RESPONSE FROM ONE READER

ESP Ministries' aim is to be "Fair and Balanced."

The Writer of the letter to this website below dared me to put this on my website,
so I am putting his article for all to read.
Please note that the material are HIS VIEWS AND NOT THE VIEWS OF ESP MINISTRIES.
As for my point of view, I personally know of a young man who once played D&D with
a boy age 15 in West Virginia who became psychotic during the game and killed two
other boys who he was playing D & D with, by slitting their throats.
Reader you be the judge and decide. His letter is unedited from the original form.

----- Original Message -----
From: Imshall77@yahoo.co.uk
To: ben@espministries.com
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 1:42 PM
Subject: Mail to ESPMinistries.com
*******************************************************************************
MessageType: Complaint
Subject: Web Site
Username: Adam
UserEmail: Imshall77@yahoo.co.uk
Dear Ben,
I am writing this to talk to you about the article you wrote on D&D
and would like to increase the very narrow minded reputor of knowledge you
have on the subject that you have clouded with your religion. I must say
this now so not to give you the wrong impression of myself. I have
absolutely No problem with your beliefs or the christian faith or any
other faith as it is today.
Firstly, there is no aim to the game of D&D. There is however a point
to the game and that is to have fun, which is stressed throughout the main
rule books to both players and Dungeon masters. Not every game of D&D is
filled with slaying monsters and searching for riches within dungeons.
Some games will be filled with talking, discussion and developing
characters. Others will have negotiations, poetry, song, plays and
religion and the fights between them just as in real life today.
You put in your article
"One authority concerning this "game" said: "The stuff that makes me
nervous is over-identification with characters. I've seen people have
fits, yell for fifteen minutes, hurl dice at a grand piano when their
character dies."
Firstly please do not place speech marks around the word game for that is
what D&D is no matter what anyone's view or takes on it is, it's still a
game. The things described by the authority are rare. Such things are not
common at any gaming table and if they become common then the person
having the fit should be calmed down and reminded it's only a game.
You also quoted from Dr. Gary North:
"I can say with confidence: these games are the most effective, most
magnificently packaged, most profitably marketed, most thoroughly
researched introduction to the occult in man's recorded history."
I agree that D&D products are magnificently packaged and marketed
however these are a necessity for any company that wishes it's products to
sell and is a fact of the business world. Obviously these books contain
references to the occult, because from a marketing point how many fantasy
lovers and RP gamers want to play a game that doesn't involve a grand
light and darkness? I shall tell you. None. You should have saved all who
might read your D&D article the time and effort of reading the lies that
were said by Dr. North and put something a whole lot more worthwhile in
it's place.
You also quoted the Christian Life Ministries who said that: D&D
instead of a game is a teaching of Demonology, witchcraft, voodoo, murder,
rape, Satan worshipping and Demon summoning. Now as you may have gathered,
I play D&D and I am also a DM (dungeon master). I have thoroughly read all
the main books and many others that I have bought to supplement my game
and gaming experience. Not once have I ever found any detail hidden or
non-discreet on how to do any of the things that have been mentioned. The
only conclusion that I can come to is that someone has opened the Players
Handbook at the chapter on magic and found something on summoning undead
or demons, immediately closed it and told all his friends that D&D
contains the knowledge on how to summon actual demons. This is impossible
because 1) demons don't exist and 2) the book gives no actual chants, hand
movements, words or material components that may be required to summon
something.
Now please allow me to pick apart something you said in the article and
show you your errors.
"You will probably find twenty or more books on how to play D&D™.
This is because D&D has many books that deal with different aspects and
worlds within the D&D universe, nothing Demonic about that is there?
They are complicated, intricate, bizarre, expensive (many selling for
$10.95 each)
The books have to be complicated and intricate because the game is built
so that your character can do anything you could do in Real life and
within a fantasy world that doesn't break any fundamental Laws of Physics.
-and popular"
My favourite thing you have said throughout the article and one of the
things that made me laugh so hard. I have but one response to this. Is
there anything wrong with something being popular? Or was it that
popularity rejected you when you were young and so the only thing you
could do was spend your free time learning religion while everyone else
was playing D&D.
This is starting to get a little long and so I wont make this section
very long. The points made on Arduin Grimoire are correct and the game is
gruesome. However the name Grimoire should have for-warned you of it's
gruesome content. I also agree with Dave Hargraves statement. The world we
live in is violent, and children need to see that however if you are
putting "" around the word reality, then you obviously haven't left the
church since you were suppose to leave TV-land, and so therefore you have
absolutely no comment to make on issues of violence in games and the
