Sigh, really?
I found this while I was surfing the Internet. I facepalmed when I found. I just need to MST this. Obviously, the article doesn't belong me, because I wouldn't write something so filled with fail. As usual, the original text is in red and my coments are in black.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT....
THE DANGER OF THE POKEMON FASCINATION?
What is behind the fascination with the Pokemon phenomenon? Even though this fad is highly popular among the children today, some may not be really aware of what this game is all about. Children and parents alike may not realize the importance of choosing their games and toys with God's guidance. Some might argue that this is a small thing and as long as children are entertained it shouldn't matter what they are playing with. Even as the "little foxes" can spoil the entire grape vine, the games and toys our children embrace can be destructive for them. As parents, the Bible admonishes us to train our children in the right way.
Because it's fun, why else would kids like it? BTW, something isn't a fad if it's still pretty popular 15 years after it was made. Fads would probably be more along the line of Tickle-Me Elmos and Tamagotchis, things that are popular for a year at best and drop off the face of the earth afterwards. So, pagan toys are automatically evil? It's true that you should chose good toys because bad toys could lead to injury or sickness.
Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The question is, what is the right way and how do we know if something is right for our children or even us personally? In the case of Pokemon let us look at the "roots and fruits" of this game. The Bible tells us in Matthew 7 that we can recognize the tree by the fruit that it bears.
Matthew 7:17: "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
We have a small orchard and this year we are going to have a "bumper crop" from all of our fruit trees, as the frost didn't freeze the blossoms in early Spring. Usually our apples, pears and grapes bloom out late so we always have those fruits. However, the plums, peaches and apricots usually don't make it before the freeze gets them. Just yesterday I was looking at all the trees and the small fruit that was on them and was surprised to find a tree that I thought was a plum all along that turned out to be a peach tree. Since they had not had any fruit for a number of years I did not know what kind they were until I saw the small fuzzy fruit on one of them and the shiny plums on another. In the same way it is difficult to discern the true nature of anything until we can see the fruit. Pokemon players are beginning to produce fruit that isn't good so we need to examine the tree and the root.
LIST OF THE ROOTS AND FRUIT OF POKEMON
1.) First of all, its name describes what this game is about. Pokemon is short for "Pocket Monsters". When I was growing up, we were taught monsters were evil, not something to play with. When I was a little girl, the "boogie man" or monsters caused us fear and we did not want to be around them. This game makes some of its monsters out as friendly; thus causing children to embrace certain evil spirits as friends instead of resisting them. This is not the only game that does this as there are other games and books that trivialize or glamorize the occult as well. One of the most evil book series that children are reading at this hour are the Harry Potter books. These books are just as dangerous as the Pokemon games. The Harry Potter books have become a best selling series that chronicle the tales of an orphaned boy at a school for wizards. These books deal with the occult in a fantasy way. In the books you will find animal sacrifices, threats of human sacrifices, witchcraft, wizardry and divination as well as other evil things.
For more information about the Harry Potter books: (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24080)
Sigh, there's the whole "Harry Potter is the spawn of the devil" hogwash again. " In the books you will find animal sacrifices, threats of human sacrifices, witchcraft, wizardry and divination". Really, where is the animal sacrifice? Are you talking about the part where Voldemort drinks unicorn blood to get a body? In canon, that is described as an evil and cursed type of magic, and isn't considered a good thing. It's the villain that does it, not the heroes. Same thing with the human sacrifices, it's explicitly stated that it is bad and shouldn't be done. It's not like the heroes go and get random Muggles to give to Satan. It's also stated in canon that divination doesn't work and can only be seen by the very rare Seer (which is like a prophet). So what if they have magic. It's not like they are calling upon the devil every time they cast a spell; they just say a word, wave their wands, and it's done. Both the good guys and bad guys use magic, and magic in this universe is a tool, to both help and hurt. It's like a frying pan, you can use it to cook breakfast for your family or you could use it to bash someone's head in. Harry Potter was one of the most Christian set of books that I've ever read (I've never read the Chronicles of Narnia). It extolls love, virtue, sacrifice, friendship, fighting evil, and more.
