How has Gaming benefitted your life as a believer in Christ?

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LuminousLCDLord
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As others mentioned; as I've learned from gaming, gaming is often demoted to being a 'mind-control device' and destroying people's lives through 'addiction' and stuff like that.

Gaming isn't magically more destructive than pen-and-paper RPGs and board games; it's just like every other form of entertainment; meant to be enjoyed, not treated as 'evil'. In fact, I have OCD, and that means I have bad obessive thoughts, and so the only way I can keep myself particularly busy is playing Minecraft and using CCG's content. Gaming can, in fact, really help with OCD.

That is all I have to say (at least for now; I may add more onto it later).
Odazz
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In short, games have helped me put the burden of reality out of my mind, allowing me to think about my faith and other higher issues. For a time I did have a serious gaming addiction during the height of MMORPGS like WoW and EverQuest, but that is long past and now I only play for enjoyment. While I know I'm pretty unique for using games in such a way it really has helped build my faith and brought me through the worst times of my life by allowing this escape and to focus internally and spiritually.
Kinix
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harold5187 wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:28 am Would you like an honest answer, or a lifelong addicted "Gamers" answer? I have a feeling you are looking for an honest answer!
I was playing games since before the internet was even created, back when we used BBS's with 1200 Baud Modems on an AT&T 6300 640k Ram system, Floppy A and B drive, under MS DOS Operating System. Windows wasn't even a dirty word in my vocabulary, as it is now. I didn't even get into multiplayer gaming until my mid 30's, because I had been so well trained by that time, to play against the computer in singleplayer campaigns!
if I can count my good experiences in multiplayer gaming, I only recall three times, I ever had any fun!
1) Arma 1 gaming clan called DSF (Delta Strike Force), we played every night, had great missions, got along for the most part.
2) Arma 3 gaming clan called OTF (Operation Task Force), Christian woman named Eve was the host of the server. She wouldn't allow any cursing.
3) Minecraft - I played for a year or so on Odyssey-Craft, was great friends with lots of people, knew almost everyone, even the Head Admin, then the server shutdown 9 months ago, I didn't know it, and went to log back into play last week, and it was gone, shutdown... Everyone I knew either quit playing minecraft, or moved on to other servers, playing here and there, but not as seriously as we had been.

In my life I've played well over 200 or more games, we're not talking the trash games that are buggy and incomplete sold on Steam; I'm talking AAA games. Games a lot of kids haven't heard of growing up today. I was being trolled the other day, and this kid didn't even know what IWar 2 was. It blew my mind...

Now on to your question... The honest truth from a life long gamer!
NO! God does not exist at all in gaming, you can sugar coat it, and give yourself excuses as a Christian to keep playing, but in all my experiences in the gaming industry, and the worlds they create for us to play, God is the only thing missing, while everything else is a double serving, including filthy language, suggestive themes, but if you are looking for God? Good luck! Not going to find anything except utter contempt for Christianity! 7 Days to Die, itself has suggestive hidden images while your mining for resources! All things Satan are being packaged and sold to kids, from games like Deadspace, where they get a full dose of anything and everything! Grand Theft Auto is one of the worst, because it's one of the most popular!
Trolling has become the thing these days! Mostly found in sandbox universe games, where factions, building and base construction are emphasized! Minecraft is under attack big time by trolls who use hacks such as X-Ray, and other tools found on the internet. You name it! Any multiplayer game out there, whether it's Rust, Hurt World, 7 Days to Die, Space Engineers, you'll encounter trolls looking to grief. Time is the "currency" in game, not the $19.99, $29.99, $39.99, $49.99, or even the $54.99 you paid for the game. Your paying for "time", and there are games I play now, that I've put over 2,200 hours of game play into, and other games I've put even more!

Let me tell you about Minecraft... This game makes you work so HARD, for so little reward... You start playing at 5:30pm, and next time you look at your clock it's 3am in the morning... The Devil's Time Machine!
I've played so many games, for countless hours, that I don't even have to play a game anymore, to satisfy my dopamine's, all I have to do is talk about it, and take everything I've ever liked about all the games I've played, and mix them into one game... Whammo, the best game I've ever NOT played, and I've spent 6 to 8 hours talking to myself, aloud in my room, creating this imaginary game!
Now I want to ask YOU a question?

