What does it mean to you to be one of The Forgiven?

Kagnus

Kagnus

New Member
What a many-meaning question this is, huh? :)

What does it mean to witness the Word in the game?

Is it passive? Do you just behave "Christianly"?

Or is it active? Do you seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ?

What about witnessing the Word to each other? Do we just assume that since we are in this guild everyone is a master of the scriptures through both knowledge and application in their lives?

Are we an in-game congregation? Or is the guild just to serve as a shelter, or buffer if you will, from the aspects of the game that we find unsavory?

No right or wrong answers here, and please feel free to quote scripture you think applies. And to be fair I will attempt to give my personal answer.

To me, The Forgiven is a shelter of sorts. A place of solace in a game world that can get down-right ugly sometimes. Yet that is not all. Many in the game know that The Forgiven is a Christian guild. A critical eye can be focused on us, an eye of judgement. I endeavor to behave in a manner that is consistent with my love for Jesus.

Since the game is nothing more than a social medium and there is no real value in the items or the characters themselves, all that will be left when the servers are one day shut down will be the interactions we had with each other and the community as a whole on Terenas. I choose to use these scriptures guide me through WoW:

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." II Corinthians 9:7

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
I John 3:17-18

"Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." Luke 6:30

If there is an evil in WoW, it is greed. It has destroyed in-game friendships and has even brought down guilds. To fight the sin of greed is my personal mission in WoW, as greed is an evil that extends far beyond the gaming world. I do not confuse this with the desire to accomplish goals, such as getting the resources to get your first mount at 40. As long the journey for a goal is an honest one, there is no sin in achieving it.
 
Excellent thread line :)

I feel my 'mission' is twofold. First, to find my Christian brothers and sisters, so as to coordinate our Godgiven gifts and abilities in an effort to reach out to the lost of terenas, and secondly, to spread the love of Christ to those around me.

Witnessing just doesn't seem to be my forte, but God's Love is what prepares a person's heart for the message of Love. I feel it is key for me (with my particular gifts) to spread as much 'Holy Hug Aggro' as is possible.


One day SGA will be God's :D And if blizzard keeps us alive for long enough, Terenas as well :D :D


On that note, I see the Forgiven as a tool in God's hands... a nurturing and replenishing place for the body of Christ on Terenas. I see God's fingers reaching out through the entire server, as we have a lot of Christian players in Terenas, but I see the Forgiven as a 'visible banner'... a tool of God that works in the foreground, rather than behind the scenes. We are no more important than a Christian in Eternal Keggers or in the Knights of Dragon Fire, and perhaps they are closer to the front lines, but we serve another purpose. :)

The Forgiven provides a place for people from other guilds to go to for spiritual help, be they Christians needing a recharge, or non-christians looking for some answers to a nagging question.

I see members of the Forgiven as staff in a church, if you will. I see the Christians in non-christian guilds as the missionaries or warriors on the front line. Of course, this does not mean we do not have our set of warriors... Like John Sr. has said before, it's not a coincidence that recruitment happens a lot more when bret is around :D

I guess to sum it up, I see us as a multi-facetted tool in God's Hands... sometimes healing, sometimes building relationships, sometimes evangelizing, sometimes just having fun, but always with a purpose. And, may it ever be true that that is God's purpose.

God bless :D

Edit: I so did not do that. Bad grammar!!
 
I think we are to be a witness, both to each other and to those who do not believe Jesus Christ is the son of God.

Some of us are baptists, some are methodists, some are more charismatic etc ... but we are all of one faith.

WOW is a very pagan culture and I think of how Paul addressed a similar pagan culture in Athens and Corinth. He was among them but did not compromise his witness. I found this difficult to do when I was in large guilds with few believers.

Here the way the apostle Paul interacted with the Corinthians:

1 Cor 2:1-5 (ESV)
1And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Our witness is not only the accurate, verbal proclamation of the gospel but also in a non-verbal "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" ... a transformed life. It is our character. Again, the demonstration is also in our community and the way we have fellowship with one another.

Especially when times are tough for that is when Christians differentiate themselves from others. It is when mature Christians differentiate themselves from immature believers. Our witness is not only as individuals but in community. We are to strive to be that community as described in Acts 2:42-47.

