D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ophelia23
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
O

Ophelia23

Guest
So, I am honestly curious to know this because I have read conflicting answers regarding this question. Where does the Church stand on participating in Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering? I was raised to believe they were alright, learned in college that the Church thinks they are NOT alright, and continue to hear both sides of the story.

I ask this because my husband loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. Every week, he gets the guys over to play in the garage. I look forward to it, because it’s a chance for me to make popcorn and watch the Food Network after the little one goes to bed, but I digress. 😃

So, are games like this acceptable, or are they sinful? Or is it not as cut and dry as that?
 
If it is just a game for someone, make believe, fantasy, and does not provide an occasion of sin, it is fine.
 
Ophelia23 said:
So, I am honestly curious to know this because I have read conflicting answers regarding this question. Where does the Church stand on participating in Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering? I was raised to believe they were alright, learned in college that the Church thinks they are NOT alright, and continue to hear both sides of the story.

I ask this because my husband loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. Every week, he gets the guys over to play in the garage. I look forward to it, because it’s a chance for me to make popcorn and watch the Food Network after the little one goes to bed, but I digress. 😃

So, are games like this acceptable, or are they sinful? Or is it not as cut and dry as that?
Click to expand...
I too play, but the church does have issues with such games, Most of us indeed see it as just a game, however, others can be negatively influenced (one only has to remember what happened on a college campus back in the early 80’s - a number of deaths were involved).There are of course issues with the occult and pagan beliefs surrounding such games that are of concern primarily to the church. Sinful, that is debateable but certianly of some concern.
 
Apart from the Biblical Proscriptions listed below, there is a danger in opening your household to other spirits. Nobody thinks evil will come to their house until it does. Once in it often goes after those least able to defend themselves (…the little one’s). You are asking because your gut is telling you something is not ok. Even if he plays at a friends house, spirits can come home with him.

You will know the level of infiltration by the level of resistance you receive if you suggest he stop.

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you." ESV

CCC 2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.
 
off topic, but how does one play, I’d play, but people would call me a nerd :rolleyes: i guess it could humble me 😛
 
CountrySteve said:
off topic, but how does one play, I’d play, but people would call me a nerd :rolleyes: i guess it could humble me 😛
Click to expand...
I have found that people who play the game proudly identify themselves as nerds. 🤓 🙂

But in response to those who have posted so far, it seems that the game is not inherently sinful but that, much like anything else, could become sinful depending on the intent and use. That makes sense.
 
I used to play Dungeons & Dragons as a teen. From my recollection there was nothing ‘occultic’ about it, for the most part it was basic “swords and sorcery” stuff where the sorcery is really just fairy-tale type magic (there was a strong Tolkien influence, in fact one of the races you could choose for your character was “halfling”, i.e. hobbit).

However if you progressed to the advanced levels, some of the monsters you might encounter were actually demons of various types. That was kind of creepy.
 
I didn’t realize D&D was still around. I used to play it over thirtycoughcough years ago.
 
It can be good or bad, depending on how it is played and how often. Obsessively and well, okay LARPING (that’s live action role play for those not in the know) are not all too healthy (unless one is making a fantasy flick or fan flicks and even then they better use their own material or know what IS OR IS NOT allowed in fan flicks via copywrite laws).

I think negative spirits can be attracted IF one becomes obsessed with WHAT they’re not supposed to obsess about. AND THAT CAN INCLUDE CHRISTIANITY OF ANY FORM, AND ANY OTHER NON MAGICAL BASED RELIGION.
 
Ophelia23 said:
I was raised to believe they were alright, learned in college that the Church thinks they are NOT alright, and continue to hear both sides of the story.
Click to expand...
They are not inherently problematic. Has you been able to find an actual Church prohibition against them? I imagine it would be rather difficult to find, especially given that it does not exist.
ChurchSoldier said:
Apart from the Biblical Proscriptions listed below, there is a danger in opening your household to other spirits.
Click to expand...
How is playing Dungeons and Dragons opening one’s household to spirits?
 
Baelor said:
How is playing Dungeons and Dragons opening one’s household to spirits?
Click to expand...
With the use of spells, particularly those that some people decide to copy from actual spell books past and present. While nothing technically can happen of the spell by itself, because only God has power, the ideal of trying to summon something or fighting using these words that were MEANT to TRY and do something can bring in the big bads that WERE originally attracted to the said spells and practicses in the first place.

Of course, knowing fantasy, AND NOT using words, aka play acting negates this to a point. Especially when you refuse to make reality submit to fantasy.

