I've been a member of Gamespot since August 29, 2003 and have been an active poster over the years, especially recently. I've learned a lot from my many discussions with people of radically different beliefs than me, have even changed a few opinions, and have gotten to know some people rather well. For some people, I've gotten to know their opinions well while others I've gotten to know about their personal life.

I've greatly enjoyed this time while at Gamespot but this time has come to an end. While I actually regret leaving, I simply need to prioritize my time better with school, work, social life, etc. I hate that I will not be able to sidetrack every topic I enter into a discussion about Jesus but hopefully someone will rise to take my place that does so in a respectful manner. :P

While I am leaving Gamespot, I do not want this to actually be a goodbye. Our conversations should not end simply because I will not be active on the boards anymore. I'll continue to check the site for messages, and I do not mind being contacted by other means. I've already become friends with several of you on facebook, so none of you will be alone in doing so. If any of you have questions about Christianity or simply would like to talk like many of us have, do not hesitate to contact me. I do not wish to end communication dispite my lack of being active on the boards.

Whether or not you believe in the power of God, I do hope he blesses your lives. :)

For Christ's Fame,

Mindstorm

To contact me, you can contact or befriend me at facebook.com/Cameron.Proctor, myspace.com/thedocproc, and thedocproc.deviantart.com.

Recently I've been trying to better communicate the story of my spiritual life. As such, I figured writing it down would be the best way. This way, I could examine the focal points of my life while seeing how I've grown in my walk with Christ. Also being the rather open person that I am, I figured I'd share it with the rest of you.

Growing up, I'd go to church occasionally but I knew very little about what Christianity actually was. I'd occasionally go to church and my mother would pray with me before I went to sleep. Despite that, I did not even know what a Christian was. What defined a person as a Christian? I simply did not know, at least, did not know correctly. I remember even asking my mother this question around this time. Even still, my mindset was a group of people who believed in God, liked Jesus, went to church, and lived a moral life. That mindset stuck with me for many more years.

That next summer my family moved next door to my grandparents due to my granddad getting cancer. I am so thankful for this time because it let me become really close to my granddad. There was something different about him, something "good." I'd very often see him reading his Bible and was very active in his church. As time progressed, I became a part of that routine though I did not really understand it completely.

The summer after 6th grade was what I might have become a Christian. I cannot really say that I know for certain but I think this was the time I came to know Christ. There is very little I remember about it, but what I do remember is that after a conversation with my mother, the pastor came over to speak with me. I do not even remember a single word from the conversation. Whatever happened that evening, that next Sunday I joined the church and two weeks latter I was baptized. As time progressed, I knew I was supposed to do certain things such as read my Bible, go to church, be a good person, etc. What my motivation was, I'm not sure.

Was I truly a repentant Christian or someone just going through the motions? I don't know for certain. As time passed I slowly became known as a Christian among my peers. Due to my personality at the time, it was rather difficult for me to speak with any decency unless I knew a topic well so I picked three things: art, video games, and the Bible. Whether I studied the Bible for pure reasons, bragging rights, or to make myself feel superior, I'm not sure, but I became known for my knowledge of the Bible both in church and in school.

Around this time I had a thought in the back of my mind that being a pastor would be enjoyable. I could talk about the Bible and help people, why would I not do this? Well I had many reasons, mostly regarding my abilities. I was a quiet kid and did horribly in school (which was odd since I was known as being smart. aka. I made A's in Math but F's in Social Studies). Regardless, I did not think I could do it. I prayed a prayer which is one of the few things about my early faith that I know was genuine, I prayed that if God wanted me to go into full-time ministry, that he give me the ability. I prayed this prayer thinking God would never answer. I was wrong. Through various circumstances I began doing very well in school, became captain of a robotics team (helped me in leadership and speaking abilities), and began teaching Sunday School (yes, while I was in high school).

Despite me being known as the preacher-kid, I had serious doubts about Christianity. Countless nights I'd lay awake at night contemplating God's existence, reality itself's existence, creation, evolution, etc. At times I'd be of the mindset of an atheist but practicing a moralistic Christianity that rejected all miracles, other times I'd accept Jesus' resurrection but reject all other miracles. Even though I, at this time, knew a lot about the Bible stories, I did not understand biblical doctrine. Was Jesus God in the flesh? What is discipleship, purely believing the right things and being a good person? I did not seek after the answers because I did not even know the questions. All of this was going through my mind as I was the Sunday School teacher for the youth department of my church!

