Hello,
	This makes me think of something that my pastor told me while we were
discussing RPG's. He felt that we all have to live our own lives, and that
if you know the Lord HE will let you know if something is wrong. I say to
you all that God has NEVER failed to warn me away when something is
inappropriate, the trick is to listen AND to take the warning.
	One thing that I love in Tolkiens Ring books is that no human uses magic
without being perverted by darkness. Examples of this are the ringwraiths,
who were all sorceror kings, most notably their leader, known as the
witch-king. The only exception to this that I can think of is the Beornings
who could take the forms of bears and had other abilities, though I am not
sure if they were men. 	
	As many of you out there know, Gandalf and the other members of his order
were not human, but Miar spirits (lesser angels) known as the Istari, This
is how/why Gandalf defeated the balrog of moria with his hands (a feat of
obvious superhuman power) and NOT with spells. Elves on occasion were able
to work magics, though mostly in the form of craftsmanship honed over
immortal life-spans, they were closer to the Valar and Miar (greater and
lesser angels) than mankind. If you have not read it, read the Silmarillion
by J.R.R. Tolkien, its a long read, but wirth it.
	Prof Tolkien was a man who thought in immense depth, everything in his
world was steeped in histories so vast that few within them are aware of
them in entirety. The magic in Tolkiens work is not utilitarian, as it does
not exist solely as a plot motivator, but a symbol of deeper workings.
There is always a bigger picture, one that mortals are ill-equiped to
percieve (just like in our own world). His work has found its place in the
bookshelves of many a pagan, who do not realize what the story is really
about. They just know that it holds something that they want, Perhaps this
is a evangelization tool that has gone unused.
	I feel that any work that stirs within the breast, a desire to resist and
wage war on evil deserves applause (and double applause if it is
Christian). Too many sources of fiction and philosophy push a "no
absolutes" world view, (all fantasy fans have seen them) that there is no
good and evil etc. I think the body of Christ should be rallying against
them (pick your target) rather than Harry Potter, which makes more of a
moral stand than a dozen other movies or books put together that came out
this year. And children WANT to read them!
	I realize that for some reason, children (and far too many adults) seem to
feel that things seen on the screen (whether movies or TV) are real. When I
watched I Dream of Genie I never thought that I would actually find a genie
in a lamp (though I did fantasize about the concept). I dont see anyone
protesting that on Nick at Night, why? because its just a story, for fun. I
also read stories about king arthurs knights and merlin, and never once
attached any occult significance to his powers (and I was a pretty
imaginative kid).
		
GOD bless!
Aaron -too honest to be politically correct- Siddall


At 09:30 AM 12/18/01 -0800, you wrote:
>    up what I'm trying to remember. What I connect with in all this is that
>a shift has taken place with the popularity of "Potter" books and movies,
>which has created a less naive world for grade school kids on up on the
>subject of the occult. No matter how well we as Christians try to
>differentiate the "Potter" material from Tolkien and Lewis, it does not
>come across well at all in the public, non-Christian forum. Our
>explanations (the better ones) as to why these two brilliant author's
>utilitarian use of the occult in their books (spells, magic,
>teleportations, telekinesis, etc..) sound arbitrary and biased.    &
>tolerable and redemptive. That same thing cannot be said defensibly today,
>as it could, lets say 10-20 years ago.        This is of course, my humble
>yet firm conviction, and I would that it be yours. As LOTR comes out and is
>grouped with the Potter genre, we are definitely going to be challenged on
>these issues. I recommend to you John White's book, When the Spirit Comes
>in Power, and in particular, the danger even in the seductiveness of God's
>power (much like Tolkien's ring, and Lewis' turkish delight, loosely pu
>----- Original Message -----  From: Joe K Revesz  To:
>dragonraid@... Sent: 12/18/2001 5:10:02 AM  Subject: [DragonRaid]
>Re: Christian MMORPG