Reasonable Advice Questions for Top!

[Knight Fisher]

*is writing about hate and love*

Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

I had to

It isn't actual hate persay. More like we don't like each other. Well actually it's basically we get really pumped up about it to make it lots more fun. And then that transfers over into life when someone is annoying about it.

[Marvin D.]

I would say just make sure you don't always think, "Oh boy, here comes the enemy!" and find yourself thinking that more and more. . .


. . .but I'm not Top.

[Musical Shutterbug]

Top, have you ever attempted to jump off of a roof or a very tall building for any of the following reasons?

A. To test gravity
B. To learn to fly
C. To impress a girl

[Whitty Whit]

Top. How many times have you injured yourself for the sole purpose of injuring yourself?

[The Top Crusader]

...and, I'm back to my regular posting schedule. I shouldn't have started this right before Christmas break. Now I can dedicate the love to this thread that it deserves!

How can I stop hating Packers fans?

By... remembering its just a game? But yes, here there can be problems with Steelers fans. It's stupid, because this is the western half of Ohio, but for some reason there are a lot of Steeler fans here. I understand the annoyance but that makes beating them (on those rare occasions ) all the better.

Top, have you ever attempted to jump off of a roof or a very tall building for any of the following reasons?

A. To test gravity
B. To learn to fly
C. To impress a girl

C. >_> I was at a party and there was a trampoline by a shed, so I used it to get on top of the shed then jumped off... but onto the trampoline. However in conclusion I do not think any girl was really impressed by this, but as many things in life go, you don't know unless you try. You would of course think that any girl would be very impressed by a guys ability to jump high by use of trampoline and then jump off of something, as this is a common trait females seek in males, and has many real world applications. It however was not meant to be.

Top. How many times have you injured yourself for the sole purpose of injuring yourself?

...well, never. But I can give a stupid injury story!

When I was a little kid my brother and I were playing on a play ground while my parents played tennis nearby, and we were chasing each other on this really tall slide (like the slide part was a tube that curled around), and it had metal steps leading up to the top at a pretty steep angle. Anyway, my brother is 7 years older than me and at the age of like 4 or whatever there was no way I could catch up to him, so I thought, while at the top, "hey, these steps leading up are really steep, and one time I slipped and slid back the bottom few steps back to the ground, and I was fine! And that was sliding BACKWARDS! If I go face first I will just like majestically slide down these steps on my feet, land at the bottom, and my brother will be shocked and I will catch him finally!!!"

So I tried that and basically plummeted into gravel below (we didn't have fancy mulch or rubber chips back then... they just used... gravel) and got all cut up and banged up and even had an out of body experience (I saw myself lying there from above momentarily--dunno if it was just a dream after being knocked unconscious or what). But ha I got my brother!

But I had to go to the hospital and stuff which wasn't really fun. I wasn't seriously injured though, fortunately. I could have easily broken bones (which is why my parents took me to the hospital) but I was just bruised and bloodied.

[Monty]

Monty refuses to return to this thread.

I apologize for my delay. I believe I have figured out the answer to my question based on the follow-up questions you provided.

What do you consider the three most meaningful experiences in your life?

[The Top Crusader]

For further reading of Top's exciting views on random things, be sure to check out: http://www.thetoo.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=28830

Monty refuses to return to this thread.

I apologize for my delay. I believe I have figured out the answer to my question based on the follow-up questions you provided.

Yeah I was slow to get back to this thread until now, anyway, so it's all good. I am glad if my follow-up questions provided the answer which you seek.

What do you consider the three most meaningful experiences in your life?

It's hard to narrow it down to three precise moments, but I can maybe go with... themes or something.

It may in a way be cliche but for any follower of Christ, their decision to become a Christian is obviously a top priority. I do remember the moment in which I accepted the gift of salvation as very young child, so that has to be number one, although I think being saved at a young age and being raised in a Christian home is a bit of a double-edged sword--it's great to make that commitment early on, and its great to have that spiritual backing in life from family and friends, but at the same time, I think it can mean a little less to a young person to be a Christian if they have never really experienced life without Christ.

I can not pin point any precise moment, but I know in my junior year of high school or so I definitely underwent a spiritual change for the better. While I never RENOUNCED MY FAITH or backslid completely or anything, I had been raised in a good Christian home, a good church, and went to a Christian school, so it was easy to take the gift of salvation for granted. It was at that time that I re-evaluated my life and purposed myself to live by more Christian convictions and I had a new appreciation for what I had. I also was more thankful for being blessed with the family, church, and school that I was.

