Resident fundamentalist extremist, Pat Robertson, made some interesting statements about video gaming and RPGs in a recent episode of his TV show, the 700 Club. During a segment when he fields letters and emails from viewers, one wrote in and asked if it’s ‘safe’ for a Christian to enjoy video games with magic in them if that person isn’t practicing the magic.
Mr. Robertson had this to say:
The idea here isn’t how close can I get to danger but how far away can I stay from it? I don’t know what game you’re talking about. I know of one game called Dungeons and Dragons that literally destroyed people’s lives. I mean they got into this thing and it was almost like demonic. I don’t know what game you’re talking about, but if it’s based on magic and the occult and that sort of thing, stay away from it. There are other games you can play, but don’t get into that. Is it wrong or not wrong? I just think we should just flee from evil, period.
You can catch the video of it here as well:
Yep, you read that right, Dungeons & Dragons will LITERALLY destroy your life, just as it has done to countless others because of … well … ummmmm …. magics, and stuffs! Yes! The evil occult and magic will consume your soul and damn you to the fiery pits of Mordor for all eternity because you dared to cast a Magic Missile at an orc! And because you no longer have the ability to tell fact from fiction, you shall carve pentagrams and satanic symbols into your flesh to please and pay tribute to the evil gods that exist only in the realm of the almighty Player’s Handbook and also in an effort to win their favor and bring them over into the real world where they shall reward you with all the power, riches and glory that a soul as truly damned as yours deserves! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
As much as I really hope you’re laughing at the absurdity of that last paragraph, we do need to take it seriously that people like Pat Robertson and those who follow his every word really DO think that Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Final Fantasy and any other piece of entertainment that dares to address ‘magic’ really are of the devil and should be banned. Don’t believe me? Years ago, when the fear of D&D was spreading across the country, book burnings were sponsored here in Utah, and bonfires raged high off the fuel of Player and DM guides. Did it stop kids from playing the game? No, of course not. All it did was make those who still had the books extremely popular with the rest of the teenage gaming community.
When I was a kid, I got into Magic: The Gathering right when it was released. My brothers and I bought a bunch of cards and had a complete blast saving up to buy new packs, trading cards with each other and playing the crap out of that game day in and day out. After a few months, we easily had a few complete sets and were getting pretty good at the game, when a travelling pastor stopped by our church and preached on and on about the demons and evil to be found in this Magic: The Gathering game where the players pretend to be wizards and cast spells. Not only that, but we could learn all about the various places Satan was slumming if we just purchased his book for only $24.99 that would help us root out and get rid of all those nefarious hiding places. My parents picked up the book, and not a week later, all my Magic cards were thrown in the trash. For those who have followed along with Magic since get get go, you are aware that a complete set of the original cards would sell for well over $10k nowadays; a few could help me put a down payment on a house! Needless to say, it’s quite saddening to look back and see such a waste based solely on one person’s witch hunt to eradicate evil where it didn’t exist. Some may be upset with my parents for listening, but I don’t blame them; they were trying to do what they thought was best for their kids — something all parents should do. But it’s due to the fact that people with good intentions listen and take to heart the messages that Pat Robertson and others spew forth that makes them so dangerous.
There’s also the fact that the best way to inspire a kid (especially a teenager) to get into something is to tell them NOT to do it. Why do you think I started reading Harry Potter? Simply because I was told that it was teaching kids witchcraft, and is therefore evil and should be banned. Two things. First, J. K. Rowling is a professing Christian, so I doubt that she is trying to lead kids into a different religion. Second, having studied world religions, including Wicca, there’s a lot more to casting a spell than pointing your wand at something and saying a word in latin. That will have about as much effect as holding your hand out and trying to levitate the remote control over using the Force (and you’ve all done it!).
No one has played D&D and gone out to commit horrible crimes against humanity due to the evil forces found inside the game. If a person goes on a murder spree and then says the game made them do it because that’s what their fake character did, I’m pretty sure the problem was there was already a screw loose in their brain before they even came in contact with a role playing game. Could someone become addicted to D&D? Certainly, but if we want to address addiction problems, then we should include all of them, not just the ones that conveniently fall into your viewpoint.
So why are we not just ignoring what Pat Robertson said and moving on with our lives? Because, as I stated before, people actual listen and buy in to his rhetoric, and that makes them go about blindly repeating something that has no basis in reality and use it to affect our lives. These people write letters to the editor, vote, donate money to political causes, and in some cases, get elected and start writing and passing laws which in turn CAN affect us. The easiest way to destroy their ignorance is with the smallest seed of knowledge, and we owe it to ourselves to be the ones who are ready and willing to be their teachers.
We can also just show them this video which demonstrates what ACTUALLY takes place during a D&D gaming session. I do ask that you remove all minors from the room, and don’t pull it up at work, because it will probably get you fired (thanks to Citizen-Bot for bringing this horror to my attention).