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It's a card game, not dissimilar to YuGiOh, or Pokemon, but much more complicated and way more fun. When I say complicated though I am more referring to actual sequence of events that transpire when the game is played. The rules themselves are quite simple, but the cards can be quite complicated. How can the cards be complicated?The Golden Rule in magic is that " When a card contradicts the rulebook, the card wins." An example is that you can't attack with a monster you have just summoned on to the battlefield, you
have to wait one turn to attack. The are monster cards that have the ability "Haste", which allows you to attack with the monster the same turn you summoned it. Like I said, the cards are complicated.
Apparently Uncle Roddie and aunt laura used to play back when it first came out, but they haven't been playing since 1995 (maybe 96, they can't remember) and because they haven't played in so long a few of the cards are actually rare and worth something (50-70 $ for the major ones), it was cool to find out I was playing with and against some of these hard to get and expensive cards.
I have a screen shot from the official FAQ on the Magic the Gathering website, I thought it was kind of enlightening, and rather funny.
And if you can't read it here is what it says.
"Q: Is Magic evil?
A: No. Magic is no more evil than Scrabble, Chess, or any other game. There is the occasional person who believes Magic is some sort of "gateway to the occult", (either because they want to denounce it or because they want to try to use it as such) but they're generally nutcases of some description who have difficulty separating "real life" from "pretend". Playing Magic will no more invoke the occult than reading Treasure Island will cause pirates to spring to life in your house or watching Godzilla movies will cause a giant radioactive monster to level Tokyo."
A: No. Magic is no more evil than Scrabble, Chess, or any other game. There is the occasional person who believes Magic is some sort of "gateway to the occult", (either because they want to denounce it or because they want to try to use it as such) but they're generally nutcases of some description who have difficulty separating "real life" from "pretend". Playing Magic will no more invoke the occult than reading Treasure Island will cause pirates to spring to life in your house or watching Godzilla movies will cause a giant radioactive monster to level Tokyo."
If you don't believe that this quote is actually from the FAQs, click this link, in the table of contents look under "General questions about Magic", then find "Is Magic evil?"
I think it's funny when the FAQ has to explain to people that it is just a card game.
It's not the best Manuel that I've ever read, but it is in my top 5 now.
4 comments:
The Golden Rule in magic is that
"When a card contradicts the rulebook, the card wins."
That is classic Postmodernism by the way. When the rules contradict me, I can follow, or fabricate, my won truth thank you.
I'm Not going to freak out because your playing a "Magic Game".
But since your dinging us & and your grandmother publicly, which is not very gentlemanly buy the way, let's just see how big a boy you are.
So the Card Game FAQ Declares:
"Magic is no more evil than Scrabble, Chess, or any other game."
I guess if The Card FAQ said it - it must be true. Not like they want to market their game or anything.
First Flaw - You don't measure a truth claim with itself, but with outside information.
There is the occasional person who believes Magic is some sort of "gateway to the occult", (either because they want to denounce it or because they want to try to use it as such) but they're generally nutcases of some description who have difficulty separating "real life" from "pretend".
Nutcases? They assume there is no real Spiritual realm of beings to get fascinated with or who seek to have influence people.
Magic as a game is one thing. Reading Harry Potter novels, who cares. But have you asked the most basic question of their tort: Define the terms. It's always the first step- Because we use words in different ways. What is their definition of "Magic" by the way?
"Playing magic will no more invoke the occult than reading Treasure Island."
I'm sure the game is just cards.The game does not have power to invoke, but it might have power to fascinate people into pursuing things further. Hum... kind of like you incessant online gaming now has you desensitized enough that you now want to try all this stuff.
Your argument of how you defend it is very steeped in Modernity and Post Modernity philosophy. You have bought their assumption that there is only Physical reality. Modernity believes there are no Spiritual "Relatites" except what in your head.
Basic christian worldview is that there is a good & evil, is a right & Wrong, are two kingdoms in opposition with each other, and finally,there is Truth with antithesis. None of which post modernity believes.
"Grammy.... Hickox's reaction.... When I told her I wanted to try playing D&D ......... "I don't think you want to play that game. There are people who just take it too far" I am not one of those people"
"Not one of those people?" You have shown great balance in your gaming life for the last 1.5 years! It has controlled your life and you know it. So Don't blow your horn to hard about what you think you can control or not. You can control your choices in the spiritual department, but not their consequences.
I'm glad you posted this. Keep posting. I'm not going to freak out" Since you published it, it's open for debate.
The whole point of these things is that it desensitizes you to the biblical worldview. Desensitizes you to the Evil the true thing represents. (From Judea Christian Worldviews standpoint- Islamic worldview too, for that matter too). The scriptures say God will not have it in his presence - but for us it's just a game. Depends if we think God is real and we would rather error on the side of caution and honor him, over my gaming cravings.
Wonder what the Greek word Magic means here:
Revelation 21:6 - 8 (NIV) 6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Enjoy your Magic cards Son!
Not offending me with your view.
But you might want to tone down your negative attitude here. It's ok to be firm on a subject. But when you start naming names in your family & Friendship network on the web, it's time to step back. If you want to defend the cards & D&D desire go ahead, but don't name names of who your going to give it to. Don't delet the post, my recommendation is to take take "names out of who your going to "ding"
It's good to see how your online gaming habits, and Magic cards, and D&D desires really help pick you up out of your "Meaninglessness" feelings and depression! They are sure to give you hope and get you out an motivated I bet.
It wasn't Magic that pulled me out of the "Meaninglessness". I've been playing it for the last couple of months, it didn't help stop it from coming either. It was actually when I read your blog post on Monday that I felt encouraged to keep going.
It is just a card game, not an occult ritual. And I know that online gaming did control the better part of last year. But I was referring more to the people who tried to play D&D for real. You know the people who take things too far.
And I have gotten out of online gaming, as in I deleted every file associated with the games I was able to. In fact I haven't played an MMORPG since I left home for Toronto.
Their definition of magic is the same as pretty much every other post modernist, that it is a game game title depicting a fictional reality. I wasn't saying that there was no thing as a spiritual realm, but that the cards were not meant to depict, invoke, or control any kind of spiritual realm.
I know very well about the reality of the spiritual realm, I don't just dismiss it. But I still do have a hard time acknowledging it, due to the culture I've been raised in. I am aware that it's a mental stumbling block for me.
BTW the post has been "censored"
Oh, and the Golden rule thing.
It's not that you can fabricate your own rules to win. It's that the rules are bent, or changed when dealing with that card.
Just because that card has "Haste" and can attack right away doesn't mean that all the other cards I play can attack right away. I still have to follow the rules when dealing with the other cards.
Like in monopoly, Just because you have a "get out of jail free" doesn't mean you don't still go to the jail square, you just get to leave the jail for free.
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