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HOUSMAIL HM050
14 December 1999 A CHRISTIAN
PERSPECTIVE OF POKEMON WHAT
IS POKEMON? Nintendo’s
Pokemon is one of the latest commercialised game crazes, designed to capture
the minds (and the pocket money!) of our children. It has already taken the
USA by storm, where some media reports claim that the games versions now
outsell all other games by a comfortable margin. There have been other
reports that in some schools, it has resulted in playground and classroom
problems, which have made it necessary to ban children from bringing it to
school. Many Christians have spoken out to insist
that, although allegedly only a game, it has underlying occult associations
to which concerned parents will not want to expose their children. Pokemon
is short for “POCKET MONSTERS”. They are mythical animal like creatures possessing
supernatural powers that normal animals don’t have. Some Pokemon are already
owned by people called “trainers”, who use them in game battles to defeat
their enemies. Others live in the wild where, under certain conditions, they
can be caught by trainers, who can then use them to increase their “powers”
in battle. Each has its own unique “powers”. Some “Monsters” are tiny, cute,
and relatively harmless. Others are huge, mean, and aggressive. Their powers
include abilities such as clairvoyance, mind reading, telekinesis, casting
spells, injecting poison, throwing bolts of lightning, kicking, causing
headaches, etc. Recommended game techniques from some sources, include DECEIVING or CONFUSING the opposition by
smiling when things look bad, frowning when things look good, or singing and
humming annoying jingles to destroy the opponent’s CONCENTRATION. The
craze is now in the process of “invading” Australia, where it seems to have
made a very high-profile appearance in the following FOUR areas: 1.
THE MOVIE At
the time of writing this, the Cartoon Movie is set to appear in Australia
later this week. It is currently getting a lot of the usual hyped-up
publicity to prepare us for the event. I saw a “trailer” just a few days ago,
where the principle appeal was for children to learn how to use their PSYCHIC
POWERS to eliminate their problems by using Pokemon violence and progressing
in skill to eventually become “the greatest trainer in the world”. (Think
about it. In their own way, Hitler, Idi Amin, and Pol Pot all had their own
“adult” versions of that philosophy!) 2.
THE CARTOONS The
cartoons are currently appearing on a local TV “breakfast show” for children.
On TV the cartoons are free, but of course the timing of their appearance is
a remarkable “coincidence”! I haven’t watched any myself, but reports
indicate that they show “role model heroes” in action, using the powers of
the Pokemons, to win their battles against enemies. Apart from advertising
the Movie, they are also creating an intense interest in the Game itself. It
is all VERY cleverly designed advertising psychology, with an ultimate goal
of transferring money from the pockets of your children, into the bottomless
coffers of the commercial traders and their shareholders. 3.
THE GAMEBOY AND NINTENDO VIDEO GAMES The
Video Games go a step beyond the Movie and the Cartoons. In the games the
player actually participates in the destructive activities by pushing the
right buttons at the right time. The best players are those with the fastest
reflexes. In the interest of winning, respect for life and the rights of
others are cast aside completely. All you have to do to crush the opposition,
is own the most powerful and destructive Pokemons, and push the right buttons
to deploy them until their “supernatural powers” do enough harm to cripple
the other side. 4.
THE COLLECTABLE CARDS The
cards are simply another way of playing the game, without a computer. If you
have the best collection of the most powerful Pokemon cards, and you play
them right, you are “top dog”. So, success in the game depends largely on
spending enough money, or trading with other collectors to acquire the best
possible assortment of powerful Pokemon cards. This has created a huge
parallel “collectors world” where cards are purchased commercially or traded
and swapped between collectors. It is easy to spend hundreds of dollars to
satisfy the LUST for
“bigger barns”, more power, and the status that goes with having the best
collection. THE
DOWNSIDE There
are many psychologists who are sounding warnings that cartoon
and video game violence are amongst the influences which condition
impressionable young minds for violent reactions, which later lead to things
like road rage, and schoolyard massacres. Of course, not all children are
affected to that extreme, but there appears to be considerable anecdotal
evidence that SOME are! For
Christians who know what God says about the use of “psychic powers” and all other similar “forbidden
arts”, that aspect of the publicity campaign will
set the alarm bells ringing loudly! And the promise of power to become “the
greatest in battle” is an appeal to the ego, arousing instincts which do not
fit at all well with the Christian ideals of the Sermon on the Mount. It isn’t even close to turning the other cheek or blessing and
doing good to enemies! IS
IT ONLY A HARMLESS CHILDREN’S GAME? I
tread delicately here! The great majority of our society see Pokemon as
nothing more than just another entertaining “Children’s Game”, (which is also
apparently enjoyed by some “adults”). Even many Christians appear to be
amongst that number. However,
for those Christians familiar with what the Bible says, the “forbidden arts”
of the occult are included amongst the many other Old Testament SINS for
which God prescribes the Death PENALTY! Regardless of what our own personal religious philosophy
thinks about the nature and reality of the occult, it is NOT HARMLESS! It is high on the
list of things which God calls ABOMINATION! (Deuteronomy 18:9-12) It is amongst the many sins which ALIENATE and SEPARATE people from God. And
forgiveness requires the same recognition, confession, and repentance, as any
other sin. The
game is actually a VERY sophisticated psychological system of behaviour modification.
Evil is made to look good, and good is made to appear ineffective and boring.
The “button pushing mentality” induces conditioned reflexes in which sinful
thoughts and reactions become increasingly automatic. It plays down the
nature and consequences of sin. At its worst it can become a tool by which
young minds are taken captive, and consciences are seared against the
recognition of sin for what it is. THE
BOTTOM LINE My
personal conviction is that disguising something which God calls SIN and ABOMINATION, as a harmless
children’s GAME, is
just as offensive to God, as the wilful open practice of the sin itself. It
has the potential to cause children to sin. Those who encourage it can earn
themselves a “millstone necktie”! (Matthew 18:6) Concerned
Christian parents will want to teach their children to avoid the dangers of
the occult, rather than encourage them to think about it as something they
can play games with. They
will not want to encourage them in any game where it becomes attractive to
learn the techniques of deception, confusion, and distraction, to overcome
their enemies, or solve their problems. And
they will want their children to learn to react instinctively with the
answers that Jesus offers for life’s problems, rather than succumb to the
in-built TEMPTATIONS in a game that, by its very nature, alienates young
minds from God ..... perhaps for ever. Allon “A
number of those who practised magic arts brought their books together and
burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them
and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So,
the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.” (Acts 19:19) |