Christian RPG

Christian Role Playing Discipleship Games that help promote the values of knighthood and chivalry:

What is Dragonraid?
What is the Dragonseed Conspiracy?

THE USE OF MYTH & FANTASY & ROLE PLAYING GAMES IN STRENGTHENING AND ENCOURAGING CHRISTIAN FAITH AND SPREADING THE GOSPEL - Pastor Pete Bertolero

I believe in the use of allegory, parables and metaphors to convey the deep truths of the Bible and of the person and work of Christ. I am keeping good company, I think, for the writers of both Old and New Testaments, and more specifically, our Lord Jesus Christ, liberally seasoned Biblical truths with the likes of them. But I will go a step further and declare that I equally believe in using myth and fantasy to open the minds eye of believer and non-believer to the deeper truths of God. And again, I might confidently claim to be in fine Christian company with the likes of Bunyan, Tolkien, Lewis, MacDonald, and many others who were well respected for the orthodoxy of their faith, but who also infused their mythologies and fables and fiction with the underpinnings of their Biblical faith. Such is the case with devoted Christian artists, whether they are painters, sculptors, or writers; you cannot separate their art from their faith. Rather, whether they are intentional or not in depicting Biblical or Christian allegory in their art, their faith will inevitably shape what they make, paint or write.

JRR Tolkien, for instance (and my personal favorite fantasy writer with Stephen Lawhead a distant second) who created many imaginary creatures and the imaginary world of middle earth, etc.did so, according to Kurt Bruner -

"...as an expression of imagination baptized in Christian faith."

Both Tolkien and Lewis conversed at large about their intentions to write fantasy stories (fairy stories is what they would call them) as a way of expressing larger truths in ways that satisfied the deeper desires of the human imagination. They viewed language and more specifically, words, as man made "inventions" assigned to things they saw in the world. They also felt that these man made inventions often times failed to do justice to the thing they were assigned to represent or point to. It was the reality beyond what the surface language described, that provided for the thoughtful person an invitation to journey past mere profane or common speech, to another level of thinking and speaking for which myth and fantasy were perfectly suited.

Along these lines a story was told about Charles Dickens which was included in an essay by Chesterton which Tolkien read (did you get all that) which had a profound effect on Tolkien's thought about the utility of fantasy and myth. It seems that while Dickens was drinking a cup of coffee in a coffee room, he was suddenly gripped by a rather strange feeling while he was looking at the almost cryptic writing on a glass door. The letters read MOOREEFFOC. At first they made no sense, but while in the process of working out that he was reading COFFEEROOM backwards, he realized he was viewing the outside from the inside. From Chesterton's inclusion of Dickens's experience, Tolkien got the idea that one must strive to look beyond the common and banal and discover new vantage points and viewpoints from which to the old, familiar ideas look strange and fascinating.

Have you ever experienced the pleasurable shiver felt when finding yourself entering a plausible, mythological world where nobility and honor, and a transcendent cause called out to you, and drew you out of what Roland Hein describes as "the dehumanizing and degrading aspects of our mechanized (and now computerized) society"?

".we recover a sense of the preciousness of things..Myth enables us to see the world with fresh attention, prompting us to cease taking things for granted and discover their full integrity."

For instance, Jim Ware wrote about experiencing this fresh view of things, when reporting a late night walk Tolkien and Lewis took together, in which Tolkien used the whole discussion of myth and surface level language to open Lewis to the Gospel. Tolkien had stopped to call attention to one of the beautiful trees that lined the gravel path on which they walked. He talked of the depth it's roots went in their journey down into the deep earth. He spoke of the majestic heights it's limbs reached as they stretched to the heavens, as he gloried in it's simplicity, strength and beauty, while at one and the same time lamenting that the word used to name and thus describe the thing was simply - tree. Such an abrupt name was simply too crude a word for such a magnificent creature, falling far short in it's attempt to convey fully what the tree really was. Lewis agreed, responding to Tolkien by saying -

"Of course it does [fall short]. Like any word, it's just a verbal invention - a symbol of our own poor devising."

The Usage of 'Fairy Tales' to Explain Theology

Roland Hein, in his book Christian Mythmakers, wrote of Tolkien's fondness for writing in the style of myth known as "fairy tales". His purpose in utilizing this particular style of myth making, was -

"In order to explore the 'secret life in creation'."