There's a reason why it's called Pocket Monsters. In Japan, the monsters are called yokai and obake. They aren't all pure undiluted evil; some just like to troll people and some are even good. The games just feed off of Japanese folklore (quite a few of the mons are based on yokai). Are you trying to say that Japanese folklore is filled with evil demonic monsters that just look innocent? If so, you need to reread the tales. They aren't trying to recruit people in the occult, they're just using the local folklore as inspiration. It's also probably called that because Japanese people like to use English words because they're cool without really understanding the implications that they carry in the West, and really, why should they? A good majority of the games in Japan don't make it out of Japan. They probably were going for "creatures" in meaning, since monsters can have that meaning in English as well. They might change things that might be really offensive to us, but they probably didn't think that monsters were offensive enough to change.
2.) The game was created in Japan and the concepts of the game and trading cards reflect the principles of Eastern Religions and the philosophies that influenced them. Pokemon is the result of influences that are completely mystical and that embrace warrior religions. These belief systems are not compatible with Christianity.
Buddhist Mysticism
Hinduism
Meditation Rituals
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Book of Tao
The Analects of Confucius
The Gita
The I Ching
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Shintoism
Shinto teaches that that all such natural features were felt to have a god behind their power. Many Shinto beliefs were incorporated into Japanese Buddhist practices after its introduction in the 6th century. Just as they believe in evolution and reincarnation, these ideas are manifest in Pokemon. To be specific, one of the typical examples of the dark side of Pokemon is a character named Haunter; an evolved spirit that can hypnotize and has "dream eater" power (powered by the purple Pokemon energy cards which is psychic energy). This power lets him drain the energy from his opponents. Kadabra is another Pokemon character who evolved from Abra. Both characters have demonic powers.
In Pokemon, the monsters actually die to their old self and evolve into the new, more powerful Pokemon. This is the teaching of eastern mystery religions and is spelled out in the Egyptian book of the dead and other occult religions. Through this children are subtly being indoctrinated into the theory of evolution and mysticism of the eastern religions.
Oh, where to start on this one? Of course it would, would you prefer them to badly mangle Christianity like how they do so in several anime series? They would of course incorporate eastern religions, because it's firmly present in their culture and that's what the good majority of the people believe in, like how we may put some Christian themes in Western works like the Chronicles of Narnia. Only 1% of Japan is Christian because it's considered an outsider religion. Of course eastern religions are compatible with Christianity. We could definitely learn how not to be judgemental assholes about other religions. You could even follow Buddhism and Christianity at the same time, because there is no gods in Buddhism and Buddhism is more focused on bettering yourself so that you can go into heaven.
On the topic of evolution, in the game, evolution is the equivalent of growing up. If we were Pokemon, our evolutionary chain would be Baby->Kid->Teenager->Adult. As the Pokemon gain levels, they grow older and change forms to represent them growing and developing. They gain Experience points and learn new things. Haunter is a ghost type. It's just represented by Psychic type energy in the card games because they don't want to have to have an energy card for every type (there's 17 types, now, so that would be a lot of cards). It does have creepy powers, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's an evil Pokemon. Pokemon aren't bad. They can be used for bad things, but they're like animals, no real free will. Also, psychic powers aren't necessarily evil. The psychic people don't make deals with the devil to get their powers. what's wrong with learning about different religions? It's good to learn about other countries and their beliefs. It's good to change as a person (I wouldn't want to be stuck with my baby personality for the rest of my life) and branch out. Pokemon isn't a Chick Tract, if it wanted to indoctrinate kids, it would be a lot more obvious. Also, Pokemon isn't the franchise based on Egyptian monsters, that would be Yu-Gi-Oh.
3.) The maker of the Pokemon U. S. trading cards is the Seattle-based company, Wizards of the Coast, owner of the Dungeons and Dragons game and creator owner of a card game called Magic: The Gathering, which is played by an estimated 6 million people. Many of these preteens and teens are learned in the art of casting spells and summoning spirits. Hasbro, a toy company, bought Wizards of the Coast for $325 million. Nintendo introduced Pokemon to the children of America and spent $20 million on just the marketing. Nintendo has sold more than 14 million Pokemon-related video games according to a recent Family PC magazine review.¹ Wouldn't it be fair to ask what the real motive is for distributing these games? Sales of the Pokemon products have reached the $1 billion mark for Nintendo.
They want to make money, of course, why else would they make these games? Everything isn't some big conspiracy to ruin Christianity, get over yourselves. People who play D & D don't know how tro summon monsters, if they did, then wouldn't it make headline news? Teens and adults summoning monsters to wreak havoc on the general populace would be pretty big news, wouldn't it?
