From S. Elizabeth Errico: I had
taken the time to write a lengthy, opinionated rant about how the right
wing fundamentals of your site were extraordinarily ignorant, but I
decided that I had better ways to spend my time. So instead I will include
one quote. "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is
not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."-
Charlotte Bronte, 1847. Thank you.
From
Michelle, an official Pokemon trainer: You should be very
ashamed of yourself. you are not a christian,.I can tell. No
Christian would talk about a cartoon show that way. I think your
satanist.
Pokemon
is the most non-violent show in the world,and it teaches kids morals. How DARE you insult it by saying it's evil.
Your just jealous because something like
Pokemon wasn't made when you were young. Pokemon
is the best thing that ever was invented,and you can just LEAVE IT
ALONE! I hate everyone that treats Pokemon like this,so that means
I hate YOU!!!
I
have a friend who has a site AGAINST Anti-Pokemon.. Anti-Pokemon
must be stopped.It's a cult, and since your part of it, that means YOUR
evil.
POKEMON
RULES! POKEMON 4 EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From Justice:
I'm so glad that I am not the only one
who feels this way about this game.
I have found it very interesting, though,
how some families who claim to be Christian still will not see the truth
of Pokemon. When I found out that Wizards of the Coast was the company
behind Pokemon I was reminded of the scripture in James 3:11, "does
a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?"
The Lord told us we would know people by their fruit. To believe that a
company who makes 'Magik', D&D, and other role playing games, that
many parents would shudder to find their children playing, is capable of
creating a game that is of a different spirit is ludicrous.
Well again, THANK YOU for your web site.
Read
Pokebuster by Chris and visit
his wesite at http://hometown.aol.com/Pokebuster7
From Jim: I really
enjoy you website and your actions to bring some purity into an impure
world. I am 13 and I want to tell you something. I can understand your view
of Pokemon but ever since my brother has collected the cards, he has become
an excellent reader. He has also become more literate and willing to read.
This is from a boy who would never pick up a book unless he had to.
Pokemon teaches children friendship,
love, caring, and most of all responsibility. Ash shows responsibility by
taking care of all his Pokemon. I am not in the craze, I don't care about
it, but it's just not right. Thank you for reading my message, I will still
visit your site frequently.
From Cindy Bare: Thank
you. I appreciate your website very much. We are battling a
"Christian" aunt and uncle who want to take our 14 and 15 year
old daughters to events that we don't believe are good for them. The most
recent is a Renaissance Festival, complete with gothic costumes. I have
explained to them that this is a form of role-playing, and that this
family is not being very spiritually discerning. The aunt has also been
pushing them to read Harry Potter. I was glad to see your coverage of this
series, as I now have a little more knowledge regarding this. Again, thank
you.
Thank you,
Cindy, for alerting us to one more form of role-playing.
I don't think people are aware of
the Spiritual battle that's being fought over our very heads. Satan will
use ANYTHING (even things that seem "okay") to pull us away from
a personal relationship with God. We recently used this illustration with
our two homeschooled daughters to clarify a point:
On a piece of paper, we wrote GOD
down the left-hand side. We then wrote SATAN down the right-hand side. We
drew a bold line right down the middle. Then we took various 'subjects'
and had them place the subjects on either "God's side" or
"Satan's side". We started with the most obvious, such as
"prayer", "Satanism", "devotions",
"church", "Witchcraft", etc. Then we moved into the
questionable topics such as "Contemporary Christian(?) music",
"social drinking", "tight, reavealing clothing", etc.
Some of those topics straddled the line, at which time we emphasized to
them that if it even TOUCHES the line, it's OVER THE LINE. It was a
wonderful object lesson.
From
Will: You said: So Ash sets out again in search for more of
the reclusive, power-filled, little Pokemon. His first step is to find the
"psychic Pokemon" called Kadabra and snatch it from its
telepathic, pink-eyed trainer, Sabrina. With the ghost Haunter on his
side, it should be a cinch!
Ash does not try to
capture the psychic Pokémon. To get into The Pokémon Leauge he must
challenge the Pokémon Gym Leader Sabrina to get 1 of 8
badges needed to enter The Pokémon League. He does beat the Pokémon
Gym Leader Sabrina but he does not capture that Pokémon. In the show and
in the game you do not go around stealing other people's Pokémon. They
capture wild Pokémon. And Kadabra did not evolve, he created an illusion
to be bigger than he actually was. And here you also said Pokeman:
"I
will travel across the land
Searching
far and wide
Each
Pokeman to understand
The
power that's inside.
Gotta
catch them all!"
Thanks,
Will, for including that mantra. It tells children to catch them all, not
just the wild monsters. And thanks for the correction. But keep in mind,
that the individual TV episodes don’t clarify what you just said. The
first impression a viewer would get when watching that particular episode
– especially with the above mantra repeated over and over – is that
Ash intends to catch every Pokemon he can. But I should have changed the
words earlier. I will do it right now.
Can you actually convince
people that Pokémon is evil by spelling it wrong? You spelled it Pokeman.
Most adults call it that and that usually means they do not even have
enough information on the subject to spell it right….
I
don’t know how to type a letter which is neither on my keyboard nor in
our U.S. alphabet.
And the Game Shark is
cheating but it is not like a test it is a video game helper. If you like
to see the end of a video game like I do the Game Shark can come in handy,
or if you like to get a boost of help on an extremly difficult game.
Look
again at the quotations concerning cheating. Their message is that
cheating isn’t nice, but do it anyway.
