Dungeons and dragons

Whateverman

Whateverman

Well-known member
Pathfinder86 said:
Why does it get such stigma from Christian circles?
Click to expand...
I think there are several reasons, some reasonable and some less-so.

Certain kinds of Christianity view anything that talks about demons/devils as automatically evil. No, it's not the same as Christian science, but in the same way, mere mention of these things is seen as bad. A book which details demonic powers - even if only as fantasy - is probably assumed to be glorifying the infernal.

D&D was pretty big amongst pre-teens (and older) when it first appeared, and this group is perceived as vulnerable to influence by evil. This supposed vulnerability is the same reason conservative Christians forced congressional hearings on "porn rock" right around the same time. You can find similar groups attacking entertainment (tv, books, theater, etc) going back for hundreds of years.

There's also the Christian zeitgeist of their religion/worldview being under attack. Anything which runs counter to Christian values undermines those values, and is thus something to be resisted.

I'm in my early 50s, and spent a LOT of time in my early/mid teens playing D&D with my friends. I was aware that this pastime we being demonized by certain religious organizations. Even though we were a (non-Christian) religious family, my parents had common sense, and recognized that the fantasizing was harmless (and even healthy). They sometimes wanted me to be not play as much, but for the most part, they trusted me to know how to differentiate between right/wrong, good/bad.

In the end, I drifted away from D&D in my late teens, and generally have no desire to get back into it again...
 
Hypatia_Alexandria

Hypatia_Alexandria

Well-known member
Whateverman said:
I think there are several reasons, some reasonable and some less-so.

Certain kinds of Christianity view anything that talks about demons/devils as automatically evil. No, it's not the same as Christian science, but in the same way, mere mention of these things is seen as bad. A book which details demonic powers - even if only as fantasy - is probably assumed to be glorifying the infernal.

D&D was pretty big amongst pre-teens (and older) when it first appeared, and this group is perceived as vulnerable to influence by evil. This supposed vulnerability is the same reason conservative Christians forced congressional hearings on "porn rock" right around the same time. You can find similar groups attacking entertainment (tv, books, theater, etc) going back for hundreds of years.

There's also the Christian zeitgeist of their religion/worldview being under attack. Anything which runs counter to Christian values undermines those values, and is thus something to be resisted.

I'm in my early 50s, and spent a LOT of time in my early/mid teens playing D&D with my friends. I was aware that this pastime we being demonized by certain religious organizations. Even though we were a (non-Christian) religious family, my parents had common sense, and recognized that the fantasizing was harmless (and even healthy). They sometimes wanted me to be not play as much, but for the most part, they trusted me to know how to differentiate between right/wrong, good/bad.

In the end, I drifted away from D&D in my late teens, and generally have no desire to get back into it again...
Click to expand...
I played it a few times in my teens. It was fun and whiled away an evening.

I think role playing appeals to many of us and by adopting a character in something like D&D we can harmlessly play out our imaginations. I suppose in some ways it' might be compared to a more grown-up version of the dressing up box. I know that re-enactment games are also very popular.

I would certainly consider such activities no more pernicious than many of today's computer games where extreme violence is actively encouraged.

However, as you have noted, some Christians get upset at anything that refers to magic - look at the furore over J K Rowling's Harry Potter books from some quarters!;)
 
Temujin

Temujin

Well-known member
Hypatia_Alexandria said:
I played it a few times in my teens. It was fun and whiled away an evening.

I think role playing appeals to many of us and by adopting a character in something like D&D we can harmlessly play out our imaginations. I suppose in some ways it' might be compared to a more grown-up version of the dressing up box. I know that re-enactment games are also very popular.

I would certainly consider such activities no more pernicious than many of today's computer games where extreme violence is actively encouraged.

However, as you have noted, some Christians get upset at anything that refers to magic - look at the furore over J K Rowling's Harry Potter books from some quarters!;)
Click to expand...
I suppose the muttering of magic spells is just a bit too close to the experience of the average church service to be comfortable.
 
F

Faithoverbelief

Well-known member
Whateverman said:
I think there are several reasons, some reasonable and some less-so.

Certain kinds of Christianity view anything that talks about demons/devils as automatically evil. No, it's not the same as Christian science, but in the same way, mere mention of these things is seen as bad. A book which details demonic powers - even if only as fantasy - is probably assumed to be glorifying the infernal.

D&D was pretty big amongst pre-teens (and older) when it first appeared, and this group is perceived as vulnerable to influence by evil. This supposed vulnerability is the same reason conservative Christians forced congressional hearings on "porn rock" right around the same time. You can find similar groups attacking entertainment (tv, books, theater, etc) going back for hundreds of years.

There's also the Christian zeitgeist of their religion/worldview being under attack. Anything which runs counter to Christian values undermines those values, and is thus something to be resisted.