So technically there is a difference between saying words written by spiritually darker people or times, and just telling the story where one says they cast a spell for light, or fire, or whatever.
 
Oh Lord. This is just silly.

You know what the average night of D&D looks like?

youtube.com/watch?v=j1u4oJ8EYy8&feature=relmfu

Seriously, didn’t ya’ll learn anything from the craze in the 80’s when dumb/ignorant people were busy wholesale inventing kooky conspiracies about D&D that turned out to be just that: kooky?

Remember when there were all these “Satanic Cults” and then remember when we found out that about zero of them actually existed? LOL

Long story short, if D&D is leading you down the path of the “Occult” then you have bigger problems you need to face… you should probably start wearing a helmet when you walk down the street.
ZhaneAugustine said:
With the use of spells, particularly those that some people decide to copy from actual spell books past and present…
Click to expand...
People are inventing their own D&D spells now?
 
Ophelia23 said:
But in response to those who have posted so far, it seems that the game is not inherently sinful but that, much like anything else, could become sinful depending on the intent and use. That makes sense.
Click to expand...
I would say that the real sin is the result of being unable to distinguish fantasy and reality. And as someone else so wisely put, if DnD leads one to the occult, it’s a sign of bigger problems that it would make no difference if you replaced DnD with Superman.
ChurchSoldier said:
Apart from the Biblical Proscriptions listed below, there is a danger in opening your household to other spirits. Nobody thinks evil will come to their house until it does. Once in it often goes after those least able to defend themselves (…the little one’s). You are asking because your gut is telling you something is not ok. Even if he plays at a friends house, spirits can come home with him.
Click to expand...
Your statement is based on a false premise which in turn is based on a narrow understanding of what ‘magic’ means nowadays.
ChurchSoldier said:
An interesting link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons
Click to expand...
Oh yesh, very interesting. I’m partial to invocations myself. Although, I tend to separate my alter-egos between DnD and M:tG.

Dungeons and Dragons
Paladin: on white horse These bramble hinder our way! Come my friends! We have little choice but to scale the mounta-
Click to expand...
Warlock (LW): -_- burns everything via a 4d6 Brimstone Blast
Click to expand...
Druid: Gyaagh! Whut are you doing!? You’ll burn the forest! D8
Click to expand...
Sorcerer: Don’t worry. I’ll put it out. :cool: [Translated: I found another loophole and trying a new build :P]
Click to expand...
Magic: The Gathering
WUR Planeswalker: holds up sword Halt in the name of the Law! rides on gryphon
Click to expand...
RUG Planeswalker (LW): rides on dragon Halt this! >B( fires mana-charged comets her way
Click to expand...
 
maltmom said:
I didn’t realize D&D was still around. I used to play it over thirtycoughcough years ago.
Click to expand...
Of course it’s still around–and I still play (in play-by-post format rather than tabletop, though).

The spells are nothing more than a game device for certain character classes in the same way the the sword is a game device for other character classes. No one seems to worry much about the player of a fighter character turning homicidal. Rather, it is just the words “magic” or “spell” that seems to cause some people to lose rationality.

As for fighting demons–well, after all, people are supposed to be playing the good guys (at least, in 2nd ed AD&D which is the edition I still play, the rule book explicitly states that there is nothing heroic about being evil)–and therefore, one’s opponents need to be the bad guys.

Dangers would include spending too much money on rule books, figurines, and such or spending too much time playing the game when one ought to be doing other things. But neither excessive spending of money nor of time are dangers which are unique to D&D.
 
I’ve played DnD. To me it’s like play-acting a character. Just remember it’s a game. I actually use it as a method of trying to develop different personalities for when I’m making my sorry attempts at writing. I can get the personalities, but the writing is the hard part!

I use computer table top instead of play-by-post or real tabletop.
 
Well, I am seeing some posts where people seem to think that players are actually casting real spells. It really is just a game. The spells are not real, nor do they resemble anything real. If I understand right, it’s more like… “I conjure a fireball at you! Mwa ha ha!!” But, I don’t play so I guess I don’t know for sure. 🤷 🙂

In my own discretion, it doesn’t seem like anything harmful or like we are opening our house to evil spirits. But, I will be the first to admit that my discretion is human and often times more wrong than I would like to admit. Answers here seem just as divided as the answers I have always found regarding this, but I really appreciate the post to the apologetics answers from before. It really does appear the Church is not against this game.

For my family, that means the hubby still gets his guy-time, and I still get my home-made popcorn and Food Network alone time after the 2 year old goes to bed. Everybody wins. 👍
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top