One last thing, you do not
burn stuff. Is what you want children to learn that to get rid of
unpleasant this you must burn things? I am sorry I just think that is
purely ridiculous! “After hearing God's warning and praying for His
wisdom, nine-year-old Alan Brannan decided to throw away all his Pokemon
cards. "My friend did the same," said his mother. "Her
twelve year old son had been having nightmares. But after a discussion
with his parents about the game and its symbols, he was convicted to burn
his cards and return his Gameboy game. That night slept well for the first
time in a month."
Last I think if you should
be against evil be against movies such as the 18th Angel where Satan
defeats God and rules the world and man creates his own life and then
making God nothing. Compare that with Pokémon: The First Movie and
Barney's Great adventure.
From
Julie Greenfield: I have read your article on the Dangers
of Role Playing Games. When the Pokemon craze first came out, I too, felt that there
was something wrong with them but could not quite figure out what.
I am also a divorced mother of 2 young boys, 10 & 4 and have an
ex-husband who does not agree with the ways I am trying to bring up the
boys. I was not aware of your
website until I E-mailed John Ankerberg on information about Pokemon.
He referred me to your web site.
I also read the comments from some of the people and came across
one from a Mom that seems like she is up against the same thing as me.
I know thru my on life that if she stands up for the ways of the
Lord, He will continue to give her the wisdom to know how to handle any
situation that may come up.
When my kids get things
from other people that I feel is wrong or evil of just checks in with my
spirit the wrong way, it goes directly into the garbage. We don't give it
away to another child, it goes out with the trash.
They are starting to know now on their own what I will accept and
won't accept. It has come to
the point that they won't even complain to me about usually.
There are times when I still have to explain to them that if it is
not of Gods way for our life we can't have it.
It will only be an opening for Satan to come in.
From a concerned
mother: I have been blessed to have kids who are not influenced by
every whim and wave that comes by them.
My son has been recently conflicting with a friend of his about
this Pokemon stuff and he wanted to know why it was "so evil".
I have never liked the
media and toy industry preying upon children. Children's minds are so
pliable. We are instructed in
the Bible to "train up a child in the way he should go so that when
he grows old he will not depart from it".
If we allow outside influences to ply and mold our children’s
thinking, it warps them or distorts the real images.
A child has plenty of imagination without TV or movie makers or toy
makers trying to ploy them into their schemes.
Children should be
encouraged to use their imaginations and develop them to good. Many people
in our society use the TV and popular toys as babysitters taking away
valuable time that their kids need from THEM!
Kids do not need all this stuff our society and media throws in
their faces to be happy. If
kids had Quality time with their parents and families they would not be as
apt to be drawn into such demises.
I have been told I am
sheltering my children. But I
disagree with them. I have an
open communication with my kids who are now 10 and 13 and we can discuss
anything they encounter from their friends.
I tell them why I feel the way I feel and ask them their opinion on
the issue. I would say
sheltering would be like going to some remote mountain with NO outside
contact. I am merely
channeling what comes to our household.
"Running waters becomes a stagnant swamp of mire without
boundaries."
All
parents, whether they are Christian or not, need to be aware of what is
influencing your kids….
Even if there were no evil influences to the Pokemon thing, is it
healthy for children to spend so much time on one thing?
Think about it.
From
J. Carney: I admire
the fervor with which you stand up for your beliefs.
I am not about to claim that a person who researches things which
they truly believe are harmful in order to help people are sick as some of
your more unsavory letters suggest. However,
I do disagree with your stance on some issues.
I don't think Pokemon is
the work of the devil. Of
course, I'm being slightly facetious, because I don't believe you think
Pokemon is satan either. As I
understand your articles, you look at Pokemon as a sort of gateway to
possible occult things that one might believe are the work of satan.
I don't really agree with this point.
As I see it, Pokemon comes
from a very different culture with a greater focus on a mystical
spiritualism. The creators
might have based ideas for some of the Pokemon on concepts that originate
in that mystical spiritualism, but I don't think the purpose is to promote
it. Children that are
interested in Pokemon are interested in just that, Pokemon.
The
card game although strikingly similar to Magic: The Gathering, does not
make kids want to play Magic: The Gathering.
They play the card game because it's Pokemon, not because of how
the game is played.
The only evil at work here, is the evil of Commercialism, which
exploits the children, especially through the constant repetition of the
catch phrase, "Gotta catch 'em all!" which reinforces their
minds towards buying pokemon affiliated paraphernalia.
The only demon I see, is profit.
From LRS: We
minister to several "street kids" at our church. Pokemon
is not the seductive danger in these kids' lives. We are fighting
the influences of abject poverty, abusive parents, drugs and alcohol, open
sexual perversion in the home, and violence. Some of these kids are really
into television (possibly to escape?)...they watch everything from R-rated
movies, "Professional" wrestling, worldly sitcoms (of course,
they are ALL worldly, aren't they?), Jerry Springer, South Park,
MTV, and...yes, even Pokemon. These kids watch the cartoon
regularly. They even own some cards. However, none of them
have shown any occultic behaviors. The only demonic
manifestations we have noticed have been results of the other
"mess" going on AT HOME...not Pokemon.
We also have many typical "church
kids" who watch the cartoon. What spiritual problems do we see
active in THEIR lives? For some, it's racism. Others have a
holier-than-thou attitude towards the "street kids."
Unfaithfulness in giving seems to be a recurring battle front. Did
the kids get this "mess" from TV or FROM HOME? To date, I
have not been able to discern, deduce, or detect a connection between
these spiritual problems and Pokemon. So, who CAN we blame
for this? What common influence can we find? Is there ONE
thing in the lives of these kids that we can remove to change it all?
Is Pokemon the cause for all of these problems, or could the answer
lay somewhere else?