reality of life.
Your quotes from the Bible are very weak grounds to base your thoughts
on what D&D does to peoples minds. I have already said that there is no
trace of how to do any of the demonic or perverted things that you claimed
to be in the D&D books. My parents, my three friends that play D&D with
myself and my many friends that I know and have met on online games and
RPG's are living proof that these games don't twist the mind in anyway. I
have absolutely no desire to do any of the things that you said my mind is
exposed to.
"Young person" as you are addressing children and i am only 14 years
old (supprised?) I to shall address what you said.
"if you want to be successful, productive, well-adjusted, and happy, then
refuse to fill your wonderful mind with such garbage!"
Well firstly I am successful. I have the highest grades in my classes and
for science in the school, im a junior black belt with gold medals for
competitions that i have won against people of more experience than myself
and have been mentioned in the paper a few times. I have also pointed out
my productiveness in the above statement as well I believe. I moved to
where i am living now from London and have managed to fit in very well,
and I am extremely happy with the way my life is going especially with my
D&D. Well I doubt D&D is garbage if i have done all that I have said,
don't you think?
In your final few paragraphs you gave examples on what a very low
minority of players might do, or may have done. However the problem i have
with this, and myself studying history and taught to look at things from
all sides, is that you base there actions around one thing and that is
fantasy games. A fantasy game isn't going to turn all it's players into
suicidal and murderous people otherwise there wouldn't be a D&D after this
long, and instead of writing this to you i would be flying to where you
live, upon finding you i would start chanting in some strange tongue then
stab you with my +1 unholy bastard sword, drink your blood then go to a
brothel and have sex with an undead whilst playing cards. Now is that
really going to happen?
"some Christians try to defend D&D™ and other FRP "games," In this
futile attempt, one said: "But the game is helpful because it shows the
difference between good and evil characters." To this a brilliant young
player replied: "Not so. Nearly everybody would rather play evil
characters because they are much more powerful."
This is another excellent things in your article that im going to have a
go at. Many christians who play D&D and the rest of the sain majority of
the christian faith, will defend it because it has nothing wrong with it.
I have already shown you that there is nothing wrong with myself and the
silliness of your thoughts on what D&D does to people. I also have to say
what a very head up your ass thing to do by saying that the christians
defence of D&D is 'futile'. It is also rather wrong of you to call the
player 'brilliant', just because he replied in such a way that supports
your views. Both of the peoples statements are correct to a certain
degree. D&D does teach you good and evil, right and wrong. You have
obviously never played a full game of D&D or created a character and so
you wouldn't know that the same laws that are imposed on us in cities
today are also imposed on the players in the game. You also wouldn't know
that there is a Paladin class that is the holder of all that is good and
holy or the cleric who worships a god and does his biding. The player is
also correct to a degree. Many people enjoy playing and evil character
because they have the freedom to do what they like without consequences,
this is just an outlet for stress and a good way to relax. Sitting around
a table with friends and having a joke while your character does something
that wouldn't normally happen to a 'good ' character is great fun. However
the game was based around the sterioipical adventure of saving the damsel
in distress from the evil wizard and so everyone that has ever played D&D
has played a 'good' character. I would also like to point out that after
they complete there quest the players receive thanks and reward and get
the same felling of doing something good, right and just. Now tell me that
allowing people to experience that feeling without being hurt, doesn't
support the christian belief of helping others and also tell me that
letting people experience that constantly doesn't make them into better
people?
Does it increase or decrease a player’s faith in God and His Word?
Now that is completely self centred. The point of this was to show the bad
things in D&D using your faith. It makes no difference weather D&D
increase or decrease a persons faith in god, that my friend is completely
irrelevant.
Does it trivialise, and even blaspheme, Christianity?
Once again a completely irrelevant thing to say.
In summary: Does its over-all influence tend to build up, or tear down,
character?
Build it up for the above reasons.
I would also ask if you have taken anything i have written seriously, and
if not then you are an idiot, to revise your last section so that it
reads:
What can you do?
Make sure that your children are involved with and participating in D&D™.
Distribute the correct and factual information, that has been revised, to
young people, youth ministers, teachers, etc.
Contact me for more information, especially if your child or children are
not involved.
P.S. oh and I dare you or any other ministry member to post this up along
with the origonal article anywhere on the internet. If you do not then it
is just more proof that waht i say is to good an evidence and that if you
did post it then it would make your article null and void.