Search for Game Designers who are Christian

[M. J. Young]

O.K., this isn't quite right for any forum, but I need to ask The Forge community, so it's going to go here. Maybe it would fit better in Connections, but I don't read that forum (too much to read already, sorry) so I'd never know what was happening on it.

As part of its ongoing commitment to bridging the gap between role playing gamers and the Christian churches, the Christian Gamers Guild has been compiling a list of people in the industry who profess a personal faith in Christ, for publication on our web site--a way of informing the uninformed that many of us who create these games are Christians.

If you are someone active in the industry (publisher, author, artist, freelancer, employee, magazine publisher, et cetera) who would define himself as Christian, a believer in Christ, who is willing to be included in such a published list, please contact me, either through these forums or by e-mail.  The Christian Gamers Guild in compiling this list is not limiting it to those who share its statement of faith nor any other; it is sufficient for our purposes that you believe yourself to be a Christian as you understand that.

We would need to know:

   * Your name, preferably as it appears on published works;
   * Your credits in the gaming industry

We also will include, if you wish to provide them:

   * Your denomination; you will be listed as "unspecified" if you do not include this, which is fine, but we're hoping to have a variety of denominations represented.  (We already have a diverse group, including Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, but it doesn't hurt to have more of each and more variants.)
   * Any specific faith-related material, such as ordination, education, ministry positions, and anything else that might suggest you are more than just listed on the roles of your denomination (again, not necessary).
   * An e-mail address so that people wishing to contact you with specific questions may do so.  We understand that the annoyance of address harvesters will deter many from doing this, and recommend you do not use your main address if you have another.
   * Links to any further information about your work or yourself.

Thank you for your attention.  No one will be listed without permission.  If you wish to point us to someone you "heard" is Christian, we are grateful for the assistance, but please provide some sort of contact information (e-mail address is best) so we can verify their information and get permission.

--M. J. Young

[Clinton R. Nixon]

M.J.,

This is an odd question, and I hope you don't take offense, but:

What do you define as Christian in this area? I'll go ahead and give an explicit example:

I consider myself Christian. I also:
- don't believe homosexuality is an abomination, and that the explicit statement that it is is part of the Law that Christ overturned along with the moneychangers
- live with my girlfriend, unmarried, and don't see that as a problem, as we have made a commitment to each other before ourselves and God
- believe the entirety of Christ's message was:
a) love each other
b) be truly regretful of your sins, which are basically all the times you have been unkind and unloving towards others
c) believe that you, and everyone else, has the spark of God - the Holy Spirit - within them
d) and then you will be saved.
- believe these truths are fairly universal, and contained in most religions, thereby making them valid - a different cultural viewpoint with the same conclusions.

If you add that up, my beliefs aren't that different from, say, your local Buddhist. Many Christians I know would reject me outright as one of them - I often joke that I'm a "Zen Episcopalian."

But I ask you - what qualifies here? Heart or law?

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm with Clinton here.  I generally tend to define myself as an Abrahamist, since I respect all the different branches of Abrahamic monotheism (Judaism, Christianity, Islam).  I also don't believe Jesus was the son of God or in the Resurrection, but I attend church regularly and consider Jesus to have been a true prophet of God.

Do you want me or not?

[M. J. Young]

M.J.,

This is an odd question, and I hope you don't take offense, but:

What do you define as Christian in this area?

No offense taken. Obviously, the Christian Gamers Guild does have a definition which it uses to distinguish "members" from "participants", essentially based on established and ancient creeds of the church. We are not using that to compile this list; rather, we are doing our best to make this a self-defined situation. (For example, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (The Mormons) would object to some aspects of those creeds, and so not qualify as "Christian" under the CGG definition, but we are including those on the list, such as Tracy Hickman, who define themselves as Christian and wish to be included.) The way the list is presented on the page currently in development says,

[T]hose listed here are self-identified as Christians.  The Christian Gamers Guild does not by including them in this list certify that they adhere to our statement of faith or to any other....those listed here claim to be Christians as they understand that.  Some have included their denomination.  Some Christians will not view all of the listed denominations as within their own definition of Christian, and again the Christian Gamers Guild does not claim that all listed denominations adhere to the Statement of Faith by which we define our understanding of Christianity.  We do not wish to offend anyone by the inclusion or exclusion of anyone on this list, but to provide names, information, and e-mail addresses for people in the industry who would claim the name Christian.  We hope the reader will understand the difficulty inherent in attempting to compile such a list, in that each of us understands the Church Universal a bit differently--some whom you would consider Christian might well regard others as Christian whom you would not.  We trust you will find at least several persons listed here whose beliefs and background are akin to yours, even if there are others listed to whom you would object.

Now, I'm not going to argue theology or practice. In regard to Christian faith, I am quite aware that:

[*]Christians often disagree not only on the important points but on what the important points actually are;[*]All of us grow and mature, such that things we once believed and held important are left behind or changed;[*]Diversity is in some ways one of the strengths of the church, in that we come to understand our own errors through interaction with those who see things differently.[/list:u]
Thus the test is whether you would use the word "Christian" to describe you, as a religious designation (i.e., not a cultural one--I'm old enough to remember when "Christian" in the minds of many meant "not Jewish").

Since Clinton would first say that he was a Christian, qualifying that to say that there are a lot of things he believes that don't fit with the beliefs of many other Christians (something I sometimes say myself), I think he would be welcome to add himself to the list; after all, the outcome of being there is that someone might contact him and say, "I hear you're a Christian", and he would say, "Yes, that's right."

If I understand Jonathan correctly, if someone contacted him and said, "I hear you're a Christian", he would most likely reply, "Well, not quite--I'm more of an Abrahamist, and Ethical Monotheist who considers Christianity to be one of several valid religions." That would sound like we made a mistake in including him, and I think the correct answer would be that Jonathan doesn't really want to be publicly listed as a Christian, because he doesn't define himself that way. Of course, if I'm mistaken, I'll certainly add him to the list, with whatever denomination he wishes to list (he didn't say), if he wants to be included.

In short, in answer to

Do you want me or not?

What I want is people who when contacted by Christians who are not gamers or gamers who are not Christians, and asked, "I hear you're a Christian and a gamer; can I ask you a couple of questions?" will say, "Yes, that's right; what would you like to know?" If that's you, and you would like to in essence put that on a public list, let me know.

Does that make sense?

--M. J. Young

[Jonathan Walton]

What I want is people who when contacted by Christians who are not gamers or gamers who are not Christians, and asked, "I hear you're a Christian and a gamer; can I ask you a couple of questions?" will say, "Yes, that's right; what would you like to know?" If that's you, and you would like to in essence put that on a public list, let me know.

That's me, then.

Jonathan Walton, Eccumenical (American) Baptist, strongly influenced by other Abrahamic traditions (Judaism & Islam) [Jonathan.Walton at Oberlin.edu].  Indie Publisher & Designer [http://1001.indie-rpgs.com].

If the description's too long for your tastes or you think it inappropriate, either "Eccumenical Baptist" or "American Baptist" would be fine.  The church I currently attend was expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention several years ago, so my fairly liberal beliefs would make me less of a resource for Christian gamers wrestling with a more conservative background.

I'd be glad to talk to anyone, anytime.