Hein also asserted -

"Tolkien also saw that fairy tales were perfectly suited to Christian theology. Both fairy tales and Christianity demand belief in other worlds."

May I interject at this point, that our intention in The DragonSeed Conspiracy is that it would be utilized as a Christian discipleship and evangelistic tool that challenges college aged Christians to become familiar with the scriptures in such a way as to be able to defend and articulate their faith in the public, pagan and secular arena, while also being competitive enough with other non-Christian FRPG's to attract those who are part of that particular community, whose FRPG's are largely occult based . TDSC's mission statement states this plainly when it says -

"The mission of TDSC Inc. is to create quality FRPG's for the purpose of sharing the gospel with that particular community, and to challenge and strengthen the faith of adult Christians in the context of Fantasy Role Playing Games."

Like Tolkien's usage of fairy tales to point out what lies behind the crude language we use to define things, which later led Lewis to faith in Christ, Christian based Fantasy Role Playing Games have the inherent ability to do the same. Because there is dynamic built into the FRPG through the use of tables , charts, character sheets and dice, players are made to feel as if they are moving through the fantasy adventure, which makes the utilizing and application of scripture and Biblical argument seem all the more real. Thus the Christian based FRPG serves as a kind of "Lab" where Biblical application can be experimented with, and skills developed that will build the confidence level of the players so they will be enabled to proactively respond in similar situations in the world in which they live.

Ware fills us in on how the rest of the conversation went with Tolkien and Lewis that cold night along the grove -

".here's my point: Just as a word is an invention about an object or an idea, so a story can be an invention about Truth."

The other rubs his chin.

"I've loved stories since I was a boy," he muses. "You know that, Tollers! Especially stories about heroism and sacrifice, death and resurrection - like the Norse myth of Balder. But when it comes to Christianity . . . well, that's another matter. I simply don't understand how the life and death of Someone Else (whoever He was) 2,000 years ago can help me here and now."

"But don't you see, Jack?" persists his friend. "The Christian story is the greatest story of them all. Because it's the Real Story. The historical event that fulfills the tales and shows us what they mean. The tree itself - not just a verbal invention."

Jack stops and turns. "Are you trying to tell me that in the story of Christ.all the other stories have somehow come true?"

A week and a half later, Jack - better known to most of us as C.S. Lewis, teacher, author, defender of the Christian faith, and creator of the beloved Chronicles of Narnia - writes to his friend Arthur Greeves: "I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ - in Christianity. My long night talk with Tolkien had a great deal to do with it."

Now I will not argue the fact that FRPG's have been used by the evil one to deceive and draw some players into dabbling in the occult, and on a few occasions, caused such a obsession that some very unfortunate and tragic things happened as a result. But it just isn't fair to say that FRPG's were the cause of these outcomes. They may have been one ingredient in an otherwise large recipe, but they were not the main culprit to be sure.

Nevertheless, because it is easy for some troubled youth to become obsessed with FRPG's, and because so many of these games are well researched in occult themes and practices (among other inappropriate themes), in no way am I a proponent of all FRPG's. But the guilt-by-association reaction of so many well meaning Christian people to all things RPG and FRPG is ludicrous and borders on being superstitious, to say the least.

If this principle were applied to other things, such as novels and card games (both of which have been used for the same purposes as secular and pagan RPG's) then the fantasy novels by Tolkien, Lewis, and Lawhead, to name a few authors, and the card game Redemption, as well as a few computer RPG's, would likewise be guilty by reason of association. Why to some, the very mention of wizards and dragons and evil conspiracies is enough to condemn a work outright, sight unseen.

Let me share a case in point: the parents of a young girl who wanted to play the Christian based RPG DragonRaid, which I have been using in my own church for over ten years to disciple our junior high and high school youth (and in which I have enjoyed huge success, I might add) condemned my using DR on the basis that it had dragons in it, and that it sounded too much like Dungeons and Dragons. I tried to explain to them that in order to progress in the game, the players have to gain maturity units which can then be added on to the numerical ratings they initially rolled for at the beginning of the game. The 9 fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 are what gives the players ratings in other abilities, so that they are taught to be strong in character first, before they are strong in battle. Yet these parents came into my office so full of cynicism and bias against the game because it was an RPG first of all (one of them had a bad experience with a close relative who played Dungeons and Dragons), and because the game had dragons in it (and dragons are evil) that they refused to let their child, who could have otherwise benefited immensely from the game, play it. Their bias had made them so closed that they practically spewed bitterness and bile at me (something dragons have been known to do on occasion, if I recall). In any case, even though I gave them material we would be using in the game that gave the background of the world of EdenAgain (Dick Wulf's imaginary world created for DR) and such, they merely perused it without allowing the well-written material a chance to explain itself. This was apparent to me as I went over it with them only to have them speak over what the material said to why they had their opinions (again, based on a bad experience with D&D). I was never able to even get a foot in the door. Sadly, their young daughter was the one that lost out in the end.