Can a Christian Gamer play "casually"? Because from my experience a non-Christian Gamer, CAN NOT! We either go all in, or not at all!

We play "seriously", because reality is so painful, and restrictive, that virtual reality is a far better place to exist! Does God exist, NO! Do I love Jesus Christ? YES! Do I acknowledge Him with my mouth, YES, do I give Him every second of every day, ...NO! Hardly even an hour! BUT, there have been days where I have given God 8 hours of my life, listening to God's word on the internet, people I admire, such as Amir Tsarfati, and Ravi Zacharias.

I know God, because I know the Word of God! So many Christians say they know God, but how can you know God, if you do not know the Word of God! In the beginning was the Word the Word was with God, and the Word was God! When standing before God on Judgment day, will God find his Word on your heart, or will He say, "I don't know you!"

Roman's 10:9
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

God knows me, God knows my heart, I may make it to Heaven, but I'll be a bit on the crispy side!

Can I be honest with you?

In this life, God has taught us, not to seek rewards, and gain, and I understand that, because all I've discovered has brought me pain and suffering, and I don't care about money, never had much of it anyway... There were times when I was still in the workplace, when I woke up and the first thing out of my mouth, "God! I'm exhausted!" -- I'm exhausted and I just woke up! How many times have I told my mom, "I'm tired!", to have her reply, "Your not getting enough sleep!"... "Mom! That's not the kind of tired I'm talking about!"

You work and you work and you work, for NOTHING! You spend your life living paycheck to paycheck, why? So we can work towards that American Dream that we slave for, and the One Percent ENJOY... That's not life, and if that's life, I don't it! I've come to the conclusion that if God does not exist, then we may as well end our lives now, because life has no meaning, if GOD does not exist, other than to work till the day you die, ...if you are lucky, you'll retire to a life of medical bills and pharmaceutical drugs!

The more pain this world gives me, the more I lean towards Jesus Christ! But God has placed with me a strange love for computers and artificial intelligence, that I can't break free from! I just quite smoking cold turkey after 25 years of chain smoking, no problem, it's hard, it is, but I did it; Stopped going to girly websites, because I got tired of saying, "Forgive me!" Got so bad, I stopped asking forgiveness, because I knew I would return! Until God did something, I don't know what it was, but I haven't been back! Doesn't mean I'm not lonely, it just means, I'm not half as sorry as I usually am!

I don't believe in God because He has crowns to offer in His Kingdom! I don't believe in God because He has rewards and streets of Gold! I could care a less about a reward system I've been denying in this life... I believe in God, because I fear God, because I believe the Bible is true, and that heaven and hell is true, because the wages of sin is death, and I know I am a sinner, and without acknowledging Jesus Christ, and His death upon the cross, I can not have eternal life. That's why my favorite verse in the Bible is... The two men on the cross...

"If you are the Son of God, save Yourself and us!", ..."Have you no fear of God? Know you not, our punishment is just, and we belong here, but this Man has done nothing! Jesus, remember me, when You enter into Your Kingdom!"

Verily, I say unto you, this night you shall be with me, in Paradise!

I believe in God, because I don't want to go to eternal damnation where the worm never dies, and the flame is never quenched!

ps. Now please may I play Minecraft, I can't think of nothing else to post, this is more like punishment, than gaming! I feel like I'm in first grade with my nose in the corner again! Disclaimer: I'm not admitting my nose was ever in a corner, but if it was, I'm assuming that's what it would feel like, perhaps something similar!
"we're not talking the trash games that are buggy and incomplete sold on Steam; I'm talking AAA games. "
This quote right here. I take little issue with pretty much everything else, but THIS quote. Now, I realize the comment is quite old, and no idea if you still use these forums, but MAN, take that opinion, the one that says AAA games are the good ones? And replace it with Indie games. Trust me, Ive practically advocated for independent games for years now, and they just continue to get better and better. Unique, fun, incredible experiences that the likes of Electronic Arts and Blizzard could NEVER reach! I mean, just this past MKNTH Ive found several games with huge potential, and all are indie. Now, Im going to agree that Steam does have a garbage problem, but trust me, once you sift through the mess, theres some pure gold just waiting to be found!
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