Fantasy
I was working in a leading bookseller at the time when fantasy novels had begun to explode onto the market. And the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) had become extremely popular, with its devotees taking roles of every kind of character from the fantasy world in which the game was set. Consequently, sales for books such as “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”, already popular, were booming; while earlier fantasy novels such as Conan the Barbarian and others, with their accompanying fantasy worlds, were being reprinted to meet the burgeoning demand; and new authors of fantasy were churning out fantasy novels as fast as they could, in order to cash in on this expanding niche in the market. Some of these novels were written by D&D role players for D&D role players; and new fantasy worlds with new fantasy characters, all of which were classified as “Sword and Sorcery”, were being created and sold as fast as they were published.
Science Fiction
The science fiction market was also burgeoning, to the extent it was also becoming mainstream rather than a niche in the market that it had been for so long. Serious sci-fi novels such as those written by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven and Ben Bova (one of my favourites) were evergreens and very popular, while others sometimes crossed the line into fantasy. Fred Saberhagen, for example, wrote a brilliant series of pure sci-fi short stories called the “Berserker” series, in which machines are working systematically through the galaxy, planet by planet, to destroy every living thing. He also had a popular fantasy series called “The Book of Swords” which many of my D&D customers were reading. He successfully combined the two genres in a brilliant fantasy tech novel titled “Empire of the East”. And publishers were also resurrecting past space opera novels by older and excellent authors such as E.E. “Doc” Smith, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and (gulp!) the horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft. So much was happening in fantasy and sci-fi that I can only give lip service to a handful of them.
Sci-fi was massively galvanised and propelled by space opera films such as Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica which hit the film audience with a bang and became hugely popular. And novels in trilogies of these three genres were becoming very popular because it made the “journey” of reading, and thus living in their fantasy/sci-fi worlds, last so much longer; and they gave authors more space to develop their ideas and their characters.
The Dark Side of Fantasy
D&D role players were so much into their games that when they weren’t actually playing fantasy, they wanted to read these fantasy novels, desiring to immerse themselves in their fantasy worlds for as long as, and as much as, they could. D&D player’s manuals were also selling like paperbacks because they filled in and coloured the D&D fantasy worlds so the players could get depth and authenticity for their characters. In order to provide this authenticity, the publishers were dredging up and describing, in minute detail, characters and their worlds from ancient mythology, occult realms, horror stories, and every kind of demon, ghost, sorcerer, witch, and any and every kind of dangerous and unhealthy entity ever known in the whole history of humanity, whether real or mythological; and known demons and entities from black magic and gnostic religious cults.
Chivalry Sidelined
The medieval tales of derring-do and magic and myth had heroes – knights who were men of courage, honour, and chivalry. The tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and other individual knights in the same world, and the French tales of the hero Roland, and so on – all these men were courteous, honourable, and chivalrous. The stories of these heroes with their courage and noble characteristics have endured for centuries, and they inspire each new generation who reads them. They are regarded as romances, so-called because they were written in the “romance” languages of English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, all derived from the Latin which was spoken in ancient Rome; and perhaps also because there is often the fabled damsel in distress who needs to be rescued from a dragon or an evil knight or sorcerer.
Unfortunately, the modern fantasies dispensed with the chivalric code and noble standards of heroism and focused more on barbarian heroes, monsters, demons, and sorcery; and the D&D manuals opened the doors to the occult and spiritual worlds which had previously been forbidden and where normally healthy people wouldn’t venture. And as a consequence, the gates of hell were flung wide open and the denizens of darkness came flooding through these newly opened portals into the minds of foolish people; minds which were now open to these unclean spirits (see Revelation chapter 12).
One young man, a customer in the shop where I worked, told me of a character his group created as part of their game; they thought it was a bit of fun at first, but this “imaginary” being somehow became a real entity which they began to recognise as an evil spirit, and it gave them a real scare as they felt they were losing control of it. They felt its malice and hostility as it began to assert itself, and it frightened them. But they succeeded in killing the spirit’s character and closing the game.
