Okay, so a couple of blogs ago I wrote about the antihero and last blog I wrote about demonic creatures, this week I will take it one step further and talk about Dungeons and Dragons, specifically. If you remember, a while ago I wrote my opinion on D&D, but I figured I might as well expound on this subject. Some of this post will pretty much be a regurgitation of what I had said before, and some of it will be new.
So, I have this friend, I view him as a mentor of sorts, though we don't get much time to talk to each other. We were talking about D&D one day, and I remember him telling me about a time that he went with a teenage friend or relative and watched. After gaming, he and - let's call him a relative because I am pretty sure they were related – his relative were discussing the game. In their discussion, my friend had mentioned that he could feel a demonic atmosphere or presence in the room/area as they played the game. Both agreed that it was an uncomfortable situation and my friend explained it as demonic.
Now, I don’t disagree with him that it can be demonic. However I don’t think – nay – I would say it DOESN’T have to be demonic, and it is NOT always demonic. I have been playing for years and years, and not once have I felt a demonic presence in the room or felt a demonic atmosphere. Like I said in the blog post a while back, I’m sure there are groups that may have a demonic influence over the gaming sessions, but I tend to think that is more rare than common.
With that said, I will explain where I think the idea of the game being demonic comes from. I have not really researched it, nor do I care to, but I have heard it said that the creatures and demons that are in the player manuals and monster manuals do actually come from mythology (which they do come from mythology) and actual spirits that religious groups worshiped way back in the day. This may be true….I know the mythology part is true, but I don’t think that the mythological aspect of the game carries demonic spirits with it. If that were true, then it would make sense that these spirits would carry over to public and even private and Christian schools as we study mythology. I don’t think this is the case. The real spirits that may have been worshiped back in the day, I don’t know, but as I said before, I have not felt I should not play it.
The reason I think people – especially the Christian circles – think D&D demonic is that they simply don’t understand how the game works. Many view it as an open door to partnering with Satan and becoming a Satan worshiper. To be honest, that is rubbish. Of all the people I have met playing D&D, I know of only one who claimed to have dabbled in Satanism, she was also a bisexual, ex-church member, and very spiritual. I never asked her, but I’m sure it wasn’t D&D that made her dabble in Satanism – I would dare to say it was “the church.” I digress. The point is that we as Christians tend to condemn that which we don’t understand or fear. Take the Salem witch trials or those ancient scientists who dared to question the church and were killed for heresy. The church has not had the best track record, however, the church is made of people, so it only makes sense that we would screw it up…..but that is where God’s grace comes in. I still digress.
With D&D, specifically, we have deemed it “evil” because of demons and devils, not to mention the name sounds a bit menacing. The use of magic in this game is another big reason Christians tend to think it is evil, but let’s be real. It is a game, and the spells and magic are simply fictional. Most people don’t usually go around chanting the spells to try and get something to catch on fire or think they can do it in real life. It is a world of imagination and adventure, just like reading a book or watching a movie.
D&D with all its devils, demons, and magic is not in and of itself bad, like I say time and time again, God created everything, even our creativity so it stands to reason that of itself it can’t be bad. Sure, it can be corrupted, just like everything….even church and the scriptures…we have all seen it happen. I am sure there are a few who corrupt the game, but for most of us, it is plain and simple fun….well maybe not so simple…..do you know how hard it is to fight 20 Orcs, or a powerful mage, or a 50-foot dragon and survive!?
It looks like I successfully kept from regurgitating from my earlier post. If you want to check out what else I said about D&D check out “Is It Lawful For A Believer To Have Characters Who Use Magic?”
Hope you enjoyed the read….even though it is pretty controversial.