However, we are not a local church. A local church is governed by a set of mutually accountable elders. We are from different local churches and are all a part of the body of Christ, the universal church. We are more of a para-church, which is not really discussed in the bible, but it means an organization that comes up along side the church. We are an "alliance of christian gamers".. a place for many people from different churches to quest together and have fellowship. At least that is my two cents...

Demetrius (Kevin)

PS - My screen name comes from 3 John 12
 
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Wow now this is a great thread. Here is what our new website opens with ...


We are a group of people from all walks of life, single and married, student and professional. We have retired couples and young folk who are too young yet to move out of their parents place. Even the age old battle of the sexes are balanced with about as many females as males. What brings us together you may ask? Our faith in Christ and the game we call World of Warcraft. We seek time to adventure together. For many of us, this is our place to relax and kick back from every day life. We play together and we pray together. It is our hope that as we show love one to another, others will know we are His disciples (John 13:34-35). We are reminded everyday that we are The Forgiven.

Having said all that, what is it to me? I never believed in the Sunday Christian, I believe we are walking lights, what we say, what we do, and what we think. WoW to me is a place where I can gain "fellowship" with my Christian sisters and brothers and be a witness to the grace that the Lord has shown me daily.

Malcolm's comments regarding greed is one of the major areas, I believe, where we can show the "Christ difference". I have seen the impact it has had on people when one of us passes on an item for someone else or uses our own ticket to give someone something they can use. People notice these things.

While we are on this topic, there is a practice a few of our guys, like Neirai and Deedlyt have done that I believe is praise worthy. When epics are dropped in a group and they win the roll (and no one else needs it), they will sell the item and share the profits with everyone in that group. Let me tell you folks, that makes an impact. With our SGA ties, our attitudes speak volumes over the words we might use, this kind of generousity is such a contrast to the greed that is soooo common in WoW.

Overall, it blesses my heart and confirms in me what God is doing with The Forgiven. I am proud to be part of this body of believers.
 
Very good thread:)
The Forgiven for me is a haven from the worldliness that comes from interacting with the multitude of different people that play WoW. It is somewhere that I and my family can enjoy playing the game that we love in a christian atmosphere. It is someplace that we can be among fellow believer's and express our love for Christ and be encouraged to continue fighting the good fight. It is a place that we can freely express our love for Jesus and not get (.... ).
Being in a christian guild also carries with it responsibilities, just as being a christian in the world does. I feel that my family should act the same way as we do in real life in our interactions with those around us in the game. We strive to be good examples of Christ everyday, in the game and out. Our actions carry the most weight in the world as a beacon to draw others to Christ, and this is true in the gaming world also:)
Tinie/Angie
 
WoW... great thread.

I'm completely new here, so I have no clue what it means to be part of "the forgiven" as it relates to WoW. In the real world, being part of "the forgiven" has meant freedom. Freedom from the sins of my past and from that person that I use to be. Freedom to lay my head down at night and sleep in peace. Freedom to enjoy those things in life that the Lord has prepared for me to enjoy. And most of all, freedom from worry about what tomorrow may hold. I was 36 when I finally agreed with Jesus that he was who he claimed he was, and that I was a sinner in need of his forgiveness and his promises.

Never think that John 3:16 is overused. As a non-believer I had no clue where to start when I picked up my mothers Bible in the hour of my overwhelming need. The only things I knew about the Bible was that it started with Genesis, ended with Revelation. John 3:16 was literally the only verse that I knew to turn to. By God's plan and design, it met all of my needs as I finally understood who he was, and better yet, what I was.

Looking forward to meeting everyone,

Chris
Forgiven
 
Chris,

Welcome bro. Looking forward to getting to know you!

What class were you on the other server and what class will you choose on this server?

See you soon,
Kevin (Demetrius/Demetri ... 60 pallys)
 
Wow Chris, I love your testimony. His Word is able to supply all that we have want or need for. I look forwarding to hanging with you in-game.
 
Bump!

