Just thought I would copy the e-mail I sent to the writer of the article on Chick's site. Not like it'll actually matter....lol
Mr. Schnoebelen, I'm writing you in regards to your article on christians playing Dungeons and Dragons. One of my hobbies is role-playing games, including Dungeons and Dragons. I'm sure that you are a well versed man when it comes to religion and the teachings of the bible, but I am afraid you are poorly misinformed when it comes to role-playing games.
I consider myself, as do others, as a good person. I'm married, I serve the people of my community as a firefighter, I have a strong belief in God and his laws, and still, I feel very comfortable, spiritually speaking, with my enjoyment of role-playing games. I don't understand your discontent, or the discontent of so-called christian leaders with these types of games. I'm sure that you and others that speak out against role-playing games, feel that you are spreading a message, or the truth, in the name of God. That is very comendable and I thank you for looking out for my spiritual well being.
The problem with what I'm seeing and hearing from articles like your's, is that it simply isn't true. I would hope that a professional writer would certainly research a topic before he prints a story on the subject. In this case, I find it very hard to believe that you did that. There are probably those out there that have had bad experiences with role-playing games, or have misunderstood the point behind playing them, but these are isolated events and shouldn't represent the gaming community as a whole. I have read publications on this topic numerous times and I find them grossly over exaggerated and based in falsehood. I assure you that no game I have ever participated in or even heard of, involved actual witchcraft, rituals, or satanic worship.
You have described magic as a "kind of spiritual lust...It is, however subtle, an itch for power. Magic, at its root, is about power and about rebellion. It is about not liking how God runs the universe and thinking you can do a better job yourself." This would pertain to people who play Dungeons and Dragons IF we were really trying to perform magic, but we're not. You have also said, "This is not just chess, football or bridge. This is a game that envelops the player in an entirely different fantasy world in which the power of magic and violence is pervasive. It is a game with a distinct and seductive spiritual worldview that is diametrically opposed to the Bible." The truth is, I AM enveloped in a world of violence, it's called REAL life. When I turn on the news at 10 o'clock and read the paper in the morning I am surrounded by violence. What is a "seductive spirtual worldview"? You say that as if the creators of Dungeons and Dragons are inviting people to adopt the spirituality of the game into their real lives. That is just ridiculous.
If anyone has ever adopted the spiritual views of their character from a game, into reality, then someone needs to address whatever made them so unstable in the first place. The same could be said about Superman comics. If someone actually started to believe that they were Superman and that Krypton was a real place, would the public blame the creators of Superman or speak out against all who read it. No, they would accept the fact that this person isn't stable and address that problem. You might be thinking that the comparison between the two isn't appropriate. On some levels maybe not, but as a whole it's very appropriate. A normal person can distinguish between reality and fiction. Superman and Dungeons and Dragons are both fiction and not meant to be an alternate belief system.
To be fair, I can only speak for myself and those I play with when I say, the reason we play role-playing games is for entertainment. Not because we believe that God isn't doing a good job and we think we can do better. It's an escape from reality, from the pressures of life, from work, and from bills. The same as watching football on sunday and hating it when your wife keeps wanting to talk to you during the game. It's a release. Some people choose drugs and alchohol to achieve the same thing, we choose a safe medium.
I would imagine that what I've said here won't change the way you feel about role-playing games, just as what you say won't change the way I feel. So what I am willing to offer you is a first hand look. I challenge you to come and talk to me and my gaming friends, or to sit in on a game and see what really goes on. Maybe then, we can start to understand one another.
Thank You,
Nick