Years ago, I remember the debate about Smurfs
when they were popular...later it was HeMan & Thundercats...
Every one of these toy-ads...oops, I mean "cartoons"... was
believed to be controlling kids and leading them to hell. Those
"crazes" came and went. One of the "eternal
verities" of life is that KIDS GROW UP...they GROW OUT of listening
to the same music, watching the same shows, and reading the same comics.
Many fans of the popular worldly cartoons (as well as fans of any worldly
entertainment) of the past are now saved and committed to Christ...some
are NOT. What made the difference? A cartoon? A game? A toy?
No, the difference usually is the PARENTS,
the CHURCH, and (dare I say it) the KIDS THEMSELVES. Why do some of the
most dispicable and degenerate folks turn their lives over to Christ while
many "church folks" remain hell-bound in apathy, hypocrisy, and
lukewarmness? Why do some kids get saved and stay committed to Christ for
the rest of their lives and some do not? The responsibility lay NOT with
the entertainment industry...NOTHING HOLY HAS EVER COME OUT OF HELLIWOOD!
(e.g. Mickey Mouse was a WIZARD'S APPRENTICE and a HUGE DEMON emerged from
the mountain in Fantasia back in the 50's). If kids are involved in sin,
if they are heading to hell, if they are involved in the occult, or if
they are exhibiting demonic manifestations...the blame lay NOT at the
doorstep of the entertainment industry, but rather with the parents, the
church, and the kids themselves.
We teach ALL of our Children's Church kids
that Jesus and His Word are the only REALLY important influences in life.
We continually drill into them that Jesus loves them (and that you can't
get LOVE from TV); that He is ready, willing, and ABLE to deliver
them from ANY problem (something else TV can't offer); and that His Word
has REAL LIFE power (TV can only offer fiction and fantasy...nothing that
REALLY WORKS). We avoid the debate about which TV shows are
"good" and which are "evil." With Jesus as our
standard, I don't see ANYTHING on TV that is spiritually edifying.
My opinion of TV is that it will ALWAYS cater to the lowest common
denominator...SIN. Our goal is to lead these kids into the presence
of Almighty God and fill them so full of God's Word that they will fall
head over heels in love with Jesus...once this happens, all the
"other" stuff loses its attraction and influence.
Christianity is not mainly about not doing the "don't's" but
about doing the "do's." THANKS FOR READING, AND PRAY FOR US!
From
Tom W., card gamer, role player, and full time Priest of the Lord,
follower of Jesus Christ: I have been an avid role-player
for 15 years, a Magic player (as well as most other CCGs), and I enjoy
sci-fi/fantasy. I am also an ordained Priest ( for 10 years), and have an
extremely close relationship with God. While reading your web site, I was
disappointed with the use of God to twist everything that you have
mentioned. Have you bothered to talk at any length with Wizards of the
Coast, any hobby stores, or players of any of these games (re. Pokemon or
Magic the Gathering)?
Berit: Yes I
have, Tom
1: Magic is a collectable
card game. Lets break these words down. Collectable refers to the fact
that some of the cards are not as easy to get as others. Card refers to
the fact that these are made of cardboard stock. Game refers to the fact
that you should use some imagination. How can you realistically vilify
cardboard? Using God in this respect is wrong. The only magic in these
pieces of cardboard is in the name.
Berit:
This "cardboard," like the pages of a book, carry messages. Some edify. Others
corrupt.
2: Pokemon, like Magic is
also a CCG. I noticed your twisting of the quotes in the article. If you
would take your quoted sections as the way that they we written instead of
trying to read what is not really there, you might realize there was
really nothing to find in the first place. The real reason that Pokemon
cards were band at most schools is because kids were having their cards
stolen. Also, these cards, like anything not related to learning, are a
distraction.
Children have a short
attention span anyway, so how do you justify designating something you
have no interest in as evil? "Gotta Catch Em' All" is a catch
phrase ( like " You Got The Right Stuff Baby") and refers to the
fact that there ar many different types of Pokemon to try to catch. This
game is one of the few where you do not kill your opponents pokemon. The
defeated pokemon is knocked out, and is recalled to its trainers'
poke'-ball. Nowhere in any information that I have ever seen does it offer
mystical powers to the owner of a card, a digital image, a stuffed/
plastic TOY, or comic book....
If you have
read the comic books, you should know that isn't true.
3: Role playing is just
that- ROLE PLAYING. I don't believe for one minute that you have never
pretended you were someone or something you aren't. I am sure that you have seen the numerous articles detailing
the deaths attributed to RPGs. Try to research these articles a little
more. While I am aware there are mentally deficient individuals who get
lost in their own drug soaked minds, most gamers are nice, law abiding
citizens, and although not all believe in God (as is their right here in
the USA) they respect our beliefs. People like you do not respect any who
don't follow along with your ideals. Most role playing is a harmless
diversion that requires intelligence, imagination, and quick thinking. It
stimulates the mind and sharpens the wit.
Since reading your
articles, I will ad your web site, along with The 700 Club as a bunch of
hack reporters who don't check the source (or even go to the source). Good
journalists at least talk to people involved in the thing they are writing
about. I don't mind people using God to define everyday life, but at least
find out something about what you want to define. May God be in your
hearts and minds always.
I am a Christian 19 years
old and I think someone is on crack or some other….
Pokemon should to pose an issue to you over-zealous people. Most of
you, I'm sure, have no clue
what the origins of Pokemon even are.
If you have seen the movie you will know that the main character is
trying to defeat the evil creature in the movie.
The original
story is actually close to this.
Back in the day (long ago I'm sure) a man in Japan wrote a story something like this.
