This is Faith in Play #42: Lucifer, for May 2021. A few months back I looked at a controversial television series and expressed some thoughts on guidance. This month I am looking at an even more controversial television series, Lucifer, and finding another lesson. Yes, the theology is wonky in so many ways, and the … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #41: Faith, for April 2021. Recently somewhere on the Web a discussion arose that suggested that if you build a world in which God or the gods manifest visibly frequently and work wonders regularly, there is no need for faith in such a world. I am persuaded that this is … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #40: Harry Potter Series Follow-up, for March 2021. This was originally published as an entry in the Blogless Lepolt web log at Gaming Outpost under the title Opinion Vindicated, and recently recovered thanks to Regis Pannier of the French edition of Places to Go, People to Be. Many of you … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #39: Of Aliens and Elves, for February 2021. Fantasy and science fiction are riddled with races. Star Trek offers Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, and a host of others. Dungeons & Dragons gives us multiple varieties of Elves, Dwarfs, Gnomes, and Halflings, just for starters, and keeps going from there. … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #38: Places of Worship, for January 2021. As a boy I several times went to summer camp at Camp Lebanon (in Lebanon, New Jersey). One of its more memorable aspects was a chapel in the woods known as The Green Cathedral (pictured). To me there always seemed something providential about … [Read more…]
The year 2020 surprised all of us, as we scrambled to make life work under entirely different conditions. However, the viral impact on our web site was minimal, as although we slowed down a bit we continued providing what we hope are valuable quality articles on gaming and faith. Last December we published 2019 at … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #37: Balancing on the Corner, for December 2020. When “balance” is mentioned in connection with Dungeons & Dragons™ alignment, thoughts immediately leap to neutrality, and of course neutrality is frequently about balance—but not always. As we noted in connection with the side alignments neutrality can often mean simply ignoring one … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #36: Thanks, for November 2020. Later this month Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving, a secular holiday established for religious people to give thanks to God. Canadians did the same in the middle of last month. Most cultures and nations historically have had a harvest festival celebration to express gratitude for … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #35: Seekers, for October 2020. The “magic” in our role playing games is “make believe.” It’s not real, and no one could by reading any of the Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks or source books learn how to do any “real magic,” if such a thing exists. Indeed, you can’t learn … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #34: Guidance and The Machine, for September 2020. Some people I know are terrified of the vision of the world in Person of Interest, the television series currently available on Netflix. In it, a man going by the name of Harold Finch has created a hardware/software combination that monitors and … [Read more…]