Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-12-04
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I agree Dentin, both with the fact that I do have an addiction problem and that addictions suck. I was addicted to at least 3 things that I have put behind me so far, out of respect for God and not out of any worldly want to give them up. If its possible to get addicted to relationships though, in this case, building a relationship with the one who saved me, undeservedly, from going to hell, then so be it. That is the best and least harmful addiction, in fact perhaps the most benefitial addiction, I have ever encountered. I wish more people were addicted to it, rather than just going to church and being Sunday christians. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196542#p196542 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-12-03
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Dentin via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Honestly bladestorm, it sounds like you have an addiction problem, not a drinking problem or a gaming problem. Religion can often provide people with a safe outlet for addition, but keep in mind that youre just getting addicted to the religion instead of something else. If you pick an evil religion, like Scientology or the JWs, you can actually end up in a worse place than you started.I hope it works out for you. Addictions suck. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196402#p196402 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-12-03
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : mr . brunete via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I dont think so.You can call it an addiction or whatever you want, but the truth is that deboting your life to god is much better tan drinking, smoking, and every single addiction of this world. furthermore, Patric is doing it in the right way, and if he wants to quit gaming, it is his decission, and if this helps him feel better, then its a good thing.Addictions sucks, thats true, but theres a huge difference between addiction and finding your path in life. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196441#p196441 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-12-03
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : mr . brunete via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I dont think so.You can call it an addiction or whatever you want, but the truth is that deboting your life to god is much better tan drinking, smoking, and every single addiction of this world. furthermore, Patric is doing it in the right way, and if he wants to quit gaming, it is his decission, and if this helps him feel better, then its a good thing.Addictions sucks, thats true, but theres a huge difference between addiction and finding your path in life.edit:As for why people invoke Gods name to do evil, I will only say that God does not commit evil, but he does permit it for reasons that sometimes, only he knows. I will not defend Gods actions. He does not need me to do so, and in trying to defend God and present evidence for him, Ive already screwed that up enough in the other topic. If God wants his presence known to anyone involved with either of these two topics, he will make it so, and no amount of pumme lling, presenting, cajoling or crusading on my part will make it otherwise. I can only talk, and it is up to him to call, and the listener to listen.well writen!!. agree at 500%! URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196441#p196441 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello,And this is the exact reason why I find religion and such rather... annoying. I support those like bladestorm though, who are going about it in a rather good way, but then there are some who say that its all part of gods plan when they do evil things. If this is part of Gods plan and they know its evil, then why not renounce him? Are they really that scared that they will be judged by him when they die? If God himself is all knowing wouldnt he know that what is being done, is wrong anyway, and has probably already judged the people involved? URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196300#p196300 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I think I see what hes getting at though. It seems as if hes basically saying if gaming is a bad habit, then get rid of it because its bad for you, not because God apparently toold you to. While this is judgmental, I tend to agree with it.When Im doing something I shouldnt, I do not need God to tell me its wrong. Either someone I know will, or else (as is much more common) I figure it out on my own and make a choice as to whether or not to cease what Im doing.The God told me to do it argument has been used for some pretty unspeakable evils. Giving up gaming isnt an evil, mind you, but the argument itself is fairly weak no matter what its applied to.Ive told Bladestorm that I support his decision, and its true. He saw something doing him harm and eventually had the sense to quit it. Thats all I really need to know in order to decide that he did the right thing. For me, the religious part of it has almost no bearing. God didnt make him decide enough was enough; he did it himself.The closest I will come to it is this: I do wish people who made good decisions were able to credit themselves rather than God, and I also wish people who made bad decisions were able too take the blame rather than trying to find a scapegoat. Its us who are living in this tired old world, after all. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196297#p196297 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-12-02
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Nah. Theres no way I could have quit gaming, I did not want to quit gaming for myself. If it were just me and my earthly possessions and relationships involved, I never would have done this, just as I never would have quit drinking. In the case of drinking, God took the temptation away from me, and in the case of gaming, God asked me to stop and devote more time to my friendship with him, and I want to be better friends with the one that I will spend all eternity with, thus, I did. Is the temptation still there? Absolutely. Can I take any credit at all for resisting it, and quitting gaming in the first place? Only in so far as God gave me the choice, and I submitted that choice to him, because I know that I am in no way strong enough to make such choices on my own. The temptations of the world are just too strong for me. I still like my adult videos and my alcohol, and yes, my games. But I have too much respect for my creator, and what he did for me, to continue with my worl dly desires as though he doesnt exist and devote most of my time to them than to getting to know him.As for why people invoke Gods name to do evil, I will only say that God does not commit evil, but he does permit it for reasons that sometimes, only he knows. I will not defend Gods actions. He does not need me to do so, and in trying to defend God and present evidence for him, Ive already screwed that up enough in the other topic. If God wants his presence known to anyone involved with either of these two topics, he will make it so, and no amount of pummelling, presenting, cajoling or crusading on my part will make it otherwise. I can only talk, and it is up to him to call, and the listener to listen.Thank you all again for your support. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196333#p196333 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Regarding the forum rules, well usually restrictions dont need to be so strict sinse generally a topic about games tends to mostly stay about games, albeit it can wander into different places, its just that religious discussion is obviously such a wide area. If necessary I will move the topic to Off Topic Room if the discussion seems to be too far removed from Bladestorms original decision, or alternately as I suggested people could start a different topic for the matter of discussing the wider issue of science and religion. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195966#p195966 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi.[[wow]], Patrick, I hope youre still following this topic. Thanks so much for sharing your personal story with us, instead just leaving the forum, the gaming community and gaming in generel without any word at all. I both totally understand and respect your choice, when thinking about how games changes your mind like addiction. Ill contact you privately, because theres so much more I wanna say.I dont know if people have told you this before, but you are extremely good at writing, and describing things. [[wow]]... You should consider being a great writer, start on writing stories, books or anything. I really enjoy your style of writing.I wish you the best luck on whatever you consider to spent your life on in the future. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=196007#p196007 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Nocturnus via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter @Jason SW,Your story sounds like an echo of my own in some regards. You are not an atheist; you are a skeptic. I usually tell people that the difference is that a skeptic is one who cannot believe in god, either because he feels a lack of faith or cannot justify turning his life over to someone whos existence only seems like a myth. an atheist is one who will not believe in God; his heart has been hardened against the concept either by personal pain or the pain of others, chaos and turmoil, possibly even the very knowledge he seeks in life and its many circumstances, perhaps even going so far as to make such a conscious decision because he or she does not wish to be perceived as weak or a simple minded blind follower. I need point out that some of what Ive written may sound harsh, which is not my intention. I respect such people either way, and while I may engage them in a civil discussion on their beliefs because I am intrigue d on how they claim to hold consistently to them, I will never attempt by any means to put them in a situation that is either offensive or awkward. it goes against everything I believe for one thing, but also , because its harder to convince someone about something you believe whole heartedly to be true and the single most important thing in life if said person is angry or upset with you.it is my personal belief that from the moment a child begins to articulate, the question of why becomes a matter of great curiocity. Why and all of the subquestions, as I tend to refer to them, such as what, who, how, where and when are matters that implicitly and explicitly govern the decisions ones makes in life, from how one treats people to how one reacts to situations that arise, to where one goes and when. I believe that why is such an important question that unless something within you has died or you have died yourself you will continue to ask in some form or a nother, perhaps the most common of which is, Why am I here? Even as a Christian I must still ask that question if only to attempt to figure out what Gods will is for me personally, given that I am my own person and I am not to live someone elses life. The difference now is that I ask the question of god rather than asking myself and being left to ponder it alone, which brings us to the question of who God is.I could walk you through the various doctrins that exist on God and his nature; he is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, eternal, holy, perfect. While these help those of us who know God know him better and appreciate him that much more, I dont know that these help anyone who wants to get to know god and begin a relationship with him, thus Im going to turn to a bit of scripture which I have personally found to be true. James 1:5 says that if anyone lacks wisdom, he or she should ask God, who gives gen erously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to them. Perhaps there are Christians who would say this only applies to Gods people, and yet the writing includes the word anyone. I bring this up because since I was in a position where I could honestly state that I did not know God and had practically no reason I could see to truly want to know him, particularly since at times he seemed like such a tyrant, I eventually came to where I am now, and I firmly believe I did so because I asked that he revealed himself to me. On April 30th of this year at roughly 9:00 that evening, a service was finishing at a church I was attending. the man who preached that night came up to me personally and tackled one of the hardest questions I had ever had in my life involving faith. He told me that it was not important to change before coming to Christ, but that Christ would change me and make me different. It was not a matter of how mu ch I believed, but rather, that I believed enough to do whatever it took to seek god himself. it didnt matter how much or how little faith I had, but that I did something with that faith. If incredulity was the problem, there was nothing wrong with admitting that to god himself and asking him to change it, but I needed to make a decision.I am pleased to say that I made that decision; I was ready to give it all up. all of the success I could see, all of the ladders I knew I could climb, all of the popularity that seemed to be attainable, all of the fame and fortune and materialistic prosperity that everyone talked about had a flaw; it was finite and uncertain. it held no promise. At times I would ask myself the question of why bother to rebuild when someone or something would just tare it all down again. Making that commitment, however, made me realize that there was a reason to the madness we know called life, a greater purpose, a perf ect plan. many of the questions I had suddenly had answers, and of those that didnt, the possibility that I might know some day or that I was not meant to know but that I could confide in one who knew it all
