small town Canada (right in the middle of our "bible belt") and witnessed the whole "D&D" is evil thing fairly constantly through the 1980's.

It was just low-grade hysteria. Keep in mind that religious people are not (almost by definition) people who need proof to believe something, so once someone in a position of authority decided that D&D was evil, it was pretty much taken as gospel by the rest of the flock.

I was blessed)) with parents who were not religious in the least and defended me at most every turn (the improvement in my math and english use were both dramatic after after I became involved in D&D, and they weren't going to let that slip away because of the boogeyman).

The "quoting of scripture" when their arguments are falling apart is par for the course, and it's understandable given that saying something like "I believe D&D is evil because I was told to believe it" sounds a lot less impressive than something that begins with "And the Lord did say..."

Ask Samuel L. Jackson's character in Pulp fiction. Quoting scripture can be damn impressive.

It's just not very convincing to people who do need some kind of logical argument.

 

[Dr Midnight]

I had a friend whose mom was a very righteous forefigure in a very conservative religion- I won't say which. She was almost a caricature, she was so anti rock & roll, anti gaming, anti movies... and COMPLETELY misinformed. She was always citing what she'd heard. She'd always threaten to destroy his CDs and game books- they had epic fights over this. Once I actually overheard her tell him that D&D players kill people. "It's true," she said, "Back in the 80's, they killed a bunch of people pretending they were knights or something."

What's odd is that he grew up to be a drug dealer and hardcore raver, with stories of almost getting shot, etc... I sometimes wonder how much more his upbringing contributed to it than gaming.

 

[Gospog]

Castlewalls,

This site may be of interest to you. It's very informative and well-done.

www.theescapist.com

Good luck.

 

[kreynolds]

He became a born again (nothing wrong with that)

Oh yes there is. You're arguing with him about whether or not a role-playing game is evil, aren't you? Besides, ask him why he couldn't get it right the first time.

Have you encountered people/friends/family that actually believe that D&D or ANY other kind of RPG is evil?

Sure. Most of my father's side of the family is devout southern baptist, and there are no misconceptions as to how they feel about D&D. But I could care less what their opinion is, and for 2 reasons.

1) Their opinion is terribly scewed and incomprehensibly jacked up by their religious beliefs, thus it is impossible for them to look at the matter with an objective and fair mind.

2) I'm not a southern baptist.

 

[Terwox]

Yeah.
I ran a game for my cousins, who remembered their families telling them that it was really evil.
Afterwards, one asked me, "So, where was Satan?"
I said "Oh, we'll get to him and the blood sacrifices next time."
It's unrelated, but we haven't had a chance to play since then.

Other than that, I've heard about church leaders who wrote roleplaying games to help teach moral lessons, and having people above them tell them not to use them. Pharasaical scandal I guess -- gateway drug etc, but even then they'd be afraid if they still taught the kids d&d was evil because of its themes. That's somewhat frightening.

I dunno. Ask him if he'd be against a game about, say, playing a pulp detective game set in the normal 1920's. If he's against all that, things that don't deal w/ supernatural themes, he's likely just grasping for things, and doesn't want to listen to you. Likely.