Jareena Faye

Minneapolis, MN. I'd hitched a ride with my friend to visit my cousin at Augsburg college, and now we were at Club 3 Degrees. The building in itself was interesting--- it had a basement with pool tables and non-alcoholic drinks, a main floor for the concert, as well as a balcony overlooking it all. And the palce was jam-packed. The concert opened up with Ryan Dobson talking about how "some things are just stupid." He mentioned some of the funny lawsuits that have actually won in our country. Although he didn't mention it at the concert, I later found out that he'd written a book with the same topic (Be Intolerant: Because Some Things Are Just Stupid). It was good. He was funny. FM Static opened up. They didn't do a whole lot for me, but I liked one of their songs, so what the heck. The rest of the crowd loved it. Ryan Dobson spoke while FM Static took their gear away, and Falling Up took the stage. Falling Up--- I don't know what it is about them. They just know how to rile a crowd. Even if you don't know any of their songs, you just want to scream and jump with the rest of the crowd. I'd highly recommend their album, by the way. Thousand Foot Krutch came up next. They were exciting. A positive message, but to hard rock and rap-like shouting. A good opener. But then the main band, Kutless took the stage. I completely forgot about the other bands. These guys had talent. They had heart. They were sincere about what they were singing about. At one point, two of the guitarists threw their instruments across the stage, each catching the other's guitar, and resumed playing. We all went wild. There's something exhilerating about being in a crowd of people who all know the words to a song... Even though they're all strangers... you feel a connection. Kutless took off after ending with a short, but heartfelt, prayer. And I rushed away to buy their CD, God-bless a random stranger, and safely say that this was probably the best concert I'd ever attended.

You all rock... you are all geniuses... YESH!! I particularly agree with ~O~ about how we don't need to give into predispositions. I mean, to an extent, don't we all have those? There's a dark part of me that has always known how to lie, steal, and talk back to my parents, and there will always be a part of me that will want to do such things. I can let it grow without boundaries, and become a snotty teeanged monster. Or I can feed my nature with living water and strive in the opposite direction. Anyway.... Does anyone mind if I quote them in my paper revision? Pending Quincunx's comment, I'm going to flesh out the pro-RPG side of the paper, since he still thought it sounded rather anti.

Wow... that's very interesting! You have a very thought-provoking suggestion, here. I would say that that is definitely possible, and quite true, in many cases. However, I'd like to suggest another possibility--- while some people have a predisposition, does that mean that everyone with an obsession has a predisposition to be obsessed? Or do others have a choice? I think many different factors go into a lot of the social problems, and we tend to blame just one thing for them. (TV, celebrities, parents, school, government... whatever.) I want to say that, ultimately, we have ourselves to blame; but I believe many factors influence our decisions as well. Your thoughts?

Vive el home schooling! *high fives you and immediately resumes a more dignified pose*

Note to self: Read all the replies before you jump in with your post.

Hey, dude. I know we don't know each other very well, but I'll send up a prayer for you. I'm sure this will happen to me many times in the near future. You seem like a very intelligent guy. If you don't find a job soon, I'll lose my faith in the economy altogether.

That's the great thing about The Mighty Pen. There are so many educated people who can actually offer me criticism. Usually I just get a ten-year-old typing "mor pleas." Cough. So... thank you, one and all! To Quincunx: Like I said at the bottom, the citations wouldn't post; they were in Microsoft Word format, so they just didn't copy over. I can post them if you like! Falcon2001: I'd be interested in hearing more on that, if you have any more to say about it. Yeah, I didn't really have a better word for it... if only I could be less formal in the paper and say, "By the way, I'm a religious fundamentalist who occasionally role plays! Oh well!" Again, thank you! I'll definitely be consulting your comments this weekend as I write the final draft.

Yo! *cough* I mean, um... Forsooth, a happy birthday to ye!

