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I believe it is not good to watch, even though it is a cartoon. I think it can draw us away from doing what is more important, such as prayer, reading the Word, and so forth. Now to say about Arecus being the god of the Pokemon, and how it is just a myth, it could be referred to the Lord. But here is the first and second commandment: Thou shalt not serve other gods before me and thou shalt make no graven image. So anything, even if it is on tv, portrays itself as a god, or trying to portray the God in the Bible, but is not correct, then it should not be good to watch.

As long as it's not worshipped as a God. I've heard stories about pokemon, and a little boy, but I prefer not to repeat it. I do believe it's in Angelica's Testimony, and it is posted somewhere around here in the ministry. smile

That was because of quickly changing colors from polygon's attack. Also those kids had a pre-existing condition of epilepsy.

It only aired once in Japan. After the insident they banned it to keep it from happening again. Though you can still find hat scene looped on YouTube.

By that logic, we should refrain from a myriad of things because just about anything can pull us away from time with God. Friends can; tv can; computers can; Gaia can. I'm sure that's not the point, nor is the point to refrain from anything fun in general. We are allowed to enjoy ourselves; we just aren't to let it take priority over God - as that is idolatry.

Arceus is known as the "god of all pokemon" because he created all pokemon. It is assumed in some video games that he created the pokemon world as well. Arceus is not portraying himself - or itself - as God. No, it's merely expressing its key role in the pokemon series. This isn't like Greek mythology, where stories were told and were actually believed in the past (although reading those stories isn't necessarily bad. You can use them to God's glory when making key points. You just have to find out how). Neither is this a show (or the game...the show never really portrayed Arceus as the god of all pokemon, but did demonstrate his inability to be defeated easily) expecting others to worship Arceus. It's understood that the show is fiction. Thus, no one is going to believe it is reality. Thus, it doesn't matter if you watch it or not, although the show itself has gotten worse after it passed the Kanto region.


God can use just about anything for his Glory. He can use pokemon as well. I used it in a message not too long ago to correlate with Romans 5:6-8. When you shut down doors that "have the potential to be idols," you shut down doors that God can use (i.e. for shifting a conversation to the gospel with an unbeliever, giving a powerful message at church, etc.) and make risk appearing ignorant to others. If all you know is the Bible, you won't be able to relate to others and they won't care to listen to what you have to say, thinking you're merely one of those "religious folk." I'm not saying conform yourself to the world. No, that would be against Romans 12:2. I'm saying it's not bad to merely play games or watch shows that don't harm the faith at all - as in the long run it can help someone further the gospel. And actually, in some cases, things such as these depends on the conviction of the person. An example: Paul points out in I Corinthians 8.

I believe the appearance of evil refers more to temptation. There are some moments where people feel that it may not be good to do a certain action. It may seem harmless at the time, but they know that something's off about it. Or it could just be temptation in general. Still, however, that does not mean cut off things such as pokemon. It depends on your definition/interpretation of "appearance of evil." The world is evil; people are evil (I needn't continue the list...). If we see and know what is evil, that is far more than the appearance. Yet we don't refrain from them. Basically, I find the verse to mean stay away form any possible stumbling blocks.

Ah, my H. Government teacher from last year used that verse to say why those terribly violent video games shouldn't be played. Yes, we should set our minds on what the verse tells us too. But again, it depends on interpretation. When we think of problems in our lives and how to deal with them, that doesn't necessarily fit the criteria either. Should we then just ignore our problems? But if we do...they grow and destroy us.

Um...the quote is unfamiliar with me and I'm not sure how to interpret that.


What I said of familiarizing yourself with other things to better relate with others can be further emphasized by what Paul said.

I Corinthians 9:19-23

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to in the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing.

Prove pokemon? I don't think the question makes sense in this case,
nor does the second.

Pokemon means pocket monsters
and it originated in Japan.

The fruits of the Spirit apply to the Spirit and those in whom the Spirit dwells. It cannot be applied to pokemon because pokemon is not a saved Christian, nor a human.

If by "the fruits" you mean the results, then as with nearly everything else, the fruits vary. Let's take money for example. It can be used to fund missionary work or it can be used to purchase drugs that kill the body. Pokemon can be used to further the gospel, but some use it for evil purposes. Most of the time good and evil are present. The case is the same with us. We're sinners with a sinful nature (evil), but we have the Holy Spirit who helps us do right (good).

I believe that God wants "a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17). You keep saying pray and meditate on the Word; and forgive me if I am receiving your words incorrectly, but it appears you are shifting towards a "works" area. It seems you're pretty much saying that God simply wants us to pray and read our Bible's, that such a thing is all He wants from us, and that if we don't do so, we're sinning. Given: we are supposed to pray continually (I Thessalonians 5:17). Given: we are supposed to study to show ourselves approved (II Timothy 2:15). Given: it is important to study Scripture because it helps with training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16-17). However, that is not all God wants. He isn't merely looking for people who can boastfully speak of how they always pray or how they can quote the entire Bible literally word for word. He couldn't care less if someone knew the entire Bible and devoted all of their time to prayer and Bible reading and nothing else (besides eating and sleeping) if they weren't truly showing that they loved Him. And how would they do that? By reaching out to others; by sharing the gospel; by taking a stand. God does not simply want us to read, read, read and pray, pray, pray. He wants us to build an actual, non-"religious" relationship with Him. In fact, some people who read and pray all day are doing insincerely, and merely to "impress" God, who in turn shakes His head in disappointment. There is nothing wrong with having fun with tv or sports or pokemon, or other things. And Paul himself became things that, I am sure, did not fit the "Philippians 4:8 criteria" nor the desired answers to your interrogation. Jesus sat around with "sinners." Given: He had His prayer time. However, the larger majority of His time was not spent praying and reading Scripture. That isn't to say that He played video games; but that is to say that praying and reading is not all there is to the Christian life. If it is not harming to the faith - and especially if it benefits the faith - then all is well. If you want to use the logic that we should ignore everything else to devote ourselves only to prayer and Scriptural reading, then feel free to close your Gaia account, close yourself off from any friends you know and expel everything else from your life that is not prayer and the Bible.