Ever since its conception Dungeon’s & Dragons has taken a lot of heat from the religious community for being “evil”, teaching children voodoo and magic, it has even been blamed for several murders and suicides. I recently read an article on ChristianityToday.com which throws some more fuel on the fire. For those of you who don’t want to read the article (it’s ridiculous anyway) I’ll sum up:
Basically this Christian woman who got hooked on D&D (as Dungeons & Dragons is called) and got really depressed when one of her characters died. She “realized” then that D&D was a negative force in her life and was sapping energy from “healthy, normal” relationships with real people. Blah Blah Blah, you get the picture.
Basically this woman was blaming D&D for her social awkwardness. I have been DM’ing (D&D term for the person who writes the adventures- the Dungeon Master) a group of 5 players including my wife for several months now. Before doing this I had played with some friends who taught us the game, for several months. It is very easy to get caught up in D&D - it’s an escape from reality, which is something many people needs, especially with things being as they are in this world. I feel a person needs to be at a certain intellectual maturity before delving into the world of D&D. It is just a game. It is not to be taken too seriously.
What the religious community is missing out on is the extremely powerful positive forces that are inherent in D&D. First, it involves more than one person, so it is interaction with other human beings - something todays video games cannot offer. I am by nature a quiet, shy person, who does not like to be the center of attention. By DM’ing our D&D sessions I am slowly becoming more and more comfortable talking in front of a group of my peers. D&D also offers a completly maliable world. You can construct the world to be whatever you want it to be. I have lost the site by now, but I once read of a pastor who used D&D to involve teens in the church. he constructed a world in which there was only one God and all powers came from this single God. Rockin! D&D is usually polytheistic, but by making it monotheistic, he is teaching his faith and making it fun for young kids. He had a great site too, completely dispelling all the doubts and fears the religious community had against D&D.
Ok, well that is my geeky rant, I read that article and it just really upset me.