A/N: This was supposed to be an impartial "explaining of a concept." Don't get all offended and angry until you've read it all, because I was only trying to portray every side. The title is a parody on "The Truth about Dungeons & Dragons," as well as "The Real Truth about Dungeons & Dragons." It’s been popular since the 80’s: the role playing game. Also known as an RPG or RP, three different forms have developed over the years--- board game, computer game, and “story form.” While stereotyped as something that only a geek or freak would do, RPG’s are enjoyed by children and adults of all kinds. Because of its wide range of players, the public has formed a wide range of opinions. Therein lies the controversy. The basic idea, at least, is simple. To participate, a player assumes the “role” of a fictional character, probably of his own design, and fights next to or against the characters of his friends. Additional rules and variants, as well as what kind of people are playing, complicate this in one way or another. Role playing originated the sixties, as a form of card or board game. This form of gaming was a minor success, but it has since become popular through the still-surviving Dungeons & Dragons--- the mother of current role playing, a board-and-dice game that has seen both movie and computer adaptations. The latter, computer role playing games (CRPG’s) are a separate form of gaming. These take place in chat rooms, game sites, or in programs that are purchased and installed on the PC. The third kind of role play, story form, is the more unique of the sisters. It only requires writing tools, a friend, and an imagination. When completed, the game resembles a co-written manuscript. No one attempts to deny role playing's addictive nature. There's something captivating about an endless world with few boundaries, where one can look and act however one likes. Whatever a person lacks or longs for in the real world, he can be through his character. Of course, there are certain givens--- for instance, a player is expected to show respect for another player's ideas and characters; but the rules are always flexible. One needs only to wait for the inevitable battle. Characters are often killed like flies, and “friends” may then take whatever they wish from the bodies. This world, so unlike our own, so empowering to our egos, can make for a very wonderful and convenient escape. It should hardly be surprising, then, to learn that some “serious” players have dedicated hour after endless hour to The Game. Eating and sleeping become irrelevant. An entire weekend could be eaten by a single session. The Game becomes top priority. These occurrences are probably responsible for the parents, religious fanatics, and authors who have come to the conclusion that Dungeons & Dragons should be condemned altogether as an evil that leads to obsession, depression, and the occult. They are the ones who promote the alleged suicides linked to role playing, as well as the claim that Dungeons & Dragons is just a front for Satanists who are trying to recruit new members. As for Satanic influence, role playing’s enemies may have simply gotten it backward. Undoubtedly, there are those involved in occultism who role play; but does that mean role playing introduced them to the occult, or is it just a coincidence? At least one person, Sean Sellers, admits that he used Dungeons & Dragons “to introduce people to Satanic behavior concepts and recruit them into the occult.” Elsewhere, a Satanist party allegedly calling itself the Kroth--- members of which were involved in destructive acts --- reportedly participated in a role playing game that was “sort of Dungeons & Dragons on drugs,” themed around guns and blowing up the local school. When it comes to suicide, no deaths have been officially credited to D&D. That does not rule out the possibility that the game might have been a factor in past suicides--- a straw to break the camel’s back, so to speak ---but if the game truly were a sole cause, the role players’ suicide rate would be much higher. That doesn’t mean gamers haven’t been severely grieved when his or her character was “killed.” Many obsessed gamers have grieved the death of their character as they would grieve the death of a friend. Role playing’s enemies are not solely among the Christian fundamentalists --- former players have appeared on radio and talk shows, or in magazines, to testify of how they let The Game control their lives . While the accusation that role playing is “dangerous” implies the impending doom to come, it does not address the present, the fact that playing itself may affect the mind and soul. Psychologists have often reassessed “that when someone lives in the realm of fantasy for an extended length of time, the lines dividing reality and fantasy become distorted, fuzzy.” The human psychosis seems to have a weak spot for what it prefers to believe, regardless of facts. One does not have to be delusional or unstable to see that their version of reality differs from others’ simply because of what they have chosen to believe. Does that mean that role playing results in an unbalanced mind? Fans of Dungeons & Dragons, and role playing in general, have been everywhere from derisive to defensive to these attacks on gaming. Many players, of course, are normal people. They participate for recreation, and do not spend endless hours reading nothing but rule books, or endless days playing without ceasing. Designing and controlling the characters has made them better writers; drawing the characters and maps have made them better artists; better readers due to the extensive rule books and manuals; better mathematicians thanks to all the calculations needed for D&D. Additionally, because a player may design his own character, participating in RPG’s does not mean that you will inevitably be casting make-believe spells or promoting sorcery. A player may also choose who he plays with. Therefore, it is perfectly possibly to engage in the basic act of role playing itself without ever indulging in any of the undesirable themes that have made fundamentalists so set against role play in the first place. With so many good and bad testimonies from both sides of the debate, one is tempted to draw the conclusion that RPG’s are neutral; that you only get out of it what you put into it. Arguments will probably continue for many years to come, as role playing retains its momentum as a popular hobby. Perhaps more light will be shed on the matter as studies continue. PS: I guess footnotes aren't going to work on the 'board. If you want them E-mailed to you, let me know.

Even trying boot camp is more than I ever did. In the back of my mind I always sort of wanted to... watching a Marines documentary was really inspiring... but as a ninety-pound weakling (literally!) I don't really think I'd survive too long. Regardless of whether or not they kicked you out... congratulations!

