D & D gods and religion

Garnet FalconDance · 02-20-2002, 02:48 PM

Earlier today I was over in a pagan forum (geesh, now there's a surprise!) and I was reading a thread in which they were discussing 'false witches' vs 'true witches'. Now, the debate was as expected...everyone's personal definitions and experiences with both practitioners and wanna-bes. But what caught my eye was one person's telling of how he had known a person who actually purported to worship a D&D god (or more, not specified)!

Has anyone else heard of this or had a related experience? It was too weird to read--and with the exception of one other person, I seemed to be the only one who actually was into rpgs so that I knew what they were talking about.

Sazerac · 02-20-2002, 02:53 PM

[img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img]

I suggest that person seriously needs to get a life! [img]graemlins/uhoh1.gif[/img] That's the kind of thing that gives regular gamers like us a bad name among the religious lunatic fringe.

Yorick · 02-20-2002, 02:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance:
Earlier today I was over in a pagan forum (geesh, now there's a surprise!) and I was reading a thread in which they were discussing 'false witches' vs 'true witches'. Now, the debate was as expected...everyone's personal definitions and experiences with both practitioners and wanna-bes. But what caught my eye was one person's telling of how he had known a person who actually purported to worship a D&D god (or more, not specified)!

Has anyone else heard of this or had a related experience? It was too weird to read--and with the exception of one other person, I seemed to be the only one who actually was into rpgs so that I knew what they were talking about.

No different than making a carving from wood, and worshiping it as your god I suppose.

Very loopy though I must say.

Hey we could start something! Let's invent a diety!

Y'Ma Har Tsanoya - god of Idiotism. He should be worshipped by banging ones head against a brick wall (physically or mentally) and believing as fact every single thing one reads.

Larry_OHF · 02-20-2002, 02:57 PM

Er...is it just as bad to be studying Tolkien's Elvish Language?

I know people who are quite fluent in it, and I have studied it a bit.

That is not totally the same, but close enough...

Yet, I have never heard of anyone actually worshipping a D&D God, unless they are so into their D&D character, that they start to think themselves into the fantasy world...

Chewbacca · 02-20-2002, 03:30 PM

Hi Garnet, long-time no chat, eh!

Considering Jung's theory of the Archtypes of the collective unconscious in relation to shaman practices of trance to access ones inner-selves it is potentially concievable for an individuals inner guides to take the "form" or "personea" of something that is strongly relevant to that person's individual psyche and social conditioning. A long time d&d player's unconsious may be drawn toward the mythic and symbolic imagery that is afforded by the fantasy setting.

Also I believe the consciuos finding of meaning in "imaginary dieties" to be no different in finding meaning in dietic archtypes typical to the egyptian, greek, norse, celtic, and other "real" mythos that are prevalent to modern shamanic/pagan practices. One may find for themselves, as an individual, a connection to the divine, and I say let them.

anyway just one way of looking at such an interesting topic. As a long time d&d player and trance practioner, I have yet to have any d&d god visions, besides abstract dreams. But I do identify with my characters on many levels and have learned alot about myself by playing the different roles d&d affords. Most of all I learned that the imagination is well worth proliferating! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Garnet FalconDance · 02-20-2002, 03:44 PM

G'kar! My long lost love! How ya been?

Wellll.....I've worked with trance, too and can understand what you're saying. And I would agree with the notion that a serious gamer gets 'into' his or her character as an extension of personality, but it seems to me that this might be a case of someone going a little....loopy. The poster mentioned that what really weirded him out about the person was the fact that he quite seriously insisted that he was some 2000 years old as well as other 'facts'. And since this was on a pagan forum, it's not like anyone was knocking him for believing in as aspect other than the socially recognized 'god'. [img]smile.gif[/img]

'Course, this d&d follower was being severely ridiculed about believing in a game so strongly. ::shakes head:: Now *that* upset me!

Larry, in high school I studied the hobbit language to the point that my bf and I wrote all our letters/notes in hobbit! Don't remember it now, of course, but surely was fun then.

Yorick, I know some devout followers of Y'Ma Har Tsanoya! [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

And finally, Saz. While I could be on the religious fringe, though perhaps not the lunatic, I do agree that such reflect badly on the rest of us.

And I will save everyone the trouble and finish with---I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon!

Yorick · 02-20-2002, 03:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance:
I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon!

But are you in my head? Or on the grass? Got to keep the loonies off the grass!

jabidas · 02-20-2002, 04:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Yorick:

But are you in my head? Or on the grass? Got to keep the loonies off the grass!

Why, let them on the grass, take aim and lots of organic fertilizer. Just need some sort of chemicals to remove the smell.

Lavindathar · 02-20-2002, 05:41 PM

Whoh, this thread has just f**ked my head.

Do you ever get something, where the chances of it happening are 0.00001%?

