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