4.) Other philosophies are also evident in Pokemon and these are the demonstration of occultic powers in the games and cards. We also find the influences of New Age Cults, Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism and Satanism in this game. In the practice of witchcraft, spirits are summoned and called to stay in a circle until needed to fight off bad spirits. In these practices they develop relationships with the so-called "good spirits" to fight the bad ones. This is totally against scripture as the only spirit we are to call on is the Holy Spirit to combat evil spirits with His Holy Angels. In essence these guardians or "spirit guides" that are used in Pokemon actually encourage children in the ways of witchcraft. In the Bible one of Israel's kings, Manasseh, was guilty of witchcraft and other sins and he was brought into bondage because of it.
2 Chronicles 33:6: "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."
So, where are these influences? Examples, you need them to back up your point. It’s important, you can’t just say something without something to back it up or a reason why it is so. If this was a school paper, your teacher wouldn’t be persuaded because you don’t list examples of why it is so. Are you talking about Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town? The circle is supposed to be a salt purification circle (another Japanese cultural belief) and it heals your Pokemon. Maybe you’re talking about Pokeballs? A sphere is not a circle!! There is a difference!! It’s there to hold the Pokemon so that they don’t escape or get lost. It’s also there as a form of ownership, so you know which Pokemon are wild and which aren’t. As I said earlier, there are no bad Pokemon, they’re basically like animals. They don’t think for themselves, you can command them and they will obey. Are you trying to say that having pets are immoral because they usurp God’s position? If so, then God is really a jealous asshole who would feel upstaged by a fricking animal because He’s being a diva and thinks that he deserves all the attention. Also, if we were only supposed to use the Holy Spirit, then it wouldn’t be fun at all. It would be Character Select Forcing to the extreme. It would also be too easy, because it would always be a OHKO. Where’s the challenge? The Pokemon world isn’t so black and white. For the most part, Pokemon is a competitive sport, there isn’t any hard feelings afterwards. There are villains, but the villains are people who use Pokemon for the wrong reasons, not the Pokemon themselves.
5). The trading aspect of Pokemon is unhealthy for children too. This aspect has become addictive in many children. It is also creating bad feelings among friends. Some of the older children who are more knowledgeable play off the younger and less knowledgeable ones. When a child doesn't get the card they want, they feel bad; when they do get the card they want, they feel superior. This trading game is not fostering good Christian traits in children but rather greed, combativeness, extreme competitiveness and obsessiveness. Some children have been so completely obsessed with the game that's all they want to talk about and do. Family relationships have deteriorated and children no longer talk about themselves or others but rather about when they can make another trade. Some schools in the nation have even banned Pokemon from their schools when trading resulted in kids trading lunches, stealing back packs, and threatening bodily harm for deals gone bad.
Trading is supposed to help kids interact with each other. If there wasn’t any trading, then kids would be stuck in their own little world, playing Pokemon, which isn’t healthy, either. Also, Nintendo wants to make sure that people would buy both copies so that they could make money, so they don’t include all the Pokemon in one game and instead have certain Pokemon be available in only one version. It’s true that bad feelings can arise because of this, but that’s just the kids being assholes. They will do this regardless. Older kids tend to take advantage of younger ones anyway. It’s collector-mania. If it wasn’t Pokemon, then it would be something else, like Beanie Babies. That’s the way that some people are wired, they must collect it all. You could say the same about capitalism. I see Pokemon as a way to make new friends. I’m not a social butterfly at all and I often use my interests to find friends. It also doesn’t help that my interests aren’t exactly mainstream, so it’s harder to find people with my interests. I like to able to have something to talk about with my friends, like Pokemon and anime. I like to have things in common with my friends, even if it is just the fact that we like a particular video game series. What’s wrong about talking about Pokemon, is it because it isn’t socially acceptable? I couldn’t care less about what’s socially acceptable. Aren’t friends basically a group of people with something in common that like each other? Schools probably banned Pokemon for similar reasons why cell phones and I-Pods are banned, because they can be distracting. Bullying will happen with or without Pokemon, try to get to the root of the problem. Some kids are just violent douchebags, doesn’t necessarily mean that Pokemon is always the cause. It’s true that people getting obsessive over Pokemon is kind of scary, but obsessiveness can occur in anything. Some people are hardwired to become obsessive. I could say the same about Christianity. Some people become so obsessive and only talk about it. They try to force their views down everyone’s throats. They brand everything else as evil.