Cool, feedback! *gotta remember to check back at this place...* Thanks for the critique, Wyv. It's good to have cool people like you who can point out my mistakes. Hey, I'd love to post a link to the comic, and put it online, and all that jazz... uhm, but would you happen to know of an artist who has TIME to DRAW it? As a last resort, I suppose I could, but I don't have a whole lot of time.

*wanders into the tavern again, for the first time in many months, exhausted and dirty, but glad to see the warm fire and familiar faces* Merry Christmas, all of you.

Ah, there's nothing like redoing The Night Before Christmas. Good job there, mate. I'll bet you had fun with this!

Written for a fantasy comic I'm scripting. One might say you'll catch a Christmas message if you look hard enough. Romans 5:12-21 I tell you that once, the world was one. The world was one, According to plan. Of sentient races there were two. There were two, Sprite and man. Of days of peace, there were few. There were few; Life without sin. The evil entered soon enough. Soon enough, The grief set in. Of men back then there were only two. There were two, Husband and wife; But through their choice, the world knew death. They chose death, And we met strife. Nature changed in an awful way. In a way that we Could imagine not. Like a glass, the world did break. The world did break, New worlds were wrought. Of sentient races, there were two. There were two, Immortal and doomed. The sprites withdrew to a secret place. In another place, Man’s evil bloomed. Sin preyed upon us through one man, Through one man; And through sin, death. Even the flawless felt its sting, They felt its sting, And ceased their breath. We wait for the day when death shall die. Death shall die. We wait, we pray. Life shall enter through one Man, One single Man. We ‘wait the day.

"Might offend close-minded people." Isn't that a close-minded statement?

Actually... yeah, that's the thing. Like you said, and like Aleaha said, Tolkein's kinda long and drawn-out. Not much character development to speak of, really--- at least not in the way we like to think. One might say it was too much of a good thing. Tolkein just had a lot of ideas. A VERY elaborate world, which is what most people respect about him. He just had so much of an elaborate world that it was hard to find room for the characters, without stretching it on and on and on. Just think. If he'd taken it slow and told the story in a Harry Potter sort of way, we probably wouldn't only have Silmarillion unfinished--- the trilogy would be, too.

Haha, okay, you guys' geek moments beat mine. I guess I should get around to finishing Silmarillion, eh? (Or picking it back up, for that matter.) I just can't believe that I missed that joke considering how many times I've watched Two Towers. That was just such a funny revelation, an unexpected bit of physics in a surreal world. Even though, like I said, the physics are flawed... *whisper* C. S. Lewis!

Dear God, I wanna shoot up a quick prayer for Salinye and her kids. I pray that they could be on their way to recovery soon, that You would sustain them during this time, and over all that Your will would be done. In Jesus' name, Amen.

"I like going south. For some reason, it feels like going downhill." -Treebeard Okay, I know it doesn't technically make sense, because that would defy gravity. Also, you would have to be in the northern hemisphere. But... When does fantasy have to make sense, hmm?

HOW many items blocked? Sal, honey, you'd better start running anti-virus more often! Wow, you got a cool sig since I was last here...

Nice sentence structure. Good spelling, good grammar, all that good stuff! Oh, for future reference--- sometimes I use swear words too, for the same reason that you do, or so I can use them to make a point. Another option would be to say "he cursed," etc. Just a fun fact. *NOT trying to lecture you*

