The following article was originally prepared for publica- tion in a religious magazine. If you desire more information concerning Dungeons and Dragons you will find my address at the end of the article. KEEPING THE HEART Though I have been asked to write concerning a game called Dungeons and Dragons, I believe that it is necessary to extend our remarks beyond the game. We will show that Dungeons and Dragons is a game which is devilish, and it should not be played. At the same time, we will direct our remarks so that they will cover all games and mental activities which are forbidden by God's Word. Playing Dungeons and Dragons is not the problem, it is a symptom of the problem. When a person goes to the doctor with a piercing pain in his right side, the pain is not the prob- lem. The pain is a symptom of the problem. This is what we mean when we say that playing Dungeons and Dragons is not the problem. As the title of this article suggests, the problem is in the heart. If the heart is kept in the way of God, there will not be a problem of someone becoming involved in practicing wrong things. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." And Proverbs 23:7a states, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." These passages teach us that what we do reflects what is in our hearts. There- fore, if our hearts are right, we will not be involved in things that are displeasing to God. And if we are doing things which are displeasing to God, we will be participating in activities that affect our desires. Thomas Manton said, "Desires are the most vigorous faculties, they carry the whole soul along with them. They will take up your thoughts, time, care, endeavours, speeches. . . . Our thoughts will be conversant about what we desire. We love to feed upon the sweet of those things that we long for,--to enjoy them in our meditations before we really and actually enjoy them. Thoughts are the pulses of the heart, you may know by them how it beats. When desires are at a high pitch, we shall not be able to put off those pleasing imaginations that concern the object of these desires. Nay, they will haunt the mind in the time of our usual repose and rest." (Vol. 3, p. 238.) Please keep these things in mind as we study about Dungeons and Dragons. WHY THIS GAME IS WRONG Dungeons and Dragons is a game which involves the heart (soul) of the individual who is playing it. Gary Gygax, the man who invented Dungeons and Dragons, said, "You have to pursue Dungeons and Dragons with your entire soul if you're going to do well at it." God tells us that we are to love Him and His Word with our entire souls (Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Luke 10:27). It is rebellion to God to turn ourselves over to anything that is con- trary to the Bible. Since we are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, body and strength, we should not play a game that requires us to commit our "entire soul" to it. Since David was a man after God's "own heart" (Acts 13:22), let us follow his heart's desire as expressed in Psalm 141:4: "Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their danties." Before howing what is involved in playing Dungeons and Dragons, let us see what God's Word says. We will see that Dungeons and Dragons is clearly condemned by God's Word. Deuter- onomy 18:9-13 states, "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with fimiliar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from be- fore thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." This passage clearly teaches that those who practice these things "are an abomination unto the Lord." When we study the meaning of all the things listed in the passage, we see that all forms of witchcraft and sorcery are condemned: horoscopes; Ouija boards; palm readers; fortune tellers; psychics; etc. According to their own publications, Dungeons and Dragons is a game of sorcery. "Swords and sorcery best describes what this game is all about for those are the two key fantasy ingredients. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy game of role-playing which relies upon the imagination of participants, for it is certainly make believe, yet it is so interesting, so challenging, so mind- unleasing that it comes near reality" (_D & D Handbook_, p. 7). "Most spells have a verbal component and so must be uttered" (_D & D Players Handbook_, p. 40). "Magic users draw upon arcane powers in order to exercise their profession . . . He or she must memorize and prepare for the use of each spell, and its casting makes it necessary to reabsorb the incantation by consulting the proper book of spells . . ." (_D & D Players Handbook_, p. 25). We can see already see that Dungeons and Dragons is a game of serious consequences. It is a game which is associated with magic, witchcraft and other devilish practices. But the game goes deeper into wickedness than what has been shown. Here are more quotes from their books to prove this. "The spell caster should be required to show you what form of protective inscription he or she has used when the spell is cast. . . . Pictures of a magic circle, pentagram, and thaumaturgic triangle" (_Dungeon Masters Guide_, p. 42). "Serving a deity is a significant part of D & D, and all player characters should have a patron god. Alignment assumes its full importance when ties to the worship of a deity" (_Deities & Demigods_, Instruction Manual, p. 5. Many more quotes could be given to show that playing this game involves casting spells, worshiping false gods and Satan, death, human