I'd say your friend had a severe problem distinguishing reality from fantasy.Originally Posted by NovaStorm
Reality: Explore occult practices and end up inviting demons into your life.
Fantasy: Push a button and watch a ficticious character perform the action it was programmed to do.
You didn't know him though, I did. I knew him since the first grade. These problems did not start until he started playing D&D, period.
This does not just apply to D&D, but to anything that you glean such ideas from such as games, books movies etc...
You need to ask yourself what they represent and if you really want to take the risk of having these ideas ingrained into your mind which can have transforming results.
People with personality issues (not your friend per se) can act unreasonable and go downhill for a plethora of reasons. Even people who watch TBN's Word of Faith junk wind up in trouble. I'd bet that there are a few million more insane/broke soccer and sports fananics than guys who pretend to be an elf once a week.
I know the difference, thanks. I began toying with the occult at about age 13 and summoned a demon into my life by fifteen. Let me assure you that video/rpg games or watching movies / listening to rock music cannot hold a candle to the real thing.
You don't need to summon demons to have them find interest in what you are doing or what others are doing. They are pretty capable of seeing a vulnerability and taking advantage of it as such things are presented. It doesn't need to hold a candle to it or what ever your opinion is, it's simply an opportunity that can be taken.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
It's not about pretending one is an elf, it's about pretending one is a murder, a thief, a sorcerer, a witch etc.. playing with concepts of divination, summoning, channeling etc.
My friend didn't have personality issues, as I said he attended church regularly, his father was a minister, he was an A++ student. At least he didn't have such issues until he started playing D&D. That's not the only story I have, either, my friends and I for some reason were prime targets, but no reason getting into those when even the very believable is rejected.
Like I said before, if you slippery-slope your way to doing bad things because of a game, you should stop. It's obvious that your friend had problems when he started stealing to be more like his character -- I'm not denying he should stop playing. But each person has different weaknesses. If we were to stop doing _anything_ that led someone to evil, we'd be sitting in white windowless rooms doing absolutely nothing.
Should never start. Why wait until ones relationship with Christ is on the rocks before one stops... if they even realize it at that point. My friend would never blame D&D and all that for what happened to him, this is delusional stuff, it has a power of its own.
What are the most popular mmogs these days? The ones that are saturated with the Occult appearances. They have a power to suck one it and keep them committed to spending many hours, days, weeks and years involved with obsessively. Sure some people obsess over the ones w/o the Occult appearances in them, but the ones that draw the most dedication to obsession are those that are of such a nature and theme.
Sure, people want to believe that they are super-Christians and that nothing can effect them, but I just don't see that to be true. In most cases, the Christians that are more stable or mature tend to stay away from such things and recognize it for what it is. Anyone that plays such games are effected in one way or another, even if just by a natural influence (rather than demonic) in that naturally humans mimic their surroundings. This is something that all are born with, if you interact with a baby they begin to mimic your actions, and this is something that actually holds true for someone throughout their lives, not even something one really notices consciously.
This is of course why we are to be like Christ, by studying him, because when we start to study other things such as acting like we are casting magic over and over in a game, it does have an effect. I used to encourage others to play such games, buy and give out gift copies of such games to friends and co-workers, I seriously regret ever doing so. I should have been rebuking it and telling people of the dangers of it, but we all get effected to some degree. Kinda makes me feel like I was standing on a street corner handing out tracks for the JW's or something, it's just another lie among many, and a very destructive, overpowering and evil lie at that.
I am not going to say games with magic or violence are for everyone, but where do you draw the line? Stealing over 500 comic books -- something was clearly messed up to begin with. That is not just an "oops" you suddenly do. As soon as you're trying to hide something, you should know it's wrong. 500+ steals, I can guarantee there was some hiding going on...
I guess the point is, you know everything you do. Blaming it on the games you play, and believing that they have some sort of supernatural power, is a total cop out. You have free will, and are in control of your actions. So back to the question of where you draw the line... Everyone has a different line, and you know your line better than anyone else. Cross that line, and it's nobody's fault but your own.
Moist Owlet
If standard is that fake 'magic' is equivalent to real lust, then the line has to be 'dont play any games containing any 'you' at all'...
...board games would be about the only thing that is 'safe'...
Stealing comic books came after/during, not before. Just like it progressed to stealing cars. All error has a starting point which progresses. Sin begets sin.