I say this, as today, I went to a General Studies lesson. And it was on Religion. (I have to say, I was a shining star in the class, I didnt know a thing). Ok, so my religion knowledge sucks. I only know things about Christianity, and we were talking about Buddhism, Islam, all of them.

Then the teacher said :" someone asked me the other day, if it was possible to start their own religion, and the answer is yes".

Now, my thoughts drifted at this part, once again, away from the lesson.

This was established as being stupid, as no1 wud follow it. Then I thought to myself: wait, people could worship the gods of D&D. The God of Tymora, and so on and so forth.

It was just a passing thought, but the chances of seeing a thread on it tonight has messed my head up nice and good...

But I dnt think its that freaky, I suppose it is the same as worshipping any God ..i.e Shiva, Vishnu, Christ. They all started from stories did they not?? No1 can actually prove their existence can they? And they follow a similar suite to Father Xmas...story...

Please, no1 take offence.

Sazerac · 02-20-2002, 05:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance:
G'kar! My long lost love! How ya been?
And finally, Saz. While I could be on the religious fringe, though perhaps not the lunatic, I do agree that such reflect badly on the rest of us.

And I will save everyone the trouble and finish with---I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon!

Aaak!! Garnet, wasn't referring to you in any way, dear...I was thinking of Jack Chick and Pat Pulling and their ilk who go around spreading things like playing D&D will lead to devil worship and the like. All we need is some fruit loop on a forum claiming that s/he worships Bane or Cyric or something like that to add more fuel to their fires.

Actually, I shouldn't pick on poor Jack Chick that much. He is a bloomin' banana, but his psycho-religious comic book tracts are an absolute scream! Among other things, they're likely partly responsible for several trends in Goth fashion.

Cheers,

02-20-2002, 02:48 PM	#1
Garnet FalconDance Mephistopheles Join Date: August 30, 2001 Location: deep within the sylvan splendor.... Age: 60 Posts: 1,443	Earlier today I was over in a pagan forum (geesh, now there's a surprise!) and I was reading a thread in which they were discussing 'false witches' vs 'true witches'. Now, the debate was as expected...everyone's personal definitions and experiences with both practitioners and wanna-bes. But what caught my eye was one person's telling of how he had known a person who actually purported to worship a D&D god (or more, not specified)! Has anyone else heard of this or had a related experience? It was too weird to read--and with the exception of one other person, I seemed to be the only one who actually was into rpgs so that I knew what they were talking about. __________________ "Nature tells every secret once." Ralph Waldo Emerson

02-20-2002, 02:53 PM	#2
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 60 Posts: 7,387	[img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] I suggest that person seriously needs to get a life! [img]graemlins/uhoh1.gif[/img] That's the kind of thing that gives regular gamers like us a bad name among the religious lunatic fringe. __________________ "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..."

02-20-2002, 02:54 PM	#3
Yorick Very Mad Bird Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Breukelen (over the river from New Amsterdam) Age: 52 Posts: 9,246	quote: Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance: Earlier today I was over in a pagan forum (geesh, now there's a surprise!) and I was reading a thread in which they were discussing 'false witches' vs 'true witches'. Now, the debate was as expected...everyone's personal definitions and experiences with both practitioners and wanna-bes. But what caught my eye was one person's telling of how he had known a person who actually purported to worship a D&D god (or more, not specified)! Has anyone else heard of this or had a related experience? It was too weird to read--and with the exception of one other person, I seemed to be the only one who actually was into rpgs so that I knew what they were talking about. No different than making a carving from wood, and worshiping it as your god I suppose. Very loopy though I must say. Hey we could start something! Let's invent a diety! Y'Ma Har Tsanoya - god of Idiotism. He should be worshipped by banging ones head against a brick wall (physically or mentally) and believing as fact every single thing one reads. __________________ http://www.hughwilson.com

02-20-2002, 03:30 PM	#5
Chewbacca Zartan Join Date: July 18, 2001 Location: America, On The Beautiful Earth Age: 50 Posts: 5,373	Hi Garnet, long-time no chat, eh! Considering Jung's theory of the Archtypes of the collective unconscious in relation to shaman practices of trance to access ones inner-selves it is potentially concievable for an individuals inner guides to take the "form" or "personea" of something that is strongly relevant to that person's individual psyche and social conditioning. A long time d&d player's unconsious may be drawn toward the mythic and symbolic imagery that is afforded by the fantasy setting. Also I believe the consciuos finding of meaning in "imaginary dieties" to be no different in finding meaning in dietic archtypes typical to the egyptian, greek, norse, celtic, and other "real" mythos that are prevalent to modern shamanic/pagan practices. One may find for themselves, as an individual, a connection to the divine, and I say let them. anyway just one way of looking at such an interesting topic. As a long time d&d player and trance practioner, I have yet to have any d&d god visions, besides abstract dreams. But I do identify with my characters on many levels and have learned alot about myself by playing the different roles d&d affords. Most of all I learned that the imagination is well worth proliferating! [img]smile.gif[/img] __________________ Support Local Music and Record Stores! Got Liberty?