I wrote this about a year ago. I might rewrite it someday, but seeing as I posted something last Easter too... well, this seems appropriate. *** "Oh, don't tell me you actually believe that for real," Colleen said as we sat down. "I mean, I understand that it's an important part of your faith. But Jesus didn't come back from the dead. You're smart; it would be just ignorant to believe that." "In my opinion, it would be ignorant to believe otherwise," I replied. Colleen rolled her eyes. "Come on!" "Alright," I said. "What do you think happened?" "The disciples stole his body and made up a story. I mean, duh. What else?" "Okay," I said calmly, placing my Bible on the table between us. "Mind if I defend my beliefs?" Colleen smiled. "You can try." I flipped through my Bible to the gospels, looking for a certain part of the story. I found Luke 22: 54. Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. "Let's go back to when Jesus was arrested. All of the disciples ran for their lives--- except Peter, who followed at a distance and later denied knowing Jesus. These twelve guys were hiding out while Jesus was being hammered to a cross." "So?" Colleen asked. "Don't interrupt, okay?" I asked. "Now, let's skip to Jesus' burial. The priests were afraid that what you said would happen. So they went to Pontius Pilate... here, I'll find it." I went to the back of my Bible to find some notes, where I had written down certain verses. (I can't remember these things on my own.) Using that as a reference, I found Matthew 27: 62. The next day... the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. "What do you know about Roman guards?" I asked. Colleen, looking bored, shrugged and said, "I don't know. They carried spears and shields and wore feathers in their helmets." "Well... kind of, yeah," I replied. "A soldier also carried a sword and a dagger, and body armor. Not to mention he went through serious physical training, and Romans really didn't like Jews. So tell me. How can twelve cowardly guys, who ran like chickens when their leader was alive, attack four-to-sixteen tough-as-nails Roman guards, win, and roll away a two-ton stone?" "Well, there were twelve of them," Colleen said. "They probably could have taken care of the rock with a little effort. And the Roman guards could have been asleep." "In the Roman ranks, the penalty for sleeping on the job was death," I replied. "Besides that, they probably slept in shifts. The disciples would have had to step over the sleeping guards in full view of the ones who were awake. No offense, Colleen, but your theory is impossible. "You also have to consider the fact that most of the disciples were tortured and killed for believing firmly in Jesus Christ. They didn't get any wealth or kingship out of the deal. Why would they suffer for what they knew to be a lie?" "Alright, alright!" Colleen said, looking annoyed and exasperated. I guess I'd been talking a lot. "So maybe it wasn't the disciples. Maybe the guards themselves took the body. You know, as a joke. Or maybe some had converted?" "Once again, there's the death penalty," I said. "Hardly worth a little joke. And Roman soldiers weren't converted until years later. The Jews, including the disciples, believed that God's salvation was strictly for His chosen people." "But it's still impossible," Colleen interjected. "He couldn't have risen from the dead. That's a lie. I mean, no offense! I like you and all. But how can you fall for this walking-on-water, parting-of-the-Red-Sea stuff?" "It's easy," I replied with a smile. "Believing is seeing." "Whatever that's supposed to mean." "Well, alright. You tell me what happened to Jesus," I said. "So far I've been able to defend my beliefs--- you defend yours." Colleen thought for a moment. "Maybe they found the wrong grave." "Huh?" "Those three ladies who came to visit Jesus on the third day? Maybe they just went to the wrong grave. They were probably already really stressed--- like you said, scared chickens--- and sad about the leader being killed and all. When they found an empty grave, they must have been eager to believe that Jesus was alive." "Maybe," I said slowly. Colleen smiled more. "See?" "No," I replied. "First of all, those three women were there when Jesus was laid in the tomb. Secondly, they weren't stupid. They would have looked for Roman soldiers, or the Roman seal on the stone. Two of the disciples ran over immediately after the women announced Jesus' ressurrection. Coincidentally, they came to the same grave. And if it was simply a little mistake and Jesus was still buried, why didn't his enemies show them? Why did they instead bribe the soldiers to lie?" Colleen looked disgruntled as I went to the back of my Bible again. "And here are all the verses showing that a lot of people knew exactly where Jesus' grave was---" "Please," Colleen interrupted. "Don't look them all up." I laughed. "Okay. Just so you know they're there." Matthew 27: 59-60 Matthew 27: 61 Matthew 27: 62: 66 Matthew 28: 2 - 4, 11 "But wait a minute!" Colleen said desperately. "Rising from the dead is still impossible!" I didn't think so, but I decided to give her a chance to voice her opinion, too. "What if... hey! Maybe he wasn't really dead!" "You mean, he just faked it for three days?" I asked, trying not to sound as sarcastic as I felt. "Sure! It takes days to bleed to death on a cross. And Jesus supposedly died three hours after he was lifted up, right?" "Something like that." "So, they took him down, wrapped him up, stuck him in the tomb. Then, on the third day, he came out and told everyone he'd risen from the dead." "You're forgetting about the guards again," I said. "Maybe the disciples helped." "Now we're back to the first thing!" I sighed. Colleen laughed. "Hey, we're all friends here. I don't want to start an argument, okay? Why don't we just drop this?" "Aw, but I've still got more to say!" I countered, afraid that once this conversation ended it would never start up