And you have bible verses to support this? "you know everything you do"? I can lay out a few dozen scripture references that would take that down pretty quickly. The heart is one treacherous thing, this is why we are instructed to study scripture, we just don't automatically know what is right or wrong, that comes from study, reasoning from scripture and the willingness to take instruction form the Holy Ghost and not simply lock him out on certain issues which we can.
The line is easy to place, I just stay away from it, no line in sight... playing with lines tend to lead to compromise. Repentance means to make a 180 degree turn from a thing, it should not even be in visual at that point. The look of witchcraft, murder, rape, adultery etc... worthy of crossing it out in your minds dictionary and have absolutely nothing to do with it at all, not in action or thought. Remember, the devils on this earth have free will as well, and if one allows such things to be ingrained into thought, they have free will to use that against you in hops of destroying you. I don't think it wise to tempt God to save us every time we blindly or deliberately do something that He is against, Jesus did not throw himself down and wait for the Angels to rescue him as Satan encouraged him to do. I don't even think Jesus played balancing games on that edge, either.
Proverbs 23:7
For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
Real, not real, simply imaginative tags you are using to hide the truth.
How does shooting an Alien in a video game equal thinking in one's heart? It's not even about the heart.
Last edited by Bornsinner; September 30th, 2007 at 03:11 PM.
Moist Owlet
Its a distinction with a difference that you insist on not recognizing.
Moist Owlet
Apparantly you have a 'real' hatred toward those aliens you just 'murdered'...
What, that it's wrong to fantasize certain actions into the heart? Don't think so. You can call it real or not real, but you can't drop the important part, that it represents magic, which is something that God hates a whole lot. If it didn't represent magic or playing/role-playing characters that use divination etc.. than this would not even be a conversation, but that is exactly what it's connected to and there is just no denying that.
Just as one can fantasize lust into ones heart, one can fantasize anything into the heart including occult practices. Since you tag one as real and another as not, what about adult anime? It's not real, right? Or how about regular porn, it's just a video or mag, right? They may not even be really doing anything for real, after all... like how fake screen kisses go. Suddenly it's all ok? I think not.
Aliens, eh? Invading aliens? Shoot em' up! Murder and killing are not the same things. If I were to say it was not ok, then the military would be against scriptures if it were so, but we know that one of the names or titles of the Lord is The Lord of Hosts which also means The Lord of Armies. God leads armies into battle, fighting is just something that is. Pulling a woman out of a car and kicking her to death in a game so to rob her of her money is something else (i.e. GTA). May be shocking at first, if at all for some, but over time the thought becomes enjoyable for many, it becomes conditioning. People are now conditioned to become monsters, the hearts of many grow cold by it.
Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
This is apparent, games, movies, TV shows, music, books, they all can contribute to a form of brainwashing. This brainwashing can complete opposition against God’s moral laws. They teach these ideas by introducing the concepts into the media, not always in your face but sometimes subtly so to not take the viewer into shock as the old morals are replaced. As time goes by, the viewer becomes accustomed to such ideas and can manage to endure stronger influences. So what you get are people that accept homosexuality, witchcraft, theft, murder etc.. because they have already experienced it many thousands of times mentally. The result is you get a world full of monsters, those that have become devoid of love such as it is said to be in the last days. This problem has become more wide spread than many realized, in part thanks to the conditioning.
It just goes back to what was already discussed. If someone's video game affects the way they life their life then they clearly have trouble seperating a GAME from reality. If someone goes jumping off buildings trying to fly after playing a superman game, it's easy to just blame the game but it's unwise to do so. You see humans have a hard time accepting responsibilty for their actions, they would rather say "Video games are bad because so and so did this because of them." instead of focusing on the root problem. You can blame the media, video games, books, TV and whatever you want for our problems, But doing so helps no one.
As far as "magic" goes, a video game with magic is equivalent to me drawing a tiny blip on a piece of paper and calling it magic. It shows a great lack of common sense when one suggest that anything called magic is evil.
Last edited by Bornsinner; September 30th, 2007 at 06:33 PM.
*admin edit*
This material is not appropriate for the forum.
Last edited by Chris; November 16th, 2007 at 07:45 PM. Reason: removed inappropriate content.
Moist Owlet
Playing a game is not 'fantasizing'. Not for most of us at least. Its more of a technical excersize...
You need to find another example. No one is saying that porn is OK, even if its 'adult anime' whatever that means...
What you see doesnt create the 'heart condition'. The 'heart condition' determines how you react to what you see...
Last edited by Hootmon; October 1st, 2007 at 10:25 AM.
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