I agree with Ra's Q&A, and I put such games into the same
category. I would also add a Don't Waste Your Life caveat onto that -- just because one is not hearkening to the magical matters, one may still
be using his time unwisely, as one might do with more innocuous games like chess or Settlers of Catan.
As with many moral questions, it ultimately comes down to a matter of wisdom and discernment, not hard and fast rules. Daniel diligently studied the Babylonian literature, which was steeped in magic, while yet remaining godly, but I would not recommend that path to everyone. If you are tempted by such things to move into the occult or you are wasting your life, then you should either moderate your practice or stop altogether, just as you should moderate or even stop drinking alcohol, which is a good gift of God, if you cannot control your intake. Better to pluck out your eye, after all.
For more on wisdom, imagination, and magic, see the Mars Hill Audio Journal interviews with Wheaton English prof, Alan Jacobs, on magic in fantasy lit (Harry Potter [pay] and His Dark Materials [free]); "Harry Potter vs. Gandalf: An in-depth analysis of the literary use of magic in the works of J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis" by Catholic critic Steven D. Greydanus; and "Most Real Fantasy" by Reformed writer Doug Jones (actually, the better part of that issue of Credenda/Agenda is relevant here and jam packed with wisdom). Jones wisely says: "Harry Potter can't be a threat. Wizardry doesn't really work. And if your kids are really tempted to join a coven, then it's not a giant leap to say that you've failed miserably as a parent." Immediate analogies can be drawn to litches and wyverns.
As with many moral questions, it ultimately comes down to a matter of wisdom and discernment, not hard and fast rules. Daniel diligently studied the Babylonian literature, which was steeped in magic, while yet remaining godly, but I would not recommend that path to everyone. If you are tempted by such things to move into the occult or you are wasting your life, then you should either moderate your practice or stop altogether, just as you should moderate or even stop drinking alcohol, which is a good gift of God, if you cannot control your intake. Better to pluck out your eye, after all.
For more on wisdom, imagination, and magic, see the Mars Hill Audio Journal interviews with Wheaton English prof, Alan Jacobs, on magic in fantasy lit (Harry Potter [pay] and His Dark Materials [free]); "Harry Potter vs. Gandalf: An in-depth analysis of the literary use of magic in the works of J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis" by Catholic critic Steven D. Greydanus; and "Most Real Fantasy" by Reformed writer Doug Jones (actually, the better part of that issue of Credenda/Agenda is relevant here and jam packed with wisdom). Jones wisely says: "Harry Potter can't be a threat. Wizardry doesn't really work. And if your kids are really tempted to join a coven, then it's not a giant leap to say that you've failed miserably as a parent." Immediate analogies can be drawn to litches and wyverns.