6.) Some parents are also saying that they are concerned about disturbing behavior changes since their children started playing the Pokemon games. They are seeing their children fight and display anti-social skills instead of the proper ones. Instead of this game just being one of imaginative fun, it has become addictive and changed the emotional disposition of children. Some children even complain that they don't feel good after playing the game. Since it is a role playing game, some of the characters are not good and this opens the door for children to receive evil influences and even demonic invasion. Children can receive demon spirits by opening themselves up to the spirits behind Pokemon. When it was first released in Japan in 1997, it was reported that over 600 children went into epileptic seizures while watching the Pokemon cartoons. ² The epileptic seizures were said to be caused by the incessant flashing lights in the cartoon overloading the optical nerves and inciting seizure; however, seizures can also be caused by demonic attack.
Again, obsession can happen in anything. The majority of Pokemon fans are normal people who live normal lives, whether they are kids or fully grown. Ask anyone who plays Pokemon. The majority of the Pokemon players are normal, while there are crazies, there are crazies in any fandom. It’s not the fault of the show, it’s just the wiring of the person’s brain. And what exactly are the “proper” skills? Is it just maskng your real feelings and act like everyone else. This is why I’m not too fond of saying that I like Pokemon. Whenever I say so, everyone always says that I’m too old for it and that I’m a nerdy baby for not partying all the time, drinking to the point of coma, and having random anonymous sex. People can take the game the wrong way and become obsessive, while some just enjoy the game for what it is. There’s a warning in Pokemon that you shouldn’t play if you get seizures, because flashing lights in games can cause them. This is probably also based on the Lavender Town creepypasta. I know that the original game’s Lavender Town had a very high pitched song that gave children headaches due to the squeakiness. They changed the song when it was released in America, so American kids shouldn’t have that problem. Of course some of the characters aren’t good. There’s a little something called conflict, do you know what it is? Even the Bible has good and bad guys, that’s how stories work. Demon spirits, that’s so stupid. A whole generation of kids grew up on it, are you trying to say that my entire generation is possessed. I grew up on it. It would be more obvious if a lot of kids, teens, and young adults were possessed. It would be front page news if that happened. Oh yes, I remember that. It was because there was a strobe light effect that was caused by Pikachu destroying rockets with lightning. Strobe lights are known to cause seizures, especially if it was at a certain rate. Wow, I think that you just pissed off a whole bunch of people with epilepsy. Are you trying to say that people who suffer seizures are inflicted with demons? How medieval.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I have tried to condense the elements of danger for our children. Now, what can we do about it and what are our responsibilities as parents? First of all, parents and children should pray and ask the Lord for the truth about this game so He can reveal it to you. Many parents just buy the toys their children ask for just so they will be occupied (since many parents are too busy to spend quality time with their children). Parents, you must take a more active role in praying over and researching the toys, books and games before buying them for your children. Children, you must not partake in games that do not help you be a better Christian. You must refuse to go along with the latest fads when they are bad. How can we know if a game or toy is good or bad?
I don’t think that you should waste time trying to ask God whether Pokemon is good or not. Make the judgement for yourself, it’s not that hard. It is true that parents should look at the things that they’re buying, but not for the reasons that you listed above. Books, video games, TV shows, etc. don’t have supernatural power. Why would they? Why is being a better Christian so important? Isn’t it more important to be a better person? If the game doesn’t make them happy, then why would they be playing? It’s not like they absolutely have to play it or else they will be punished. It’s just a game. It’s true that we are molded by what we see, though sometimes it’s good to look at bad things as a guide of what not to do. You can’t be sheltered from bad things forever. You might even be doing bad things without knowing it. I’ll use a quote from Pokemon because it sums up the problems of innocence. Concordia said about N in Pokemon Black and White, “There is nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence”.
Philippians 4:8-9: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you".
Proverbs 4:23: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
We encourage you not to let the seemingly little things, like helping choose your children's toys wisely, be a door for unwanted evil influences in their lives. Don't let this "little fox" destroy the minds and hearts of our children.
_______________________________
End Notes:
¹Family Christian PC Magazine, July 2000 Issue, Reviews Section
²New Wine Online Website, July Posting, Pastor Brett Peterson
Editor's Note: There is an excellent book entitled, Turmoil in the Toy Box, that will help parents to understand the evil influences that have influenced toy makers and thus passed this on to our children. Remember unless the toy makers have character and a godly influence they are usually making and selling toys with just a profit in mind.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT....
THE DANGER OF THE POKEMON FASCINATION?
