Back when D & D was evil...

Posts: 488 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:06 pm

When I was a junior in high school (1983), I read an advertisement that a "traveling preacher" was going to give a sermon on the evils of D & D. I got my friends together and we went down to the local Seven Day Adventist church (I believe that was the church). We sat in the back while I watched this portly, silver-haired man whip the females (I would say about 90% female) in the congregation into a frenzy. He convinced them that if their children were to play this game that the devil would be able to penetrate, "thru the backdoor'" their minds. Many, I repeat, many of the women were crying, sobbing, and one or two if I remember right had to be taken out of the room. At the end of the sermon, he invited the people to "come forward and touch me so that you can be filled with the glory of God" (I'll never forget that). Most if not all did just that. I remember seeing this incredible large sobbing group hug.

Oh, I forgot, the plate was passed at this gathering to collect money for the traveling preacher to continue on traveling.

We left quietly and were just astonished that our adults were so damn stupid.

Would like to hear if any of you had any brushes with the anti D & D or the D & D is evil groups.

Martin

Posts: 108 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:35 pm

I grew up atheist in a not very religious town, so no direct encounters for me. But my brother once found a copy of Dark Dungeons inside an AD&D module -- apparently somebody had cut a slit in the shrinkwrap and shoved it in there.

I just picked up a copy of Dark Dungeons on ebay last week, actually. Seemed like something I should have in my collection for historical purposes. I think I'll hide in a boxed set somewhere, so when I die and my family sells off my collection, somebody else can be surprised and confused.

Posts: 1276 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:41 pm

Once, when I was still being a good little boy and doing what my mom told me, I went to this Baptist church, and had forgotten that my backpack had some AD&D books in it. Well, apparently they somehow got into my bag and saw the books, and the proceeded to try and get me to repent my devilish ways - upon not doing so, they calle din the big guns and got the rope. Surrounded by about 10 adults (I was a mere 9 at the time), the ganged me and roped me up and then had the pastor guy come in and "exorcise" me. Realizing my only hope of escape was to play along... I jibbered and jabbered in pseudo-words, called them all Carlin's list, and they ripped my books apart before my eyes... but, at least they let me go before the bloodletting or whatever the hell they had planned.

I never went back. Well, never to church, that is... I went back and got my revenge, but that is not for this forum.

Posts: 144 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:55 pm

penetrate, "thru the backdoor'"

Paging Dr Freud. Laughing

Posts: 7604 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:30 pm

when i was a kid, i was a kinda "black sheep of the family".

my mum used to blame it on that "stupid dungeons & dragons"

Rolling Eyes

Posts: 2504 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:36 pm

My grandmother found out I was playing D&D and she gave me the "Dark Dungeons" tract to read. She also gave me some magazine articles about how rock and roll was the Devil's music and if I listened to it I would be bound to him for eternity. It had the typical bands listed that you might expect to worship Satan: AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Motely Crue, KISS, and Black Sabbath. If she only knew that my DM had just made me a tape with a bunch of metal bands. Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Celtic Frost, and Dio....just to name a few. Laughing

My mom once asked me if there was any devil worship in D&D. I told her that there wasn't and she was ok with that answer. She only told me I couldnt play when I wasnt getting my homework done first. If she only knew that my DM was reading books on the occult and once had us sit in a dark room filled with candles and started reading the Bible backwards. He also tried to hypnotize a girl at a party just so he could touch her breasts. She was so drunk and stupid that she let him think that he actually hypnotized her. He just did stuff like that for the shock factor. He tried it again a month or so later and a different girl slapped the crap out of him. Wink

Dungeons & Dragons was never brought up in my church, and I have no idea if it was ever brought up in any of the other churches in my extremely small town of only 2000 people.

Posts: 577 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:46 pm

In Italy, people are not particularly infervorated with religious thoughts. I think the reason is that the Church here is more interested with political power, money, and its belongings than with doctrinal issues. So in the end, although a lot of people have a general support toward the Church, it doesn't really affect people's view of good and evil, or their mindset, at all.

Posts: 3151 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:26 pm

Only ever had it brought up in 7th grade I believe by my science teacher, don't remember what she said exactly, but very few in the class even had it register (either not knowing the game or not caring).
Only seen it mentioned in print a couple years later when a reporter in a small newspaper mentioned a few kids that played it (same kids killed an elderly woman and her middle aged son) as if that was what drew them to the acts of violence.

ShaneG.

Posts: 186 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:20 pm

Hrm, I was first exposed to DnD by the new parish Priest. Thats right, Father Dennis, the DM. It made it way easier to convince my devoutly catholic mother to allow me to play.

Years later I did have one baptist minister tell me that the game was evil and the names of spells in the game used "words of power". I asked him if the words "wish", "atonement" and "fireball" were evil but he didn't seem to understand.

~jeff

Posts: 4449 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:10 pm

In 1981, I just happened to catch a late-night version of The 700 Club as I was flipping channels, and some guy was talking about "back masking" in heavy metal. Since I was looking for some laughs, I stuck with the program for awhile. After the back masking segment, they promised to blow the lid off of Dungeons & Dragons with an "Expert" in Satanism.

