Crosstalk: July 22, 2016

There is a revival taking place that is anything but biblical. Pokemon is back in the form of what's now called, 'Pokemon Go', the most popular game ever in America. It's dominating the lives of people, particularly in the 25-34 age bracket. So many people have been playing this game that Internet servers are crashing. In fact, it's so popular that there are even signs on highways warning people about distracted driving. From causing curfew violations, to people smashing into other cars, trespassing on private property, to outright banning of the game in well-known locations, this update on the game is taking the world by storm.

While all these points deal with the obvious physical safety concerns over Pokemon-Go, there are spiritual concerns that are even more hazardous.

Joining Jim to discuss this issue was Pastor David Brown. Pastor Brown is with the First Baptist Church of Oak Creek, WI. He holds a Masters Degree in Theology, a Ph.D in History and specializes in the history of the English Bible. He is also the President of Logos Communication Consortium, a research organization that produces a large variety of materials warning Christians of present dangers in our culture.

According to Pastor Brown, we must first check our worldview because if we're Christians, we would claim that we have a biblical worldview and that means we evaluate everything on the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Sadly, there are only about 4% of Americans who really have a biblical worldview. This means there are those who may claim to be Christian and therefore when playing Pokemon-Go, they end up following a satanic worldview.

The Bible doesn't mention Pokemon so how can we know if it's right or wrong? Pastor Brown gave listeners the following guidelines:

#1--What belief system or doctrine is evident or is being advocated?

#2--What philosophies and values are evident?

#3--What is the origin of the power or the energy?

#4--Are psychic, occultic, satanic or New Age symbols incorporated?

#5--Are your thoughts or imaginations steered in a wholesome or unwholesome

direction?

#6--Does it glorify violence or evil?

#7--Does it depict immorality or arouse lustful desires?

#8--Does it draw you closer to God or build godly character?

Pokemon came from Japan and is derived from 'pocket monster'. It started in 1995 and became popular in the U.S. in about 1999. Originally Pokemon was produced and the cards were translated and distributed by Wizards of the Coast, the company known for Dungeons and Dragons. The original 150 cards have been reissued and now there are 729.

So how does Pokemon stack up with Pastor Brown's 8-point test? Pokemon attempts to portray supernatural powers. The energy cards in particular promote pantheistic power for the occult.

The character called 'Abra' is said to have the ability to read minds and identify impending danger and teleport you to safety.

'Misty' is dressed sensually and has a 'thing' for 'Ash Ketchum' (one of the the main characters). 'Brock' has a fascination with the opposite sex and 'Jessie' and 'James' are cross-dressers.

Putting them all together, Pastor Brown feels the characters are portrayed as headstrong, stubborn, quibbling, self-centered, vindictive, obnoxious, hormonal, sexually preoccupied, thieving and cross-dressing.

Pokemon Go takes all of this to the next level of fantasy as it conditions the mind to get into an altered state of reality. They call it augmented reality. In other words, the game uses your smart phone camera, leading you to different locations known as Poke stops. This preoccupation with living in a virtual world is causing everything from auto accidents, to falls off cliffs, to others who have been set-up to be shot to death and more.