What is behind the fascination with the Pokemon phenomenon? Even though this fad is highly popular among the children today, some may not be really aware of what this game is all about. Children and parents alike may not realize the importance of choosing their games and toys with God's guidance. Some might argue that this is a small thing and as long as children are entertained it shouldn't matter what they are playing with. Even as the "little foxes" can spoil the entire grape vine, the games and toys our children embrace can be destructive for them. As parents, the Bible admonishes us to train our children in the right way.
Because it's fun, why else would kids like it? BTW, something isn't a fad if it's still pretty popular 15 years after it was made. Fads would probably be more along the line of Tickle-Me Elmos and Tamagotchis, things that are popular for a year at best and drop off the face of the earth afterwards. So, pagan toys are automatically evil? It's true that you should chose good toys because bad toys could lead to injury or sickness.
Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The question is, what is the right way and how do we know if something is right for our children or even us personally? In the case of Pokemon let us look at the "roots and fruits" of this game. The Bible tells us in Matthew 7 that we can recognize the tree by the fruit that it bears.
Matthew 7:17: "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
We have a small orchard and this year we are going to have a "bumper crop" from all of our fruit trees, as the frost didn't freeze the blossoms in early Spring. Usually our apples, pears and grapes bloom out late so we always have those fruits. However, the plums, peaches and apricots usually don't make it before the freeze gets them. Just yesterday I was looking at all the trees and the small fruit that was on them and was surprised to find a tree that I thought was a plum all along that turned out to be a peach tree. Since they had not had any fruit for a number of years I did not know what kind they were until I saw the small fuzzy fruit on one of them and the shiny plums on another. In the same way it is difficult to discern the true nature of anything until we can see the fruit. Pokemon players are beginning to produce fruit that isn't good so we need to examine the tree and the root.
LIST OF THE ROOTS AND FRUIT OF POKEMON
1.) First of all, its name describes what this game is about. Pokemon is short for "Pocket Monsters". When I was growing up, we were taught monsters were evil, not something to play with. When I was a little girl, the "boogie man" or monsters caused us fear and we did not want to be around them. This game makes some of its monsters out as friendly; thus causing children to embrace certain evil spirits as friends instead of resisting them. This is not the only game that does this as there are other games and books that trivialize or glamorize the occult as well. One of the most evil book series that children are reading at this hour are the Harry Potter books. These books are just as dangerous as the Pokemon games. The Harry Potter books have become a best selling series that chronicle the tales of an orphaned boy at a school for wizards. These books deal with the occult in a fantasy way. In the books you will find animal sacrifices, threats of human sacrifices, witchcraft, wizardry and divination as well as other evil things.
For more information about the Harry Potter books: (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24080)
Sigh, there's the whole "Harry Potter is the spawn of the devil" hogwash again. " In the books you will find animal sacrifices, threats of human sacrifices, witchcraft, wizardry and divination". Really, where is the animal sacrifice? Are you talking about the part where Voldemort drinks unicorn blood to get a body? In canon, that is described as an evil and cursed type of magic, and isn't considered a good thing. It's the villain that does it, not the heroes. Same thing with the human sacrifices, it's explicitly stated that it is bad and shouldn't be done. It's not like the heroes go and get random Muggles to give to Satan. It's also stated in canon that divination doesn't work and can only be seen by the very rare Seer (which is like a prophet). So what if they have magic. It's not like they are calling upon the devil every time they cast a spell; they just say a word, wave their wands, and it's done. Both the good guys and bad guys use magic, and magic in this universe is a tool, to both help and hurt. It's like a frying pan, you can use it to cook breakfast for your family or you could use it to bash someone's head in. Harry Potter was one of the most Christian set of books that I've ever read (I've never read the Chronicles of Narnia). It extolls love, virtue, sacrifice, friendship, fighting evil, and more.
There's a reason why it's called Pocket Monsters. In Japan, the monsters are called yokai and obake. They aren't all pure undiluted evil; some just like to troll people and some are even good. The games just feed off of Japanese folklore (quite a few of the mons are based on yokai). Are you trying to say that Japanese folklore is filled with evil demonic monsters that just look innocent? If so, you need to reread the tales. They aren't trying to recruit people in the occult, they're just using the local folklore as inspiration. It's also probably called that because Japanese people like to use English words because they're cool without really understanding the implications that they carry in the West, and really, why should they? A good majority of the games in Japan don't make it out of Japan. They probably were going for "creatures" in meaning, since monsters can have that meaning in English as well. They might change things that might be really offensive to us, but they probably didn't think that monsters were offensive enough to change.