Jesus labored to teach deep spiritual lessons to a wide variety of people, and he used parables to do it, so as to make such profound truths intellectually accessible to as many as possible (and to obscure them from the proud and self-righteous). The discussions that took place between Tolkien and Lewis often delved deeply into this very thing: the utilizing of what they termed "verbal inventions" in order to strip away less worthy descriptions that worked more to veil the beauty of a thing than to expansively describe it. Jim Ware in his article for BREAKAWAY, a magazine for Teenaged boys, entitled "Finding God in the Lord of the Rings" gives us a glimpse of one of these discussions.

"Lewis made no secret of his intentions. "Supposing," he once asked himself, reflecting on the nature of God, the sufferings of Christ, and other fundamental Christian truths, "that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday school associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency. . . ." This, he said, is exactly what he was trying to do in The Chronicles of Narnia."

Tolkien whole heartedly agreed. He called his writings "inventions about truth." Jim Ware wrote that Tolkien indeed used myth and fantasy to open his reader's minds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ -

". Tolkien uses myth and fantasy to open the heart's back door when the front door is locked. As he explained, "I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth,' and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode." The result has been that millions of people-many of whom reject formal religion-encounter realities that flourish in the unexplored regions of Christian belief."

It has become amazing to me that Tolkien saw in the mythologies of the world a microcosm of the true story of the Gospel. Ware quotes him as saying -

"The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels particularly artistic, beautiful and moving: 'mythical' in their perfect, self-contained significance . . . But this story has entered History and the primary world . . . This story is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men-and of elves."

Isn't that an incredible quote from Tolkien? Now it must be understood that while Tolkien was not writing a purely Christian allegory - like Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress for example, he did mean to infuse into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings his Christian faith, and even more so, as he went back and revised his work, for he admitted in a letter to a friend -

"The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Christian work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision." [bold added for emphasis]

The man who wrote Tolkien's authorized biography, Humphrey Carpenter, likewise understood the connection between Tolkien's Christian faith and his fantasy novels. He wrote that Tolkien's writings were "the work of a profoundly religious man."

Ware wrote that it was Carter's conviction that -

".God is essential to everything that happens in The Lord of the Rings. Without Him, Middle-earth couldn't exist."

This makes the case for me, that in a Christian based FRPG, the metaphorical and often times allegorical "verbal inventions" serve to bring Biblical and theological and Redemptive truths to the players in ways that clarify their original meaning and intent in a such a way that the players not only grow in their mental understanding but learn to apply what they learn in real life situations. Yes evil is presented in all it's ugliness and seductiveness, but along side of it is the encouragement of the referee (called in Dick Wulf's DragonRaid and my - The DragonSeed Conspiracy, the "Adventure Master") for the players to use the Bible to gain the wisdom necessary to confront it and defeat it.

Along these lines, Tolkien himself even went so far as to state that some truths can best be defined in mythological language, and that both legends and myths are true to a large ectent. Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware, co-authors of the book, Finding God in the Lord of the Rings, quoted Tolkien as saying -

"I believe that legends and myths are largely made of truth, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode."

I understand Tolkien's point precisely. How often have we been made to think of myth and legend as merely embellishments of something with a shred of truth in them? And yet, I have grown more prone to believe that those in human history who have lived great lives inspired by unwavering convictions; and who dared to challenge existing definitions of reality by the usage of prophetic counter-themes, become mythologized due to the fact that - in large part their extraordinary accomplishments were in fact, legendary. How else can we address such grand and glorious accomplishments. Ah but you see, we are back to the grove, and Tolkien's lecturing Lewis about.a tree (or was it the Gospel?).