There once lived a boy who
live peacefully in a
beautiful town. One day the
town was attacked by a large monster who was very powerful. The boy intent
on restoring the honor and piece to his village tried to save the town by fighting the monster on his own. He did this to no evil.
The monster kicked him out of
the town and into the forest close by.
The Boy then saw a monster in the forest and
thought If I could defeat this small monster and use him to get me
a bigger monster and then that one a bigger monster yet then I could get a big
enough monster to defeat the
monster that has taken my town. He then proceeded to capture 6 monsters
and when he got back to his town to fight off the big monster he found
that he loved his 6 new friends so
much that he would not let them fight the monster.
He also new that he was stronger now and tried to fight the monster
again. In the end the 6 Monsters helped him defeat the large monster
and save his town.
Now that you see that
Pokemon is nothing more then a children's foke tail I will continue. I
have played video games in the Role playing genre since I was 8 ish I also
have played Magic the
gathering, star trek, star wars, pokemon, and euchre card games. I play
Role playing games like
Vampire masquerade and play Warhammer 40,000 a turn based war
strategy game with little models that are painted by my self
(taking hours at a time) and have
never un intentionaly lost a game. (I let people win sometimes so that
they don't hate playing with
me)
If you were to meat me you
would believe me to be a normal Christian youth. I enjoy music and youth
retreats, I love to hang out with my friends and I enjoy doing things for others. I have
the occasional drink as drinking age is 19 were I am from but I maintain
control over my self and
always have a designated driver. I
think I have turned out just fine and I know my parents and God would
agree with me. So I see no
problems with the cute little pokemon
game or role playing in general.
(The people I play with are all very normal too and about 2/3's
of them are Christian) I
would also like to mention that From most of your points of view you
should also be condemning
dress up and playing house, Oh and no more Bible skits at church.
You don't want kids growing up believing they are Judas or
Zachary's, oh no we don't
need children pretending to clean up
their pretend house and take care of their pretend children.
So
to conclude I leave you with this thought: If
you can escape the restrictions of this word for a short time by imagining
another place or playing as a
different personality then you have the ability to succeed in any your
dreams and all of God's endeavors to you"
Reinhardt The Author of This Letter.
(If you took the time to read this letter
then I wish a blessing from God to you and his love endures
forever. Amen)
From
Phoen Dusk: I am trying to keep myself as calm as I can
after reading your diatribe called "Pokemon - The Dangers of
Role-Playing Games." I don't play that particular CCG, but I am a
former Magic and AD&D player (not to mention former Catholic), and am
currently studying the Wiccan Path.
Are you sincerely that zealous and
steadfast in your beliefs that anything that might remotely be interpreted
as something other than the "chiseled-in-stone Word of God" is
inherently "evil and demonic?" Please, tell me I'm imagining
that you are actually too blind to take the time to look around and see
that so many inanimate objects can be blamed for lack of parental concern
and interest?
From
Dennis Ward: Many people will try to justify what they
want to practice. The obvious will be changed to the not so obvious, etc.
So it is with Pokemon. The obvious mystical undertones, and obvious 'evil'
( for the lack of a better word) influences of this 'cartoon' will be
changed to what ever the victim needs in order to continue in its grasp.
There is an old adage "you are
what you eat". This can be extended to "you are what you put
into your mind." The responses given by those who think this 'game'
is OK only shows how far they will go to justify their position.
Simply put, evil is evil, no one
has to make it that way, it just is.
From
Jacob Pisano: I really want to know where I can post my
opinion to your subjects in this website. Obviously it is hard for me to
find, because stiff-necked Christians like you hide it! Cos you don't want
to hear the truth, all you want to do is flame that which you don't
understand, and you don't want to accept change, for you feel it is part
of the occult or some c...!
Maybe if you could pay attention to
what you say and see how d... hypocritical you sound, you'll realize
that you aren't doing what's best, and you aren't teaching God's word,
because He specifically says that one should follow one's heart and
conscience. Everyone knows that God is the human conscience, and He
wouldn't allow anyone, especially children brought up in His care, to
follow something evil!
As parents, it's their
responsibility to monitor the things their children do, of course, but
taking it into the spiritual world and believing that their children are
going to be possessed by demons is a bit farfetch'd! That shows that they
really have no idea how things work and they just want to puff their
chests out and act like they're all big and bad, and they know what's
up!
The point is that people should
think before they speak! Can you contemplate how lame it sounds to anyone
that Pokemon is really a part of Satin's work? If you do, then you must
truly be on crack, cos only a delusional person, or a paranoid
schizophrenic would believe something as hyped up as that! You're
fanatics, and that kind of thinking isn't what God looks for, because
you're singling out things, and being discriminatory without knowing all
the facts.
Jahim Sawun:
role playing games are merely games that help others to become someone
else. It is similar to an interactive story. I play video games. And
one day I was shocked to learn that my nephews had more commen sense than
adults.
They knew reality from fantasy. One
of them likes to blow up stuff but only video games. He knows never to do
that in real life. I have taught them so. I use to play magic the
gathering but no more cause I had momentarly lost interest in it. And yes
i have heard that many people say it leads to those satanic cults. But
they are all LIARS!!! It is just a game people. I played it because it was
fun and it also allowed one to think about there next move. It is a
strategy game. As for pokemon it was never ment for little kids. If one
takes such interests in a card then it is fine, but if they take to
extremes and say they lead cults then it's absolutly idiotic.
In conclusion it is never the game
themselves. No one has the right to take away anothers right to play the
game. But if another hurts others just to play the game. then they do not
deserve it. I ask they you please give role playing games and others a
chance. You would be able to notice that people have fun while playing
these games.
