D&D Gods verse real world

[Wertbag]

I'm the DM for a group of my workmates, we've been playing D&D a couple of times a week for a couple of years now and one thing I've had to delve into is the pantheon of gods.

The first thing that is immediately obvious is just how in your face the gods are.  There are clerics and paladins who gain magical powers from their divine patrons, there are angelic messengers and the gods themselves will talk to their devout followers.  Paladins can lay on hands to remove poison or disease, and there are spells that can allow people to physically travel to heaven or hell.

In D&D there are "atheists" but the term generally refers to someone who does not worship.  There is no doubt to any gods existence, but it is optional to follow any in particular.

When compared to the real worlds gods problem of divine hiddenness, it is apparent so much more would be possible to show that He exists.

 

I think the satanic panic of the 80s worked to push many people away from religion.  When the preachers start claiming everything is evil, from music, to D&D, movies and TV shows, eventually people will start to see it being ridiculous.  There is a famous Chick Tract about D&D (Chick.com: Dark Dungeons), it is so over the top ridiculous that I genuinely thought it was a joke when I first saw it.  But the flow on effect of this panic, is that as the older generation have died off, the younger generation are the ones who have played these games and seen them for the harmless passtime that they are.  Suddenly people ranting about something that you know is mundane puts them into a category of wrong or outright crazy.

 

If you don't believe that magic is real, then being told things are evil because of the magic content is an empty claim.  That is a big reason why the biblical law to kill all witches is no longer followed.  Most people don't genuinely think magic is real, so killing anyone for practicing magic makes no sense.  Being told that Harry Potter or D&D leads down a slippery slope to joining a coven of witches is just so far removed from reality that most Christians will attempt to distance themselves from such claims.  The bible certainly believed non-Christians could do magic, but nowdays you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who believes it is possible in our day to day lives.  

[walterpthefirst]

Greetings from Clemark the Half-Elven Mage, Holgrim the Ranger, Faronda the Paladin, Edric the Cleric, Idorm the Monk and Celymbor the Gnomish Thief!

 

(All me, from various campaigns over the years.)

 

And on the subject of Gods, may you receive the blessing of Mitra.

 

atha  vashi  ashâum  I  dha  anghô  ashava frapârayånghe  urvânem  tarô  cinvatô  peretûm vahishtahe  an  ghêush  ashava  jasô  ushtavaitîm gâthãm  s  râvayô  ushtatâtem  nimraomnô,  (zôt  u  râspî,) ushtâ  ahmâi  ...  gaêm manangh

 

(Actually some Zoroastrian holy words.)

 

 

Walter.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

The 1980s were quite the revival for the church, because suddenly they had an enemy to blame. Politics thrives on having an enemy. And as you pointed out, they found that enemy EVERYWHERE, a vast conspiracy to deceive the elect. I remember seeing the Maranatha college cult do a presentation about Satan in popular culture including backmasking, how Stairway to Heaven was written and all of the dark meanings of its poetry, D&D, and falsely saying that the symbol for Blue Öyster Cult was questioning the crucifixion (it's actually a visual pun, a stylized alchemical symbol for lead - a "heavy metal").

 

Have you all seen the latest season of Stranger Things? It takes place during the 80s and deals with D&D and the perceptions being hyped in the culture.

[Wertbag]

2 hours ago, Fuego said:

The 1980s were quite the revival for the church, because suddenly they had an enemy to blame. Politics thrives on having an enemy. And as you pointed out, they found that enemy EVERYWHERE, a vast conspiracy to deceive the elect. I remember seeing the Maranatha college cult do a presentation about Satan in popular culture including backmasking, how Stairway to Heaven was written and all of the dark meanings of its poetry, D&D, and falsely saying that the symbol for Blue Öyster Cult was questioning the crucifixion (it's actually a visual pun, a stylized alchemical symbol for lead - a "heavy metal").

 

Have you all seen the latest season of Stranger Things? It takes place during the 80s and deals with D&D and the perceptions being hyped in the culture.

I tried watching the first season but it didn't really grab me.  I've heard mention of the D&D connections to the new season, but haven't seen how that plays out.  I have seen the new trailer for the D&D movie coming next year and that is looking pretty good so far.

 

I found a list of things that people had heard Christians describe as satanic, it included:  deviled eggs, Coca Cola (cos the red colour represented Satan), mushrooms (cos they love the dark), telescopes (because it can make you question god), Godzilla (cos its using "God" in an evil way), care bears (cos they cast spells), and of course crystal anything equals new age magical ideas and is therefore pure evil.  Add in a good dose of people being terrified of the number 666 and you've got a lot of strangely directed fear.

[freshstart]

On 7/22/2022 at 12:16 AM, Wertbag said:

The bible certainly believed non-Christians could do magic, but nowdays you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who believes it is possible in our day to day lives.  

Unless you're my entire extended family . . . . or a missionary in Africa.

 

My kids used to be obsessed with The Wizard of Oz when they were quite little. They watched the movie probably hundreds of times over the course of their childhood, collected figures and various versions of the book (which was very, very different from the movie). Anyhow, my mom would warn them every time they watched the movie, that there was "no such thing as a good witch." To this day, I greatly regret the influence my extended family has had on my daughters. My extended family continues to believe that there are secret Satan worshippers and that witches are real. Complete ignorance, paranoia, and willfully sticking their heads in the sand. Its embarrassing. Funny how reading all the Brothers Grimm folklore was not considered Satanic in their day. But there was some pretty cultish stuff in those stories!