My point is that too many less inquisitive folk have a tendency to "write off" what would otherwise be considered reliable research material because it has the ring of myth or legend in it. To these staunch realists (rationalists) they are only after the truth, the unadulterated, unembellished, objective, dispassionate "facts-only-Sgt.-Joe-Friday truth"! Anything that may in the least be seasoned with legend or myth runs the risk of being negligible or fanciful (dare they use "fairy tale" and run the risk of Tolkien's ire?), or so these folk seem to think (or have been led to think). One has to wonder though, and this will require a bit of "out-side-the-box" thinking, whether or not the most real way of conveying historical reality is by making lean, unimaginative statements about a person, place, or thing without the judicious usage of the poetic or romantic in the telling of it. After all, how would one translate a language that has within it one hundred thousand words into a language of one thousand words? And how does a person describe in a totally accurate way, who a great, historical person was, or what he/she felt while engaged in the making of the historical event, in any system of language or communication worthy enough to convey it? But now we are merely reiterating Lewis' and Tolkien's pet peeves, aren't we?

Yet it is the very desire to know about things that requires us to appeal to some systematized way of communication in order to learn about it, or actualize it. And so, "there you have it, you see." Clyde S. Kilby, writing the Foreword to Rolland Hein's book CHRISTIAN MYTHMAKERS (Cornerstone Press, Chicago) illustrates this by telling the story of an old woman who said -

"How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?"

The dilemma here, is that our systematizing is not fully adequate to tell the whole story or give the total picture of anything, no matter how many times we attempt to do so. This is especially true when attempting to pass down the story of great persons and their great accomplishments. As Kilby laments -

"The more he defines, the more he abstracts, the farther a satisfying reality seems to fly."

So what is the answer for those who are hungry to know of a thing or learn about that which has gone before? This is where the language of the legend and of myth comes in (lets not leave out 'fairy tale'). It is the utilizing of his imagination in the process of painting a verbal picture that allows a human person to transcend the claustrophobia of purely mundane and banal language (systems) so that, rather than just gleaning the facts (please allow.the facts according to..) we end up entering the story ourselves, enveloping the telling of it with a whole array of full- orbed emotional communication tools at our disposal, including - gestures and pictures, costumes and imagery, rhythms and metaphors and symbols, etc.

There are those who seem content with mere cerebral and pedantic details of a given story, relayed unemotionally, monotone and without passion, but with great earnestness of effort to remain restrained and composed. Ah, but you see, myth is more concerned with the whole than with the part. And reality, we must admit, is much bigger than mere objectivity, and cold rationality. Yet we must be careful to not assign that which is mythological to that which is synonymous with irrationality. On the contrary, myth accommodates the rational. But at the same time myth rises above it to include the transcendent quality that resides in every living thing that is inherent in the thing by virtue of the fact that life bears witness to it's Creator. And the Creator, need I say it? is greater than even the very words He chooses to disclose Himself are able to convey (oops, back at Tolkien's tree again).

And so it is with our attempts to pass down historical information about great people (made great by virtue of the fact that God made them so) who were long on exploits and short on words (written records or first hand journals of their deeds). And so it is when we read about the likes of great Christian saints such as Patrick and Nicholas and Joan of Arc, etc.The truth of the matter is that Christian based myth and fantasy, such as can be accomplished and experienced within the RPG genre known as FRPG's, if written well and sensitively, rather than eclipse reality, cause one to experience an epiphany of it.

Because of the occult and sexual themes inherent in some (not all) FRPG's, there are some principles and guidelines that should be followed by Christians who want to play FRPG's (preferably those that are Christian based). Below are the principles and guidelines that helped govern our development of TDSC.

1. A Biblical worldview forms the foundation for the development of the world and mission of TDSC. Christianity is strongly represented as the predominant belief system advocated in the game, and it's doctrines are promoted throughout the structure of the game.

2. The values and lifestyle of Biblical Christianity stand out as very evident and relevant in TDSC. Anything that runs contrary to what the Bible teaches and Christianity believes and adheres to, is clearly presented as evil, hostile, and adversarial, and/or in need of being countered by the allegorical faith of the Light Bearers who believe in Go-El, the games Christ figure, and who live in The Liberated Land, as opposed to non-believers who live in the evil Dragon Lands of Talania.

