Expert: Carl Fuglein - 9/11/2006

Question
hey calr, i have a question. im a 14 year old guy and i love jesus and love being the born again christian that i am. i  read the bible and occsionally go to church. i also pary to the heavinlt father every night. i have a question. i play a card game called yugioh, have you heard of it? its just a collectiable and trading card game that  like to play with friends, im not obseesd with it or anything though. its just a jobby i like to play. so i ask, is it agaionst god to play this game? will i go to hell for playing it? i like the game so i hope not! please write back man, thanks!!!

Answer
Hi John-

Thanks for writing.

First of all, if you're a Christian, and love Jesus, and have accepted that He is your savior and He died for your sins, then you're NOT going to hell.  You will continue to sin every day, because you're human, but God is a forgiving God and will continue to forgive your sin as long as continue to try to walk closer to Him.

Now, question 2, is yugioh a sin?  I don't think so, but there are some people who would disagree with me because it has elements of black magic and monsters and fantasies.  But I believe that as long as we understand what it is and don't begin believing that it can be true, then we're fine.  I would be more worried if you were addicted to the game and did nothing else.  Any addiction, no matter what it is, turns the addiction into a god, and then it would be a sin, because God wants us to worship only Him, not other gods.

So, I think you're fine - just don't get addicted to it (or anything else) and have a fun time, and make sure you don't really think black magic works!

please take the time to rate my answer and hey - try to go to church more often - you'll find some really cool people there!

carl