Being that God had answered my prayers by granting me a full scholarship to a college where I could get a degree in Christian Studies, I went with it. At this point, I went because I felt like it was what I was supposed to do and that all "devoted Christians" became pastors or missionaries (which is completely wrong, just to let you know). While my intentions might not have been pure, I obeyed. This private Baptist institution was such a blessing to me and would radically change my life.

In this first year of school my many questions regarding creation and correct biblical doctrine were certainly answered but I went about it wrong. I became obsessed with Young Earth Creationism and the details of doctrine. If you did not believe in Young Earth Creationism then I sincerely questioned your view of the Bible. I loved this subject to such an extent that I ended up visiting the Creation Museum in Kentucky, a 9 hour drive being the farthest I'd ever been from home.

Then came a rather interesting time in my life. I gained a new obsession, a female. We became extremely serious extremely fast. As a result, emotions ran high and she became my idol like none I'd ever had previously. I put God on hold. I also began saving money for an engagement ring. I wanted to marry her.

But God had different plans. At the realization that the relationship was not perfect, I was left alone. God wanted nothing in my life to take his rightful place. I felt as if life itself was gone. All I had left was God and all I knew to do was pray. This prayer was my broken heart crying out to God. I did not pray for God to bring her back. I did not pray for God to help me. I prayed for God to be glorified. I told God that he could take away everything in my life if it would bring him glory and honor, even if I end up being treated like Job.

I'd like to say that things became amazing from that point forward but God decided to answer that prayer. The next eight months was the hardest time of my life but was also the beginning of a new life. You see, I had gained a new and even greater obsession: Jesus Christ. Previously I couldn't get past the details of Scripture in order to see the whole picture, I fell in love with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Instead of being obsessed with the facts of Scripture, I became obsessed with the person of Scripture. Instead of being obsessed over the process by which God created, I became obsessed with the Creator himself.

Almost two years have passed and my life has been dramatically different every since. Prayer used to be something I thought of as a tool that would help me obtain the desires of my heart. Now I use prayer as a tool that helps me obtain the desires of God's heart. Grace is something I used to think I earned being the "good person" that I was. Grace is now something I realize I have only obtained because of God's unending mercy. Jesus used to be a person that I was called to be like. Now Jesus is the person that I love, adore, serve, and obsess over. He is my life.

Before this time my singing in worship was merely me repeating words and a rythem. From this point forward it became real. My faith was no longer just believing and doing certain things but became real. Religious practice from this point forward became the container of my faith, a way my faith could be expressed.

These days, I am not wanting to become a pastor to gain some spiritual jollies, to gain the approval of others, or to simply feel better about myself. I now wish to devote my life to full-time ministry because I can actually make a living out of telling others about Jesus. Leading others into true discipleship, seeing people grow spiritually, and sharing the Word of God has become my passion. Though my original intentions might not have been pure, studying Scripture and going to school for the ministry has given me a desire for ministry. To put it simply, I was called, I obeyed for the wrong reasons, and now my reasons have changed.

When I prayed that prayer, in the midst of my suffering, I surrended my life to God. I wish I could have freely given my idols to him, but I thank God that he acted in my inaction. The Christian life truly is a life to be lived, not simply a religion to be practiced. Oh what a joyous thing to be unapologetically obessed with the person and work of Jesus Christ!

I wanted to do something different for this blog, I simply wanted to list a bunch of Scripture references pertaining to Jesus being the Son of God. These first references are Old Testament prophecies of Jesus future coming.

Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

Genesis 12:1-3: "Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father‟s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Genesis 49:10: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people."

Numbers 24:17: "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel…"

Deuteronomy 18:15: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me [Moses] from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear."

2 Samuel 7:12-16: "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."‟"Psalm 8, 16, 22, 45

Psalm 2: 7-9: "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, „You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter‟s vessel.""

Psalm 110:1-4: "The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Isaiah 53:6: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12: "Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; so shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Daniel 7:13-14: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."

Micah 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

Zechariah 12:10: "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

And now for some New Testament teachings.

Matthew 1:18-23: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Matthew 3:17: "And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Matthew 8:29: "And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"

Matthew 11:27: ""All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Matthew 16:16: "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

John 1:1, 14, 18: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared Him."

John 1:1-18: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, „He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.‟" And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

John 10:30: "I and My Father are one."

