227 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
227 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
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The following article was originally prepared for publica-
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tion in a religious magazine. If you desire more information
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concerning Dungeons and Dragons you will find my address at the
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end of the article.
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KEEPING THE HEART
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Though I have been asked to write concerning a game called
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Dungeons and Dragons, I believe that it is necessary to extend
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our remarks beyond the game. We will show that Dungeons and
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Dragons is a game which is devilish, and it should not be played.
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At the same time, we will direct our remarks so that they will
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cover all games and mental activities which are forbidden by
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God's Word. Playing Dungeons and Dragons is not the problem, it
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is a symptom of the problem. When a person goes to the doctor
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with a piercing pain in his right side, the pain is not the prob-
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lem. The pain is a symptom of the problem. This is what we mean
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when we say that playing Dungeons and Dragons is not the problem.
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As the title of this article suggests, the problem is in the
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heart. If the heart is kept in the way of God, there will not be
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a problem of someone becoming involved in practicing wrong
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things.
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Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for
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out of it are the issues of life." And Proverbs 23:7a states,
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"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." These passages
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teach us that what we do reflects what is in our hearts. There-
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fore, if our hearts are right, we will not be involved in things
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that are displeasing to God. And if we are doing things which
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are displeasing to God, we will be participating in activities
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that affect our desires. Thomas Manton said, "Desires are the
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most vigorous faculties, they carry the whole soul along with
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them. They will take up your thoughts, time, care, endeavours,
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speeches. . . . Our thoughts will be conversant about what we
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desire. We love to feed upon the sweet of those things that we
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long for,--to enjoy them in our meditations before we really and
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actually enjoy them. Thoughts are the pulses of the heart, you
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may know by them how it beats. When desires are at a high pitch,
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we shall not be able to put off those pleasing imaginations that
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concern the object of these desires. Nay, they will haunt the
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mind in the time of our usual repose and rest." (Vol. 3, p.
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238.) Please keep these things in mind as we study about
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Dungeons and Dragons.
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WHY THIS GAME IS WRONG
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Dungeons and Dragons is a game which involves the heart
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(soul) of the individual who is playing it. Gary Gygax, the man
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who invented Dungeons and Dragons, said, "You have to pursue
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Dungeons and Dragons with your entire soul if you're going to do
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well at it." God tells us that we are to love Him and His Word
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with our entire souls (Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Luke 10:27). It is
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rebellion to God to turn ourselves over to anything that is con-
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trary to the Bible. Since we are to love Him with all of our
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heart, soul, mind, body and strength, we should not play a game
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that requires us to commit our "entire soul" to it. Since David
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was a man after God's "own heart" (Acts 13:22), let us follow his
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heart's desire as expressed in Psalm 141:4: "Incline not my
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heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that
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work iniquity: and let me not eat of their danties."
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Before howing what is involved in playing Dungeons and
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Dragons, let us see what God's Word says. We will see that
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Dungeons and Dragons is clearly condemned by God's Word. Deuter-
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onomy 18:9-13 states, "When thou art come into the land which
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the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after
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abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among
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you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through
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the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
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an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with
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fimiliar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do
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these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of
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these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from be-
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fore thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." This
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passage clearly teaches that those who practice these things
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"are an abomination unto the Lord." When we study the meaning of
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all the things listed in the passage, we see that all forms of
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witchcraft and sorcery are condemned: horoscopes; Ouija boards;
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palm readers; fortune tellers; psychics; etc. According to their
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own publications, Dungeons and Dragons is a game of sorcery.
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"Swords and sorcery best describes what this game is all
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about for those are the two key fantasy ingredients. Advanced
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Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy game of role-playing which
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relies upon the imagination of participants, for it is certainly
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make believe, yet it is so interesting, so challenging, so mind-
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unleasing that it comes near reality" (_D & D Handbook_, p. 7).
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"Most spells have a verbal component and so must be uttered"
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(_D & D Players Handbook_, p. 40).
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"Magic users draw upon arcane powers in order to exercise
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their profession . . . He or she must memorize and prepare for
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the use of each spell, and its casting makes it necessary to
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reabsorb the incantation by consulting the proper book of spells
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. . ." (_D & D Players Handbook_, p. 25).
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We can see already see that Dungeons and Dragons is a game
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of serious consequences. It is a game which is associated with
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magic, witchcraft and other devilish practices. But the game
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goes deeper into wickedness than what has been shown. Here are
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more quotes from their books to prove this.
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"The spell caster should be required to show you what form
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of protective inscription he or she has used when the spell is
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cast. . . . Pictures of a magic circle, pentagram, and
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thaumaturgic triangle" (_Dungeon Masters Guide_, p. 42).
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"Serving a deity is a significant part of D & D, and all
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player characters should have a patron god. Alignment assumes
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its full importance when ties to the worship of a deity" (_Deities
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& Demigods_, Instruction Manual, p. 5.
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Many more quotes could be given to show that playing this
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game involves casting spells, worshiping false gods and Satan,
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death, human sacrifice, murder, cannibalism, and other wicked and
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ungodly practices. (If the reader desires to have these quotes
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he can contact me and I will send it to him.) Further, we desire
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to show that Dungeons and Dragons has so influenced the lives of
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some that they have transformed the game to their daily lives.
