[ziamatt]

Originally Posted by Jeb Thurmond

My little grandson is only 3 and a half, but is already obsessed with Pokemon, and his Mum, my daughter Deborah, {who is not saved as yet,} buys him whatever he asks for.

He has all the cards, counters, {Like toy money}, and all the little plastic figures. The last time they visited us, he had his pokemon cards, coins, and figures with him, and he was DREADFUL!!

He was rude, cheeky, wouldnt eat any lunch, tried to run away several times, bit his big sister hard on the arm and made her cry...

I SERIOUSLY hope you're not suggesting that Pokemon is responsible for this and placing the blame on it above the fact that your grandson is three and can hardly be expected to know better.

It concerns parents even more. "Recently, my children were given a set of Pokemon cards," said DiAnna Brannan, a Seattle mom. "They are very popular with the children at our church and elsewhere. I was instantly suspicious but couldn't discern the problem. We have since been told that they are stepping stones to the 'Magic cards' that have been popular for the last few years, which we do not allow...."

Right, because all card games are the same. Like how playing popular games like 'Go Fish' and 'War' is just a step towards divination and Tarot reading.

The Pokemon mania supports a financial conglomerate that knows how to feed the frenzy. The television series is free, but it drives the multi-billion dollar business. It also inspires the obsessive new games that disrupt schools and families by giving the children --

• a seductive vision: to become Pokemon masters
• a tempting promise: supernatural power
• a new objective: keep collecting Pokemon
• an urgent command: "gotta catch them all"

[sarcasm]A company that's actually trying to SELL their product? Oh my God! Sinners! Capitalism is the work of the devil![/sarcasm]

And lots of things distract children from other duties. Sports. Girls. Almost everything poses a possible distraction. It's not because it's demonic. It's just due to the malleable nature of children at this age.

...The last line, the Pokemon mantra, fuels the craving for more occult cards, games, toys, gadgets, and comic books. There's no end to the supply, for where the Pokemon world ends, there beckons an ever-growing empire of new, more thrilling, occult, and violent products. Each can transport the child into a fantasy world that eventually seems far more normal and exciting than the real world. Here, evil looks good and good is dismissed as boring. Family, relationships, and responsibilities diminish in the wake of the social and media pressures to master the powers unleashed by the massive global entertainment industry.

I realize why occult and evil is bad, but I really don't see anything like that in this series. The closest thing I see is ghosts, which while I'll admit is not great, is only a small, relatively unimportant part of the series and ghosts are never viewed occultly. There's no demon summoning or spell casting or anything like that.

No wonder children caught up in the Pokemon craze beg for more games and gadgets. The Japanese makers count on it...

Again, it's just something that capitalism dwells on. They dwell on the malleable nature of children. While it can pose a potential problem early on, most children do grow out of it proving that the phase is just that: a phase.

He told her that during recess on the playground the children would "summon" the forces on the cards they collect by raising sticks into the air and saying, "'Spirits enter me.' They call it 'being possessed.'"

I'm really not sure where this comes from. There's nothing remotely close to that in the official Pokemon rulebooks.

Strange as it may sound to American ears, demonic possession is no longer confined to distant lands. Today, government schools from coast to coast are teaching students the skills once reserved for the tribal witchdoctor or shaman in distant lands. Children everywhere are learning the pagan formulas for invoking "angelic" or demonic spirits through multicultural education...

Can you please provide a works cited to something about this? It's hard not to think you could be making this up without citing resources. Even adults can be guilty of having too many wants. That's why credit card debt is so high. People, adults and children, want things and want them now. It's not that these things are manipulative. It's simply that Americans want gratification NOW.

It's hard to teach restraint to children who are begging for gratification. Wanting to please rather than overreact, we flinch at the thought of being called censors once again. Parental authority simply doesn't fit the fast-spreading new views of social equality taught through the media and schools. Yet, we must obey God. He has told us to train our children to choose His way (Proverbs 22:6), and we can't turn back now.

Children have always wanted things. It may not be as high tech as it is today and may have been something more like a doll or a model kit. But they still want it, and parents can either give in or stand their ground.

If you share my concerns, you may want to follow these suggestions. They will help you equip your child with the awareness needed to resist occult entertainment:

1. First, look at God's view of contemporary toys, games and cartoons. As a family, read Scriptures such as Ephesians 5:8-16, 6:10-18 (the armor of God); Philippians 4:8-9; and Colossians 2:9. Compare them with the values encouraged by Pokemon and other role-playing games.

2. Share your observations. Spark awareness in a young child with comments such as, "That monster looks mean!" or "That creature reminds me of a dragon," along with "Did you know that in the Bible, serpents and dragons always represent Satan and evil?"

3. To teach young children a Biblical attitude toward evil before they learn to delight in gross, ugly characters, make comments such as, "Who would want to play with that evil monster? I don't even like to look at him. Let's find something that makes us feel happy inside."

4. Model wise decision-making. Tell your child why you wouldn't want to buy certain things for yourself.

When your child wants a questionable game or toy, ask questions that are prayerfully adapted to your child's age, such as:

1. What does this game teach you (about power, about magic, about God, about yourself)? Discuss both obvious and subtle messages.

2. Does it have anything to do with supernatural power? If so, what is the source of that power? Does it oppose or agree with God's Word?