Anonymous:
What have you religious zealots been smoking? Pokemon may be the
biggest way for corporations to
rob little kids money but it doesn't cause devil worshiping.
Sure you can take any little text from the bible,twist it around, and
use it all to your advantage. Also you are looking at the pokemon monsters
themselves and saying thy promote hinduism!?? I don't think that pokemon
will convert your christian children into hinduism by the way you've
been brainwashing them.
From
Robyn Neubaum: I am so glad to have found your website.
The Lord has instructed me to research Pokemon so I can teach at
our church and in our community what is really behind it. I have been researching and putting all of my information
into a format that will be easy to understand.
My children did not know
that I was going to be digging so deep.
My oldest daughter and I were praying for one of her friends and
she stopped and said, "Mom, the Lord just showed me that every card,
character, toy has a spirit (demon) attached to it."
The Lord had already shown this to me, so it was definitely a
confirmation when she shared. I
am going through and praying over each Pokemon and asking the Lord for
discernment to identify which demon is attached. He is also showing me how there structure is established.
I believe demons are structured much like the military with
Principalities being the highest then princes, strongman, demons, minions.
I believe that He is having me put all of this together so we can fight
the enemy with a greater
knowledge of his tactics.
Please read this warning from Bryan,
a 13-year-old student:
From
Bryan F.: First of all, I want to state that I am a
Christian, not the best, but thankfully, Jesus died for my sins, and I have been saved by
his blood, and redeemed.
Second, I would like to say your articles on pokemon were very
informative. Let me start at the beginning though,
It all started back in the
spring of 1998, my family had just gotten the internet, and I thought it was wonderful. Soon I got into
role-playing online, and it
was SO addictive. Those who say that RPGs are harmless and helpful have NO idea what they are talking about. My
"character" got "killed"
and I was very upset. It was as if a part of me had died. Soon I
had a new character, and I
was hooked on it more so than ever.
In the fall of '98
though, I got TOSed by AOL for bad language in a RP chat, and I
lost ALL of my privelages
except for website visiting, and e-mail. At first I thought it was
terrible, but I gradually adjusted, and used the internet for reference.
Then, after three months, my mother gave my chat privelages, etc
back. I was fine for a little while, but I got re-ensnared in RPGs, and it
was terrible, by now it was early spring of 1999.
I became ever more
obsessed with RPGs, I spent almost all of my free time online
Role-Playing. I soon began to spiral downward. Soon, In the real world, I
made some new friends. We would sit outside into the late hours, talking
about various topics, swords, bugs, animals, school, everything.
When summer rolled around,
I had even more free time, so I spent most of my time either RPing(during
the day), or talking to my
"friends" (at night). Soon, they offered me marijuana. They said
it would be a few days, because they had to buy the pot. I willingly
agreed.(The RPGs had so
lowered my resistance to bad ideas, etc, I agreed, Willingly too!).
They offered me a cigarette, and told me if I was gonna smoke pot,
I had to smoke a cigarette. I took it, and smoked it. I got a buzz off of
it, that felt good. A few days later, one of my friends took me to a
nearby lake, and offered me a pipe full of smoking marijuana. I took it,
and smoked it, I got VERY high, he walked me home, and we sat outside
talking for hours. Soon, I was smoking it regularly (By the way, I am an
asthmatic). They immersed me in drugs, and total rebellion toward my mom.
Then, they rejected me,
and I felt terrible. It filled me with hate and anger towards them. I was
plotting the death of the one who had rejected me. They moved about a
month after that. By this
time, school had started back up, and I was discussing drug use, etc. with
the burnouts at my school. It didn't work too well though. I went to
church, etc, so I had to keep a double life going. At the youth group, we
went on a youth trip over the weekend, and it was wonderful! I've never
had so much fun in my life. When we got back, I got saved, repented, and
I'm now devoted to trying to save others.
I was also into pokemon, when I saw your website, and read your
essay on pokemon, I quickly tore up my $50 deck of pokemon cards. Thanks
for the informative site.
Love in Christ, Bryan F.
Ephesians 2:8-9
From
jpm: I read your article called ''Pokemon-Danger'', and I
tottally disagree! The card game Magic, which is also a hot craze right
now, has absolutly nothing to do with Pokemon except that the same people
make them. Some little kids get so obbsessed with Pokemon that they start
to believe it, but just because some kids are too immature to understand
that Pokemon is fake and that no one has psychic powers doesn't mean that
Pokemon is a bad influence to all kids. Some just want to play cards and
try to beat the Game Boy game. Pokemon is a REALLY hot craze jist like
yo-yos were and beanie babies and Furbies. After a while people just stop
liking them and don't play with them any more. Soon these parents with
younger kids will have to start worring about other things like the kind
of music that their kids listen to, peer preasure, and language. Pokemon
is not going to affect their lives and how Godly they are when they get
older as much as these things will.
Trust me, Pokemon is really not
that bad. I should know since I am twelve years old, in the sixth grade,
love Pokemon, and still go to church and believe in God just as much as I
did before I got into Pokemon. Thank you very much for reading this letter
and God bless you.
I'm sorry, I can't really
trust your opinion -- old as you are. Pokemon and
other forms of Japanese Anime drum into a child's mind images and beliefs that clash with
Christianity. It happens to adults as well. People may continue to go to
church and believe in [a] God, but their discernment
weakens as they compromise God's Word. If you don't believe Pokemon
and other fantasy worlds can change your thinking, please read these
summaries of studies that help us understand the effect of fantasy and
imaginary experiences:
“The
world of imagination and fantasy can help pass on to the child cultural and
social messages, as well as function as ways to experience vicariously
things an individual could not do first-hand.”