Philippians 2:5-11: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Colossians 1:13-22: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him,whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight."

1 Timothy 2:5-6: "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

Titus 2:13-14: "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

Hebrews 1:1-3: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Very often Christians are seen as condemning, hateful, and intolerant of other people's beliefs and disbeliefs. Many have said the God of the Bible is an unjust, wrathful dictator who punishes those who do not deserve it. As a result, Christians are seen as bigots who believe we are a corrupt people, actually deserving of this wrath.

If this is your belief, let me disagree with you. I do not like the idea of hell. I do not want to be intolerant, I would much rather be accepting and encouraging. I'd much rather welcome all belief systems with open arms and simply say, "God will welcome your commitment to your faith, whatever faith that might be."

However, I cannot do this. I cannot tell a person he is well when he is dying. I cannot go against what I believe to be true and lie about whether there not being future damnation. I'd much rather the world to be perfect, free from pain, misery, and death. Why would I want to cause even more by believing in and warning others about hell? I do not want to cause even more pain and agony.

I cannot deny what I believe to be true. Against my wishes, I do believe there is a literal and eternal place called hell. I believe that only those who are perfect will not go there, and thus, all of us deserve hell for our imperfection. Against my wishes to simply being in denial, I must accept that hell is what we deserve. Heaven is what I would much rather deserve but the only one who deserves heaven is the one who created it. Thankfully, we, who are enemies of God, can be adopted into the family of God.

We are but hungry orphans in a dying world. God offers us the chance to enter into his family. There is nothing we can do to make it up to God, as an orphan might as well give pocket change to his adoptive father in repayment. How can a deptor repay an impossible dept? God needs nothing from us but desires our love. Our rightful place is to be far from God but he has loved us enough to humble himself to the point of dying for us.

With all of this said, it is not bigatry, intolerance, or hatefulness that I mention hell. I only mention hell because I fear what eternity is in front of the people I encounter, and because I rejoice in the fact that God has made a way out.

Through reading a book Nehemiah, one can see a model that we should all follow regarding having and following a God given vision. Nehemiah, when hearing the need of his people, says in 1:4, "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." God called him to a specific task and he carried it out (to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem). He was placed in such a position in life that God had provided a way for that action to be carried out.

What Nehemiah experienced is what I hope to experience. I know that, just as Nehemiah, I have been shaped for a purpose. My experiences, abilities, and passions are not in vain, and I know God will use those to his advantage, I only seek to know what for. I want to see the artistic masterpiece that God is creating, but I've only seen portions of it.

As it is, I know I want to minister in an area of the United States that is not in the Bible Belt, likely somewhere up north between Seattle and New York (at least I narrowed it down to half of the US). I have now seen the need in New York for Gospel-centered churches, and I literally weep over that city. Scripture says of Jesus in Luke 19:41 "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it." I still have not been given my Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that I am supposed to bear my cross for.

Even though I have wept over New York City and mourn for its lack of faith in Christ, I'm not sure if I'm specifically called to that one city. I desperately desire a city that I too can weep over like Jesus and rebuild like Nehemiah. I pray that God will open my eyes to a place that I can marry, a city that I can love, build up, and give my life to in devotion.

[For clarification purposes to those who do not know, I wish to start my own church one day (if not more than one)]

Here is a blog from my school about what my group has been doing the past week. We are constantly updating the site.

And sorry I haven't been writing much here, free time is something I have a little amount of.

Today was my first day in New York City and I thought I'd share my thoughts throughout my journey. The thought that consumed my mind the most is, "Even with these great works of man, all of it is vanity if they do not know Christ." Many of you will not understand my thoughts here, especially those who do not know Christ, but I thought I'd share them regardless.

I came to New York in the hope to not only minister to these people but to find out what God would have me to do with my life. I've heavily considered starting churches in urban areas so what better way to find this out than help a serve a church plant in the the greatest urban center in the United States?

With regards to the thought of trying to start a church in a city like New York, my initial thought is simply being overwhelmed. How can I, a boy from the small town of Mullins, South Carolina do anything to help these people? I've now walked Times Square barely even able to walk due to the multitudes of people. What can I do for them? If I made it my goal in life to help these people, how would I even start? Would it not just be easier for me to become a pastor of a small country church? That would be good enough, wouldn't it? I still would be serving after all.

