Spore is Coming

I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the video game, Spore:

Basically the game entails creating and nurturing a species from the cellular level as a microbe, and guiding it through it's development and evolution to a creature, a tribe, a civilisation and eventually a space faring race. I've already been busy at work creating a whole gallery of strange beings:

Visit Spore.com

I know what some people might be thinking - "Nick you are a Christian! Isn't this game a bit dodgy?"

Well the first thing I have to say in response to such a question is that... it is just a game.

However, the creators of Spore also went to great lengths not to offend/isolate customers who subscribe to religious belief. They felt that if they were going to be realistic about the development of civilisation, they had to include religion... because the fact is even if you are an atheist, you live in a world that has been shaped by civilisations who did believe in God/gods. They deliberately leave the question of who or what created the universe, open (although in essence, you play a godlike character in how you relate to your creation). It is true that the game relies on the mechanics of evolution... but given the nature of the game, that is necessary; besides, as I have mentioned before, there are several different ways to look at the Creation account, without having to strictly adhere to a literal six day theory.

Intriguingly, the only group of people who have taken real issue with the game, are not theists... but atheists. I should clarify that I am referring to militant atheists and not merely people who don't believe in God. Militant atheists are those people who cannot tolerate the idea of open religion of any form - it must be silenced and kept within the place of worship or home. They simply do not understand that by peddling their world view in this manner, they are nothing more than "pots calling the religious thinkers' kettles black". They need to learn that they have to tolerate people of faith, in the same way that religion has learned to tolerate them.

So when they make silly statements about removing religion from what is little more than a fun computer game... we do well to ignore them.

I'm just looking forward to September the 5th, when I can get my microbe going and see how long it takes me to get him exploring the Spore galaxy... interfering in the development of other people's species. I actually get the impression when you reach this level, you can interact with the species on another planet... so I'm guessing that means you can try and help other players develop... or have a go at wiping their fledgling tribes out with laser beams, or perhaps introducing a non-indigenous species which would wreak havoc with their delicate ecosystem; although both these ideas which seem a little harsh to me, I much prefer being the benevolent sort.

However, I'm quite sure that I won't be among the first to go interstellar. There is a highly morally dubious practice among some gamers, who pay people in poorer developing countries, a pittance to go online as their character and level up quickly. This is known in the gaming community as "gold-farming", and it is on the rise.

I'll just be happy to get out there... among the sea of stars, before someone comes along and toasts my cute bug eyed monster!

If you are out there, I'll look you up one day!

Evolve or Die

I think it's high time I shared something with you, that I've kept reasonably close to my chest for some time now.

I've been making plans.

Earlier in the year I had some discussions about which way forward I should take my life... and there were a couple of surprises in there for me, I can tell you.

Anyway, suffice it to say... I was advised that I needed to go on a completely unjustifiable adventure (at least in terms of rationalisation). You see, due to a couple things that happened in my distant past, I developed into an individual who shunned risk as much as possible.

For a Christian though, this is something that doesn't add up... and should be faced.

We are told in one of Paul's letters that:

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

2 Timothy 1:6-7

Furthermore, we are we are both encouraged and warned that:

"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

1 John 4:13-18

So it is clear that fear is an emotion that we must take every opportunity to overcome. It's okay to have fears... but it's not okay to let them have mastery over your decisions. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters... and although he was referring to money on that occasion, the same is true about anything that comes between us and God, for God is love... and you cannot serve both love and fear.

So we come to the crunch. I've always been an expert at self preservation, one severe example is that I won't fly because I'm scared about putting my life in the hands of another human being and a glorified tin can. Recent tragic events both at home and abroad would seem to justify this philosophy... but then:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

Matthew 16:24-27

Oh dear!

It kind of leaves me in a pickle doesn't it? What is more, as I said in the previous paragraph... this one is a biggy for me. However I truly believe if I crack this one... it will be a major step in living a liberated life.... unencumbered by worry or fear of failure.

The passage from Matthew sounds a little harsh... it's almost worded like "give me your life or I'll take it from you." The truth as always is a little more deeper than that - does the man drowning in quicksand feel threatened by the man shouting at him to grab his hand if he wants to live? No.