With several new people in the guild, I thought I would tap this thread back to the top . . . :eek:
 
The Forgiven to me

I must say first that this is an amazing and needed thread. I have also wondered what others have thought of being part of this guild. I have been approached in the past about how our guild is and "can I join your guild?". Even though I am not an officer and can't bring them in personally, what do we tell them we are about so we can have an informed and possibly evangelistic :) discussion about the guild.

Here is my vote for this thread: /sticky :cool:

So, I suppose I should share my view on The Forgiven.

I see The Forgiven as a lighthouse in the WoW community on Terenas. It is light to a gaming world that is often clothed in much darkness (greed being a good example - thanks Malcolm). It not only provides light to those that see the darkness but it is also a shelter from the storms when they rage. This need not only be limited to those outside of our faith in Christ. I know it has been so for myself and others. The relationships (which for us Christians are eternal) have been encouraging and strengthening for me ... and I trust that Christ has been able to reveal himself through me to others as well. You only have to be in a couple PUGs (Pick Up Groups) along the way to remember that not all have the same values that the Christian community enjoys. Gaming is supposed to be fun and this guild helps make WoW enjoyable. So, I guess to me The Forgiven is both shelter and shimmer.

A verse that I hope guides me every day whether playing WoW or not is 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NKJV) -- "Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."

Blessings to you all,

Merril
 
Hi, I agree, this thread is very much called-for.

To me, The Forgiven is:
1) A WoW guild that is amazing because it is founded on Christian principles. Few guilds could claim to operate like a "body".
2) A voice. Because MMORPGs are a forum, and offers excellent opportunities for us to be Christ's ambassadors. Whenever anyone decides to just take pause and chat, I'm ready with a perspective that comes from grace.
 
I will add my 2 cents worth also... what does it mean to me? I am speaking from my heart here about what I have been witness to.

I was unable to live a life that my heart ached to, each attempt I made seemed to always miss. I longed to do the right thing and still ended up doing otherwise. I was so down because I always seemed to mess everything up no matter how hard I tried. I was a joke and I knew it and it grieved me inside...

I was doomed to be a failure as a father, husband and Christian. This is actually how I thought and felt. Then I was witness to what I would call an amazing thing, I saw the very things that overcame me and kept me down get swept away as if they were just chalk in a strong wind. Never in my life have I seen such a thing before, and it gave me a reason to remember it each day. When I was nothing, He was there for me. When I had nothing to offer He was there, when I was a big negative He was there for me anyhow. All the pre-concieved things that I thought about Him were all wrong. All the pre-conditions that had to be and were not at the time, yet He was still there!

I felt fresh hope because even though I could not, He could. Even in my weakness and my inability to conquer sin, He loved me still. That He would love a sinner with no hope of being able to bring anything to Him. That He would love the ugly and down and out, He would embrace a leper without even a second thought. That He would work in the life of this sinner each day and change things that the sinner could never change by himself. And even moreso that He would do the same for anyone else to...

I went from trying to do Christianity on my own to receiving help from Christ. From trying to be good and failing so badly to watching Him work inside of me. Doing things that I never thought possible inside of me, and that is why I trust and look to Him always for these things. He is literally my hope and salvation. He does not lie, and never is late... He knows exactly what He is doing. For my part, I am glad He does for I do not know it all...

Take care and God bless guys, it has been a hard year and I do not know what else to say except that no one does salvation like Christ. No one else whom is trust worthy of such a thing, except Him. I have seen much trouble lately but I still remember and look to what God can do even when all looks lost and nothing is impossible for God. Thanks for all your support to guys.
 
The greatest difference in this guild compared to most, is that I know I can depend on people to help me out. And in return I try to be someone people can depend on. Whether its looking for mats for the sweet armor set, or prayer and support for real life issues. A while back I was struggling to deal with some things with my bro, and I called Adam to talk to. He offered me counsel and prayer. If not for the friendship thats grown while playing WoW together, I most likely wouldnt have felt comfortable talking to him, despite our past acquaintance.
I dont make a big verbal statement about my faith usually, but I think its more important to show my faith and my God is real, by action - by the way I behave. To share the gospel, and sometimes use words.
 
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