Secondmost would be my wife easily, but again, I'm not sure how to narrow that to a moment. The moment someone accidentally sent me a PM on the Town Hall that was meant for her and we joked about being each others "other half"? The moment we met? The moment we got engaged? The moment we got married? Err... I could link to threads about all those things, probably. The point is of course that I was very fortunate to have Jessica put in my life and frankly I don't know how she puts up with my eccentric personality. I mean... THE TOP CRUSADER online isn't really far removed from me in real life, I pretty much live in my own sitcom, so it takes a very special lady to be able to handle that. The circumstances surrounding us ever even getting to know each other is basically proof enough to me that God is real and God is good.

Third... I love my family, I really do. I visit my parents more often then I have to. But... "a friend sticketh closer than a brother". I have the best friends in the world, ever. If you disagree we must FIGHT TO THE DEATH! To attach a moment to this, I would say the moment my parents decided to send me to the private Christian school that I spent all 13 years, kindergarten through senior year at. I made all my best friends there. My best friend I had in K5 I still talk to on an almost daily basis (well, or email or text or something) and he was the best man in my wedding. Other friends I didn't meant until first grade, and they were two other groomsmen in my wedding and guys that I talk to and still hang out with on a regular basis, over two decades after meeting. Others didn't start going to the school until junior high or high school, but they are all near and dear to my heart and we've all been to and in each others weddings (I even stood in for the mother of one of them and lit his unity candle because his mother couldn't be at his wedding) and all been major parts of each others lives, through good times and bad, even through funerals, and I'm glad we aren't like some people who didn't stay in touch after graduation. Some of our group have moved away and we mostly have families of our own and such so for some of us there is less time to be in contact and spend time together as their used to be... but even if a year or so goes by, when we are together its like we never missed a moment.

...you know, I think one of the main reasons I have always been sour on home schooling is because if I had been homeschooled, I would never have met this great crew of guys who have gotten me through many of life's hardships.

[American Eagle]

Do your real life friends and acquaintances think of you the same way the average ToOer does?

If you could make $100,000 doing any one of your current jobs, and quit the others, which one would you choose?

[The Top Crusader]

Do your real life friends and acquaintances think of you the same way the average ToOer does?

...well, you'd have to define how the average ToO think of me. If you mean DISGUST and HATRED, then yes! But I do think my real life friends think of me in the same way as I at least feel I overall convey myself on the ToO. When we get together there is lots of weird ideas and comments flying back and forth, and our serious discussions tend to have lots of punchlines thrown in. As for acquaintances, that aren't close friends, I have roughly the same sense of humor with them but I tend to be a lot more laid back and less hyperactive around people I don't know really well.

If you could make $100,000 doing any one of your current jobs, and quit the others, which one would you choose?

Eh, assuming I have to pick a REAL job, and "author with a vague story in the back of the mind that may be written SOME DAY; meanwhile, video games" doesn't count, I overall enjoy working IT at my beloved Christian school which I attended my entire school career. My only significant problem with it most days is they aren't exactly ROLLING IN MONEY so they can only give me so many hours and while I do go over them frequently, since I have other jobs to do elsewhere I have a limit to which I can do that. I would love to be paid enough that I could focus full time on them and do a better job. With that kind of money I'd take night classes and refresh my skills a bit with newer technology as well, since some things I'm a little clueless about or have to do a lot of Googling to figure out. Working in Christian education is very rewarding, though.

I like my library job a lot as well and if they offered me that kind of money I'd be pretty happy. I'd probably go back to school for them as well, I have worked there a lot longer (11 or so years in total, in different positions), and would be thrilled working only there.

But yeah, given that choice I'd probably pick the school. Libraries work is cool but I have fun working with students and the staff is fun and I enjoy the Christian environment after working directly with inner-city library patrons for about 7 or 8 years of my library working time.

All that being said, if the Christian university I worked at for 6 years magically reopened, I think I'd pick that. >_> But going on CURRENT work, the school.

But yeah I like all my current and recent jobs so its a really tough thing to pick.

[American Eagle]

"author with a vague story in the back of the mind that may be written SOME DAY; meanwhile, video games"

Good answers. I like both of your jobs.

So do you hide your kids in the basement, or do you and Jessica really not have any?

[Knight Fisher]

I have won the astonishing game. Am I safe from Goombas?

[Marvin D.]

*adds another question*

What is your view on the Rapture?

[The Top Crusader]

So do you hide your kids in the basement, or do you and Jessica really not have any?

Most of the younger ToO members are actually our children.

But otherwise, we really don't have any. >_>

I would say once we move out of our tiny apartment the possibility of having children would increase to some extent. I am the youngest in my family and if I IMMEDIATELY THIS MOMENT CONCEIVED A CHILD I would be older than my dad was when I was born by the time my first child was born. I think the fact of my age makes me sort of want to have kids, however I don't think not wanting to be an old father is the best reason to have children, so...