again. Colleen needed to hear the truth, whether she believed it or not. Colleen sighed and glanced at her watch. "Okay, but I don't want to be here for the rest of the day." "Going back to the execution day. Jesus was knocked around all night. By the time he reached Pilate for trial, he'd already been awake for more than twenty-four hours, marched all over the city for secret, illegal meetings. When his sentence was given, he was whipped with a flagrum--- that's like a cat o' ninetails with sharp pieces of bone at the ends. It's amazing that Jesus survived that. Then the guards were mocking him, opening and reopening his wounds. Jesus was too weak to carry his own cross out of the city. They forced another man to bear it and basically dragged Jesus to Golgotha." "Golgotha?" Colleen asked dully. "The hill," I explained. "Now, you mentioned earlier that you know it takes days to die on a cross. You tell me why." Colleen, looking very bored, began. "When the criminal is just hanging there, the pressure on his chest makes it impossible to breathe. So he pushes himself up with his legs to get air. When the pain in his legs is too great, he relaxes, and then begins to suffocate. So for a long, long time, the criminal keeps this up until the guards break his legs. Then, unable to breathe, he dies." "Lovely," I said with a roll of my eyes, although I had heard it before. "In this case, the guards were breaking legs the day Jesus died. The criminals beside him suffocated, but they noticed that Jesus already looked pretty dead. Just to be sure, one of the guards drove a spear through his heart. Even if he missed the heart, he would have at least punctured a lung. The Bible also says that blood and water flowed out. Our blood is not separated from other body fluids unless we are dead. "Supposing that Jesus was alive when he was laid in the tomb, after all that, don't you think he would have died? Besides, the place was probably air tight. No way three days' worth of oxygen was in there. And then, this man, this mortal, just happens to know when three days are up? He rolls back the stone, fights maybe sixteen guards, and stops to fold his jammies before leaving?" Colleen sighed. "Look, I don't know how they did it! All I can say is, MEN DON'T RISE FROM THE DEAD. I'm tired of this argument! Can we go home now?" I picked up my Bible and stood up. "Sure," I said, but I was stil arguing in my head. He wasn't a man. He was God. And God can do anything. "Besides," Colleen said as we walked, "most of the evidence you've given me is from the Bible. The authors were obviously biased. How do you know fact to be fact?" "Have you ever heard of Aristotle's Dictum?" I asked. "I'm afraid to ask. What's that?" "Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, as you probably know. He believed that the benefit of the doubt was to be given to any document. In other words, you assume it's true as you study it, until you are forced to believe otherwise." "Well, it would be easy to believe otherwise," Colleen replied. "The Bible is full of contradictions and problems." "Who told you that?" I asked. "Have you ever read it for yourself?" "Come on!" Colleen yelled. "It's obvious that word-of-mouth changed stories like Jonah and the Whale, and the Ten Commandments!" "Benefit of the doubt," I reminded her. "If there's a God, then any of those things could have happened. Colleen, did you know that the Bible passes both the internal and external tests better than any other document of its time?" Colleen made a face. "I really wish this debate would stop, but, I'll bite. I think I've heard of those tests in science class or something. What are they again?" "The internal test is used to see if a document contradicts itself. But most of the Bible's contradictions are mainly due to translation. They make perfect sense in their original language. All of the so-called contradictions can be explained by logic. They haven't nailed us yet." "And the external test?" Colleen sighed. "The external test asks the question: does the document contradict known historical facts? The answer is no. The Bible is one of the most reliable history books we have, actually. Atheists just hate to admit it. Archaeologists claim they find evidence that goes against what the Bible says. But more and more often, they have to take back those claims. A new discovery is made which ends up supporting scripture." "I had no idea so much logic and science could be applied to fairy tales," Colleen said, shaking her head. "I mean, how can you believe in those Things Unseen and support them with scientific facts?" "Faith and science walk hand in hand," I replied. "A lot of the world's leading scientists are Christians. And you have to have a lot of faith to believe anything scientific, creation- or evolution-wise." "I remember reading that nothing can be scientifically proven," Colleen said thoughtfully. "A single contradicting piece of evidence can tear apart a scientific law overnight." "Yeah!" I laughed. "Like, did you know that we still don't understand how flags ripple in the breeze?" "Or why guys and girls seem to be from different planets and yet share the same origin?" We both laughed. Still friends. "But before we change the subject completely," I said with regret, "do you suppose you could just give the Bible a chance? For me? Please?" "I'll think about it," Colleen said. "But don't get your hopes up!" "Aristotle's dictum lives!" I shouted into the sky, just for the sake of being weird. "---And so does Jesus!"

That's so sad... I'm so sorry. Empty words, I know, but at least they're true. It sounds like your father is really searching, and doesn't know how to deal with the loss. I pray you will both be well, and that the two of you can talk about it. *hug* Take care.

Hmmm. Would you care to meet me in the general forum, and debate that "removed from His grave" bit?

Yep, which is why I said it kind of depends. We both have points, speaking about different situations.