2.) The game was created in Japan and the concepts of the game and trading cards reflect the principles of Eastern Religions and the philosophies that influenced them. Pokemon is the result of influences that are completely mystical and that embrace warrior religions. These belief systems are not compatible with Christianity.
Buddhist Mysticism
Hinduism
Meditation Rituals
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Book of Tao
The Analects of Confucius
The Gita
The I Ching
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Shintoism
Shinto teaches that that all such natural features were felt to have a god behind their power. Many Shinto beliefs were incorporated into Japanese Buddhist practices after its introduction in the 6th century. Just as they believe in evolution and reincarnation, these ideas are manifest in Pokemon. To be specific, one of the typical examples of the dark side of Pokemon is a character named Haunter; an evolved spirit that can hypnotize and has "dream eater" power (powered by the purple Pokemon energy cards which is psychic energy). This power lets him drain the energy from his opponents. Kadabra is another Pokemon character who evolved from Abra. Both characters have demonic powers.
In Pokemon, the monsters actually die to their old self and evolve into the new, more powerful Pokemon. This is the teaching of eastern mystery religions and is spelled out in the Egyptian book of the dead and other occult religions. Through this children are subtly being indoctrinated into the theory of evolution and mysticism of the eastern religions.
Oh, where to start on this one? Of course it would, would you prefer them to badly mangle Christianity like how they do so in several anime series? They would of course incorporate eastern religions, because it's firmly present in their culture and that's what the good majority of the people believe in, like how we may put some Christian themes in Western works like the Chronicles of Narnia. Only 1% of Japan is Christian because it's considered an outsider religion. Of course eastern religions are compatible with Christianity. We could definitely learn how not to be judgemental assholes about other religions. You could even follow Buddhism and Christianity at the same time, because there is no gods in Buddhism and Buddhism is more focused on bettering yourself so that you can go into heaven.
On the topic of evolution, in the game, evolution is the equivalent of growing up. If we were Pokemon, our evolutionary chain would be Baby->Kid->Teenager->Adult. As the Pokemon gain levels, they grow older and change forms to represent them growing and developing. They gain Experience points and learn new things. Haunter is a ghost type. It's just represented by Psychic type energy in the card games because they don't want to have to have an energy card for every type (there's 17 types, now, so that would be a lot of cards). It does have creepy powers, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's an evil Pokemon. Pokemon aren't bad. They can be used for bad things, but they're like animals, no real free will. Also, psychic powers aren't necessarily evil. The psychic people don't make deals with the devil to get their powers. what's wrong with learning about different religions? It's good to learn about other countries and their beliefs. It's good to change as a person (I wouldn't want to be stuck with my baby personality for the rest of my life) and branch out. Pokemon isn't a Chick Tract, if it wanted to indoctrinate kids, it would be a lot more obvious. Also, Pokemon isn't the franchise based on Egyptian monsters, that would be Yu-Gi-Oh.
3.) The maker of the Pokemon U. S. trading cards is the Seattle-based company, Wizards of the Coast, owner of the Dungeons and Dragons game and creator owner of a card game called Magic: The Gathering, which is played by an estimated 6 million people. Many of these preteens and teens are learned in the art of casting spells and summoning spirits. Hasbro, a toy company, bought Wizards of the Coast for $325 million. Nintendo introduced Pokemon to the children of America and spent $20 million on just the marketing. Nintendo has sold more than 14 million Pokemon-related video games according to a recent Family PC magazine review.¹ Wouldn't it be fair to ask what the real motive is for distributing these games? Sales of the Pokemon products have reached the $1 billion mark for Nintendo.
They want to make money, of course, why else would they make these games? Everything isn't some big conspiracy to ruin Christianity, get over yourselves. People who play D & D don't know how tro summon monsters, if they did, then wouldn't it make headline news? Teens and adults summoning monsters to wreak havoc on the general populace would be pretty big news, wouldn't it?
4.) Other philosophies are also evident in Pokemon and these are the demonstration of occultic powers in the games and cards. We also find the influences of New Age Cults, Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism and Satanism in this game. In the practice of witchcraft, spirits are summoned and called to stay in a circle until needed to fight off bad spirits. In these practices they develop relationships with the so-called "good spirits" to fight the bad ones. This is totally against scripture as the only spirit we are to call on is the Holy Spirit to combat evil spirits with His Holy Angels. In essence these guardians or "spirit guides" that are used in Pokemon actually encourage children in the ways of witchcraft. In the Bible one of Israel's kings, Manasseh, was guilty of witchcraft and other sins and he was brought into bondage because of it.
