I'd also add that no statistic that came from her can be trusted, due to innumeracy to the tune of "if 4% of teenagers do this, and 4% of adults do this, then 8% of people do this because you can just add it up".

Returning to topic: Tthis argument isn't worth your time. People aren't going to be reasoned out of a position this stupid, so smiling and nodding is probably your best bet. If that's unacceptable, then improvisational theater is probably your best angle. Monopoly may not have violence like that in it, Othello certainly does.

It is pretend for adults. It can be any type of fiction. You can do Star Wars, Star Trek, Avatar, the tv show 24 (throw in a few movies he likes) The rules are there to stop the childhood cowboy and indian stuff (as mentioned above) Mention that you know many strong christians that play roleplaying too. Don't bring it up unless he talks to you about again.

Hopefully this doesn't provoke a Cos-beast...but I've found that argument can backfire pretty spectacularly.

Smile, nod, disregard anything this person ever says.

There's some great advice in this thread, I agree with all of it including the "will probably never change his mind."

The only thing I'd add is:
1) Playing Monopoly does not make you an actual slumlord
2) Playing Cops & Robbers does not make you an actual criminal
3) Playing Risk does not make you an actual general

That's why I'm pretty confident that playing RPG's will not make you an actual wizard, knight, Zeppelin pilot, or Wookie. As much as we'd like it to.

I also agree with the violence in fiction tack. The games are violent in the same way that a Die Hard or Indiana Jones movie is violent, and for much of the same reasons. Worrying about a book with a gun on the cover, would have you worrying about an awful lot of books in a typical Barnes & Noble, few of which have anything to do with gaming.

As for the 'lost in the fantasy' angle, you could always point out that tens of millions of American's watch football, and tens of thousands wear the jersey's, buy the memorabilia, attend the live games at great expense, and even paint their faces team colors. Meanwhile, you're just sitting at a kitchen table with a few friends rolling dice, a few times a month.

I see this phrase here and there and have no idea what it means. Google can't narrow it down. Is it a Cosby thing? Clif Huxtable dressing up like Mr. Spock? Church of Scientology? Trigonometry?

I have to say I'm a little bit disappointed by the general tone of these responses. There's been a lot more dismissive "eh, those people" replies than I thought I'd see. I'm not trying to pick any fights over that—but that's neither healthy nor engaging. (And yes, I realize some of that's humorous, but not all of it has been.)

While the rest of the show is obviously ridiculously NSFW, I'd honestly recommend Kicked In The Dicebags P.E. #36 - Live At The Drury!. Warn him ahead of time that there's some strong language; but this is actually a really heartwarming podcast explaining how a good community of gamers acts, and gives a lot of examples of gamers being good people. It also specifically addresses the violence aspect of gaming—Chad talks a bit about one particular character who was a specific attempt to explore and analyze some darker parts of his psyche. It really is a very good counter to what are apparently vague fears of "something bad" involved in tabletop gaming.

Actually it's a Fear the Boot Forums-specific thing. The Forum Rules at the top of each forum specifically say:

When there's a thread in egregious violation of that—usually as the result of a thread devolving into yelling about things—one of the hosts/moderators shows up with a picture of Bill Cosby to lock the thread and remind everyone not to be a dick in the future. "The Cos" has taken on a life of his own here, and "Cos-worthy" just means anything which risks invoking the wrath of The Cos.

I agree. There are some very bright atheists out there, smart Christians, and intelligent Scientologists. But at most, one group is correct. Intelligence has nothing to do with rational discussion. "Some studies" (sorry, no links. I'm not that invested in debating) show that we are wired to reinforce beliefs, especially when they are debated. Arguing to person of faith that it is silly that some omnipresent being just happened to exist and created the universe will get you as far as telling a physicist how silly the belief that something just happened to explode out of nothing. Both sides have ample evidence and little proof, and ash "how" or "why" enough of either and you end up at "We don't know". You can help someone willing to learn, but rarely convince someone who isn't open to convincing.

If your only interest in the debate is to defend yourself, let it go unless it's making work awkward. If his only interest in the debate is to save your soul and not learn about gaming, thank him for his concern and tell him this isn't a topic you want to discuss at your work place.

Thanks. Is there some link there? Like Cosby scolding Eddie Murphy for being dirty or a just a random geek thing?