A married Christian couple, older and therefore supposedly more mature than the general run of D&D players, and who spent a lot of money in my shop on their role-playing paraphernalia, told me they read the complete “Lord of the Rings” once a year. When they told me this, it said everything, and I wondered if they determinedly made as much time to read their bibles. Jesus said, “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt 6:21).
These role-playing games captivated people’s hearts and their reality became warped as they knowingly embraced a fantasy; and consequently, their minds became divorced from the realities of life. They were yet another diversion Satan places in the way of sinful humanity to keep our minds off the reality and necessity of ensuring our eternity is secure through faith in Christ; and that there is a lake of fire which awaits those who trifle with him. “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side” (Matt 13:19). These games were overtly hellish and the lemmings were rushing into the jaws of hell, falsely believing it is all a game.
Warhammer Fantasy
Before long other publishers were getting in on the act with a rash of new role-playing games, aiming to cash in on this lucrative market. Some of them had reasonable success initially, such as Lord of the Rings, Marvel Superheroes, DC Heroes, a sci-fi version called Mech Warrior, and another called Robotech. It was at this time that the fantasy game Warhammer appeared.
Unashamedly based on the Lord of the Rings concept, it had in common with LOTR, orcs and other characters in its world. It also had trolls who spoke with a London cockney accent, as did Tolkien’s trolls and other nasties, as well as having its own unique and original characters. But the thing that differentiated and raised Warhammer above the others was its wide range of figurines. They were very good and even D&D players were buying them. They also produced a monthly magazine called White Dwarf, and I believe it was these things combined that quickly gave them dominance in the market. They have since introduced a sci-fi game called Warhammer 40,000. It is at least as big as D&D was in its heyday and has an incredible range of products related to the game; some of them are astronomically priced, in my opinion – I heard of one figurine which sells for $1500 AUD.
Warhammer 40,000
But the Warhammer 40,000 worlds are brutal, and utterly demonic. They are also very religious (as is most sci-fi) and have detailed religions seemingly based on the Catholic model (as is most sci-fi), with powerful warrior priests every bit as ruthless as the medieval Catholic warrior monks and the inhuman friars of the Inquisition, who were cruel and utterly demonic. The ruler of the Warhammer 40,000 galactic empire is a ruthless emperor 50,000 years old, his cadaver preserved in a machine called The Golden Chest which keeps it functioning. He is unconscious and unable to communicate except psychically, and thus still controls the Empire. It is a hideous abomination of human life.
The mainstays of the game are the ruthlessly efficient imperial troops called space marines who are clothed in heavily armed and armoured suits called Power Armour; and those space marines who are mortally wounded are, if counted worthy, interred in a cyber/bionic-type sarcophagus, which can be plugged into a Mech body (basically a walking tank about 3 times the size of a space marine) and allow him to keep fighting for centuries more, even millennia. And the space marines, in their blind obedience to the Emperor, commit atrocities for the good of the Empire.
I’ve watched some of the short videos of Warhammer 40,000 and, apart from the senseless death of masses on a gargantuan scale, and the utterly callous brutality in causing them, the thing that disturbs me most, and which makes me feel depressed each time I’ve watched them, is the feeling of utter hopelessness in their world. Unlike LOTR and even D&D, the Warhammer 40,000 world has no hope. It is a world of chaos, carnage, heartlessness – there is nothing to alleviate it. No beauty. No tenderness. No hope. No kindness. No mercy. No love. Admittedly, the forces of darkness and chaos are evil incarnate and must be opposed if the Empire and its inhabitants are to survive. But the Empire is itself evil, and the Emperor a sick-minded tyrant who cares nothing for the wellbeing of his subjects; his only concern is preservation of his power.
For me, an outsider looking in, I get depressed every time I do so, and I feel the oppression of despair as if I was actually there. I feel sickened by the brutality and death, the cruel and merciless destruction. But for those who are immature, or who don’t read the bible, or who don’t know Jesus, focusing on and living in the brutal world of Warhammer 40,000 must surely affect their mind and make them very callous.
Is it all bad though….?