2 Chronicles 33:6: "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."
So, where are these influences? Examples, you need them to back up your point. It’s important, you can’t just say something without something to back it up or a reason why it is so. If this was a school paper, your teacher wouldn’t be persuaded because you don’t list examples of why it is so. Are you talking about Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town? The circle is supposed to be a salt purification circle (another Japanese cultural belief) and it heals your Pokemon. Maybe you’re talking about Pokeballs? A sphere is not a circle!! There is a difference!! It’s there to hold the Pokemon so that they don’t escape or get lost. It’s also there as a form of ownership, so you know which Pokemon are wild and which aren’t. As I said earlier, there are no bad Pokemon, they’re basically like animals. They don’t think for themselves, you can command them and they will obey. Are you trying to say that having pets are immoral because they usurp God’s position? If so, then God is really a jealous asshole who would feel upstaged by a fricking animal because He’s being a diva and thinks that he deserves all the attention. Also, if we were only supposed to use the Holy Spirit, then it wouldn’t be fun at all. It would be Character Select Forcing to the extreme. It would also be too easy, because it would always be a OHKO. Where’s the challenge? The Pokemon world isn’t so black and white. For the most part, Pokemon is a competitive sport, there isn’t any hard feelings afterwards. There are villains, but the villains are people who use Pokemon for the wrong reasons, not the Pokemon themselves.
5). The trading aspect of Pokemon is unhealthy for children too. This aspect has become addictive in many children. It is also creating bad feelings among friends. Some of the older children who are more knowledgeable play off the younger and less knowledgeable ones. When a child doesn't get the card they want, they feel bad; when they do get the card they want, they feel superior. This trading game is not fostering good Christian traits in children but rather greed, combativeness, extreme competitiveness and obsessiveness. Some children have been so completely obsessed with the game that's all they want to talk about and do. Family relationships have deteriorated and children no longer talk about themselves or others but rather about when they can make another trade. Some schools in the nation have even banned Pokemon from their schools when trading resulted in kids trading lunches, stealing back packs, and threatening bodily harm for deals gone bad.
Trading is supposed to help kids interact with each other. If there wasn’t any trading, then kids would be stuck in their own little world, playing Pokemon, which isn’t healthy, either. Also, Nintendo wants to make sure that people would buy both copies so that they could make money, so they don’t include all the Pokemon in one game and instead have certain Pokemon be available in only one version. It’s true that bad feelings can arise because of this, but that’s just the kids being assholes. They will do this regardless. Older kids tend to take advantage of younger ones anyway. It’s collector-mania. If it wasn’t Pokemon, then it would be something else, like Beanie Babies. That’s the way that some people are wired, they must collect it all. You could say the same about capitalism. I see Pokemon as a way to make new friends. I’m not a social butterfly at all and I often use my interests to find friends. It also doesn’t help that my interests aren’t exactly mainstream, so it’s harder to find people with my interests. I like to able to have something to talk about with my friends, like Pokemon and anime. I like to have things in common with my friends, even if it is just the fact that we like a particular video game series. What’s wrong about talking about Pokemon, is it because it isn’t socially acceptable? I couldn’t care less about what’s socially acceptable. Aren’t friends basically a group of people with something in common that like each other? Schools probably banned Pokemon for similar reasons why cell phones and I-Pods are banned, because they can be distracting. Bullying will happen with or without Pokemon, try to get to the root of the problem. Some kids are just violent douchebags, doesn’t necessarily mean that Pokemon is always the cause. It’s true that people getting obsessive over Pokemon is kind of scary, but obsessiveness can occur in anything. Some people are hardwired to become obsessive. I could say the same about Christianity. Some people become so obsessive and only talk about it. They try to force their views down everyone’s throats. They brand everything else as evil.
6.) Some parents are also saying that they are concerned about disturbing behavior changes since their children started playing the Pokemon games. They are seeing their children fight and display anti-social skills instead of the proper ones. Instead of this game just being one of imaginative fun, it has become addictive and changed the emotional disposition of children. Some children even complain that they don't feel good after playing the game. Since it is a role playing game, some of the characters are not good and this opens the door for children to receive evil influences and even demonic invasion. Children can receive demon spirits by opening themselves up to the spirits behind Pokemon. When it was first released in Japan in 1997, it was reported that over 600 children went into epileptic seizures while watching the Pokemon cartoons. ² The epileptic seizures were said to be caused by the incessant flashing lights in the cartoon overloading the optical nerves and inciting seizure; however, seizures can also be caused by demonic attack.