3. Supernatural power is evident in TDSC and is presented as flowing from one of two sources: The Spirit of the Go-El, or from the archenemy - The Great Red Dragon.

4. All powers that do not come from Go-El and are thus contrary to Biblical ethics and morals are viewed as evil and are to be avoided, cleansed, and/or resisted and destroyed. If they are not, negative consequences and penalties are suffered.

5. In TDSC the players are guided toward the acquisition of maturity units that are awarded each time a Biblically endorsable behavior is exhibited, and that are then added to the players character strength (the 9 fruit of the Spirit). In this way, the imaginations, thoughts, and behaviors of the participants are encouraged to conform to Biblical standards. Any engagement in impure or unwholesome thought, word, or deed, is penalized by subtracting a determined number of points from a players maturity units, which could end up weakening his overall character.

6. In TDSC all acts of Biblical morality are awarded and affirmed, while any and all actions toward Biblical immorality, sensuality, immodesty, etc. are strongly condemned and penalized. This includes all works of the flesh categorized by Jesus in the Gospels, and by Paul in the book of Galatians 5:16 -21, to list a few. Does it glorify evil or violence? If the answer is yes, then it must be rejected.

7. Whatsoever things are honorable, respectful, decent and morally clean are considered the norm as far as the standard behavior expected out of the players (all players are TwiceBorn, TDSC's version of a Born Again Christian). This includes thoughts, language, and behaviors.

8. Playing TDSC will certainly familiarize a player with Biblical standards of morality, a Biblical world view, and Christian doctrine and defenses against cult and occult errors. Christians will be challenged to defend their faith and thus be strengthened in their faith as a result of playing TDSC. While TDSC strives to not be overtly preachy, and though great effort has been put into not forcing Biblical allegories, non-Christian players will find themselves studying and memorizing the Bible in order to progress in the game, and thus be confronted with the truth about the person and work of Christ and hopefully be gradually led into a saving knowledge of Jesus. TDSC players should be led to study passages of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, with a new curiosity and intensity, as many of it's lessons coincide with stories and narratives in scripture.

9. TDSC has been developed so as to be engaging and fun to play, yet with constant reminders throughout it's various adventures that it is merely a lab in which doctrines can be explored and defended, and behaviors and attitudes practiced and learned. Therefore, the blurring of reality with the game is not likely to happen, nor is it encouraged. It is life in the real world that TDSC encourages, not escapism and fantasizing.

10. TDSC promotes a proactive lifestyle amongst it's adherents in which equipping, empowering and Christian ministry is the goal.

Dear FRPG enthusiasts,

Welcome to the exciting world of The DragonSeed Conspiracy. TDSC is a Christian based role playing game designed for Christians who love to play FRPGs (Fantasy Role Playing Games) but have tension with those games whose content may be too violent (gratuitous violence), too sensual, or whose dominant belief system is Occult based and/or polytheistic.

Let me give you a brief overview of the context in which TDSC takes place. Because the development team of TDSC are Tolkien fans (who isn't?), the ambience of TDSC is more or less Tolkienesque in that the terrain of Talania has it's share of mountains, forests, and plains that are described in ways reminiscent of Middle Earth. The world of TDSC is inhabited by an assortment of Tolkienesque type monsters and foes, such as trolls, dragons, orks, goblins, wargs, balrogs, giants, wraiths, wizards, etc.as well as additional creations of TDSCs creator, Pete Bertolero, and his development team, such as syncretes (house sized spiders that spin a technicolored web), lupi (a tribal society of human changelings who can become werewolves), Renfeldians (vampires), Maws (huge cloaked creatures whose most dominant feature is their gaping, long, pointed toothed mouth, the last thing their victims see, as well as an assortment of witches, mages, psychic monsters, banshees, Shadowkin (demons) and much more, ensuring a high angst level in the game. TDSC is also populated with a variety of redeemable races such as humans, dwarfkin and halflings, and the immortal Elfkin.)

What makes TDSC different from non-Christian based games (and we say this without any animus or judgment against the others), is that the dominant belief system from which the moral laws that govern the world of TDSC are derived, come from "The Sacred Book of Otherworld" discovered by Talan, son of Zim. This book is the game's allegorical book for the Bible. Just as the laws that govern most civilized countries in our world come from a Judaic-Christian frame of reference, so the moral laws in TDSC are derived from this book. So the laws governing the world of TDSC, and against which crimes are committed and ascertained - are Biblically based. Such things as morality, ethics, virtue and godliness are also measured by these laws and the Sacred Book of Otherworld, for those of religious persuasion.

