Post by Soidanae on Oct 23, 2004 22:24:19 GMT -5
Ehh.... This might be tough.. I'm going to try and help you out, but don't hate me for trying. If anyone else is reading this, know that this is going to have a bit of a christian predisposition to it: If that offends you, don't read it.
First off, I'm going to make an observation, so take this medicine with a spoonful of sugar. You're playing a game where dragons and demons are prevalent, where sorcerers conjure strange creatures through magic, and where beings that aren't "God's children" are just as prevalent as human beings, who remain "unclaimed" as far as having a racial deity is concerned. I'm sure that you've gotten over those things, otherwise you wouldn't even be playing this game in the first place. That stated, you should know that the people who made this game were really trying to make a ficticious world for your imagination and inspiration to run wild through. The deities that you'll undoubtedly encounter throughout this game will be vast in number and variety. Your paladin is part of this scheme, this fantasy world, and so not only will this christian knight of yours have to come to terms with other faiths, but to an extent you'll have to come to terms with your own faith as well.
The world is full of good people from a nigh-endless number of paths in life, from religions that christianity as a whole may have issues with, but they're still good people. Faith is something that's so deep in people, and to say that somebody's faith is wrong is like taking a hammer to their spirit... It's not something that should be spoken about casually and with a closed mind and heart. Unfortunately our faith has done that countless times in history, but you and I both (should) know that we were given a mind of our own, free will, a choice. A choice to worship god, a choice to hold those commandments dear, even a choice to shun it all - We're the pinnacle of his creations because of this: Our souls, minds and hearts belong to us, but we share them with God and each other as christians. The tenants of christianity (as far as I know them) revolve around love and compassion, not pointing our finger at those we foolishly deem wrong. The commandments tell us to hold dear the virtues of honesty, faithfulness to God, spouse and family, to be compassionate to our neighbors, and to open our arms. The good that our religion should embody doesn't revolve around self-righteous destruction, but taking in our fellow christians and even non-christians with love, understanding and open arms. Whether you read a bible or not, it's just a book - A christian life upholds the teachings of Christ and the laws given by the Commandments, those are the only things that are important.
If your paladin follows these ideals, then he should be an understanding, loving and open-minded person. Blatant acts of evil should be disciplined, not punished, and forgiveness should be a cornerstone of his faith... If you're as devout a christian as you've presented yourself to be, then you'd do well to follow this doctrine as well.
Look, you're not going to burn in hell for roleplaying a paladin who worships Heironeous or Lathander or whatever. YOU are not the paladin, you are yourself. You know your faith, you respect, worship and love God (I hope). Don't fall into the stain of our religion that nay-says and points fingers; uphold the faith and open your eyes and heart to goodness. To an extent, you can even reflect your own feelings through your paladin and get closer to your own faith and God. If your paladin is compassionate, open-minded and faithful to his religion, then you can work closer towards that goal through him - He'll be like a facet of empathy for you, and maybe in life you'll ask yourself "What would my paladin do here? What would I do here? How can I become a better christian here?" and so on.
If all else fails and your DM won't let you become a CHRISTIAN paladin for any number of reasons, just heave a sigh and pick out a god - You don't even need a god for the paladin, he can just uphold the ideals of good. If the DM is being a prick about it, just ignore it and go along with the game books, and if you're still incomfortable about it, have a reasonable conversation with the guy over it. Talk to him and clear this up, don't let it boil up in your head. Remember, this is just a game, it shouldn't be taken so seriously. If the paladin stuff won't work out, just pick another class or skip on the game entirely, maybe the whole setup just doesn't click with you, but by all means don't get bitter about it... Hate and Ignorance lead to horrible things.
Be cool and understanding about this stuff. It's a touchy topic, and I've tried not to offend anyone, especially you, but someone's gotta get their hands dirty in order to clear up the muck and grime of the world.
Godspeed guy, nice to see that there's still some light in this ever-darkening world of ours either way. Keep your heart and arms open, and don't get ****** because some guy with a heart of gold has a god with a few extra arms or eyes.