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I trust that we have shown that we should keep our hearts
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with all diligence lest we become involved with wicked prac-
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tices. Also, I believe that it has been clearly demonstrated
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that Dungeons and Dragons should be avoided.
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This game has influenced some to commit wicked and ungodly
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acts in society. In _The Wichita Eagle-Beacon_, Saturday, March
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30, 1985, an Associated Press story began as follows: "Colby -
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The board game 'Dungeons and Dragons' helped prompt the crime
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spree that left four dead and four wounded in northwest Kansas
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last month, one of the suspects said in a report published Fri-
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day.
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"In a jail house interview Thursday with the Detroit News in
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Colby, where three suspects were bound over for trial, Daniel
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Remeta mentioned the name of the fantasy board game when asked
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about the spree." The article quotes Remeta as saying, "I've got
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five friends that are locked up for the same thing right now (be-
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cause of the game)." The paper stated that one of Remeta's
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friends was James Gainforth. He was convicted of killing a clerk
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at a gas station south of Traverse City. The article further
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stated, "Remeta gave the newspaper a hand-written note that read,
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in part:
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I now hear the hiss of my dragon's rage
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For he too is locked into a cage
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He'll patiently wait for another to rise like me
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He'll be fed and again shall rise ever so free
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The game another shall carry on for we can't all fall
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My treasure is becoming part of the dragon forever
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Many shall die who strive to find our hidden treasure
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But someone shall play our game for all do seek a
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treasure.
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In conclusion the article said, "Remeta told the newspaper
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he wanted to be executed.
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"'I do want the death penalty,' he said. 'I can't see my-
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self . . . maybe it's better that way.'"
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Lisa Dunn, James Hunter and Remeta were "bound over for
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trial on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping,
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aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, aggravated
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battery and aggravated robbery."
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The Memphis, Tenn., _Commerical Appeal_, Monday, July 8,
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1985, gave an AP story concerning three youths who killed a 26-
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year-old mother and convenience store cashier in Ragland, Ala.
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The suspects were Cayce Moore (17), Scott Davis (17) and Chris
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White (14). The article related that they "were considered
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good, all-American boys, only children from fine families.
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Clean-cut, polite, intelligent." The paper said that
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classmates contributed the bond between the boys to "Dungeons
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and Dragons."
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In a 1985 _Los Angeles Times_ syndicated story by Paul Har-
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vey, the following examples are given. "In Washington State,
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Michael Dempsey, 15, shot himself in the head, dead. His
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parents said he had 'evoked demons' from a game he was playing,
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a game called 'Dungeons and Dragons.'
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"In the months since, half a dozen suicides in Dallas have
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been blamed on the game.
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"Last September the body of a bright California boy washed
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up on a San Francisco beach, apparently a suicide.
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"Last November a Colorado boy, age 12, shot to death his
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16-year-old brother and then himself.
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"Two days later in suburan Chicago a boy and girl, 17, ran
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the family car in a closed garage, killed themselves."
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Harvey noted that Howard Witt, of the _Chicago Tribune_,
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"discovered that each of these victims had been an avid player
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of 'Dungeons and Dragons.'"
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Many such cases could be given to illustrate the danger of
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playing this game. _Newsweek_, September 9, 1985, after relating
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a suicide of two teen-agers said, "In both cases--and in some
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50 other instances of teen-age deaths--the National Coalition
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on Television Violence and other critics link the aberrant be-
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havior to an obsession that took up as much as 40 hours a week.
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An obsession with a game: Dungeons & Dragons." The article
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gives further information which shows the far-reaching con-
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seqences of this wicked game. It stated that the Association
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for Gifted-Creative Children not only endorses the game, but
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that it said that D&D encourages the reading of such writers as
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Tolkien and Isaac Asimov. _Newsweek_ said that Steven Spielberg,
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the director of the movie "E.T.," used it to" test children's
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role-playing abilities in casting." The article said that the
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psychologist, Dr. Joyce Brothers, "sees no harm in D & D per
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se, provided it doesn't become an obsession." However, Dr.
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Brothers was formally a consultant of TSR Hobbies, Inc., the
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manufacturer of D & D.
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The above shows that Dungeons & Dragons not only reaches
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across the nation, but encourages the reading and watching of
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science fiction (which is in itself wicked). It is further
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seen that this game has invaded the state school system through
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the Association for Gifted-Creative Children. Without doubt
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this is to be avoided. Listen to the wisdom of God's Word:
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"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way
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of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn form it, and pass
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away" (Prov. 4:14-15).
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We will conclude by reminding you that we should keep our
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hearts in the way of righteousness. By doing this we will be
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delivered from much wickedness of the world, and we will not be
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attracted to such games as D & D. The Scriptures teach that
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what we do reflects what is in our hearts (Proverbs 23:7a).
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Therefore, if our hearts are right, we will not be involved in
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things that are displeasing to God. "Keep thy heart with all
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diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs
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4:23).
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Jimmy Barber
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July, 1987
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Copyright, 1991, Veritas Publications
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829 Angelina Place
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Memphis, TN 38122-5417
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