Aminadav,
C. Fantasies and imagination in mildly and moderately retarded young people.
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine & Health. 1995 Apr-Jun. 8
(2): p.103-106
“When
adults vividly imagine the occurrence of events that took place in their
childhood, they become increasingly confident that these incidents actually
happened to them. This phenomenon has been called imagination inflation.
This study assessed the imagination-inflation effect in 94 college students
(mean age 21 yrs).”
Paddock,
John R.; Noel, Mark; Terranova, Sophia; Eber, Herbert W.; Manning, Charles;
Loftus, Elizabeth F. Imagination inflation and the perils of guided
visualization. Journal of Psychology. 1999 Nov. 133 (6): p.581-595
From
Joe: I found the [above] comment left on your Pokemon page
interesting. It sounds like the boy got mixed up with the wrong group of
people. I know several roleplayers who don't use drugs of any kind and
only roleplay for recreation. Most of these people are also graduates of
Cornell University. They are also rather disturbed by people who claim
that all roleplaying leads to the "devil". Some of them don't
even acknowledge the existance of said entity. Which is fine for we are
all entitled to our beliefs. I believe that in all things there are good
people and there are bad people. You just have to use your head and find
who and what are the good and who and what are the bad, which can be the
hardest part.
From
Robyn Neubaum: I am so glad to have found your website. The
Lord has instructed me to research Pokemon so I can teach at our church
and in our community what is really behind it. I have been researching and
putting all of my information into a format that will be easy to
understand.
My children did not know that
I was going to be digging so deep. My oldest daughter and I were praying
for one of her friends and she stopped and said, "Mom, the Lord just
showed me that every card, character, toy has a spirit (demon) attached to
it." The Lord had already shown this to me, so it was definitely a
confirmation when she shared. I am going through and praying over each
Pokemon and asking the Lord for discernment to identify which demon is
attached. He is also showing me how there structure is established. I
believe demons are structured much like the military with Principalities
being the highest then princes, strongman, demons, minions. I believe that
He is having me put all of this together so we can fight the enemy with a
greater knowledge of his tactics.
Here is a
scripture that validates your last two sentences (click here for the
rest of the passage on The Armor of God):
"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Ephesians 6:10-12
From
Wes: In regards to your pokemon responses from the readers,
i would just like to say that
in most of the responses from the christian
families a common theme is asserted. i noticed while reading the
responses on the page that almost all of the christian peoples responses
told something of not
allowing there child to view these shows. well i would just like to state my opinion on this; firstly
if you dont allow your child to view certien
things or to do certien things you are not letting your child test
his or hers faith. now i
understand that a good parent would want to protect their
children from things that they find immoral and wrong. yet if you
do net let a child test and
find out what he or she finds wrong to themselves how is a child supposed
to grow up and develope a mature mind or have a feeling of
knowing what they want, not what a god or parent feels they should
feel?
now
i know that i am going to get
a biblical response to at least a few of my
points on this so i want to come right out and say that i am not a
christian and i do not really
feel that there is a god but i may change my opinion as i
grow older. My opinion on there being a god has nothing to do with
my parenting but rather with how i feel. i was never told as a child that
i cant do or see something because it was agianst god. i was informed if
it was agianst god but it was
up to me to make the decission, so by doing this i was
making the decission to follow god or do what i want not whether or
not my parents felt i should
be a christian or someone who follows god in any way.
i
personaly feel that a child that is not allowed to make his/her on
decissions on life or religon
is un-fair and injust. well i must be off if you havent
pre-paired a response to my other letter yet it would be fine to
add a response to this one in
it or in a seperate one if you even have time to respond.
Thank you for listening to my opinion yet agian and i would like to
say that i enjoy your site.
peace
punk and anarchy
love
wes
Berit's
response: Thank you, Wes. But I have to disagree with you.
You are parroting the humanistic philosophy behind today’s
“progressive” education, including Waldorf and Montessori
Schools and all kinds of other “learning” and child-raising
practices. Your methods would be great if your goal is to trade the old
Biblical values for a politically correct set of values chosen by people
who hate our God. But if you want to raise children to love God and know
His Word, you don’t send them out to discover truth for themselves in
the midst of all the lies and counterfeits. They don't know yet how to
filter the information according to God's standards. Instead, God tells
us to
“train up your child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), and
that means teaching truth, correcting error and modeling His way daily until
the child is established as a mature, discerning adult.
Anonymous:
I am here to criticize on your article about the supposed
danger that Pokemon is to children. Pokemon isn't
bad at all. My children practically devour pokemon. But it doesn't affect them
psycologically at all. I would know, I'm a psychiatrist.
And as I am a psychiatrist,
my diagnosis for your hate of pokemon is this: If you think that about
pokemon, then your mind must function that way. For your information,
children still believe in God, they know noone comes before God,
and they know that pokemon is just a television show. As for you claim
that children believe they need pokemon for protection, that's their
parents fault.
What I mean by
that is this: The parent should let the child know that they would never
let anyone hurt them, and that nothing will happen. Pokemon is just the
oridinary passing fad. It's just as evil as Disco, or Pooh. I think you
people need to get a grip on yourselves, you loosing it. As far as I'm
concerned, if you have any children, don't let THEM play with anything
pokemon. Why should you spoil it for everyone else? I also object to you peoples'
hate for Harry Potter. Harry Potter isn't part of the occult, he's just an
ordinary character. If you object to Harry Potter, why not object to
Charlotte's Web, or Alice In Wonderland? Because they were made in
America. You know, it's ironic, Pokemon was created in Japan, and Harry
Potter was written in Europe, is it just me, or do I notice a pattern?