I'm in my early 50s, and spent a LOT of time in my early/mid teens playing D&D with my friends. I was aware that this pastime we being demonized by certain religious organizations. Even though we were a (non-Christian) religious family, my parents had common sense, and recognized that the fantasizing was harmless (and even healthy). They sometimes wanted me to be not play as much, but for the most part, they trusted me to know how to differentiate between right/wrong, good/bad.

In the end, I drifted away from D&D in my late teens, and generally have no desire to get back into it again...
Click to expand...
That's a shame 5e d&d is awesome I am in 2 campaigns now☺
 
Whateverman

Whateverman

Well-known member
Ug...

My friends and I are all in our early 50s. We played a lot of D&D when we were back in junior/high school, and then moved away from it once college hit.

Many of us now play music semi-professionally, which means our circle of friends contains people who are much older and much younger than we are - by 20 years in both directions.

One of the younger friends is REALLY excited that we used to play, and wants us to start it up again.

I sorta shudder at the thought....

Nothing against people who continue to play today, but the idea of throwing a dozen orcs at four adults holding pencils paper and oddly-shaped dice just...

Ug...
 
F

Faithoverbelief

Well-known member
Whateverman said:
Ug...

My friends and I are all in our early 50s. We played a lot of D&D when we were back in junior/high school, and then moved away from it once college hit.

Many of us now play music semi-professionally, which means our circle of friends contains people who are much older and much younger than we are - by 20 years in both directions.

One of the younger friends is REALLY excited that we used to play, and wants us to start it up again.

I sorta shudder at the thought....

Nothing against people who continue to play today, but the idea of throwing a dozen orcs at four adults holding pencils paper and oddly-shaped dice just...

Ug...
Click to expand...
You can play online if you want with discord and then use either roll 20 or fantasy grounds. The new 5e system is much more streamlined and simple than 1st edition. Tons more races and lots of cool things to do. I encourage you to check out 5e.
 
Whateverman

Whateverman

Well-known member
That's actually a great idea. I'd thought of looking into the online platform, but had forgotten it until now...
 
Whateverman

Whateverman

Well-known member
Bob1 said:
They have no imagination.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I think it's actually the opposite of that...

Demonic influences are everywhere, according to some Christians. Anything which gets kids to even think about demons, let alone read about them in books is something to be afraid of.

The stigma comes from an overactive imagination :D
 
Bob1

Bob1

Well-known member
Whateverman said:
Honestly, I think it's actually the opposite of that...

Demonic influences are everywhere, according to some Christians. Anything which gets kids to even think about demons, let alone read about them in books is something to be afraid of.

The stigma comes from an overactive imagination :D
Click to expand...
You have a point. They claim the game blurs the lines between fantasy and reality in children... yet THEY are the ones who can't distinguish fantasy from fiction.
 
V

vbj

Active member
Some don't like it. Some do. Some don't care or even know about it. Blanket statements like "Christians don't like X" or "ain't black enough if you don't vote for me" (someone really said that, guess who it was) are generalizations and signs of prejudice.
 
M

mikeT

Well-known member
vbj said:
Some don't like it. Some do. Some don't care or even know about it. Blanket statements like "Christians don't like X" or "ain't black enough if you don't vote for me" (someone really said that, guess who it was) are generalizations and signs of prejudice.
Click to expand...
I suppose that's true.

The problem is the Christians who DON'T care are not the ones doing the speaking; the loudest are the ones who DO care and oppose things like D&D, or homosexuality, or music which talks about sex / demons / evil, etc.

This silence - the Christians who don't care enough to make noise about these issues - gives the illusion that they don't exist. Christians who don't think D&D is a big deal don't stand up and correct their brothers/sister who rail on about Satan influencing our kids, etc. This silence rightly suggests that the Christians who complain about such things represent Christianity.

Are all white people racists? Well, if a black man is lynched, and no white people confront the lynchers, it's a fair assumption that the lynchers represent white people.

You can't just ignore when the people in your group say/do things which mischaracterize other people in your group...
 
Temujin

Temujin

Well-known member
mikeT said:
I suppose that's true.

The problem is the Christians who DON'T care are not the ones doing the speaking; the loudest are the ones who DO care and oppose things like D&D, or homosexuality, or music which talks about sex / demons / evil, etc.

This silence - the Christians who don't care enough to make noise about these issues - gives the illusion that they don't exist. Christians who don't think D&D is a big deal don't stand up and correct their brothers/sister who rail on about Satan influencing our kids, etc. This silence rightly suggests that the Christians who complain about such things represent Christianity.

Are all white people racists? Well, if a black man is lynched, and no white people confront the lynchers, it's a fair assumption that the lynchers represent white people.

You can't just ignore when the people in your group say/do things which mischaracterize other people in your group...
Click to expand...
If you abstain in a vote, you are signalling that you are content with the result, whatever it is. That is what silence means, acquiescence.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top