3. What does it teach about violence or immorality and their consequences?

4. Does the game or toy have symbols or characteristics that link it to New Age or occult powers?

5. Does it build godly character?

In a nation consumed with self-indulgence, self-fulfillment, and self-empowerment, godly self-denial seems strangely out of place. But God commanded it, and Jesus demonstrated it. Dare we refuse to acknowledge it? According to the age of your child, discuss Jesus' words in Matthew 16:24-26, then allow the Holy Spirit to direct your application....

I'm not going to argue with this. It's good advice, and people should be aware of what their kids are into. However, it's important to realize what's fact about something and what's not.

After hearing God's warning and praying for His wisdom, nine-year-old Alan Brannan...was convicted to burn his cards...

Headstrong, stubborn, quibbling, self-centered, vindictive, obnoxious, hormonal, sexually preoccupied, evil, thieving, cross-dressing jerks are most definitely not biblical role models! These characters do not portray biblical values. Pok_mon does not measure up!

A few of these traits do apply to Pokemon. Most of them don't, however, and a lot of the common 'character traits' you mentioned, such as stubborn and obnoxious, are viewed as bad and hindering qualities.

Pok_mon has supernatural powers. "Some Pok_mon grow, or evolve."...

I fail to see how growth and supernaturality go hand-in-hand.

I pointed out earlier that Pok_mon originated in Japan....

Saying something's demonic because it originated in Japan is NOT the best way to make Asian-American friends.

So, what's the problem with Pok_mon? Its subtle suggestions, images and values are manipulating the minds and feelings of the children who are into it. Pok_mon conditions them to accept humanistic wisdom and occult spirituality...

Again the issue of citing. How can people truly know the facts and make an unbiased opinion without specific examples? You mentioned that it's "manipulating the minds and feelings of children..." How? And what is meant by humanistic wisdom and spirituality?

Pokemon is a copyright of Nintendo Japan. It was first created in Japan and is highly influenced by Japanese mysticism.

I'm not really sure what you mean. Can you give a specific example? And anyways, even if it may be influenced by it, the show is not about Japanese mysticism at all.

685 people went into epiliptic seizures while watching the Pokemon cartoon...

Do you really think they MEANT to give children seizures with that episode? It was an accident that a combination of colors didn't go well with a few people, and nothing more.

Buddhist Mysticism, Hinduism, meditation rituals, Egyptian Book of the Dead, Book of Tao, the Analects of Confucius, the Gita, the I Ching, The Tibetan Book of the Dead: All These Philosophies influenced Pokemon!

Again, how? Where are you getting this from? Have you actually read these sources? If not, how can you make these judgements?

...The Bible says: EPH 5:8-17 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them...

Look at this verse in the Bible: 1Tim 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

What are we allowing to come into our homes! The elements in Pokemon are foundational to many earth religions and mystic rituals. We draw our power from God, not the earth!

Why is it such a problem for people to accept that things can have similar names, and yet not be at all similar. I'm not sure how it is used in other religions and rituals, but in Pokemon it is simply a way to organize the different Pokemon by their weaknesses and strengths.

Saudi Arabia Bans Pokemon Games, Cards

Duai, United Arab Emirates -Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority has issued an edict banning Pokemon games and cards, saying the have

"possessed the minds" of children.

How? Simply because children like it? Children like lots of things. But simply because it brings them pleasure it's evil?

promote Zionism

Again, how? It does nothing to help anyone if they don't know what you mean?

and involve gambling.

This is one aspect I was surprised to see. However, as I thought about it, I realized it wasn't that bad. The money isn't real and isn't comparable in anyway to paying off your bookie or the like. Again, it's only a small aspect and not likely to get children hooked on gambling.

It said the video game and cards have symbols that include "the Star of David, which everyone knows is connected to international Zionism and is Israel's national emblem...

How is a Hebrew symbol connected to a pagan religion again? And while I will admit that the Star of David has been used, it HASN'T been used as the Star of David, or any other religious symbol. It was only a simple design without any religious connections at all.

portrayal of tears having the power to resurrect

The point wasn't that tears can resurrect. It was that the love and compassion has the ability to save. It also showed that while the cloned Pokemon were clones, they still had basic emotions like compassion and love.

misguided and often absent concern for the "death" of a "living, thinking being" (a pokemon)

Pokemon are never shown to die. They simply faint, and most good trainers pull them out of the battle before it comes to that.

"Circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant:"

How is this offensive? It's saying you can achieve greatness, no matter what your conditions of arrival here were. Weather you born to a rich, wealthy family or a starving family who can barely feed themselves, it doesn't determine what you become.

speaks to evolution and not to Creation

There's a huge difference between the evolution of Pokemon and of the world. Evolution simply means "change" or "growth." That's what Pokemon do when they evolve. They grow.

psychic powers to control others

Psychic powers in the Pokemon are world are viewed differently than the how we tend to view it occultly. It's seen as a naturally ability. A gift. It's not occultic at all.

demon-acting pokemon; a gargoyle with the ability to control massive fire and power

I don't think Mewtwo is supposed to be a gargoyle, or a demon at all. He's viewed as an incredibly powerful Pokemon who uses his powers for bad, but then realizes his mistake and gives up the way of evil. Demons rarely convert.

sensual drawing of a female character, the intent of the viewing angle was clear.

Again, citing resources would be helpful. Maybe a picture, or an episode number at least? And how can you assume it was supposed to be sensual? Maybe it was an accident, or one of the artists slipped it in and no one noticed.