That attitude would change if you were to be confronted with people who were demonized by an obsession with that role playing game. I have quite a few accounts listed in my files of people who developed obsessions, compulsions, lost touch with reality, or went completely insane because of that game.
No one has ever been documented to go insane, etc, because of the game. They have been documented to have gone insane, etc, while also playing the game, but that's it. I bet you they also weren't reading their bibles. Does that mean that not reading your bible is cause to go insane? Again, not one single account can be proven to be related to the game. Anyone who has gotten obsessed with the game, lost touch with reality, or anything like that had that type of personality already, and should not have been exposed to the game, just like they should not be exposed to anything harmless that would exacerbate their current condition.
Sapper Woody said:
Neither can the fact that those are evil beings in the game that will destroy the character at first chance.
Calypsis4 said:
That's incorrect. I have directly encountered virtually all of the devils with biblical names as mentioned in the game in the last 27 years and we know of the reality of them. They had to be cast out just like all other devils we encountered.
What do you mean, that's incorrect? It's fact. In the game, all those demons that you are talking about are evil, and will kill the character the first chance they get. There's no "that's incorrect". It's fact. It's the way the game is played. If the character meets them, they must vanquish them or be destroyed by them.
It doesn't affect everyone in the same way....just like Ouija boards do not affect everyone the same; but it is nonetheless demonic.
Ouija boards are a different class altogether. In D&D you do not summon a spirit. You do not directly ask an entity for help. You do not invite demons into your home.
And just who qualifies as a reasonable, unbiased person? Would someone who has seen the demonic influence of that game qualify?
Someone who cannot take an objective look at something without coming to the table with a pre-conceived idea would not count.
I would dig that long list I mentioned above out of my files...but why? If you've already made up your mind to not believe it then it would serve no purpose.
I have not made up my mind about many things. Things that are doctrine, I have, such as Salvation. But most other things, I leave my mind open to the possibility that I am wrong. That's why I was able to see the game for what it was, instead of the evil entity that I was told for years that it was. The challenge stands.
It's an out-of-date dead and gone game anyway, so why bother?
If you believe that, then that shows what little you know of the game. The game has just released its 5th edition, updating from 4th edition and returning to an edition more closely resembling 3rd and 3.5. Millions of people play this game everyday. Like I said in another post, when I asked soldiers if people wanted to get a group together, I had to turn people away. At the "geek store" (where socially awkward intellectuals gather to play games) where I played Warhammer 40k (a futuristic tactical game played with miniatures) there were always 3-4 groups of 5-6 people playing. The game is far from dead. In fact, it's growing.
Well, maybe, perhaps that is because you are inexperienced in spiritual warfare and deliverance from devils. Have you ever been directly involved in casting out devils from those obviously demonized? Have you ever been involved in cleansing a house that was haunted with poltergeist (demonic) spirits? I'm just curious.
What lead me to begin my studies years ago was an apparent "haunting" of a house that I lived in, in Morris, Illinois. I was an assistant pastor / youth pastor at the time, and once the entity was gone, I was curious as to how an entity could "haunt" my house, with me being close to God, faithful in my devotions. I was physically touched (although not harmed) by an unseen entity. Yes, I have had very real dealings with the spirit realm. I will not go much further into my history with them, as I do not wish it to be public knowledge. But, suffice it to say, I know about the spirit realm. From the Christian side, and the other side.
I will be polite but nonetheless, you happen to be wrong about that. It's not like the devil did not make it obvious:
That last devil is 'Drider' & he is a horrible wretch.
I, too, will be polite. You are far from the truth. "Drider" is not a proper name. It is a race. It is a totally corporeal (non spiritual) race. It is actually a punishment to become a Drider. The evil Drow (dark elves who live deep underground) worship the spider. Their highest punishment is to turn a Drow into a half-Drow/half-spider creature (Drow + spider = Drider). Even the picture you shared shows that these creatures appear in groups of 1-4, and therefor is not one entity, but a race. Look at the picture you showed. It's much like a centaur (horse/man), but Drow/Spider.
In 1994 a Christian lady was brought to me right after a church service by her husband who had driven 130 miles desperate to see me. His wife was out of her mind and continually attacked him physically while he was driving. She was demonized by this very spirit and it twice knocked her out cold by stinging her in the back of the neck and she fell faint on our living room couch. It took all afternoon to revive her (twice) and she had two large welts just under her hairline where the stinger went in. The Holy Spirit forced the devil to reveal himself as 'Drider', she confessed her sin and finally we were able to eliminate it. We saw this invisible devil pounce on her and her body bounced up and down off of a bed so hard I thought it was going to break her spine. It was so much like what happened to the little girl in the Exorcist movie I could hardly believe my eyes.
Let me share with you an insight I have found to be true in 100% of the cases I have dealt with. When a demon enters a person's mind, they cannot place images there that a person has not already seen physically or mentally themselves already. That's why when a person describes what they've been shown by a demon it always resembles something from Hollywood. It will look like the girl off the movie Grudge, or something else frightening that they've seen or had described to them.
Someone in the room with you had seen that picture of a Drider. Did the demon speak out loud to reveal it's name? Doubtful, though possible. Even if it spoke through the woman, it was likely she had seen it before. Most likely, the demon did not speak out loud, but you, yourself told the family the name of the creature attacking this woman. You probably believed it to be the Holy Ghost speaking to you and giving you clarity, when in reality it was your subconscious reaching into your memory banks for something plausible as an explanation. You see, when people are attacked by a demon, either oppressed or possessed, our finite minds want to relate this new and unseen danger to something tangible. So we allow our minds to conjure an image we've seen, and we attach it to the unseen force. This, in my (studied) opinion, is why all the demons you've encountered all had names that were in that book.
Simple question, and mostly rhetorical, who is it that made the proclamation of the demons' names in your sessions? Without knowing you or the people you've helped, I would wager that in over 95% of the cases, you were the one who discerned the name. Because your mind attached the unseen force to an image that you had seen previously, in the monster manual.
I may not convince you but I am telling you honestly some of what we've seen and those devils in D & D are real, not imaginary.
I believe that you are being as honest as you can be. I believe that you are mistaken, however. I do not wish you to see me as "against" you. I feel that you are misguided in this area. Not in demon possession as a whole, but in this area of the demonic names and specifically their relationship to D&D. I feel that if you would do an honest and open minded study of D&D that you would be released from the trap of assigning all these evil entities to a book that was written for entertainment, and would become more affective in your field. Again, don't look at this as an attack, but an attempt to help you become more effective.
Honestly, aside from this one issue (D&D) I feel that you and I are coming from the same direction. I feel that we could have some good fellowship, sharing insights that we've discovered on the subject.
I would kindly suggest a careful study of II Corinthians 10:4-5.
2 Cor 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
I can assure you, I have studied that passage. Also Ephesians 6 is a good one to look at in this area.
I realize that most of this is anecdotal, as are most things dealing with this area. But I assure you I have studied the Bible in this area. My studies have also led me to many extrabiblical sources written from many different viewpoints. My knowledge is not lax. My understanding just differs from yours in this area.