Again, obsession can happen in anything. The majority of Pokemon fans are normal people who live normal lives, whether they are kids or fully grown. Ask anyone who plays Pokemon. The majority of the Pokemon players are normal, while there are crazies, there are crazies in any fandom. It’s not the fault of the show, it’s just the wiring of the person’s brain. And what exactly are the “proper” skills? Is it just maskng your real feelings and act like everyone else. This is why I’m not too fond of saying that I like Pokemon. Whenever I say so, everyone always says that I’m too old for it and that I’m a nerdy baby for not partying all the time, drinking to the point of coma, and having random anonymous sex. People can take the game the wrong way and become obsessive, while some just enjoy the game for what it is. There’s a warning in Pokemon that you shouldn’t play if you get seizures, because flashing lights in games can cause them. This is probably also based on the Lavender Town creepypasta. I know that the original game’s Lavender Town had a very high pitched song that gave children headaches due to the squeakiness. They changed the song when it was released in America, so American kids shouldn’t have that problem. Of course some of the characters aren’t good. There’s a little something called conflict, do you know what it is? Even the Bible has good and bad guys, that’s how stories work. Demon spirits, that’s so stupid. A whole generation of kids grew up on it, are you trying to say that my entire generation is possessed. I grew up on it. It would be more obvious if a lot of kids, teens, and young adults were possessed. It would be front page news if that happened. Oh yes, I remember that. It was because there was a strobe light effect that was caused by Pikachu destroying rockets with lightning. Strobe lights are known to cause seizures, especially if it was at a certain rate. Wow, I think that you just pissed off a whole bunch of people with epilepsy. Are you trying to say that people who suffer seizures are inflicted with demons? How medieval.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I have tried to condense the elements of danger for our children. Now, what can we do about it and what are our responsibilities as parents? First of all, parents and children should pray and ask the Lord for the truth about this game so He can reveal it to you. Many parents just buy the toys their children ask for just so they will be occupied (since many parents are too busy to spend quality time with their children). Parents, you must take a more active role in praying over and researching the toys, books and games before buying them for your children. Children, you must not partake in games that do not help you be a better Christian. You must refuse to go along with the latest fads when they are bad. How can we know if a game or toy is good or bad?
- Determine if the game, video or book involves supernatural power. There are only two sources of super natural power -- God or the devil. When it is beyond the natural, it either comes from God or the devil. If it is not from God then we should not be partaking of it.
- Children, ask yourself if this is the kind of game that makes you happy and improves your relationships with others. Parents, see if your child is growing in character via the games he plays or vice versa.
- What kind of things are being learned via these books, games and videos. Remember our minds are molded by what we hear, read and partake of so we must guard our spirit. Psalm 101:3: "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me."
I don’t think that you should waste time trying to ask God whether Pokemon is good or not. Make the judgement for yourself, it’s not that hard. It is true that parents should look at the things that they’re buying, but not for the reasons that you listed above. Books, video games, TV shows, etc. don’t have supernatural power. Why would they? Why is being a better Christian so important? Isn’t it more important to be a better person? If the game doesn’t make them happy, then why would they be playing? It’s not like they absolutely have to play it or else they will be punished. It’s just a game. It’s true that we are molded by what we see, though sometimes it’s good to look at bad things as a guide of what not to do. You can’t be sheltered from bad things forever. You might even be doing bad things without knowing it. I’ll use a quote from Pokemon because it sums up the problems of innocence. Concordia said about N in Pokemon Black and White, “There is nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence”.
Philippians 4:8-9: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you".
Proverbs 4:23: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
We encourage you not to let the seemingly little things, like helping choose your children's toys wisely, be a door for unwanted evil influences in their lives. Don't let this "little fox" destroy the minds and hearts of our children.
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End Notes:
¹Family Christian PC Magazine, July 2000 Issue, Reviews Section
²New Wine Online Website, July Posting, Pastor Brett Peterson
Editor's Note: There is an excellent book entitled, Turmoil in the Toy Box, that will help parents to understand the evil influences that have influenced toy makers and thus passed this on to our children. Remember unless the toy makers have character and a godly influence they are usually making and selling toys with just a profit in mind.