Nevertheless, some of the plots in fantasy novels and films are very clever, and some of the characters are brilliant in their concept and originality. The underlying theme in most fantasy and space opera is the struggle between good and evil, and LOTR is a great example of this. LOTR exemplifies the tender, noble, courage, humour, and whimsical aspects of the human soul alongside and in competition with the malice and evil of the dark side of corrupted humanity and demons. For example, I came across a fascinating video in which the Space Marines are being urged to fight the demon of dopamine within. It has a remarkable parallel with the bible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWfzsuGFnLo
Because of this, a case can be made to use them as entertainment, hobby, or relief from the pressures of life. I don’t have a problem with wars between elves and dwarves and humans as the good guys (usually), and gnomes and goblins and giants and trolls and dragons as the bad guys; and I love trees that walk and talk, and so on. Whether we like it or not, these characters are in our children’s stories such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Enid Blyton tales; and they provide opportunities to teach our children some basic principles of good and evil on a level they can relate to and understand.
But the potential remains for Satan to use them as bait to enslave
It is when the players and/or readers immerse themselves in these fantasy worlds and wallow in death, destruction, chaos, and all things hateful to God, that real problems can arise. But far more dangerous is it when these devotees hanker for more than a fantasy game and become involved in séances and meditation in order to reach the hidden and forbidden world of Satan and his hosts of evil angels. Although not all who involve themselves in these games will do so, others are more easily seduced into the occult, believing it is just a bit of harmless fun, or to satisfy their curiosity. This is exactly what Satan wants us all to believe – he loves it when we poke fun at him as a man dressed in a red suit with a tail and a trident in his hand. He laughs with malicious glee when people think they can mess around with the arcane realm of darkness and not suffer the most serious and destructive consequences.
These games are a reflection of the ungodly society, the fallen world, in which we live; and they not only reflect but seduce and direct our fallen society ever further away from God and ever closer to a society which, in the years prior to the universal flood of Genesis, was so corrupt and violent that God saw that the only action he could take was to destroy the whole world – so he did ” (Gen 6:13).
Real History and Historical Fiction are Exciting Alternatives
So, it is safer and much more edifying to read the true histories of ancient peoples and the consequences of what happened back then for our world and societies today. Who can beat for interest and/or excitement the histories of Herodotus with its fascinating story of the war between Greece and Persia, Livy’s War with Hannibal, Xenophon’s marvellous account of the March of the Ten Thousand from Persia back to Greece, or his history of the defeat of Sparta by the brilliant Theban army and generals, among many such? Stories such as these are true, and truth is much more interesting and exciting, in my opinion, than fiction and fantasy.
But if you love fantasy and myth and magic and dragons and heroic combat and so on, the stories mentioned earlier – Arthur, Roland, Beowulf – and the novels of such greats as Water Scott, and Arthur Conan Doyle and his brilliant and totally engaging “The White Company”, among many, will provide the entertainment and excitement that you crave. Chivalry, courage, heroism, honour, derring-do, and every other good characteristic of humanity can be found in books such as these; and the descriptions of the darker side of humanity are also wonderfully displayed and exposed for what they are.
The Bible and Reality
But the books I love best, by far, are the books of the Bible. One reason I love the Bible so much, apart from the fact that it is all about Jesus and the way of salvation, is that it deals with reality. Not only are the people, the events, the places, the histories, real; hope is ever-present in the Bible. It tells us of real people, some of whom were evil and others who were good. It warns us of the pitfalls of life, and of the lake of fire which awaits those who resist God; and especially it gives us hope that death is not necessarily the end – that by trusting in Jesus, death is the gateway to eternal life and immortality. It uses real people to show us these things. And in all this it assures us that God is real.
And there is no need of cyber machines to keep our dead or dying bodies alive in some form; the Bible promises the believer that they receive a new (spiritual) heart in this life with which we may worship God through Christ; and when Jesus returns, Christians will be raised from their graves and given new, resurrection bodies, and be caught up to meet with Jesus in the air, to be with him for eternity. We will not be zombies such as those in Warhammer 40,000, encased and preserved in machines; we will be the saints of God, worshipping and enjoying him forever, in fullness of life and joy, in a completely new body. It will be life as God intended it to be.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body….Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Cor 15:42-44, 50).
All scripture references are from the Authorised King James Version of the Bible.