That was my initial thought. However, my heart broke for these people. After looking at the dazed looks of people in the subways, after looking at the vulgar advertisements at every turn, after looking at the thousands of people looking the the great sights of New York, my heart was torn apart. These people do not know Christ! How could I live a life of "Southern comfort" when there are millions of people in one city alone who are going to die and spend eternity in hell? How can I live a life with my biggest worry being how to stop people arguing about the color of the carpet in the church?

I can and will not live my life in peace unless I know I am being faithful to the call that God has called of me. I cannot bare to stay in the "Bible belt" with people who are apathetic to the Gospel message when there are people who need to hear the message of Christ crucified. These people need to hear and be transformed by the Gospel.

Today, it was not seeing the Statue of Liberty from miles away that inspired me. It was not the Empire State building that made me want to be a better person. It was not Times Square that entertained me. It was the multitudes of people who are heading straight to hell that drove me to compassion. People can do some wonderful things, but none of it of any worth apart from Jesus Christ.

Oh what a struggle this is! Why would God not put a simple life in front of me? But God responds, "simple like my Son's?" Why does God not convict me to stay home? But God responds, "Because others need to hear the gospel." Why me Lord, why not someone else? But God responds, "Who else will go?" Lord, I do not know and that is why I must.

I hope this simple writing has been an inspiration to you. I have not done much serving today but I certainly have been convicted. Pray God will work miracles this week. :)

Being raised in rural South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union immediately before the Civil War, I have gained a rather horrid distaste for slavery. Also being a Christian, I have always been bothered by the use of slavery within the Bible. Does God support something as oppressive and immoral as slavery? Slavery in the New World often times meant the inevitability of being raped and abused, was it the same way for the Early Church and Israel? Are we in this age more "morally evolved" than our descendants? Such questions have always plagued me. Because of this wonder, I've decided to research the topic a little and share my findings (in other words, combine a lot of my resources especially from gotquestions.org and The Reason for God by Tim Keller).

The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery. It gives instructions on how slaves should be treated (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1), but does not outlaw slavery altogether. Many have seen this to mean that the Bible authorizes all forms of slavery. What many fail to understand is that slavery in biblical times was very different from the slavery that was practiced in the past few centuries in many parts of the world. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was more a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters.

The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. In the United States, many black people were considered slaves because of their nationality; many slave owners truly believed black people to be inferior human beings. The Bible most definitely does condemn race-based slavery. Consider the slavery the Hebrews experienced when they were in Egypt. The Hebrew were slaves, not by choice, but because they were Hebrews (Exodus 13:14). The plagues God poured out on Egypt demonstrate how God feels about racial slavery (Exodus 7-11). So, yes, the Bible does condemn some forms of slavery. At the same time, the Bible does seem to allow for other forms. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

In addition, both the Old and New Testaments condemn the practice of "man-stealing" which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: "Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death" (Exodus 21:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, slave-traders are listed among those who are "ungodly and sinful" and are in the same category as those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, adulterers and perverts, and liars and perjurers (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God's gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. A person who has truly experienced God's grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible's prescription for ending slavery.

Social historian Rodney Stark states, "Although it has been fashionable to deny it, anti-slavery doctrines began to appear in Christian theology soon after the decline of Rome were accompanied by the eventual disappearance of slavery in all but the fringes of Christian Europe. When Europeans subsequently instituted slavery in the New World, they did so over strenuous papal opposition, a fact that was conveniently 'lost' from history until recently. Finally, the abolition of New World slavery was initiated and achieved by Christian activists."

Christians began to work for abolition not because of some general understanding of human rights, but because they say it as violating the will of God. Older forms of indentured servant-hood and bond-service of Biblical times had often been harsh, but Christian abolitionists concluded that race-based, life-long slavery, established through kidnapping, could not be found in alignment with Biblical teaching. Christian activists such as William Wilberforce in Great Britain (btw, the movie about him entitled Amazing Grace is amazing), John Woolman in America, and many others devoted their entire lives, in the name of Christ, to ending slavery. At the same time the slave trade was so financially rewarding that many within the church greedily sought to justify it.

When the abolitionists finally had British society ready to abolish slavery across the empire, many in the colonies said the price of commodities would skyrocket catastrophically. This did not deter the abolitionists. The House of Commons agreed to compensate the planters for all freed slaves, a sum which equaled to half of all the British government's annual budget. The Act of Emancipation passed in 1933, and the costs were so high to the British people that some have referred to the voluntary abolition of slavery in Britain as "voluntary econocide."