Ok, so this expert gets up there and proceeds to throw out a bunch of nonsense about role playing games, and the high point is when he holds up a 1st edition Dungeon Masters Guide and points to the Efreeti, saying "And here you see one of the demons you can summon when you play the game." So at that point I figured he wasn't much of an expert if he didn't even know what was on the cover was NOT a demon.....what a FRAUD! Very Happy

Mike B.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:04 pm

Stupid Adventists ...

(my wife is one.)

+++++

I think I've mentioned this before, but I never encountered this sort of thing Back In The Day. I think my parents, and my parents' friends, were okay with the fact that we were socializing, reinforcing some basic math and language skills, and generally not acting too weird about the whole thing.

Posts: 972 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:05 pm

The dumb thing is - all the people that play DnD know the difference between fantasy and reality - and RPGs are great for developing imagination and creativity.

All the religious nuts that think it is evil actually believe in demons and devils and for the most part 'magic' which permeates any fundamental religious belief.

Actually travelling DnD players should go round preaching 'hey dudes, its not real....' rather than the other way round Smile

Posts: 2081 · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:06 pm

Catholics vs Protestants

Muslims vs Jews

Christians vs Muslims

Who is really evil here. Shocked

D&D is a game that makes you think and co-operate, only thing that religious freek was worried about was getting touched by his female patrons Confused

Posts: 972 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:31 am

Here is the church answer to RPGs --- Roll a Role.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250265694859&ssPage Name=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

"Ha Ha Jimmy you rolled a 9"

"Aw do I have to be the page boy again!"

Posts: 144 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:40 pm

My parents were okay with me playing as a kid. They didn't buy into the whole D&D = Evil crap ....Until I started neglecting my schoolwork! THEN they took an interest, believe me! My dad made me throw away all my notes and books and forbid me from playing anymore. Mad

I was able to make a show of throwing away some less valuable stuff and hiding my real stash, and of course I still kept on playing in secret. But this incident was still pretty painful.

One of my best friends was the one who had the most trouble. His family was strict baptist. Really crazy. They thought the game was "demonic" and forbid him from playing or even owning the books. But he played anyway.

It was kind of funny, his parents thought it was I and the rest of his friends who were corrupting HIM with D&D--- But HE was the one who got all of US into it. He was the DM and he had a secret stash situated under one of the rafters in his basement where he kept all his books.

He kept right on playing right under his parents' noses, right up until he was killed suddenly in an accident when we were in high school. And those books are probably still in the rafters under his parents' house.

Posts: 13 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:51 pm

I remember the anti D&D hysteria all too well.

I lost two people from my gaming group due to thier being "saved" and suddenly finding Satan in a game they had played for years without loping off into the darkness to commit heinous crimes. I had nemerous discussions/debates with them and some of thier new spiritual guidance counselors. None went very well, usually ending with me laughing at some ignorant, illogical argument passed off as spiritual insight.

I still have a collection of newspaper and magazine articles that warned people of the nefarious influence of D&D, blamed the game for mysterious crimes, and had all manner of stupid, ignorant commentary from "experts" who had NEVER PLAYED THE GAME!

It was an interesting thing to live through. There are still many religious people who consider D&D Satan's little Amway scheme, but the mass hysteria has passed.

By the way, I am still friends with the people who left my group. They still think I emperil my soul by having the books. We have agreed to disagree, and I haven't yet become a raving occultist. I suppose the utter corruption toward evil takes a little longer with some. Very Happy

Posts: 626 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:38 pm

Agent Cooper wrote:

And those books are probably still in the rafters under his parents' house.

That could be quite a stash.

Posts: 101 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:45 pm

I remeber having "discussions" when I was about 12-13 years old with an adult and again when I was 16-17 with my friends parents, they both went sorta like this.

Adult: "You play D&D! Oh my God, thats devil worship stuff!"

Me: "No its not."

Adult: "Yes it is!"

Me: "Who told you that?"

Adult: "Blah, blah"

Me: "So just because someone tells you something, it automatically makes it true?"

Adult: (getting frustrated) "Yes it does."

Me: "OK, then I'm telling you it doesn't have anything to do with cults or Satan, or anything like that. Its just a game! There I just said it is not cult related, so that makes it true right?"

Adult: "No."

Me: "If you needed your car fixed, would get advice from someone who has fixed cars before, or someone who hasn't?"

Adult: "Well from someone who has fixed cars of course."

Me: "Well I have played D&D, and those people who say its about devil worship have not played D&D. So what makes more sense? Listening to someone who has never played the game or listening to someone who has?"

Adult: "Arrrgh!"

You can actually prove that D&D has nothing to do with satan worship, but a religous freak will still ignore the facts and try to "save you"

Posts: 577 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:00 pm

Geez, I'm amazed.

Was it THAT bad in the US? Here, we heard stories of people associating D&D with satanism, but they were just that -- stories, maybe read on some magazine or heard from your cousin, who had heard it from his friend and so on. I don't know a single role player who has had similar experiences (and I've known literally hundreds of roleplayers).

Now, should I really think that the US is so full of religiously naive people?

Another amazing thing is that so far I haven't read a single story about trying to show that D&D was not evil by showing a gaming session. It would be the most logical solution. After all, Europe overcame religious naivety through logic...

Posts: 1276 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:29 pm

Quote:

Now, should I really think that the US is so full of religiously naive people?

Yes. The idiocy of the US knows no bounds.