I'll leave you to ponder that enigma...........
You say
"... nothing will ever happen?" Are you kidding? Are you
really a psychiatrist?
From
Salkaner il Nero:
Let me introduce myself, first
I am an Italian young man, Catholic, also in my free
time I am a roleplayer and I used to be (for about a
year) a Magic t.G. player.
As you can figure, I don't agree on your opinion on roleplaying,
but anyway I respect it. What I think you should know, to avoid easy
misunderstanding, is that neither Magic, nor Pokemon are
roleplaying games. They're fantasy "Collectable
Card Game", a type of game which is really much
different from a RPG (as, for instance, Dungeons &
Dragons).
I am sure you believe in what you're doing, so a bit more of
precision is due.
Once admitted that this is just YOUR vision of Christianity, it's
accettable and also interesting. If you pretend this is the THRUTH, your
words are absolutely more dangerous than any game. Bye
Berit's
response: You are given a double message, Salkaner. If you
"respect" my opinion on roleplaying, how can you say it's
"more dangerous than any game?" I'm hearing an
increasing number of young people -- well-trained in political
correctness -- declare their personal tolerance, yet their words and
attitudes demonstrate total intolerance for those with contrary
opinions.
There
is obviously a lot of disagreement on what is a role-playing game. Many
other visitors have shared their love for Magic the Gathering RPGs and
the latest Pokemon game is advertised as a
"game that allows children to use their creativity to help develop a
story of their adventures in becoming the world's greatest Pokémon
trainer." Sounds like
they are playing a role to me!
May I suggest you read my incomplete
article, Guiding the Imagination- A Major Tactic for Social Change.
When finished, it will help explain why, as a Christian, I am concerned
about roleplaying and various fantasies that guide a child's imagination
and fill it with images that conflict with Biblical values.
Actually, the most popular scenes and images in anime and comic books
conflict with the values of almost any society that seeks peace and
order for its people. (I will finish the article the week of May
24, when I return from a trip.)
From
Stacey Nordwall (a.k.a. "Shadowcat"): Hello there. I
came to your ministry site through a link from a site I got a link to on a
message-board. I read your article on "The Dangers of role-playing
Games" and am intrigued about the Christian opposition to the "Pokemon"
phenomenon.
I
will give you a little background on myself. I am nearly 21 years old and
have known the Lord Jesus since the tender age of 14 (thanks actually to
television ministry, of all things). I am also a fan of "Pokemon".
I play neither the Gameboy game nor the Card Game, but I am a major fan of
the cartoon. (Yes, I am almost 21 and a cartoon fanatic).
I
read your article and browsed over some of the letters. I will readily
admit that, I too, disagree with the "Gotta Catch 'Em All"
slogan, I do not believe that it is in any way occultic, but it is all
about profit and while I like Pokemon, I believe that it is marketed way
too much.
As
for distinguishing fantasy from reality. You can say that ANYTHING can
blur the lines. From TV shows, books, to playing "Princesses"
with friends in the backyard like I did as a child. Imagination is a good
thing for kids, parents should teach kids to distinguish fantasy from
reality in general in all things, Pokemon and non...As for Pokemon, I take
the things in it in the context of it being fantasy. I believe many
Christians really read too much into the show and the phenomenon, trying
to find things that were not in the minds of its creators.
I,
myself see Pokemon not as something evil, but as an abstract allegory of
nature, of God's creation and how it works. I have lived in a rural area
all of my life and have always had an avid interest in the natural world
around me. In addition to that, I currently work at a zoo. The types and
attacks of pokemon merely represent aspects of nature, where animals do
have specialized ways to hunt food and to avoid becoming food. In the
Pokemon world, instead of killing and eating each other, the creatures
merely "battle" and faint each other.
As
for comments relating to some of the pokemon resembling ugly creatures and
dragons, I will point out (from my experience at the zoo) that not all of
God’s creations are "cute" or "pretty". Does that
make them evil? Consider alligators, snakes, lizards, Madagascar Hissing
Cockroaches.... the list goes on. I believe, that while the Bible uses
certain animals to represent things (i.e. Lion=Kinglyness/Majesty,
Snake=Evil/Satan/Sin) that individual flesh-and-blood animals and species
are not evil in themselves. The goats I take care of at the zoo's
petting-area do not worship Satan...though goats are Biblically symbolic
of evil. They are just goats, that's it. I think of the pokemon creatures
in the same way. They are merely abstract versions of familiar animals,
based upon the divirse beauty of nature.
As
for the Psychic and Ghost types, I really do see your points. I never
liked them much, either, but again, I take them in the context of the
fantasy. I met a fellow Christian Pokemon fan online who had some very
good explanations of them. I liked one line that he said (paraphrased)
"You will never see Pokemon playing with Tarot Cards". Meaning:
The Psychic types are not meant to portray "true" psychic powers
as they are in the real world, with the astrology, Tarot, psychic
hotlines, etc. that their powers more accurately represent the
manipulation of physical forces, such as magnetic fields. I will not,
however, go out of my way to defend the Psychic-type pokemon, I only say
that they should be taken in the context of fantasy.
I
believe that Christians need not to focus on such things as trivial as
"Pokemon". It is entertainment, not the meaning of life, and, in
fact, one of the most innocent forms of entertainment I have found. I will
readily endorse it over say..."South Park" or "The Simpsons".
