Band of Hope Family friendly christian guild.

[jazmina]

Band of Hope is now recruiting on the Landroval server. We are a family friendly mostly christian gamer guild. We have a mature clean chat, website, guild forums, ventrillo, guild email, etc. Most of our current members come from 2 different christian WoW guilds. We still have an existing christian wow guild so we have formed a christian gamers alliance called HIS alliance. Check us out at www.hisguild.info . To become a member click "new user" at the top of the webpage and apply.

[MaclimesZero]

Good luck with your guild, and enjoy the game! Mature, friendly players are always welcome!

[legba11]

Welcome to the server.

[Aliandiel]

Good luck to you and all your members and welcome!

[Huzke]

I'm interested to know if you're planning on role-playing as Christians in the game, and if so how?

[PastorInsanity]

Well, depending on how one interprets Tolkien's framework, everyone who isn't in league with Sauron might technically be playing a "Christian" in game.

As per specific references to Christian doctrine, etc. that's both outside of lore and ooc, I'm guessing they'll do what the other Christian guilds have done and not reference it in game or IC.

BUT LET'S NOT GET TOO FAR IN DISCUSSING THIS, SHALL WE?

[Skid]

Best server in the game... Period

Nice to see that you chose it to make your fellowship on..

Good luck everyday in all your adventures

[Huzke]

I didn't ask anyone to go in depth, I merely asked if and how.

[PastorInsanity]

I didn't ask anyone to go in depth, I merely asked if and how.

N/p! I just get a little skittish when "controversial" guilds post their info.

Nothin' personal.

[thegneech]

Thematically, LotR is as Christian as they come ... Frodo's willing self-sacrifice to save the Shire being one obvious and primary example. (And Tolkien was quoted somewhere, I forget where now, as saying that Gandalf was an angel.)

So really, to role-play as a Christian in LOTRO all you have to do is be "in synch" with the spirit of the books (selflessness, nurture the world rather than exploit it, etc.), try to follow the will of "Eru Ilúvatar", and you're on the right track.

Good luck with the kinship!

-The Gneech

[DarkChyle]

Hey that would be interesting. Sunday church in the shire. LoL

[PastorInsanity]

...I can see Michael W. Smith rolling up his Hobbit minstrel already.

[Huzke]

I'd still rather hear from one of the actual members of the guild on how they view it and if they're going to role-play as Christians in game. More power to them if they do and I hope they have fun.

But in reply to thegneech, wouldn't that just be the simple values that Christianity exudes, rather than actually being Christian? I know a lot of Jewish people that are extremely nice and live within those values, but they'd likely set you straight if you told them it meant they had to be Christians.

[PastorInsanity]

Hmm... The Tolkien discussion forum might be a better place to discuss whether Tolkien intended for characters in LotR to be described as Christian or not. Or if his intentions were for the charcters to exude specifically Christian qualities.

Let's leave the recruitment thread a recruitment thread for the time being...

/kneels

/clasps hands

/bows to the Lord of the West - without trying to threaten anyone else's beliefs

[Galoren]

Welcome to Landroval. It is a fairly clean (well except for me) and fun Roleplaying community.

Thematically, LotR is as Christian as they come ... Frodo's willing self-sacrifice to save the Shire being one obvious and primary example. (And Tolkien was quoted somewhere, I forget where now, as saying that Gandalf was an angel.)

So really, to role-play as a Christian in LOTRO all you have to do is be "in synch" with the spirit of the books (selflessness, nurture the world rather than exploit it, etc.), try to follow the will of "Eru Ilúvatar", and you're on the right track.

Good luck with the kinship!

-The Gneech

Tolkien himself was devoutly Christian. I don't think *he* specifically called Gandalf an angel; though many others have. And thus these ideals carry over into the books. I'm even a much nicer guy in this MMO than in most other RP experiences. Though the source material is not exclusive as he was also fascinated with northern european language and culture. Tyr's sacrifice of a hand for the safety of humanity, or Odin's suspension upon the Yggdrasil for spiritual knowledge also mirrors these themes. And so much of the source material was taken nearly exactly from the Norse Eddas and Finnish Kalevala myth cycles... even names like Frodo, Gandalf, Thorin, the dwarves in the hobbit, the Elvish language (even the word "elf") etc... were adapted as he recontextualized the myths to fit his vision. Which really is, thematically, very Christian.

[Saffron]

This is a kinship recruitment thread please keep the topics of politics and religion to a minimum.

[Huzke]

This is a kinship recruitment thread please keep the topics of politics and religion to a minimum.

Ahem! I AM a Christian and I might think of joining such a guild, so I'm asking for information on it.

[thegneech]

But in reply to thegneech, wouldn't that just be the simple values that Christianity exudes, rather than actually being Christian? I know a lot of Jewish people that are extremely nice and live within those values, but they'd likely set you straight if you told them it meant they had to be Christians.

I wouldn't tell them such a thing! Not everything that swims is a fish, so to speak.

Almost every major religion that ever existed has extolled those values; my point was just that to do so would be the best way to express your faith (of whatever variety) within the context of the game.

-The Gneech

[Ardra]

What a classy kinship name! I like it very much. Fits very well in the Middle Earth atmosphere. Will definitely be looking for info over on your boards.

[Huzke]

See that's why I'm asking. I'd like to know in what capacity in the context of the game, as you put it, would role-playing a Christian be acceptable or fit. I don't have that sort of extensive knowledge of the Tolkien lore to say it doesnt' fit at all or could fit at all.

That's also why I said that just role-playing a good person wouldn't really be role-playing a Christian, rather just the values that are invilved with being a Christian.

See where I'm coming from now? I just want to know if and how they're going to pull it off. It'd be interesting and probably pretty fun.

[Ardra]

I think the key is not so much roleplaying a Christian, but a place where Christian players, roleplayers or not, can commune. Those who do roleplay (myself included) would probably not be roleplaying a Christian since Arda/Middle Earth is a fictional place/period that takes place thousands of years before Christ. If I were to join such a guild, I'd still roleplay my characters as normal.

[Ramen]

See that's why I'm asking. I'd like to know in what capacity in the context of the game, as you put it, would role-playing a Christian be acceptable or fit. I don't have that sort of extensive knowledge of the Tolkien lore to say it doesnt' fit at all or could fit at all.

That's also why I said that just role-playing a good person wouldn't really be role-playing a Christian, rather just the values that are invilved with being a Christian.

See where I'm coming from now? I just want to know if and how they're going to pull it off. It'd be interesting and probably pretty fun.

Fair enough. I suggest you PM the OP directly to continue this discussion, as the fact of the matter is, while we do allow the discussion of kinship recruitment here, we do not allow religious or political discussion on these forums. I understand it is a somewhat grey line, so feel free to PM a mod if you need clarification.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[Huzke]

What's wrong with just asking for a little clarification so that other people wondering the same thing might be able to read the thread and get the same answer?

Wouldn't having such a standard for your forums prohibit using phrases like "gay-friendly" or "christian" when describing guilds for informational or recruitment purposes?

If not, then what's wrong with a little clarification?

[Exyll]

Im very interested in this myself

[dasmoment]

yay, more kinships! Welcome to middle earth!

I wish I could form a kinship, but so far only 3 friends have agreed to play ;(

I'll look for you guys if I can.

hanna (h); sarn (d); narwain (m).