[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Grungi: btw interesting point is why do you play rpg's? my mum is a christian church of england and she hates anything rpg like, anything to do with magic shes not allowed to take part in and once my dad bought home some of his usual crappy christmas (which i do my best not to celebrate in any way, never one for gifts anyway) presents (goes to cheap store and buys whatever he can find so its always interesting [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) he brought what he thought was some game and it turned out to be tarot cards and my mum went mental saying to get them out of the house (my dad is an atheist so didnt know what the problem was) so by dint of this mum could not logon to this forum at all as its a roleplaying site which involves magic so she certainly wouldnt be playing the games . so are rpgs allowed for a southern baptist then? and things like tarot cards and magic you dont care about? doesnt bother you either way? i dont understand my mums reaction because frankly tarot cards are just some cards with stupid markings, if people believe it fair enough but i thought she believed in god and if she does why should cards scare her? work of the devil? well surely if you got your bible at hand and faith to heart who gives a toss about some cards devilwork or not? another thing i find about religious people is they pick the parts they want to be religious about, my mum for example NEVER turns the other cheek in any way shape or form yet shes so fervent about tarot cards, IMO it would be far better for her to let an argument about whose done the cleaning go than get upset over some cards. Far as im concerned if your going to follow a religion then no bullshit about it you follow that religion to the letter otherwise you dont really believe it, you cant pick the parts you like or the parts you dont want, you have to take the lot and believe the lot. All the so called christians i knew at school (went to the societies, were in the paper for all their charity work etc) were the bullies and drug users, some right evil bastards amongst them, yet they go to church every week , how does that work? how can someone have the right to punch me for no reason and insult me again for no reason yet then go to church that week and be accepted as a good christian? definately doesnt work for me and its people like that (95percent of religious people) that give the rest a bad name and the religion itself. again like deep south fervent bible belt types who swear they worship god and are devout christians yet at the same time would kill any black people they see because of their colour? whats that about, do they not read the bible or something about men being brothers? gah is all i can say oh and bah bah bah religion no thanks give me respect, honesty and love any day.

Interesting question about why a Christian can play RPG's. And, I admit that I did have some issues concerning AD&D. However, after years of playing the game, researching the arguments against it, and praying about it...I decided that there is nothing wrong with the game ITSELF. As long as it is kept in the proper perspective. However, as most of you will agree, RPG's are very addictive, and I know some players who played the PnP version of AD&D would get too caught up in the game. There have been published accounts of mostly teens who "acted out" the game in real life. Usually, the results were harmless...but occassionaly it resulted in vandalizing or theft of property and on very rare occassions, even led to murder. While I don't believe the RPG game "made" the players do what they did...I do believe it influenced them.

The other problem I found with AD&D is that it offers at least an "introductary level" glossary of terms associated with the occult. Again, this is not bad by itself, but it could generate an interest in the occult that wasn't there before. That's a pretty thin stretch under the best of circumstances, but the possibility is there. As a Christian, I follow the Bible's admonishment to avoid ALL things associated with the occult. I simply don't believe the "occultic influence" of AD&D is that great. I do have a different view of tarot cards and magic. Tarot cards are used to "tell fortunes" or "divine the future".....BOTH of these practices are explicitly mentioned in the Bible as pursuits to be avoided at all costs....because the power provided through those practices come from Satan - not God.
BTW, I did give up AD&D for several years. NOT because I felt the game was "evil"...but because the amount of time I spent playing the game, upgrading my characters, are designing my dungeons was having an adverse affect on my church attendance and private worship. This also goes back to the example of Abraham and Isaac I mentioned in my previous post. God expects His followers to place Him first - above ALL else - in our lives. AD&D was clearly becoming more important to me than my relationship with God. That was why I had to give it up...so that I could put it back in it's proper perspective. Of the other people I originally gamed with, only one person had a similar experience. All the others (including other Christians) see absolutely NOTHING wrong with the game in any shape, form, or fashion.

Moving on to the second point in your post...I DO follow my religion completely, at least to the best of my ability. I admit there are areas where I fail. If somebody breaks into my house, they are going to be shot first and asked questions later. I will use lethal force on anybody that threatens the safety of my family. I don't pretend that is the proper Christian attitude. It isn't and I admit that fact. If I were to kill another person, I know I would have to answer for that transgression when I stand before God.

None of us are perfect,Grungi...but fortunately, God doesn't ask us to be perfect. The truly honost Christian will be the first to admit that he/she sins against God on a daily basis in one form or another. God understands our weaknesses and our sinful nature, but His Mercy far surpasses our transgressions. If we sincerely repent and strive to do better, we are forgiven our trangressions.

The operative word there, though, is sincerely. I know too well that there are many "Christians" that behave the same way as the bullies in your schools. While they may be accepted in their church, you can rest assured that their transgressions did NOT go un-noticed by God...and they WILL answer for their actions sooner or later to Him. It is precisely THAT type of behavior that turns so many people away from religion. People who claim to love God and Jesus, yet despise their fellow man because he doesn't agree with them. That was NOT the way Jesus lived His life, and it is NOT the way we are to lead ours...unfortunately, many cloak themselves in "sactimonious self-rightesnous" and act as if they are far better than everyone else. It saddens and sickens me deeply that people can behave like that, yet still claim to be Christian.

The same goes for the bigots and members of the Ku Klux Klan that did kill or attack black people merely because of their skin color. Some of them actually believed the Bible supported their cause...but mis-interpreting the Bible to support a selfish cause is nothing new.

It's a terribly sad truth that it still happens even in this day and age. [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img]