I
strongly believe in seeking out the good in things rather than nitpicking
and trying to find evil in everything. I am dismayed at the numbers of my
fellow believers in Christ who are intent on finding evil everywhere that
they look. "Pokemon" actually has some very good values in it if
you look at it closely. Themes appearing in the cartoon include being kind
to animals (the trainers' friend/partnerships with their pokemon, the
heroes giving abandoned pokemon a good home with them), sticking by your
friends, helping people in need, even strangers (see episode "Bad to
the Bone" where Ash Ketchum goes out of the way to help a young
trainer who was wronged), and loving your enemies (Ash, Misty, and Brock
have saved the lives of Team Rocket on more than one occasion).
I
am heavily involved in the "Pokemon" Internet fanfciton
community and I tell you by experience, that Pokemon is what an individual
viewer makes of it. It is a phenomenon that can be molded into whatever a
serious fan wishes, really. I very often insert mild CHRISTIAN themes into
my stories. I am mainly a fan of Pokemon's villains, Team Rocket (I find
them to be funny and surprisingly complex characters) and one of the most
constant themes in my fanfiction is them finding redemption in some way,
Jessie, James, and Meowth frequently "go good" in my stories. I
even have a scene in one of my Series works where a minor character quotes
part of John 3:16. Furthermore, the above-mentioned fellow Christian
Pokemon fan I met (the one that I quoted from about the Psychic-types)
writes some fanfiction with very OVERT Christian themes. Also, I am
involved in some online Pokemon fandom message-boards upon which I have
been a witness for Christ. In short, Pokemon can, (while not originally
intended to be by its original creators) in fact, become a medium to bring
glory to Jesus, as I feel most things can be.
I
will conclude by saying that we believers need to stop looking for the
"bad" in everything and instead, should focus on finding the
good in things. Some people read WAY too much into something meant to be
innocent entertainment (as well as a way to sell toys, but hey, the world
is greedy, get over it. Parents do not need to buy their children
everything that they whine for. My parents taught me self-control that
way). I understand your points and your fears, but Pokemon is not nearly
as "evil" as some would make it out to be and much more innocent
than many other forms of entertainment out there.
Berit's
response: I agree that Pokemon appears far less "evil" than
"other forms of entertainment out there." That's why is has
far more appeal to Christian children who would avoid the darker forms
of occult entertainment. But remember, while we measure the darkness and
consider how far we can stretch God's boundaries, God calls us to
obedience. Please read Answers to Pokemon mail.
It explains a different way of looking at this issue.
From
Jon Smith: Reading through your letters about Pokemon, I
noticed some things you said, first off, you mention that people don't
think of Pokemon or anime as just a game, or show, that they have a true
love, or passion for it. You also hint that this is a bad thing. Well, in
my experience, I have learned that an obbsession can be a great
thing.
A few years back, when I first got into
anime, my life was very very troubled. My father was a pastor in an
unloving, dying church, my sister was in one of the worst states I have
ever seen her in, and my life at home was something I truly hated. Well, I
got into anime, and yes, it became a true passion, I love this, it is an
obsession, but when I watched it, it took away from the pain of my life
for a short while. It didn't make me want to commit suicide, I didn't even
think of it. It simply created a place where I could get away from my
life, sort of like a vacation. It got me through some terrible times, and
now, my life is fine except for the regular family problems and occasional
arguments, and I still am obsessed with anime. This is not a bad thing. I
still know it is JUST a show, but I also have a passion for it.
Next, you claim these shows are Occult
(I'm not sure if I used that in context) which is true, but only people
like you (not pointing fingers or trying to be rude) really think of it
like that, and as being a sin. In truth these things won't hurt anyone,
parents could let the children watch anime, but keep them from trying to
do anything of the occult (hardly any try to anyhow, a few exceptions
apear, for instance a teacher of mine who could actually use telekinisis,
I experienced this first hand, it is possible.
Next, yes, I am addicted to anime, I
couldn't stop watching if I wanted to, but thats the great thing, I
wouldn't ever want to stop. My parents don't mind it either (but my
fathers a pastor, gasp, how could he let his own son do something so
evil?!?!?!?!? just goes to show, Anime is NOT the devils work as many
would think). However, I am a normal teenager, I do not do drugs, even
though I have been offered, I do not think about ever hurting anyone (I
have never been in a fight, and I watch that oh so violent anime, gee,
guess thats another miracle, sorry for the sarcasim).
Many of my friends watch anime, one even
hates to hurt any animals, and he watches Dragon Ball Z?!?!? impossible
you say, but in truth, these shows do not affect us, we simply watch them,
love them, sometimes obsess over them, but this never removes god from our
minds, the only thing that does this, is the lack of ability to go to
church, or upbringing (if you live in an unloving, uncaring family, you
are naturally less likely to believe in god). I have a friend who has to
get up[ on his own accord, and walk to church, but he does it, and he
watches anime. I could mention a million other people, but, that isn't the
point.
Now then, Pokemon isn't going to make
kids turn into Pagan hate mongers, it is simply a form of entertainment,
like any other TV show, why is it you seem to attack the shows from other
cultures, instead of things like South Park, and the WWF, instead you
decide to close your minds, and simply bash the japanese way of life. You
mention that Pokemon gives people charge over the animals, like they are
God, well many people have a dog, and most people have total control over
the animal (they do disobey sometimes but I quote, "The Pokemon may
not always obey its trainer, but the humans are in charge."
Finally, if I had to choose between God,
and anime, I would pick God, and I'm sure many other anime fans are with
me. So please, quit judging us so harshly....
From Berit: Jon, I am not judging you
or any other person -- nor telling you what to do. I am trying to use
Biblical principles to evaluate a form of entertainment. I'm doing
this, not because I'm upset with anime fans, but because I care about
kids and have been asked by children and parents to write these
evaluations. To understand my concerns, please read our Answers to
Pokemon mail, mentioned below.
________________________________________