[dragonraid] Hi again

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Home   : August 1998 : Group Archive : Group : All Groups

From: Brian Indrelie <BrIndrel@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 15:24:08 -0700
Fellow Adventurers-
	Well, I've been back from camp for about a half-a-week now, and I've been
keeping quiet. But I thought it was about time to open my mouth once again.
So, again, I'll try to address a lot of issues in one e-mail. 
	First of all, for books, they aren't necesarily fantasy, but I'd
definitely recommend the Left Behind series. They are by Tim Lahaye and
Jerry B. Jenkins and are about the biblical end of the world, according to
revelations. The first four of a series of seven are out, and they
currently rank numbers 1-4 on the Christian best seller list. Movie rights
to the first two books have been sold to Christian producers. These are
definitely some of the best works of Christian literature ever written.
Whenever a new one comes out I have it read in two days. Anyway, in case
you're interested, there is plenty of information at www.leftbehind.com.
The first four titles are as follows:

Left Behind
Tribulation Force
Nicolae
Soul Harvest

The next three, which haven't been released yet will be:

The Assasins
Left Standing
The Glorious Appearing

You might want to read them soon, or miss out on the greatest series of all
time.

	As to conveying Christian messages in secular RPGs I have a few things to
say(of course). During the Great AD&D debate I talked about how I had run a
quest where the characters were good and the theme was good vs. evil. What
I didn't say, because I hoped to avoid needless controversy, emotional
distress, and further argument, was that I have, and still do, play as a
player in groups of non-Christians. However, the reason for doing this is
because it helps me to convey Christian messages through my role-play, and
it gives me a great opportunity to get to know my non-Christian friends a
little better. After all, what more social activity is there than
role-playing? For instance, I had this character who was a drow. The drow
are probably the most evil society in all of AD&D. However, this character
had turned around and become good, and now sought to do what was right in
every situation. Basically what I have tried to convey through this
character is that in an evil world, doing what is right is always the best
thing to do. This character is not perfect, however, he still struggles
with his old nature, thus showing that no one is perfect, but from the
things he does wrong and the things he does right, it is clear that doing
what is right is always best.
Thus while I might not be able to convey the whole message of the gospel
right away, I can put in little teachings that will point towards Christ.
My advice for anyone trying to do this would be as follows:

1)Play with basically moral people. A few members of this group had
problems with the occult and demons in their groups. The people I play with
are at least from a Christian background, and have pretty good morals. If
people in the group start taking things way too seriously, its time to get
out. The people I play with would think taking the game too seriously is
ridiculous, and are angered by people who do and give it a bad name.

2)Don't get people into secular RPGs, only play with people who already
have experience with them. During the Great Debate, John brought up the
good point that if you get people into secular RPGs, and then they go and
play with another group that does not have such good morals, they may be
led astray down cultic paths. All of the people I play with have played for
years, and have played much longer than I. If people already play secular
RPGs, that's fine, its great to get involved and use it as a ministry, but
if people don't play, its better not to get them involved at all, and not
have to worry about them being destroyed in another group. 

3)Don't come on too strong, if you push the full message too much at first,
the people will be alienated by you, and likely kick you out. Rather, over
time, slowly teach them the messages, and eventually they may start seeing
things in a different light. The it is time to come forward with the full
gospel message. The most important thing is to know the people you're
playing with, and follow God's lead.

4)Don't lose your guard. Evil teachings are around every corner. Test
everything against God's word, pray before playing, and make sure that
wrong teachings do not enter the group. Secular RPGs can be a dangerous
world, pretty much because they are products of a dangerous world. God
often calls us to go into dangerous worlds though. Personally, the group
I'm in thus far has not had any problems with this, they justr like playing
for fun. But there are people on this very list that are living proof of
the destructive power of secular RPGs if gotten out of hand. In any case,
keep a watchful eye.

5)Also, I wouldn't recommend this ministry to everyone. There are people
who would be damaged greatly by it. But if you like secular RPGS a lot, and
you really want to try to teach through it, give it a try. But again, I am
definitely not trying to recommend this, or condone it in any way. Just
trying to help anyone out who would be interested in it. If you're not
interested, than just forget it.

	Finally, someone asked if George Lucas was a Rosicrucian. Probably not,
rather the Rosicrucians probably claim his as their followers. They've
claimed a lot of people as their followers including Benjamin Franklin and
Thomas Jeffesron who were definitely not followers. But what can you expect
from a cult? They're job is to tell lies and twist the truth, that's what
they live and thrive on. I'd recommend the book Truth Twisters to anyone
who wants to find out about the lies of such cults, i  order to confront them.

	Well, I'm finally done, and you're probably tired of reading this by now
anyway. See you later!

					   In Christ,
				       Brian Indrelie
				      brindrel@...