You see the truth is, we are designed for a life with God... not just with him alongside or above us... but actually actively at work within us. Whilst our stubborn desire for independence, interprets Jesus' challenge about losing our life, as restrictive, or a threat; if we paused for a moment and were honest, we'd realise that actually "losing" our life liberates us in so many ways. You might think that without God, you are flying, but sooner or later you'll discover the hard way... that you were actually doing nothing more exhilarating than falling with style.

It's quite a culture shock when you feel like you've been trapped in a prison cell with many locked doors... and after begging and pleading for God to open one of them, you catch a glimpse of your jailer and discover that the person who had kept you locked in all along, was yourself... and God was the one who was pleading with you to wake up and get out of there!

When I talk to people who have been missionaries in a foreign country in service of God, I'm always quick to spot a recurring theme in their testimonies. Nearly always, the person speaking talks of finding themselves in a place of fear and inadequacy. Eventually, that which cripples them... forces them to turn to God... because that's all they have.... but what a resource to have. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians describes God as being able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. He even goes as far as to say that this power is at work in us.

However if we want to receive God's power, we have to recognise that we are actually powerless ourselves.

Last year, I quoted a Spider-Man tale called "The Other", and spoke of how it referenced a Chinese philosopher who posed the question of whether a man was dreaming of being a butterfly or a butterfly was dreaming of being a man? At first I took my feelings toward that, as just being about calling or vocation... but it's more than that. I felt drawn to buy the graphic novel and go through it... and it has proven a source of inspiration to me. A subtitle to the story is "Evolve or Die." In the plot, Spider-Man is slowly degenerating from a mysterious illness. Nothing works and eventually his impending death is accelerated by a vampire-esque enemy who maims him and pretty much pounds him to death...

... but it is not the end.

Peter Parker finds himself in a dream where he is confronted by a personification of the source of his abilities. This character rebukes Parker for accepting the obvious gifts he was given... without daring to dig deeper and find out just how gifted he was, how much potential he had for more. Parker embraces "The Other" and is returned to life completely healed (he had been in a web cocoon up until this time, as his body was renewing itself), and with exciting new powers (which were foolishly retconned out of existence by Joe Quesada).

Anyway... as Peter Parker (mis)treated his powers, we can be the same with God. We can take what he gives us naturally accepting the odd supernatural kiss... and live our lives with only a deposit of our true potential. We need to embrace the source of our power - the Holy Spirit.

So I'm going.

Boarding a plane will put me in that powerless place (albeit for about six hours a go). I've gone as far as booking a holiday and setting myself an objective while I'm out there. I've even got myself a passport.

Maybe deep down, you feel the same... you've got a fear, a worry or a burden that is holding you down... and you know that you are in the quicksand. You are finally in a place where you need to act... where you either continue as you have always gone about things... and eventually falter, fall and die; or you choose to turn around and embrace God in a new and exciting way. What that means for you personally, I leave to you. It may mean coming to faith in Jesus for the first time... it may mean taking your existing faith to a new level.

Whatever it is don't just leave it.

God bless

Nick

Personality Check

I'd forgotten that some time ago, I had joined Youniverse, a website that enables you to assess your personality by choosing images in response to questions that are posed within online quizzes.

Having been away from it for some time, I was drawn back by a recent feature on BBC's Webscape programme on their website. Well it wasn't long before I got hooked into having a go and I was seriously surprised to see that some of my attitudes that have been subtly changing over the past year or so... are really beginning to shine through. Here are some of my results:

Back

I've been silent for some time... but far from idle.

I've been away at Scripture Union Camp but have since returned. To be honest I'm still gathering and processing my thoughts in the aftermath of what I perceived to be an extremely powerful week. I've had plenty of sleep since getting back... first night home, I slept 13 hours straight (more or less). I think I'm having trouble adjusting to my adrenaline levels returning to normal, as I still feel like a lump of lead.

Strangely,many of the people I have been away have come down with some kind of stomach bug... and I've noticed a lot of the people around me are in need of a friendly ear... so I'm not going to waste my current state of wellness.

Returning to the "real" world has been quite harsh... it always is when you have been in your element, the emotions that are churned up again raise the questions of "who or what are you?" and "what are you going to do?"

It's especially hard when you have a natural affection for many of the people you meet and work with, particularly when it's with God's people and expressly and exclusively for God's purpose. There's a lot to pray about at the moment... but I want to sign off tonight, by thanking those who have known my movements and have kept me in their thoughts and prayers... it was most definitely appreciated and noticeable.

May God bless you all.

N