sacrifice, murder, cannibalism, and other wicked and ungodly practices. (If the reader desires to have these quotes he can contact me and I will send it to him.) Further, we desire to show that Dungeons and Dragons has so influenced the lives of some that they have transformed the game to their daily lives. I trust that we have shown that we should keep our hearts with all diligence lest we become involved with wicked prac- tices. Also, I believe that it has been clearly demonstrated that Dungeons and Dragons should be avoided. This game has influenced some to commit wicked and ungodly acts in society. In _The Wichita Eagle-Beacon_, Saturday, March 30, 1985, an Associated Press story began as follows: "Colby - The board game 'Dungeons and Dragons' helped prompt the crime spree that left four dead and four wounded in northwest Kansas last month, one of the suspects said in a report published Fri- day. "In a jail house interview Thursday with the Detroit News in Colby, where three suspects were bound over for trial, Daniel Remeta mentioned the name of the fantasy board game when asked about the spree." The article quotes Remeta as saying, "I've got five friends that are locked up for the same thing right now (be- cause of the game)." The paper stated that one of Remeta's friends was James Gainforth. He was convicted of killing a clerk at a gas station south of Traverse City. The article further stated, "Remeta gave the newspaper a hand-written note that read, in part: I now hear the hiss of my dragon's rage For he too is locked into a cage He'll patiently wait for another to rise like me He'll be fed and again shall rise ever so free The game another shall carry on for we can't all fall My treasure is becoming part of the dragon forever Many shall die who strive to find our hidden treasure But someone shall play our game for all do seek a treasure. In conclusion the article said, "Remeta told the newspaper he wanted to be executed. "'I do want the death penalty,' he said. 'I can't see my- self . . . maybe it's better that way.'" Lisa Dunn, James Hunter and Remeta were "bound over for trial on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery and aggravated robbery." The Memphis, Tenn., _Commerical Appeal_, Monday, July 8, 1985, gave an AP story concerning three youths who killed a 26- year-old mother and convenience store cashier in Ragland, Ala. The suspects were Cayce Moore (17), Scott Davis (17) and Chris White (14). The article related that they "were considered good, all-American boys, only children from fine families. Clean-cut, polite, intelligent." The paper said that classmates contributed the bond between the boys to "Dungeons and Dragons." In a 1985 _Los Angeles Times_ syndicated story by Paul Har- vey, the following examples are given. "In Washington State, Michael Dempsey, 15, shot himself in the head, dead. His parents said he had 'evoked demons' from a game he was playing, a game called 'Dungeons and Dragons.' "In the months since, half a dozen suicides in Dallas have been blamed on the game. "Last September the body of a bright California boy washed up on a San Francisco beach, apparently a suicide. "Last November a Colorado boy, age 12, shot to death his 16-year-old brother and then himself. "Two days later in suburan Chicago a boy and girl, 17, ran the family car in a closed garage, killed themselves." Harvey noted that Howard Witt, of the _Chicago Tribune_, "discovered that each of these victims had been an avid player of 'Dungeons and Dragons.'" Many such cases could be given to illustrate the danger of playing this game. _Newsweek_, September 9, 1985, after relating a suicide of two teen-agers said, "In both cases--and in some 50 other instances of teen-age deaths--the National Coalition on Television Violence and other critics link the aberrant be- havior to an obsession that took up as much as 40 hours a week. An obsession with a game: Dungeons & Dragons." The article gives further information which shows the far-reaching con- seqences of this wicked game. It stated that the Association for Gifted-Creative Children not only endorses the game, but that it said that D&D encourages the reading of such writers as Tolkien and Isaac Asimov. _Newsweek_ said that Steven Spielberg, the director of the movie "E.T.," used it to" test children's role-playing abilities in casting." The article said that the psychologist, Dr. Joyce Brothers, "sees no harm in D & D per se, provided it doesn't become an obsession." However, Dr. Brothers was formally a consultant of TSR Hobbies, Inc., the manufacturer of D & D. The above shows that Dungeons & Dragons not only reaches across the nation, but encourages the reading and watching of science fiction (which is in itself wicked). It is further seen that this game has invaded the state school system through the Association for Gifted-Creative Children. Without doubt this is to be avoided. Listen to the wisdom of God's Word: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn form it, and pass away" (Prov. 4:14-15). We will conclude by reminding you that we should keep our hearts in the way of righteousness. By doing this we will be delivered from much wickedness of the world, and we will not be attracted to such games as D & D. The Scriptures teach that what we do reflects what is in our hearts (Proverbs 23:7a). Therefore, if our hearts are right, we will not be involved in things that are displeasing to God. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Jimmy Barber July, 1987 Copyright, 1991, Veritas Publications 829 Angelina Place Memphis, TN 38122-5417