
      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