Yes, TDSC does have included within the context of the game a whole assortment of evil creatures and evil temptations and behaviors. Such is the world in which we live. Since TDSC's purpose is to teach it's Christian adherents how to think and behave Biblically when confronted by evil in it's many forms, evil in it's many forms is included in the game, serving as a backdrop that will challenge each players beliefs, and test each players discipline and resolve, as well as train each player in how to best respond in similar cases in real life. TDSC is evangelical and conservative in it's doctrinal approach, and should fit easily within the doctrines of most Christian denominations.

Having said all this, I would like to say a few things to those who are not Christians but who would like to explore the world of TDSC. You could feasibly play TDSC without necessarily agreeing with or "buying into" Christianity. You will still need to use a Bible to combat the evil supernaturalism in the game, but it is not our intention to be too preachy or pushy. We want you to be able to explore the scripture as you work through the allegorical world of TDSC, hoping, of course, that you will see the Bible in a new light. Concepts such as cloning, alien-human intermingling and their monstrous offspring, occult conspiracies, and entire societies steeped in the darkest kinds of black arts and demonic workings, and power encounters between warlocks and Christians, are all there in scripture, along with provisions as to how one might triumph over them and what power is available to defend against them.

Our intention as the development team of TDSC is to remove any obstacles in your way of giving the action packed life of Biblical faith a consideration in your own spiritual journey. That you could do this by playing our FRPG makes the effort well worth the time you would invest in it. You can be sure that TDSC will be competitive with other non-Christian FRPGs when it comes to a well written script, subplots, puzzles, angst producing situations, and encounters with very scary monsters.

Let me end by quoting from a conversation J.R.R. Tolkien was having with his close friend, C.S. Lewis. Lewis at the time was not a Christian, and had no use for the gospel. They had been engaged in a conversation about words and terms as but poor, man-made inventions that failed to capture the reality and glory of the thing it was meant to describe. Quite suddenly, the subject changes to a subject close to both men's heart - mythology. Here's how it went from there, with Tolkein saying:

".here's my point: Just as a word is an invention about an object or an idea, so a story can be an invention about Truth."

The other rubs his chin. "I've loved stories since I was a boy," he muses. "You know that, Tollers! Especially stories about heroism and sacrifice, death and resurrection - like the Norse myth of Balder. But when it comes to Christianity . . . well, that's another matter. I simply don't understand how the life and death of Someone Else (whoever He was) 2,000 years ago can help me here and now."

Jack stops and turns. "Are you trying to tell me that in the story of Christ... all the other stories have somehow come true?"

Pete Bertolero and the development team of TDSC see in the Gospel story of redemption all the other great stories and myth find their fulfillment indeed. So whether you are a Christian wanting to be challenged or strengthened in your faith, or consider yourself on a spiritual journey that is still in process, The DragonSeed Conspiracy will provide you near endless hours of enjoyment and excitement, and hopefully much more.

TDSC has been written for a target age group (16-25). It's themes of bio-engineering, evolution vs creationism, etc, will appeal to college aged students, as well as adults of all ages. However, due to the adult themes and vivid imagery of dark creatures, those under 16 are advised not to play TDSC. We encourage our young Pages and junior squires to play DragonRaid as a primer for TDSC. Usually our knights and senior squires lead our younger DR teams.

As published in the December 2001 issue of Plugged In a publication from Focus on the Family

Roland Hein, Christian Mythmakers, p. 161

Fantasy Role Playing Games

I do not mean to imply by this that they hold to any particular occult religion or affiliation; only that the worldview, which is largely moralistic, is infused with a metaphysical belief system more akin to those found in occult belief systems in terms of supernatural powers and mediations, than that which is ascribed to Christianity.

From "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said," in Of Other Worlds; ed. Walter Hooper, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1966.

Jim Ware's article Finding God in the Lord of the Rings

I am alluding to an old cops and robbers detective drama of the 60's called Dragnet, in which one of the detectives, Joe Friday, made the monotone line "Just the facts, mam" popular.

Hein, Rolland. P.ix-x

says Hein, p. xi-xii

The model used for developing these guidelines come from Rev. David Brown of the Logos Consortium