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Jason,Thanks for your post. Im very glad you told us your story.I agree with what Nocturnis said, and would only add to it that if you ever want to talk, please feel free to chat or call me on skype. I may be able to help, thats up to God. But Andrew is right, if you ask him, he will show himself to you. It may not be in the form youre expecting, it may be a sign you could simply toss off as coincidental, but he is there. The sign he kept giving me was that I would tell God to prove himself. I would say, if God would just show some sign of his existance, Id believe, but until then, Im out. Every time I asked for proof, God would show me a new christian band that I ended up really liking, within a month. It never even clicked until I was a believer, but over time it was whittling down my defenses against God and he was softening my heart to where I could actually listen to him. It will probably be different for you.I will do whatev er it takes to help you out, if you need it. Ive been reading books and doing a lot of research showing evidence that science points toward God, not way, and that evolution is not as grounded as science and universities would have you believe. Ive also researched how historically accurate the bible is and come to find that many historians use it as an actual historical document. I have a book called 1 Minute Answers to Skeptics Top 40 Questions. Yet no matter how much evidence I can provide you with, even if it would help, God can never be absolutely proven 100%, and thus faith comes in. I think evidence can lead us to the conclusion that God is indeed there, he is active and his plan is still in motion, but can it lead us to the face of God? No. If it could, we wouldnt make a choice whether or not to follow him, the choice would be made for us and we would be mindless servants, not loving children.I just want to say one more thing to you Jason, and that is this. God doesnt just love me, he loves you too. He loves everyone in the world, no matter what theyve done. He died for us all, that we might be saved. He loves you and he wants you to succeed too, even if right now you may not know hes there. The beauty of God is that after the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection for our sins, the invitation to come to him and ask Jesus to live in your heart, thereby becoming a co-heir to Gods kingdom, is always open. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195875#p195875 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I kind of take issue with the approach you bring regarding atheists. I consider myself an atheist, though just barely (as in, Id listen if proof were offered, so my mind is not shut). I dont like the implication that atheists as a rule are close-minded; theyre tough-minded, theres a difference.Imagine I threw a ball into the air, then told you about the wonderful seven-legged gravity demon that leapt up and brought it back down to earth. I cant prove it exists because you cant perceive it. It doesnt occupy space or lend itself to proof in any sense. You either take me on faith, or you refuse to believe me. Taking me on faith is not rational; we have understanding of gravity and other laws of physics that would explain very neatly about the balls fall, but all we have on the gravity demon is my word on it. In that light, organized religion is basically tens of millions of people who want to tell you all about the seven-legged g ravity demon. Tens of millions of people used to believe the earth was flat, and that the ocean simply cascaded off the edge into infinity. They were wrong. Tens of millions of people used to believe the sun revolved around the earth. They were wrong too. The number of voices making an argument does not automatically lend weight to that arguments credibility unless many corroborating bits of evidence - not hearsay, you understand, but factual proof - support the claims being made.And heres whats even worse. Not only are religions - and even sects of religions - divided as to what that gravity demon looks like, but they cant agree on what else he can do either. They quarrel about whose gravity demon is bigger, better, stronger and more deserving of worship and adoration. The doctrines are written in such a way as to intimidate those who do not take this gravity demon on faith, and to righteously empower those who throw away the shackles of rationalism to embrace their deity of choice. Supposition feeds supposition until a web of guesswork, hope and outright showmanship surrounds the altar of the gravity demon. Many are attracted not by the rightness, but simply by the magnetism exerted by a large body of their peers. Thus, we have organized religion. And we still dooont have any empirical proof of either the wonderful seven-legged gravity demon they worship or the promises, mysticism and intrigue that surrounds it. What we do have, though, is gravity. A ball falling to earth. Scientific theory which can explain to you how that ball fell. Rational facts.I will be the first to grant that there are many things that we dont understand or cant explain. Im not counting the afterlife and such, I mean things like the reversal of cancer symptoms or the veering of a huge storm when all meteorology reports said it would stay its course. But unlike a religious person, I do not blame or credit God, or anything els e for this. I am curious, but I am comfortable with admitting that we just dont know what happened. Most atheists are. Rather than use God - or your seven-leggged gravity demon, if you like - as a go-to for every unexplained occurrence, both the agnostic and the atheist accept that the knowledge is incomplete. The only marked difference is that the agnostic says It might be God, it might not, and the atheist says I will not believe it is God without proof, and will expect another rational explanation first. They do this because they have no rational way to accept God; I suppose this is sort of the point of faith...that it cannot exist if full disclosure also exists.Me, I prefer to stick to what is rational. If I cram for seven hours and then ace a final exam, God didnt do it. I did it. If I hope really hard for the Blue Jays to win the World Series next year, and they actually do it, God didnt make them do it, and to suggest that he d id sort of cheapens the monumental effort of the players in my opinion.This is all just to illustrate the following.When a faithful person does not know or is not sure, they look to their god of choice.When an agnostic does not know, he truly does not know, and while he may be okay with this, he will likely seek more than just the rational in his quest for knowledge.When an atheist does not know, he admits it, decides whether his not knowing is harmful and, if not, probably dismisses it. He puts aside all faith as broken for lack of proof, the same way many of you would do if I started going on about my oft-aforementioned gravity demon. He is no more stubborn than any believer is; the only difference is that he is convinced the answer is not God and a believer is convinced the answer is God.Im sorry if this rambled awhile, but I wanted to get that off my chest. I really dont like it when atheists are tarred with that brush, as I identify as an atheist, albeit a fairly open0-minded one. I grant you that some atheists are completely stubborn, but others are just tough-minded, and should be accorded
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter @Jayde, Im afraid that is a very simplistic and somewhat overly categorized view both of science and religion, and the nature of faith, sinse firstly not all atheists believe as you point them to believe, secondly the process of scientific enquiry is not as rigorously simple or streight forward as you make it out to be, and thirdly, faith goes rather further than just an explanation of unexplained phenomena. Firstly, you are actually incorrect on how science works. if you study philosophy of science and the process of scientific enquiry you will find it riddled with suppositions, beliefs in entities only defigned by the underlying theory, and proofs of that theory only attained by experiments dictated by the previous theory. You ask me to believe in gravity rather than some sort of invisible entity, but what exactly is! gravity? can you show me a hand full of gravity or just its affects? Can you define gravity without referring to other i nvisible things such as the masses of sub atomic particals or mathematics youve previously calculated based on its own effectt? Can you give me an experiment to proove the existance of this invisible thing called gravity, and then explain its results without referring to said other theoretical entities?This is not to say science is wrong, just to point out that science is just as much a product of human thinking as anything else in the world. it is a very consistant system of beliefs, and it progresses by identifying such inconsistancies and altering the background assumptions of those, but the belief in good, truthful rational science vs irrational bad religion is itself a form of faith. Indeed, under one deffinition atheists are not those who disbelieve in God but actively promote a view of the universe that does not contain god. There is a lot more I could say on the philosophy of science, but I very much suggest anyone who considers a supporter of science should go and examine that subject in more detail to be a better scheptic. Regarding religion and faith, I always find it interesting that radical atheists tend to always assume religion and faith is all about explanations, rather than either A, direct experience, B, an attitude to the universe, or C, the nature of life generally. David Hume (a very famous scheptic), once said that the problem of religion is that religious experience was the only form of proof religion offered but that is one one which was merely personal and so impenitrable to those who havent had such proofs. for people who have had experiences of God or the devine there is a definite element of communication, of personal relationship involved. To say effectively your making this up to people who report such seems extremely arrogant, not to mention rather contradictory to the nature of personal experience and qualia (especially given aforesaid invisible entities), ind eed this is very much part of the reason that we think of psychology as a psudo science. So, it seems unfare to just believe that religion must! be these psudo explanations for the unexplained.Lastly, i think you severely misscharacterize faith if you believe it is simply just atributing to God things from everyday life. A great explanation was made by Terry wait, a man who was held hostage in the middle east for five years. he said that while his captors could torture his body and destroy his mind, there was somethig outside of which that was untouchable by them.This generally is what Id categorize faith as, an attitude and a belief that there is a positive influence on the world and in circumstances which exists external to events and is accessible for those who listen, and interestingly enough is why I am myself currently an agnostic sinse I can no longer maintain such an attitude in my own life, although i freely admit others can and would not step on their r ight to do so.Of course, there are more than a few bad examples of religion, or people who are motivated to do bad things, but this is no worse than any other human set of beliefs such as nationalism or racial identity. indeed I personally wonder how much of the bad things attributed to religion can be tied to actual religious experience or the positive aspects of faith and how much is just to do with that good old human tendency to dislike anyone outside your immediate group, indeed the not in our club syndrome seems to be if not the route of all evil at least the root of a lot of it.Either way, jayde Im afraid I find your above comments and categorizations of the attitudes you are referring to rather on the simplistic side and Id suggest you look into all these areas rather further if indeed you wish to be open minded as you suggest, particularly philosophy of science and the actual nature of human experience and rationalism. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195905#p195905 ___ Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : assault_freak via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Agreed 100% with Nocturnus. Let me just say that I love the way you articulate... and if I had as much ability to sit down and articulate myself the way you do without taking so much time Id do it. I enjoy reading your posts very much as another Christian, and there are always new insights for me tothink about.As for Evidence for God... scientific fact can only explain so much. But what Atheists, and too many traditional Christians seem to think, is that science and God cannot exist together... which I dont necessarily understand. Sure there are issues where faith must rule out over science, and as Jade said, faith is partially a matter of belief without 100% proof... but I dont think that faith and science have to be mutually exclusive. And as much as I would like to get intto this and the whole subject of appologetics, this probably isnt the right thread for that. lol Otherwise it should probably be moved to the off-topic room. JasonSW, since Noctu rnus said pretty much everything I intended to, just in a much more articulate way... I would simply encouraging you to keep searching. and of course, if you want to discuss this further, feel free to pm or email me any time. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195911#p195911 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Moderation! I will not move this thread sinse Bladestorm has been a well known and highly contributing member of the forum for a long while, and this is fundamentally about his decision regarding games thus seems to belong to general game discussion. I would suggest perhaps if people want a serious debate over matters of science, religion and faith, rather than specifically Bladestorm and the basis of his decision perhaps starting another thread in the Offtopic room would be more appropriate, but Im not going to shove threads around the board too much or start dictating to people what they should or should not post or where discussion should go unless it becomes absolutely necessary to do so. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195915#p195915 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Nocturnus via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter @Jayde,given Darks suggestion to move this conversation over to another topic, I wont further this discussion much more on here except to offer my sincerest and most humble apologies. My intent was not to lump you in with a set of close minded fools, which Im sure exist in any group, not just atheism. tough minded is reasonable; I myself was such a person. My decision to follow Christ was not without much thought and pondering, and anyone who knows me would tell you that when it came to God there probably wasnt anything further from my mind. There once was a time when I posted up on twitter that the issue I took with Christians was that they wanted one to replace reason with faith, so I understand your stance on the matter entirely. As I stated in my above post, my hope was not to make an atheist individual seem like a harsh or horrifying person; for that matter, I believe stubbornness or tenacity or whatever else you wis h to call it can be a good thing, thus my use of it in the above post. A man or woman who can firmly stick to a belief system is a person who, while I may never again be able to agree with on anything, deserves my respect at the very least because more than likely said person will always be able to carry on a discussion of this sort without it having to resort to childish nonsense and offensive wordplay. Ultimately I hope my choice of words this time around will suffice and make you see that I, at no point in time during this discussion intended to attack anyone, not agnostics, atheists, boodhists, or any other entities anywhere here or elsewhere in the world whatsoever. I wanted to explain my views and did it as best I knew how; it is all I can do. :d URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195936#p195936 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,Dark, sorry if this is getting a bit off topic. I was a fraid it would when I posted, just by the nature of the discussion, since matters of religion tend to do that. A couple of things had me continuing to post despite the fact that things went off the main topic a little, I was called by God to say something in the most recent posts. I will, however, do my best to follow the rules while Im here, as I always have, and try to keep topics on topic.Jayde, science can never prove that God exists 100%. He does not want us to prove that he exists, he already did that 2000 years ago. Not only is it not his job to continually prove himself in direct ways to anyone who asks, then God would be serving man instead of the other way around, but if he did that, we would not have a free will choice to make whether or not to follow him and would simply be mindless, unthinking servants. I mean, if you knew for a fact there was a God and that you would go to hell if yo u did not follow him, youd be following him because it would be silly to go the other direction and out of respect, but not out of love or friendship. At that point, God would simply be a dictator, rather than the loving father who died for us and took the burden of our sins upon himself, applying our justly deserved punishment to himself rather than to us so that we could spend our lives with him instead of apart from him. . I know that for me, when I ultimately decided to become his willing servant, it was no evidence that finally swayed me but instead, simply his call when my life was irretrievably out of control. Even then, it took me a while to fully come to grips with it, and thats when I started searching for evidence.I will agree with you that the religion wars get out of hand, hence why I do not call myself religious. Im not here to fight about whos God is biggest or most powerful, because I already know the truth and God doesnt need def ending in that way. Im not here to take up the crusades or go on another witch hunt, thats unbiblical. Religion will always and can always be abused, just like anything else on this earth. I like the way one author I read put it though, dont let the experiences of other people make your decisions for you, eternity is a long time to be wrong.I would only argue just one thing. For those that choose to follow science, I highly recommend reading The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel. He has two others as well, The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith. He is a journalist and was a former atheist who set out to prove that evolution and scientific theory had ruled out all possibility for the existance of, and need for God. He came to some pretty interesting conclusions after interviewing some top level and highly respected scientists in various fields of study. Theres also some scientific studies of God on www.ICR.org, and research can be found debating evolutionary theory from many different viewpoints, including agnostic, simply with google keywords. Your argument can be applied to science as well, just because a large chunk of the world considers naturalistic explanations to be the only way we could have come into being, does not make it the only explanation. Rationality is only what you make of it, and scientists have been trying to make reality more cut and dried than it is for centuries. Only recently, within the last couple of centuries, have we even dared to start thinking as a majority that we might have somehow come into being without the need for a creator. I agree with Assault Freak, science and faith are not mutually exclusive, one of my favorite things about God since I started following him. I think that, were you to examine the followers of Christ in any depth, youd be surprised how many super-intellects there are following him, constantly questioning and studying God in an attem pt to understand him better and not just mindlessly accepting things as they are. Clive Staples Louis, Josh MacDowell, Lee Strobel, Steven Meyers and William Lane Craig all come to mind.I just wanted to let you all know that the Gameboy Advance and Playstation 3 are sold, but the Playstation Portable Slim I havent had any offers for yet. Ive got a dozen or so games for it, as well as a protective case for the system itself, all of which would of course be included.Thanks. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195959#p195959 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-28
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,Dark, sorry if this is getting a bit off topic. I was a fraid it would when I posted, just by the nature of the discussion, since matters of religion tend to do that. A couple of things had me continuing to post despite the fact that things went off the main topic a little, I was called by God to say something in the most recent posts. I will, however, do my best to follow the rules while Im here, as I always have, and try to keep topics on topic.Jayde, science can never prove that God exists 100%. He does not want us to prove that he exists, he already did that 2000 years ago. Not only is it not his job to continually prove himself in direct ways to anyone who asks, then God would be serving man instead of the other way around, but if he did that, we would not have a free will choice to make whether or not to follow him and would simply be mindless, unthinking servants. I mean, if you knew for a fact there was a God and that you would go to hell if yo u did not follow him, youd be following him because it would be silly to go the other direction and out of respect, but not out of love or friendship. At that point, God would simply be a dictator, rather than the loving father who died for us and took the burden of our sins upon himself, applying our justly deserved punishment to himself rather than to us so that we could spend our lives with him instead of apart from him. . I know that for me, when I ultimately decided to become his willing servant, it was no evidence that finally swayed me but instead, simply his call when my life was irretrievably out of control. Even then, it took me a while to fully come to grips with it, and thats when I started searching for evidence.I will agree with you that the religion wars get out of hand, hence why I do not call myself religious. Im not here to fight about whos God is biggest or most powerful, because I already know the truth and God doesnt need def ending in that way. Im not here to take up the crusades or go on another witch hunt, thats unbiblical. Religion will always and can always be abused, just like anything else on this earth. I like the way one author I read put it though, dont let the experiences of other people make your decisions for you, eternity is a long time to be wrong.I would only argue just one thing. For those that choose to follow science, I highly recommend reading The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel. He has two others as well, The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith. He is a journalist and was a former atheist who set out to prove that evolution and scientific theory had ruled out all possibility for the existance of, and need for God. He came to some pretty interesting conclusions after interviewing some top level and highly respected scientists in various fields of study. Theres also some scientific studies of God on www.ICR.org, and research can be found debating evolutionary theory from many different viewpoints, including agnostic, simply with google keywords. Your argument can be applied to science as well, just because a large chunk of the world considers naturalistic explanations to be the only way we could have come into being, does not make it the only explanation. Rationality is only what you make of it, and scientists have been trying to make reality more cut and dried than it is for centuries. Only recently, within the last couple of centuries, have we even dared to start thinking as a majority that we might have somehow come into being without the need for a creator. I agree with Assault Freak, science and faith are not mutually exclusive, one of my favorite things about God since I started following him. I think that, were you to examine the followers of Christ in any depth, youd be surprised how many super-intellects there are following him, constantly questioning and studying God in an attem pt to understand him better and not just mindlessly accepting things as they are. Clive Staples Louis, Josh MacDowell, Lee Strobel, Stephen Meyers and William Lane Craig all come to mind.I just wanted to let you all know that the Gameboy Advance and Playstation 3 are sold, but the Playstation Portable Slim I havent had any offers for yet. Ive got a dozen or so games for it, as well as a protective case for the system itself, all of which would of course be included.Thanks. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195959#p195959 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god. I know that there could be one, but Ive never been given any sign that t here is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as furvent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have problems with depression and anxiety, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I know that there could be one, but Ive never been given any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as furvent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have problems with depression and anxiety, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel bad, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I know that there could be one, but Ive never been given any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as fervent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have problems with depression and anxiety, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel bad, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I know that there could be one, but Ive never been given any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as fervent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have problems with depression and anxiety, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel bad, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making. (My poison of choice lately has been Bacardi 151 rum). When I do decide to have some, I have 3-4 shots, but no more.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I believe that there *could* be one, but Ive never been g iven any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as fervent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have problems with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel bad, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making. (My poison of choice lately has been Bacardi 151 rum). When I do decide to have some, I have 3-4 shots, but no more.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I believe that there *could* be one, but Ive never been g iven any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as fervent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have been struggling with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you used to. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel hungover, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making. (My poison of choice lately has been Bacardi 151 rum). When I do decide to have some, I have 3-4 shots, but no more.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-27