Many have tried to understand why so many political figures would act so selfishly to do away with the act. Why self-interest would they have in this act of abolition? Rodney Stark has argued that the only reason why this sacrificial behavior ever took place was because it was Christian leaders who were in the forefront of this movement. Many within Christianity had allowed this inhuman behavior to continue but being the "repentant religion" that Christianity is, many sought to correct this move.

Very much related to this topic, Martin Luther King Jr. realized that it was behaving more like a Christian would do away with such things as racial injustice. He believed that it was a deeper and truer Christianity that would help change the face of America. David L. Chappell believes that the Civil Rights was primarily a religious and spiritual movement as opposed to simply political. He argues that white Northern liberals who were the allies of the African-American civil rights leaders were not proponents of civil disobedience or of a direct attack on segregation. Because of their secular belief in the goodness of human nature, they thought that education and enlightenment would bring about inevitable social and racial progress. Black leaders were instead much more rooted in the Biblical understanding of the sinfulness of the human heart and in the denunciations of injustice that they read in the Hebrew prophets. The Civil Rights movement was a religious revival.

Alright, many might have read what I've stated and say, "What of the passages in Scripture that seem to be in favor of slavery?" What do you do with passages like Ephesians 6:5 which states, "slaves obey your masters"? Many times when people come across a passage like this they immediately disregard the Bible completely without understanding the text.

Often times when a passage like this seems so offensive, consider that it might not actually teach what it appears to be teaching. Many texts people find like this can be cleared up with a decent commentary that puts the issue into its historical context. Ephesians 6:5, for example, is often immediately understood in our culture to be parallel with the African slave trade, human trafficking, and sexual slavery practiced in many places today. To believe this is simply ignoring the cultural context of that passage.

In the first-century Roman empire, when the New Testament was written, there was not a great different between slaves and the average free person. Slaves were not distinguishable from others by race, speech, or clothing. They looked and lived like everyone else, and were not segregated from the rest of society in any way. Financially, slaves made the same wages as free laborers, and therefore not usually poor. Slaves could even buy themselves out of slavery which almost always happened, very few slaves remained slaves for life. Most could reasonably hope to be released within ten or fifteen years, or by their late thirties at most. Also, these slaves were not owned completely but only their time and skills were owned by the master for a temporary amount of time. There was, in essence, no difference between a slave and servant (the word is actually the same - δουλος ). It must also be noted once again that when this form of servant-hood is in place, it must be done according to the moral teachings of Scripture so that none shall be oppressed.

Even with all of this said, many people still find this to be offensive. My advice in this respect is to simply consider that their problem with some texts might be based on an unexamined belief in the superiority of their historical moment above all others. To reject the Bible as regressive is to assume that they have now arrived at the ultimate historic moment. That belief is surely as narrow and exclusive as the views in the Bible that they regard as offensive. Essentially, I'm advising you all to beware of the thought that you have progressed above other cultures. In many ways, it is probably better that we do not have this type of servant-hood within our culture. However, being that we live in such an anti-servant culture, such a thought becomes offensive to us (to a fault). A common thought within this current historic moment is that we deserve to be served. Such a belief has caused us to detest the thought of all types of serving.

With that said, many would find that offensive and thus believe that I'm advocating slavery. By no means is that my intention! I'm merely expressing that just as Jesus came as a servant, we too should serve our fellow man and free the captives.

In the past I've had many people ask me my thoughts regarding the Young Earth Creationism and Evolution. I felt I'd write this to explain my position on the subject so I am not continually having to repeat myself.

To put it bluntly, I simply do not believe that the text of Genesis 1:1-2:4 is talking specifically about the age of the earth. Essentially, I believe the text deals more with the nature of God and how he has dealt with us than how he deals with the world - salvation history.

I do not believe the text is untrue, I just do not believe the focus is in the right place when we try to argue something as irrelevant to salvation history as the age of the earth. Sure, the earth might be 6000 years old or whatever numbers evolutionists come up with but at the end of the day, I do not believe it matters when it comes to the text.

The text is about salvation history and how God has dealt with man. The most important thought that can be gained from that text is simply, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In that creation, God made man whom He blessed."