02-20-2002, 03:44 PM	#6
Garnet FalconDance Mephistopheles Join Date: August 30, 2001 Location: deep within the sylvan splendor.... Age: 60 Posts: 1,443	G'kar! My long lost love! How ya been? Wellll.....I've worked with trance, too and can understand what you're saying. And I would agree with the notion that a serious gamer gets 'into' his or her character as an extension of personality, but it seems to me that this might be a case of someone going a little....loopy. The poster mentioned that what really weirded him out about the person was the fact that he quite seriously insisted that he was some 2000 years old as well as other 'facts'. And since this was on a pagan forum, it's not like anyone was knocking him for believing in as aspect other than the socially recognized 'god'. [img]smile.gif[/img] 'Course, this d&d follower was being severely ridiculed about believing in a game so strongly. ::shakes head:: Now that upset me! Larry, in high school I studied the hobbit language to the point that my bf and I wrote all our letters/notes in hobbit! Don't remember it now, of course, but surely was fun then. Yorick, I know some devout followers of Y'Ma Har Tsanoya! [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] And finally, Saz. While I could be on the religious fringe, though perhaps not the lunatic, I do agree that such reflect badly on the rest of us. And I will save everyone the trouble and finish with---I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon! __________________ "Nature tells every secret once." Ralph Waldo Emerson

02-20-2002, 02:57 PM	#4
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Er...is it just as bad to be studying Tolkien's Elvish Language? I know people who are quite fluent in it, and I have studied it a bit. That is not totally the same, but close enough... Yet, I have never heard of anyone actually worshipping a D&D God, unless they are so into their D&D character, that they start to think themselves into the fantasy world...

02-20-2002, 03:58 PM	#7
Yorick Very Mad Bird Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Breukelen (over the river from New Amsterdam) Age: 52 Posts: 9,246	quote: Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance: I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon! But are you in my head? Or on the grass? Got to keep the loonies off the grass! __________________ http://www.hughwilson.com

02-20-2002, 04:19 PM	#8
jabidas Silver Dragon Join Date: March 14, 2001 Location: Agharti. Mountains of Madness Posts: 1,673	quote: Originally posted by Yorick: But are you in my head? Or on the grass? Got to keep the loonies off the grass! Why, let them on the grass, take aim and lots of organic fertilizer. Just need some sort of chemicals to remove the smell. __________________ <br /><br />Non Serviam.

02-20-2002, 05:41 PM	#9
Lavindathar Harper Join Date: March 21, 2001 Location: Lancs, England Age: 39 Posts: 4,729	Whoh, this thread has just f**ked my head. Do you ever get something, where the chances of it happening are 0.00001%? I say this, as today, I went to a General Studies lesson. And it was on Religion. (I have to say, I was a shining star in the class, I didnt know a thing). Ok, so my religion knowledge sucks. I only know things about Christianity, and we were talking about Buddhism, Islam, all of them. Then the teacher said :" someone asked me the other day, if it was possible to start their own religion, and the answer is yes". Now, my thoughts drifted at this part, once again, away from the lesson. This was established as being stupid, as no1 wud follow it. Then I thought to myself: wait, people could worship the gods of D&D. The God of Tymora, and so on and so forth. It was just a passing thought, but the chances of seeing a thread on it tonight has messed my head up nice and good... But I dnt think its that freaky, I suppose it is the same as worshipping any God ..i.e Shiva, Vishnu, Christ. They all started from stories did they not?? No1 can actually prove their existence can they? And they follow a similar suite to Father Xmas...story... Please, no1 take offence. __________________ =@

02-20-2002, 05:48 PM	#10
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 60 Posts: 7,387	quote: Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance: G'kar! My long lost love! How ya been? And finally, Saz. While I could be on the religious fringe, though perhaps not the lunatic, I do agree that such reflect badly on the rest of us. And I will save everyone the trouble and finish with---I may be a lunatic, but I'm a happy loon! Aaak!! Garnet, wasn't referring to you in any way, dear...I was thinking of Jack Chick and Pat Pulling and their ilk who go around spreading things like playing D&D will lead to devil worship and the like. All we need is some fruit loop on a forum claiming that s/he worships Bane or Cyric or something like that to add more fuel to their fires. Actually, I shouldn't pick on poor Jack Chick that much. He is a bloomin' banana, but his psycho-religious comic book tracts are an absolute scream! Among other things, they're likely partly responsible for several trends in Goth fashion. Cheers, __________________ "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..."

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