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Jason SW via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,@bladestorm360: Im really glad that you have been able to find God in your life. It must be a great comfort to know that there is someone looking out for you.Unfortunately, I have not progressed so far. I used to call myself an atheist, but I discovered that that was only because I hated being forced to go to church by my parents.I have discovered that I am more like an agnostic. I have no evidence to prove that there is or is not a God. Maybe there is a God, maybe there is none, maybe there are multiple gods. I just dont know.That has been my philosophy lately, there are things that I will just never know, and things that the Human race as a whole will never know, no matter how long we go on.Im happy for you that you have been able to get past your old drunk self and find faith in a higher power.I currently dont believe in any sort of god and/or goddess. I believe that there *could* be one, but Ive never b een given any sign that there is one. I think that if I were given one, I could be just as fervent a believer as anyone.Sometimes I wish I could believe that there is someone out there, watching out for me, trying to get me closer to my life goals, but I just havent seen that yet.I have been struggling with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, and Im sure that knowing that there is someone who cares about you, who believes in you, who wants you to succeed is a great comfort. Unfortunately, I have not progressed that far in my spiritual exploration.Sometimes I feel like you used to. I have more control than you used to, but still, it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on alcohol to feel happy. I only get buzzed/drunk once a week, though. Im strong enough to enforce that rule, at least. The next day, I sometimes feel hungover, but in my mind, its a compromise worth making. (My poison of choice lately has been Bacardi 151 rum). When I do decide to have some, I have 3-4 shots, but no more.Still...Jason. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195862#p195862 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-26
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Andy, by all means. Please feel free to contact me. From some of the other posts Ive seen, you really seem to want to do Gods work and Id love to talk to you more about him.Thanks all. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195732#p195732 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-26
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : blindncool via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hey bladestorm, I admire your commitment to your relationship with the Lord. Good luck. Ill keep you in my prayers. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195787#p195787 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : pelantas via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter hello patrick,I know you a little and i have never noticed you had these problems before. I am not believing in the lord. but that will not say i will never believe in him. I am raised with the lessons i should respect the lord in any case. and i am also thinking of him and i feel the greatest respect for him. I think i love him for a certain part. i am battling with myself at this still. believe or dont believe yet. i dont know.But it is sad to hear youre going to leave us. but i respect your decission. from my view as a non believer i agree on the part that the lord is more important than gaming. you are true. i dont want to lay down my games yet. but when i start to love the lord even more i probably will lay them down as well. or i will love the lord and continue playing the games. i dont know what the lord has in store for me.We can keep contact on skype my friend. bless you patrick and good luck in whatever youre going to do in life. and when you ever get the feeling of turning back to the strange blindies and visually impaired people of this forum, i and many others here i think will welcome you back.take care and keep contact.Greetz mike URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195652#p195652 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Patrick,I read your post and have a few comments.I believe in God and the Golden rule.But I also believe that you can become addicted to anything, games, drinking, eating, and also religion.I enjoy non-violent games and so does my wife. I would never stop all game playing because all games are not bad or evil.I enjoy playing sports games like baseball and football and bowling.I enjoy playing card games and word games like Jeopardy and wheel of fortune. I enjoy board games like Monopoly and Life.People who are adicted to eating cant stop totally, they still have to eat to live.I believe gaming is the samething. I think some games can make people to do evil and extreme things, but so do some religions. To me,it sounds like you left your gaming adiction for an adiction to religion. I believe that moderation in all things is what God wants us to do.Too much gaming or too little gameing can killyou.And so can too little or too much religion.How can too little gaming killyou?Playing some games can stimulate and grow your mind just like exercise can grow your body.Word games sharpens my mind so I then tend to make better decisions in life. When I was sighted, a driving game sharpened my driving skillls and I never got into a serious accident.I play Bop-It now to sharpen my reaction times.Maze games sharpen my sense of direction allowing me to have mor confidence in walking streets in the real world.Word games increase my vocabulary allowing me to talk and write with mor elegant words.Playing games with my wife brings both of us enjoyment and shared experiences. I worry that to give up all these positive things is not wise.If you think all games are bad, then I suggest you find or create some that are good. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195653#p195653 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter to Phil and several others, I believe the point Patrick is making here is not that all games are bad or even all games are against christian principles only that for him, at this point in time, gaming has become an addiction. As epicurus said, a pleasure is anything taken in moderation, but when that thing ceases to be moderate it is no longer a pleasure. Several modern ethicists working on well being such as James griffin have expanded this idea to state that an addiction is any desire whos need for satisfaction is such that it severely restricts the rest of life. There are many things that can become addictive, not just the obvious such as food drugs and alcohol, but also gam bling, shopping, isolation, sport, work, tv. Probably pretty much anything a person wants to do could be harmful if taken far enough and done to the exclusion of other things in life, elationship with God included.This is why I mentioned C S Lewis, si nse in the Screwtape letters there is a section where Lewis (or rather the Devil Screwtape), defines the sin of gluttany not as simply the consuming of lots of food, but as treating other people to a means to satisfy a persons dietry whims.I therefore would suggest that people do not argue this point. The question of whether games themselves cause harm generally or are against christianity is a very different question to one persons decision about what they do in their life, and, assuming I have understood Patricks post correctly, his point was only a reflection on himself! not an opinion or a judgement about others. I do not imagine this is an easy decision to make so I would ask people to please remember as much when answering this thread, sinse while the question of whether games are good or bad and how this might or might not reflect on christianity, while an interesting one is not the question under discussion here. Btw, I appo logise to Patrick if I got the wrong idea about his point, it just struck me a little clarrification might be helpful here. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195658#p195658 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I applaud you for overcoming your addiction, Im sorry games caused you such problems but Im glad you have found a way out of them. As with alcohol addiction and smoking I understand that you need to avoid games in order to prevent a relapse. I just ask that you try to rationalise this in a positive light, that god wants you to stop playing games for your own well being and not because there is anything wrong with playing games in and of itself. It sounds like this is your opinion but its worth making sure.Ill also note that there are good and bad reasons to be agnostic or atheist, it very much sounds like you were atheist for the wrong reasons. Thats not a good thing, though perhaps less harmful than believing in a faith for the wrong reasons. So long as you have rationally considered the options and your beliefs dont stem from bitterness or anger as was the case with your atheism it seems then good for you.I may not be a believer but I admire the conviction belief can give some people, just try to interpret gods will for yourself rather than letting people tell you what it is. The nature of certain humans has always been to leverage belief in order to gain power over others, I wont tell you what to do but I ask you do it with your eyes, your mind and your heart open. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195662#p195662 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter CX2, you basically said what I was thinking.Addiction is bad. People can and do get addicted to religion, and thats still bad, God or not. But religion in and of itself is neither bad nor good. In that light its like so many other things in the world.I applaud you for having the strength to own a fatal flaw and to turn froom it. I hope you dont end up exchanging one for another, but the only way youll find that out is hard experience. Lets hope it never comes to that.I do want to respond to Phil though. I think the argument that not enough games will kill you is...kind of a stretch. If you dont eat, you die. If you dont play games sometimes, you may get bored, you may be stunted in some fashion, but you still live. Gaming is not, and will never be, a necessity for life; I suppose an argument can be made that having fun is a necessity for healthy living, and Id probably agree with that, but beyond suggesting that fun should involve imagination, thats as far as Id go.I am reminded of a line from a rather good Metallica song that fairly sums up Bladestorms situation regarding gaming: One mans fun is anothers hell. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195666#p195666 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Dark, youre absolutely right. I am not judging games, or gamers, as a whole. Im simply sharing my experience. Im not even shunning the world in favor of going all in to my relationship with God. That is not what hes told us to do. He says to be in the world, but not of the world. I take that to mean, dont act like the world doesnt exist, just dont get caught up by its temptations.Im not sure I can consider my relationship with God an addiction. I do not consider myself to be a religious man. I know that it is generally the label used to describe someone who believes in some kind of divine power these days. However, God, to me, is not a distant concept. God is a real, living being, 3 beings in one, in fact. He is the only god and all the others are man-made, just as he says. Hes not just a series of rules in a book that describes some of his attributes, he is my best friend and has done more for me than any of his c reations could ever hope to. So saying that building a relationship with him is an addiction would be kind of like telling someone not to put too much effort into their marriage, they might damage it. Or perhaps, moderate your friendships, you dont want them to ruin your life. My problem with labelling myself as religious is that these days, it seems to imply that you follow all the rules, that youre a fine, upstanding citizen, that youve got standards to uphold. The relationship, the friendship with God, is swept completely under the rug and forgotten about. It doesnt matter if you believe in God, Satan believes in God and trembles. What matters is, do you know God, have you befriended him and accepted his gift of undeserved grace?Pelantas, Im really glad that the lord is moving in your life. I hope that you continue to listen to his call. Please dont hesitate to contact me if you want to talk at all, about God or anything else. Im n ot leaving because I think negatively of anyone here, but its just like when I quit drinking. It will be infinitely harder for me to pull away from this with posts about games constantly tempting me. Again, its a personal choice on my part, and not a reflection of what I think anyone else should do or what anyone else has done.I just finished an awesome book called Eli. Its about a man who is in a violent car crash and is thrown into a parallel universe. His universe is mostly the same, but instead of the mesiah coming 2000 years ago, it is happening now, in modern times. I highly recommend reading it if youve read the gosples and didnt understand them, if youd like a more culturally up to date form, or maybe just as a starting point to get you interested in the gosples of the bible. If youre anything like me, itll add a lot of emotion to it that wasnt there in the gosples, simply because of cultural differences and the to ne of some of the writing. The book is very doctrinally sound, though as the author says it isnt meant as a replacement for the gosples.Thanks again all for your support and understanding. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195665#p195665 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Dark, youre absolutely right. I am not judging games, or gamers, as a whole. Im simply sharing my experience. Im not even shunning the world in favor of going all in to my relationship with God. That is not what hes told us to do. He says to be in the world, but not of the world. I take that to mean, dont act like the world doesnt exist, just dont get caught up by its temptations.Im not sure I can consider my relationship with God an addiction. I do not consider myself to be a religious man. I know that it is generally the label used to describe someone who believes in some kind of divine power these days. However, God, to me, is not a distant concept. God is a real, living being, 3 beings in one, in fact. He is the only god and all the others are man-made, just as he says. Hes not just a series of rules in a book that describes some of his attributes, he is my best friend and has done more for me than any of his c reations could ever hope to. So saying that building a relationship with him is an addiction would be kind of like telling someone not to put too much effort into their marriage, they might damage it. Or perhaps, moderate your friendships, you dont want them to ruin your life. My problem with labelling myself as religious is that these days, it seems to imply that you follow all the rules, that youre a fine, upstanding citizen, that youve got standards to uphold. The relationship, the friendship with God, is swept completely under the rug and forgotten about. It doesnt matter if you believe in God, Satan believes in God and trembles. What matters is, do you know God, have you befriended him and accepted his gift of undeserved grace?Pelantas, Im really glad that the lord is moving in your life. I hope that you continue to listen to his call. Please dont hesitate to contact me if you want to talk at all, about God or anything else. Im n ot leaving because I think negatively of anyone here, but its just like when I quit drinking. It will be infinitely harder for me to pull away from this with posts about games constantly tempting me. Again, its a personal choice on my part, and not a reflection of what I think anyone else should do or what anyone else has done.I just finished an awesome book called Eli, by Bill Myers. Its about a man who is in a violent car crash and is thrown into a parallel universe. His universe is mostly the same, but instead of the mesiah coming 2000 years ago, it is happening now, in modern times. I highly recommend reading it if youve read the gosples and didnt understand them, if youd like a more culturally up to date form, or maybe just as a starting point to get you interested in the gosples of the bible. If youre anything like me, itll add a lot of emotion to it that wasnt there in the gosples, simply because of cultural differe nces and the tone of some of the writing. The book is very doctrinally sound, though as the author says it isnt meant as a replacement for the gosples.Thanks again all for your support and understanding. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195665#p195665 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Jayde,I did a quick google search for:Mental Stimulation Slows Alzheimer’s ProgressionFebruary 15, 2012. Can doing crossword puzzles or discussing current events help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? A new review of the scientific research shows that puzzles, games and other mentally challenging tasks may indeed be beneficial for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.The report comes from the Cochrane Library, a scientific review board in the United Kingdom. The news is hopeful for anyone coping with the stresses of Alzheimer’s disease. While other studies have suggested that mentally challenging games and puzzles may help to ward off Alzheimer’s, the Cochrane collaboration is considered particularly scientifically rigorous and looked at people who already have the disease.Scientists analyzed 15 studies to date involving 718 men and women with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. They encompassed a wide range of enjoyable activities aimed at stimulating thinking and memory, including word games, puzzles and discussions of current events. Music and practical activities like baking or indoor gardening were also among the activities considered to be cognitively stimulating, whereas other activities, like watching TV or going to physical therapy, were not.In most cases, these activities were facilitated by trained staff who met with small groups of Alzheimer’s patients, around four or five people -- for around 45 minutes at least twice a week. In other cases, family caregivers encouraged family members with Alzheimer’s to engage in mentally stimulating activities at home. Home caregivers who were taught to do this said that it did not pose undue extra demands or strain.The researchers found that mental stimulation improved scores on memory and thinking tests for those with dementia, equivalent to about a six to nine month delay in worsening of symptoms. Some of the studies also found that those with dementia who engaged in such activities had increased feelings of well-being and a better quality of life, including improved communication and interactions with those around them.Mental stimulation did not, however, appear to improve mood in those with dementia. They were also no better able to care for themselves or function independently.Benefits were noted in people in the mild to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Those with severe dementia did not seem to benefit from the extra stimulation.The authors note that more research is needed to find out how long the effects of cognitive stimulation last and for how long it is beneficial to continue the stimulation. They also say that involving family caregivers in the delivery of cognitively stimulating activities merits further study.By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimers Information Site. Reviewed by William J. Netzer, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimers Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.Source: Bob Woods, Elisa Aguirre, Aimee E. Spector, Martin Orrell: “Cognitive Stimulation to Improve Cognitive Functioning in People with Dementia.” Cochrane Library, Feb. 15, 2012, published online DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005562.pub2http://www.alzinfo.org/08/articles/prev … rogression URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195669#p195669 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Exactly. Games, imagination, flexing those particular muscles if you will, are all potentially good for you, especially true if you have Alzheimers or something. But gaming wont cure Alzheimers, or anything else. It will improve your quality of life for a short time. This is why I say that eating is a necessity while gaming, in itself, is not, and thus the argument sort of falls down there. I think I see what youre getting at; I just feel like youre stretching a bit to get there.Im a gamer. I enjoy it. I have struggled here and there with gaming addiction, and when I feel that tug I do my best to pull the other way and get a healthy distance from the bad influence Im having trouble with. I would never ever call gaming a necessity though. If someone told me tomorrow that I couldnt play games anymore, Id be upset, but Id go on living. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195670#p195670 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bryant via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello PatrickI want to first start out by telling you how much your post means to me. I am a mormon, and have been my whole life. I was born into a great family, who are all believers in god who devote their time to him, as it should be. I too have been guilty, at times, of putting gaming over my religion and god, and I regret this very much. I am sure that god is very happy with your choice, and I want to tell you to never stop believing in him. He is the center of our life. Without him, we would not be able to have eternal life, and live with him again, if we keep his commandments. It is because he cared about us that he sent his son down to this earth to suffer and die on the cross for all of our sins. Some people ask me, how can you live with your blindness? I would tell them, because god made me that way, and he has a purpose for me on this earth. I believe, and always will, that there is a reason I was made the way I was. Thank you for your heartfelt post, and I wish you the best wishes in your life. If you have any questions about the mormon religion, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer any questions. This doesnt just go to bladestorm, it goes to anywaone. I encourage everyone to have a strong, firm belief in god. He is our creator. Jesus is our savior, and he was sent here to atone for our sins. That means so much to me. Jesus could have turned back at the last moment, and simply said, I am not going to do this anymore. I am not going to go through suffering. But he did not. It is because he loves us that he endured great pain beyond what any of us have felt, and this is dear to my heart.Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best in life. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195672#p195672 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : assault_freak via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter To the above commenters who said that addiction to religion is bad... I would disagree by saying addiction to religion itself isnt necessarily bad, but rather addiction to the power that we feel is granted by religion... which is not quite the same thing. But I would also agree with Bladestorm, and do not consider myself religious... but God means everything to me. He is not just a set of rules and traditions to follow because I want to make myself better. I cant make myself better... God is the one who does that through a relationship which lasts from the moemnt you enter into it on for eternity. As Patrick also said, belief in god is not the point... demons believe in God and tremble in fear of him. Do we know him? Have we responded to the love that he has shown us? that is the point.Regarding gaming, while I agree with Phil that games can definitely promote and sharpen skills, I can find any number of alternate activities that would do the same... so I agree with Jade. Gaming is beneficial no doubt, but it is far from a necessity like eating or drinking water... martial arts training or any physical disciplinary activity such as a sport can encompass all those areas. Reaction time, mental skills, analytical skills... can all be learned through things such as Goalball, Tennis, Karate, MMA or any number of other activities. I could ramble on but Im sure people have better things to do than read my posts... and I have a paper for class I have to finish today! URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195674#p195674 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter If addiction is the devotion to one or more activities to the detriment of others, or to ones life in general, then addiction to religion is just as bad as addiction to anything else. If it means the rest of your life suffers - and it can - or if it means that others suffer because of what you believe or how you act upon it, then said addiction definitely qualifies.All addictions are bad, on some level, but some are worse than others. A caffeine addiction may hurt your body somewhat; a heroin addiction can kill you, if it doesnt make you and yours bankrupt and endangered on the wrong side of the law. Thats just one example. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195677#p195677 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Bryant, thank you for your post. As I said in my first post, I sort of had the door to God opened for me by mormon missionaries. I did not turn out mormon, however, because I believe the bible to be the complete and inspired word of God. I have studied the mormon religion in a lot of depth and have come to the conclusion that there are just too many contradictions and doctrinal changes over the years for it to mesh with scripture. However, I really like how your focus is on what Jesus did for us, and not on Joseph Smith and his writings as Ive seen in a lot of missionaries, that is awesome. I appreciate your post very much and my intent is not to offend, only to explain my situation as truthfully as I can.Given that I have all eternity to spend with God, the only thing Im worried about on this earth is doing what he tells me to. That includes getting the good news out to anyone and everyone I possibly can. If thats an addiction, I am guilty. I consider it to be no more so addictive than putting a majority of your effort into a marriage, or a developing friendship. I notice that everyone keeps pointing to religion as the addiction, but not friendship or relationship as the addiction. It seems like an odd concept to consider addictive. You never hear anyone say, hey man, you are way too addicted to your friends. I think you need to cool it a little. Or, I think you need to see a councellor, you are way too addicted to your wife. Since God is both my friend, and my metaphorical groom, I consider these both to be apt analogies.About games, I will say that there are more ways to have fun than playing games. I agree with Assault Freak. Having said that, because of my history with gaming, I probably learned more from my various times through muds, RPGs, other online games and research paths that games lead me to about various subjects than I have from anywhere else. In no way am I saying that games are bad, an ymore than I would say that money, sports, sex or alcohol are bad. For certain people, they just end up being idles. Gaming happens to be my idle, my man-made god, and thus, I am removing it from my life so that it does not interfere in my friendship with the only god there is. I still read, hang out with my wife and friends, attend social functions not always related to church, even watch cartoons. More so, in fact, now that my life is not colored by a perspective of gaming. When can I play next? I wish this was over so I could get back to gaming. Ill do my housework after this level. Im not planning to hole up in a monestary anytime soon, nor would I encourage anyone to do so. I never felt like doing most of the things I just listed above, it was all games, games, games. Sometimes I would split my focus between games and, say, reading a book, or maybe having a conversation, but I found that splitting my focus between two activities is really devoting my time to neither .Thank you all for this awesome discussion. I appreciate all the input that has been given so far on this subject. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195679#p195679 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter The kind of religious addiction youre talking about seems closer to cults than mainstream faith based practice. In general Id say the moment you start telling other people what they should be believing you have a problem, short of that the only problem I could conceive of would be an extreme devotion to practices which directly involve worship or performing work that solely benefits the faith based organisation, in either case this being to the exclusion of your life. I dont see Bladestorm going down this route.The other major problem with organised worship is when people let their preachers tell them what god wants from them without forming their own opinions. Im not saying to question your faith, Im saying like I said earlier it is often wise to consider varying interpretations of scripture and your own feelings of gods will combined with an open mind and an open heart. Again Ill stress Im not a believer but it makes s ense to me that if you believe that God guides you then he would do so through your own feelings and moral conscience. If that ends up differing from what you are being taught then you must make your own judgement but I ask merely that people do so with compassion and tolerance in mind. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195680#p195680 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Yet again, you hit the nail on the head, CX2. Devotion to religion, or faith, or a relationship with God, is not addiction purely because it exists. Its oonly getting there when it starts to negatively impact life in general. Since this isnt the path youre walking, I daresay that being addicted to religion, as it were, probably doesnt apply to you, Bladestorm. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195681#p195681 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Actually CX2, I have found that anything and everything about God is up for questioning. I often question my faith, which helps me grow closer to God when I find adequate answers for said questions. For a non-believer, you certainly have a good grasp of how God guides us to where he wants us in life, and as christians, we should always act in compassion. I definitely understand your warnings though, compassion is not something you see as often as you should, especially not from where you should expect it to be, christianity. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195682#p195682 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter I Dont believe the phrase addiction to religion is a particularly helpful or precise one here. addiction using James Griffins definition that I mentioned above (there are others but I personally rather like Griffin), is an overpowering desire that has a negative affect on the rest of your life, your other desires, relationships etc. One characteristic of such addictions is that their object is fairly simple. An alcoholic wants alcohol, a shopaholic wants to go to the shops and buy things, a gaming addict (as Patrick illustrated quite well), wants nothing more than to play games to the detriment of other things in life. religion however is a very nebulous turm. You cant express a desire like I want to do religion, or I will spend this evening religioning it just doesnt translate because the concept of what religion means is so unclear. A person could conceivably, (as some o f the renaesance kings did), become addicted to certain other desires that religious institution or practice could satisfy, for example a lot of medeival monarchies used religion as a source of income, while for many years the structure of the Catholic church provided a way for people of comparatively humble means to gain a lot of political power. Equally a person could become addicted to following rules and not thinking for themselves, or to the feeling of pridee and smugness in the knolidge that they are right However none of these are inherently religious attributes, they could occur equally in any institution that has some affect on how people live their lives from a sports club, to a company to a street gang. What however people who are actually in a relationship to god experience is a very different thing, and only tangentially tied to their institution if at all, and as has been said I dont think addiction to a relationship makes much sens e as an idea. so, while religious institutions or rules might be involved in other addictions, I dont think addiction to religion is a particularly helpful or precise phrase to use.I however dont agree with cx2 that believing in your own absolute truth or trying to convert others by force or any of those other things associated with miss use of religious belief are to do with addiction, sinse addiction is an inherently personal thing. AFter all, there is a big difference between a gaming adict and a bad, unscrupulous developer, the same way there is a difference between a drug adict (even one who treats other badly while on drugs), and a drug dealer who orces drugs on others in order to addict them. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195684#p195684 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : crashmaster via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter HiWell bladestorm I have read a few of this threads posts.And I understand.I am not into the god thing that much, however I totally understand the addicting nature of the net.Its why I dont use twitter much or even have a facebook.Why I refuse to spend all day mucking on the net and have reservations on cloud nets in general.I did have a time during school where the game world was better, later just before university I was in a flat and I would play games, eat kfc and stay up all night.But I guess I was lucky.I dont mind playing games and fiddling with tech, but to be honest, I cant say I would spend my life playing them.My family is supportive and such and I still have them.I have a brother who trains me in a home gym and I train daily.I did go through the addiction of the net but if this was a test of god then I must have past because thats not a big issue though I do like the compute r and have issues getting away from it.I usually listen to audio, sounds mostly, playing games, well, 2-3 hours now but never days on end.There was a time I did that but I dont anymore, also first hand I know what it is like, my brother did as you did but he has rsi and needs special mice and speech software in order to do his work right.I can if I need to stay up all night but I have issues sleeping as it is and staying up all night has never been me.I also bar the ocational cider and other spirits rum etc dont really drink unless I am away from home on holiday or something.I hate beer.A friends brother had the same issue with drinking but manage to damage his liver so has to stop.Saying that I never downloaded games all day, you either drop out and die or become like one of those big corperate guys that own facebook.I still like games, but playing them all day not likely.Right now I am working on the reality g aming deathmatch new beginning but I wont be doing that all day.All my web and other exploits keep me busy.You had it made for a bit but you eventually dropped out, so yeah you cant play games for ever.I agree with dark to.On the subject of religion while I was born Christian and my parents were born in a muslam country, none of us practice it all that much.Every day, I listen to the news about the various wars and terror issues.While I know its a minority doing all this, its clear that while for not believing in god I may go to hell, at least I have a better chance to live without being killed by some terrorist or becoming one or something.It seems that all the media wants to know about is terrorism, and religion caused that.I know that this is not completely true but if god allows this to happen then I dont want a bar of it.I will find my own way, if god finds me then thats fine.I am open but I have had friends that are that way really serious, and living with them is interesting to say the least. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195686#p195686 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bryant via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter patrick, you seem to have a great belief in god, and I appreciate that. I am a mormon myself, because I felt and believed in it, and believed that that was the right religion for me. I am not trying to preach religion here, rather expressing my views. I am in no way, however, saying that everyone should be a mormon. I have seen many great people in the world who arent mormons, who have a strong, firm belief in god and who have done great things in the world. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195694#p195694 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Dark, it seems we got some crossed wires. I was simply stating that as one of the few major problems I have with the way peoples beliefs manifest.Bladestorm, excellent! It sounds very much like youre the kind of Christian I can respect for their conviction. To quote a sketch from the comedians Mitchell and Webb, Question everything except for when its safe to cross the road and the efficacy of eating vegetables. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195698#p195698 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Sorry Cx2, I finished that post in something of a hurry, and I would certainly agree that there are people whos beliefs lead them into bad areas, though whether such beliefs are attributable to any sort of relationship with God is another matter. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195702#p195702 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : ghost rider via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter That was amazing. That was a great post. Its very inspiring and to be honest I got a little choked up at points. Im proud of your commitment, keep it up. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195711#p195711 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : crashmaster via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Well, I am posting twice on here in one day and I hardly do it.Firstly, life does have some down times, games help me to get away from it.Heck not just games, computers to.But like anything it can be addicting.Food is my biggest and I have had to try not to eat to much rice and cake of late because I am getting quite large.Gaming is an escape from reality, nothing more.Violent games get rid of my angry moments gam bling games pass the time in the periods where I want to kill time, strategy games make me think and help me solve problems.Mudding I have gone through periods where gaming took over my life but I have always eventually got bored with it.In fact there are some days where I turn off the computer and just relax.The only real time I play games all day and night is round winter and thats mainly because its cold and I dont want to go outside however, yeah if you cant separate virtual reality and reality t hen gaming is probably not for you.Its why I help design aspects of games.Having played games a lot, watched scifi stuff, now I can actually help develop stuff.I have so many stories to put down, and so much to write but when it gets to the putting down I blank out.I enjoy games for the reason that they are not real.I like violently shooting zombies, piloting ships, doing missions and other things, killing loads of enemies with a gun or a knife and being different people not myself.And while I am in there I want to keep doing it all day long.However I know after the couple hours or so I can go out and my own reality is there waiting for me.Now online games, that is the challenge.What I do is have a clock by me and an alarm I set the alarm on that to a sertin hour or whatever I need to do something.I usually get out before that time or just over but if I am to long and I sometimes do get stuck, the alarm will loudly go off a nd I will remember where I need to be.However I do try to do everything I need to do before gaming.My goal now is to finnish everything I need to do so I can game for 3 hours tonight and then go to bed.You need to set rules and things and have aids like that clock or something to remind you where you are in reality because it can get hard to get out.And as far as adictions go we havnt seen the worse of it, anyone here seen the red dwarf episode, better than life or read the books on red dwarf.A virtual game directly connected to the brain could actually have people loose their reality completely.I have several clocks here so I guess if I got so addicted I could set 2 of them off Id have to get up to kill the other one and Id have to stop.but being a long time player myself sometimes you dont want to exit.And if I do spend a day or 2 playing games I know that I have other things I have to do and need to finnish t hese.Each day I have a list mostly a mental one of things I need to do and I will try to get those done before I do gaming.Ofcause thats not helped lately because I actually need to play the new reality software game I am working on since I am on the team.Not to mention that we had no power yesterday because of system upgrades in the local aria.Its why I decided not to go the social network rout.And a lot of times I actually want to be out the loop, to listen to music or something and not care that much what happens.Though its a struggle at times.It was not so long ago that I actually wouldnt go outside since the real world was not as fun as the gaming one but I do try to do that when I can.Saying that, gaming for me has helped me in a lot of ways and I am fully aware of the dangers of it.I do need to be on a computer most of my days for communication purposes but I do try to get out from time to time. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195717#p195717 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : assault_freak via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Posts 23, 24 and 26 say pretty much everything I wanted to write. so Ill just say I agree completely and leave it at that. Dark also made a good point about what an addiction is. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195718#p195718 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-25
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Andy93 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello all.Well, Ive been without internet conection for a while. Im not gonna read the entire topic, Ive read post 1 and, honestly Ide just like to give my reply to it. My heart is so happy, and Im rejoicing while reading youre post, bladestorm.Man, as a born again christian, I want to welcome you to our Family. Ive like to let you know that, whatever you need, heres your friend and brother in Christ. I think Ive seen youre atheist ideas before, but now that Im reading this all I say is, praized be the Lord Jesus Christ for ever! halelooya! I feel very identified with you, man. I gotta say that I love to play games, however they dont take the control in my life. Plus, something similar happened to me, because when Jesus touched my life in 2010, I decided not only to serv him and only him, but to leave everything for him. I was a famous musician and singer here in my country, but now Jesus Christ is the center of my life, and although there are a bunch of things I enjoy doing, my Lord Jesus Christ is as I said before, the center of my Life.Ide like to contact you some how, cuzz honestly Im feeling something very spessial. seeing people whose coming to the Lord, and are really giving their lives to him, is just amazing.Sincerely, Andrés URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195722#p195722 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi there, everyoneIf this belongs in off topic, I apologize. I put it here because I will be discussing games a lot, as well as other things, but please move it if necessary.Most of you know me as bladestorm360. My name is Patrick Moen. First and foremost, I just want to thank you all for the great experiences Ive had on here over the years. I have made some good friends on here, and been around for many of the good times, and some of the bad. Its been great.Before I go anywhere else with this post, a bit of history:I was born and raised in Wyoming, and games have been part of my life since the very beginning. It feels like its been a constant journey of newly opening doors, and I want to tell you about some of those doors here.As a very young child, I remember playing all the typical kids games. Messing around with toy swords, playing imaginary games in real life with my brother, etc. Those were the days. We would play for hour s and hours while my parents were at work or doing housework, and we were very close.I believe it was when I was 8 years old, that I got my first console gaming system. A Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. Now this thing was cool. Before, I had only played here and there at a friends house, and they already had super nintendos. I was happy with what I got though. This was where my interest in games really started to develop. We had some classics, like super mario brothers and Ninja Turtles 2 The arcade game. We had some more obscure games, like Dizzy and Little Ninja Brothers. We had Dragon Warrior, which ended up being one of my favorite games of all time, and got me started down the road of the RPG genre. Now that we had our nintendo, my brother and I spent most of our time on that thing instead of playing our imaginary games, though we still played with our toys from time to time. I remember spending hours and hours figuring out Double Dragon 2, and I could beat the fi rst 3 levels and most of the fourth, until I got to the part where you have to jump across the roller traps. It was a lot of fun.As time went on, I got to play some of the other consoles at friends houses. Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, all the classics. We eventually got a pair of gameboys for Christmas one year, I got a gameboy and my brother got a gameboy color. This marks another opened door in my gaming history, since it opened up portable gaming. Now I didnt have to sit in front of the nintendo all day, I could take my games with me. We used to go on a lot of road trips back then, so this was great! One of my favorite games was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, because I could play most of the first level, though I could never beat the boss. I played Kirbys Dream Land 2 with my brother a lot, what an awesome soundtrack that game has. We also played Super Mario Land 2 a lot, one of the few games I actually got to see the ending of. We had the pokemon games also, though back then I didnt experiment with them enough to figure out that they were playable completely on my own.Obviously I was way behind in gaming development at this point in my life, but I was sure enjoying myself. I was still in sports in school, still getting out and doing a lot of things, life was great. One day, I remember seeing a comercial for a computer of some kind on TV, and I just off-handedly said to my mom, I wish we had a computer. Little did I know that this would actually turn into something. It took a long time, but eventually, my dad was hauling a new computer into our living room.This thing was cool. It had 2 gigs of hard drive space, I dont even remember how much ram, and best of all, it could talk using something called Dectalk. They wanted me to use the jaws training tapes, but I remember learning mostly by experimentation. My use of computers before this point had been limited to school, usi ng little typing programs and playing educational games with my teachers. I of course ended up on the internet, and with unmonitored access I was all over the place. One of the first programs I found was accessible chat, and this contributed greatly to my ability to type. Of course, gaming was linked heavily with my computer as well. I remember filling that entire hard drive up with any game I could find and download. As you can imagine, this lead to getting a lot of viruses as well, but I had a lot of fun trying to play the games I could find. This was back in the days when shareware was popular, so a lot more games had demos for me to try.The next door that opened for me, was mudding. I was on accessible chat when I ran into someone named shwatscoff. We talked for a while and eventually, he told me about a game called Valhalla. I thought it sounded pretty cool, and decided to try it out. I must have spent months on that game, just figuring things out, trying to do the quest s, etc. It was the first mud I ever played. This also lead me to quit doing as much
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : assault_freak via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Well said, my friend. and I admire your commitment. Gaming had never been too powerful a vice for me, except for a few years in high school... and now though there are certain games that I stay away from, gaming as a whole is not something I feel I need to give up. But as you said, every Christian has their own story... and God touches us all in different ways. Thanks for sharing... and I know Im not always the best responder on skype but drop me a message every now and then and Id love to keep in touch! Its always amazing to read stories and testmonies like your own... and well done for giving something up thats been such a huge part of your life, as you said, not because you have to but because its something you feel god wants you to do and you love him enough to do it. Ive certainly been gaming less than I used to when I was in high school, before I accepted Christ... and now I only game for a few minutes at a time, maybe an hour at most, unl ess Im at a party. But thats a whole other situation entirely. Again, bless you, my friend. Ill be praying for you as you close the gaming chapter in your life only to let god open and begin some fantastic new ones. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195606#p195606 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : mr . brunete via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter congratulations, my friend. im really amazed, its sad that you leave us here, but i admire you for sutch a great change, for good.Fortunately for me, i have you on my skype, so, we will talk one of these days, but let me say something very clear.When a person decides to change drastically, start to believe in god, and fight his way to safekeep things like your marriage, then, i can say that someone is doing the right thing. after all, god want us to do good things on earth, and what youre doing is great, not because youre quitting gaming, the important thing here is that youre trying to change your life for better.Congrats pat, and thanks for all these chats weve had via e-mails, pm, and less on skype.Remember, everytime you need a chat, just send me a message via skype and if im ofline, ill see it next time i start the program. I consider you a friend, and for that reason, ill keep in touch...t hanks!, for all!... URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195610#p195610 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi,Im very glad to see that things are looking up for you. I have my own thoughts on religion, good ones though put it this way, I think God does exist in some form, but I have some different views. In fact I seem to recall on twitter being surprised that we had kind of similar views in terms of it not being as strict as people make out to be.Good luck on your future endeavours and thanks for the cool games that you found, and good discussions too. Yes, I did just say that, because you made some good points on this forum. I cant quite remember any off the top of my head, but I do definitely remember enjoying reading your posts. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195614#p195614 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello Patrick and thank you for sharing your name, your story and your beliefs. I will not say whether I agree with your decision or not, a relationship with God is a personal thing and a journey as you said, and it is certainly true that like anything carried to excess games can become a vice. I would however suggest you have a look at C S Lewis Screwtape letters, in particular what he says later on about Gluttany and the nature of sin, sinse games can also be a very positive thing, providing needed mental stimulation, community, purpose, a chance to help others and a feeling of accomplishment. Whether games do this for you is yours to judge, but I will say if you ever find yourself in a position that games and your relationship to God can co exist, your always welcome on this forum, indeed Ill miss your conversation. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195632#p195632 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello Patrick and thank you for sharing your name, your story and your beliefs. I will not say whether I agree with your decision or not, a relationship with God is a personal thing and a journey as you said, and it is certainly true that like anything carried to excess games can become a vice. I would however suggest you have a look at C S Lewis Screwtape letters, in particular what he says later on about Gluttany and the nature of sin, sinse games can also be a very positive thing, providing needed mental stimulation, community, purpose, a chance to help others and a feeling of accomplishment. Whether games do this for you is yours to judge, but I will say if you ever find yourself in a position that games and your relationship to God can co exist, your always welcome on this forum, indeed Ill miss sharing your thoughts and opinions. Good luck with whatever you do next in your life. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195632#p195632 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi Dark,Thanks for the recommendation. Ive actually read The Screwtape Letters, its a pretty good book. Ive read other christian fiction that says that gaming is not bad in and of itself, and I completely agree with that. Unfortunately, just like other vices in life such as drinking, it takes either self-disciplin or a naturally relaxed disposition toward those activities, and again unfortunately, I have neither of those things. Gaming completely colored my life. It was always, when will I get to play next? or, I hope this is over soon so I can get back to mudding. It colored my entire reality. Our world sucks, I wish it was more like the worlds in these games. Im sure thats probably some kind of a psychological disorder and that most people do not have these problems, lol.Most recently, I remember many a drunken hour spent playing emulated games since I dont have any of the older consoles anymore, or playing old games I still do h ave. Lots of Clay Fighters, haha. Then getting bored and going on one of my notorious drunken rampages, which was fun for noone involved, including me.Im looking to get rid of my gaming gear, so if anyone would like a PS3, PSP, gameboy advance or original gameboy for very cheap, please contact me and well see if we can work something out.Thanks for all the positive responses, and God bless you all. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195636#p195636 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : ambro86 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello Patrik, thank you for sharing your story. With the exchanges of emails and pm had with you I immediately had a good impression, feeling that behind that email address was something extra in terms of human and spiritual. I want to thank you here for the advice you have given me, especially for the Japanese games.But I would like to express my idea regarding the abandonment of the games and religious faith. First I want to tell you that I will respect whatever choice you take, so my opinion and idea I have of you will not change. However I would say that I think the games are not in conflict with faith. I too have had a troubled path, I have been an atheist for a period of my life, and then I was, and am until now, religious, and I think this is an important aspect of my life. I think that faith is an inner state, and that something can be in conflict with the faith only if we feel or do things contrary to the religious values of God. Our society has lost the values that are nevertheless important for now, and this is one reason for the current crisis, the prevalence of the economic than moral; the prevalence of political views not in the service of the moral but economy and material interests. So I think the games are a hobby that does not create any harm to the faith or values. In fact, I think if the play audiogame is a pleasure, I think is not right repress if you see this as something beautiful that you want to delete. Otherwise you will feel the lack of something that made you feel good even if temporarily. Of course this speech should be made with caution distinguishing healthy pleasures and delights unhealthy. Some actions are not healthy not only for our faith, but also to the health. It clear that the kind of actions that are contrary to our physical and spiritual health must be eliminated. But this is not the case of playing games.I wrote these ideas to explain my religion seen. For me religion, like all things, should be taken with balance. Religiosity and faith must be part of our lives if we feel affinity, however, should be taken with balance. That is, we should not think that is enough only faith for our whole life. Faith is very important, and will guide us in our choices but should be developed alongside all our faculties, including the reason, feelings and creativity. For this reason the games, but also write fantastic stories, or other hobbies we like do not think should be removed. Having said that I admire your clarity in having your story, and let you in any case the best wishes for the continuation of your path.A big hug,Ambro URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195639#p195639 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hi Ambro,I agree with you and thank you for your post. As I said, gaming itself isnt bad. God has told me, however, that its bad for me. It wasnt just my hobby, it was my god, my idle. Thus, I cant in good conscience, play anymore. Other christians have come to a different conclusion, and Im glad for them. As for me, if there are games in eternity, Ive got forever to play them. If not, Gods got much bigger plans in store, and I wont even worry about gaming when Im enjoying everlasting life with him and the rest of my christian family in heaven.Thanks for your support, and bless you. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195640#p195640 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : stirlock via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter Hello patrick. As someone who has known you for probably 8 plus years now, Id like to commend you in your decision. While I probably wont give up games myself, everyone is different and God has shown you that it is the best decision for you personally. Ive watched you struggle for years with drinking, feeling helpless to do anything about it. Since finding religion, I dont think Ive ever seen you more content with life in general. Its really cool to see and Im very happy for you. God is certainly awesome.Take care and will keep in touch as always, my old friend. Mike URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195643#p195643 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
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AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : Nocturnus via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter while I cannot speak for Patrick, my personal experience has taught me if nothing else that there is a need, an urgency that I believe is god given, to see walking with Christ as more than just religion, and as Dark wisely put it, a personal relationship with the creator of the world and savior of humankind. that is not to say that we hold everyone else here to our standard; it would be foolish to do so, particularly if you dont believe yourself. Still, getting back on the relationship side of things, if you have a parent, family member or friend who you are close to, you became close through constant discourse, through conversation, through communication of some sort and spending time with them in various ways. when one gives their life over to god in all honesty and with sincerity, one asks for god to reveal himself in all of his glory and majesty, to replace the various ways of the world with strong conviction, with his will, with the presence of his hol iness and perfection. it is, in all senses, a commitment to a life long relationship that requires that one does their part, not for the sake of blessing or benefit, but because doing whats right is the right thing to do.A little example: your parent, friend or spouse has sent you out to get something for them at a local store they thought would have it, an item they wanted, may be it was a loaf of bread or a jug of milk or water. You fill in the blank. when you finally get to the store you discover that they dont have it. You are faced with two possibilities; you can either go back to your loved one and say that they didnt have it, which, one can reason, is entirely true, or you can go out of your way to travel to the next logical place that might sell such a thing because you know exactly what it is that they want, which is going out of your way for their sake. Which do you choose?One can reason with themselves that the y are a great person, that they do more good than harm in the world, and this may be true as far as society is concerned. for us, however, it is more, it goes further. Its not enough to be good; its not enough to be an outwardly moral and innocent of all the things society could accuse one of. its about him, about God, about what he thinks of us. Its about his perfection and knowing we cannot be a match to it on our own. Its about his holiness and understanding that our sin upsets him. to believe that we, in all of our goodness can get to heaven of our own accord through all of our works and actions is pride, and pride in itself is a sin, and sin upsets him.I reiterate; this is not me holding anyone else to my standard, and I strongly doubt Patrick would do such a thing either. This is simply an explanation of how I see the issue, how I believe god would have me interpret the matter. Patrick is choo sing god over the finite; he is choosing what is right because of the relationship he strongly believes in and going in all the way rather than in a reserved sense. it takes a massive amount of strength and courage to admit to weakness; Id say I was in such a position myself not too long ago. Maybe I still am. this is, in my opinion, what Patrick has done. He has admitted to not being strong enough on his own to deal with the temptation, to deal with the possibility that games might rule and ultimately ruin his life if he lets them, and that he needs god more than this. I may, of course, be off by some degree or another, flawed human that I am. :d URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195645#p195645 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter
2014-11-24
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AudioGames . net Forum — General Game Discussion : bladestorm360 via Audiogames-reflector
Re: My life of gaming: A closing chapter You are right, and that, precisely, is exactly what Im trying to do. As I said, this is not an attempt to judge any other gamers, or to make myself look better. This is simply because games were ruling my life, and Id rather replace them with God. Id rather have a friendship with my lord and saviour, built on this earth to last for all eternity, than spend one more second of one more day playing a game, no matter how much fun it might be. Thanks for that awesome post. All analogies fall short of Gods omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience, but I like yours, simply because it illustrates exactly what we should be doing. Going out of our way to please God in what he asks us to do. Not because we can impress him or earn our way into heaven, or impress the rest of society, but simply because as christians, Jesus should be our absolute best friend given what he did for us, and we usually want to please our best friends. I love Jesus with all my heart, to the extent of my capabilities, and I fully intend to respect him, do what he asks of me no matter the sacrifice, and build a friendship with my lord and master, just as he wants me to. Especially knowing what I have to look forward to when my body dies on this earth and is eventually resurrected on the new earth. For anyone who doesnt know what we have to look forward to, I highly recommend reading the book Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. It is heavily based in scripture with some speculation by the author thrown in, but it is a truly awesome, scripturally sound prediction of what Gods got in store for us in heaven. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=195646#p195646 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