The first part is obvious but the latter part is not, at least to many people in churches today. Often times when you see a text that says "God blessed them/him" it is saying that God gave them salvation which comes through Christ, they were given "Life." Genesis 1:22 states that God blessed these people in the garden. Genesis 2:7 later says that God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." I do not believe that this is when God literally made man become physically alive but that God gave them true Life - a relationship with Himself. God may very well have literally give Adam living breath in that moment but I do not believe that is the main point. I do not believe this text is translated very well, Adam was made into a Living being, not simply a living being.

Adam was given true Life, relationship with the Father, which is only gained through God's grace. However, he lost that Life by sinning against God which would eventually lead to his physical death. Thankfully, this is not the end of the story, in Genesis 3:15 God made a promise of salvation through Jesus, "And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Romans 16:20 also interprets this passage in this way, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you."

Through this seed or descendant promised to Eve, who would eventually become God incarnate, God will crush the head of Satan. Have you ever wonder why Eve was so happy when she bore a child? Genesis 4:1-2 states, "Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, 'With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.'" I do not believe she was simply excited about the fact that she had a child but she believed she had bore the Savior. Cain was not the Savior but a murderer. Only after many more promises (to Abraham, to David, etc.) did God bring about this seed who would be the Savior who would be Jesus Christ.

I simply do not believe one is reading Scripture correctly when one tries to argue unimportant things as the age of the earth. It's about God and his gracious blessings upon us. I do not care if any of you are Young Earth Creationists or Theistic Evolutionists so long as you have the priorities of the text in order. My hope is that people on either side of the field spend as much devotion to the rest of Scripture as this specific text.

Now as for whether I believe the earth is young or old, I've already established that I do not believe Scripture's intention is to teach us such a thing. As for my opinion on the subject of age, I'm not sure. I will say, however, that I do not believe the earth is only 6,000 years old but likely older. However, that is not to say that I accept everything taught within Evolution. I have some issues with the thought that all life descended from a single organism but I do agree species can change over time (though possibly limited in how much it can change). At the end of the day when it comes to the age of the earth and evolution, I do not know.

A major type or style of preaching that has been very popular recently is called narrative preaching. The essential idea is that through the telling of stories, you teach concepts in Scripture. There may be some good things about this type but often it teaches very little doctrine and is not as applicable as some other types.

Christocentric preaching takes this way of preaching and adapts it. Instead of simply preaching the David and Goliath story with the idea that "you too can defeat your giants," christocentric preaching instead would say, "Like David against impossible odds gained victory over Goliath, Jesus against impossible odds gained victory over death."

This christocentric preaching seeks to compare Old Testament narratives to the Grand Narrative. Essentially, show how one event in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of something to come. This way of going about teaching the Scriptures does essentially what Jesus did in Luke 24:27, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." Such preaching is designed to "open the Scriptures" as verse 32 later says. Luke 24:45 says that in this event, "He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." From Jesus' perspective, they knew the Scriptures but never grasped the essential character of that text, himself!

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus states, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." In many ways, it seems as though many preachers do just that; they either refuse to acknowledge these fulfillments when preaching or they refuse to acknowledge the Scriptures fulfill anything. I wonder how many times I've listened to a pastor preach an Old Testament text and never once mention how the New Testament speaks of that exact passage. The text is about Jesus!

As an example, how could we ever preach Isaiah 6 without mentioning Jesus? A portion of that text (6:1-6) states, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.'"

Many pastors will preach this text and speak of how holy God is, how great and awesome he is, etc. but why do we never mention Jesus here? In John 12 immediately after Jesus quoted another section of Isaiah 6, he states in verse 41, "Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him." This text is about Jesus! In fact, all of Scripture is about the glorious holiness of Jesus Christ.

So many "religious people" study Scripture earnestly seeking to find God's grace through it, but we often forget that it is through Jesus Christ as spoken of in that word that we are saved. John 5:39 states, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me." It is not through our own works, our rituals, or even our beliefs that Scripture is true that we gain salvation but purely the grace of Jesus Christ. He alone gives salvation and He alone can change our hearts, minds, and attitudes.

How sad it is that I so often seeing people claiming that they are Christians and yet believe they are right with God simply because they do the right stuff. They believe that through a high moral standard, becoming holy, reading Scripture, going to church, doing ministry, and telling people about Jesus that they are saved. No, as Ephesians 2:8-9 states, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Not by our vain attempts do we become right with God but solely through repenting before Jesus Christ - of our sin and of our pride. All Scripture attests to the miraculous work of Jesus and only through Jesus do we gain salvation.