Discuss.
(originally posted here, not written by me:http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=327119&page=1)
First off, I'm going to make an observation, so take this medicine with a spoonful of sugar. You're playing a game where dragons and demons are prevalent, where sorcerers conjure strange creatures through magic, and where beings that aren't "God's children" are just as prevalent as human beings, who remain "unclaimed" as far as having a racial deity is concerned. I'm sure that you've gotten over those things, otherwise you wouldn't even be playing this game in the first place. That stated, you should know that the people who made this game were really trying to make a ficticious world for your imagination and inspiration to run wild through. The deities that you'll undoubtedly encounter throughout this game will be vast in number and variety. Your paladin is part of this scheme, this fantasy world, and so not only will this christian knight of yours have to come to terms with other faiths, but to an extent you'll have to come to terms with your own faith as well.
The world is full of good people from a nigh-endless number of paths in life, from religions that christianity as a whole may have issues with, but they're still good people. Faith is something that's so deep in people, and to say that somebody's faith is wrong is like taking a hammer to their spirit... It's not something that should be spoken about casually and with a closed mind and heart. Unfortunately our faith has done that countless times in history, but you and I both (should) know that we were given a mind of our own, free will, a choice. A choice to worship god, a choice to hold those commandments dear, even a choice to shun it all - We're the pinnacle of his creations because of this: Our souls, minds and hearts belong to us, but we share them with God and each other as christians. The tenants of christianity (as far as I know them) revolve around love and compassion, not pointing our finger at those we foolishly deem wrong. The commandments tell us to hold dear the virtues of honesty, faithfulness to God, spouse and family, to be compassionate to our neighbors, and to open our arms. The good that our religion should embody doesn't revolve around self-righteous destruction, but taking in our fellow christians and even non-christians with love, understanding and open arms. Whether you read a bible or not, it's just a book - A christian life upholds the teachings of Christ and the laws given by the Commandments, those are the only things that are important.
If your paladin follows these ideals, then he should be an understanding, loving and open-minded person. Blatant acts of evil should be disciplined, not punished, and forgiveness should be a cornerstone of his faith... If you're as devout a christian as you've presented yourself to be, then you'd do well to follow this doctrine as well.
Look, you're not going to burn in hell for roleplaying a paladin who worships Heironeous or Lathander or whatever. YOU are not the paladin, you are yourself. You know your faith, you respect, worship and love God (I hope). Don't fall into the stain of our religion that nay-says and points fingers; uphold the faith and open your eyes and heart to goodness. To an extent, you can even reflect your own feelings through your paladin and get closer to your own faith and God. If your paladin is compassionate, open-minded and faithful to his religion, then you can work closer towards that goal through him - He'll be like a facet of empathy for you, and maybe in life you'll ask yourself "What would my paladin do here? What would I do here? How can I become a better christian here?" and so on.
If all else fails and your DM won't let you become a CHRISTIAN paladin for any number of reasons, just heave a sigh and pick out a god - You don't even need a god for the paladin, he can just uphold the ideals of good. If the DM is being a prick about it, just ignore it and go along with the game books, and if you're still incomfortable about it, have a reasonable conversation with the guy over it. Talk to him and clear this up, don't let it boil up in your head. Remember, this is just a game, it shouldn't be taken so seriously. If the paladin stuff won't work out, just pick another class or skip on the game entirely, maybe the whole setup just doesn't click with you, but by all means don't get bitter about it... Hate and Ignorance lead to horrible things.
Be cool and understanding about this stuff. It's a touchy topic, and I've tried not to offend anyone, especially you, but someone's gotta get their hands dirty in order to clear up the muck and grime of the world.
Godspeed guy, nice to see that there's still some light in this ever-darkening world of ours either way. Keep your heart and arms open, and don't get ****** because some guy with a heart of gold has a god with a few extra arms or eyes.
Discuss.
(originally posted here, not written by me:http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=327119&page=1)