I have won the astonishing game. Am I safe from Goombas?

I am proud of your achievement! You are safe for now. However the makers of the game have promised Version 2.0 will be out by April, so once the new release is out (a couple new characters added to choose from, new powerups added, lots and lots of alternate skins), you will be in danger once again. After THAT update the promise to do completely new levels (Well, not NEW new, just as the current version replications Super Mario Bros. in its entirety, they will also add Super Mario Bros. 2 [the Japanese version that was basically an expansion of the original, not the Super Mario Bros. 2 that we got in the United States] for players to have a new challenge), as well which will be pretty cool but that is an unknown amount of time down the road.

*adds another question*

What is your view on the Rapture?

Ah, good question.

I will give the "at work, don't have time to look things up" version...

To this day there is certainly degrees of disagreement on End Times related things, and specifically the rapture, however the rapture HAS become a very common and popular view... I don't have stats at hand but in my experience it seems to be very widely accepted and the majority of evangelical Christians agree at least with the basic premise of the rapture. It is important to note, however, that our current interpretations of both the End Times as a whole as well as the rapture are all relatively new in the grand scheme of things. What we call the rapture wasn't even thought of or taught until the 1800's, and there has always been significant debate among church fathers if the book of Revelations should even be included at all (Martin Luther, for one, was against the inclusion of the Revelation of St. John). Of course, the concept of the rapture isn't even found in Revelations, but in Paul's letters, and both Jesus and the old testament prophet Daniel and I believe others discuss the End Times. I point out the issues with Revelations just to show that basically all concepts of the end of the world have been heavily debated forever and only recently has a consensus (which still meets with disagreement from a fair number) come into being.

While some would say its all very allegorical in nature and not to be taken literally, I have come to be very open to a lot of the popular end time theories as it pertains to a world leader such as the antichrist and such, however I am not convinced that things will occur the way it seems 90% of current Christian teachings make them out to seem.

It may not be the best argument, but if things occur exactly like all the novels and such have said, and there is a big rapture of all the Christians, I just don't think the antichrist would be able to take hold because it would just be too obvious that what was going on was exactly like what everyone had been saying--therefore unsaved people who had decent knowledge of typical Christian lore and the Left Behind novels would totally see what was going on and it just... couldn't all happen as seemlessly as the Bible says it will.

I have also heard the simple argument that "Well, God wouldn't let His people suffer." A good friend of mine once told me that in a discussion on the subject recently. My answer is, "Okay. Look at Israel's history." Israel has had a wee bit of problems over the years, and even if you argue "Okay, but they were astray and God used a tragedy or attempted genocide to get them back on track." Fair point, I actually agree, but look at a specific example like Job. Job was totally a good guy doing the right thing. He lost everything. Ignore Job if you want, the apostles almost all met terrible persecution and death. Read Fox's Book of Martyrs. BAD THINGS GOING ON TO CHRISTIANS. The Bible is pretty clear that it rains on both the just and the unjust. I do think that in the End Times God's wrath will NOT be poured on the Christians and they will be spared from that, however I do believe that they will be present during the rapture and have to deal with the persecution of the powers of the world at that time.

Again, realize this isn't the best possible answer and I'm just going off the top of my head during a slow moment at work--feel free to ask for better specifics on things and I'll do my best to reply. I come to my view after considerable years of research, and while I don't expect everyone to just say, "Okay cool, I agree with you now." I do hope that I get people to really think about things and not be content to believe the "typical Christian response" on this issue or any other. I have come across many people who don't really even know their Bible, they just know what their parents and/or church taught on a certain matter--while those teachings had some biblical grounding generally, there are often other views that are just as grounded in scripture and I think its important for people to be open minded and willing to test their beliefs against different interpretations of scripture.

[Knight Fisher]

The Bengals are down by 17 with 5 minutes left in the 4th. Do you turn off the TV?

Mario or Donkey Kong?

Steelers or Ravens?

[The Top Crusader]

The Bengals are down by 17 with 5 minutes left in the 4th. Do you turn off the TV?

Never give up, never surrender. I admit there have been some just awful games where I might tune out for a half hour, but I always come back and am checking the score periodically. Once it gets down to under a minute if they are down by that much I may turn it off but... its hard to. I feel the need to suffer with my team.

Mario or Donkey Kong?

Mario. I was a staunch Mario fan since I was 5 or so. Donkey Kong only existed as Mario's enemy and prisoner in Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. respectively at that point in time. He didn't really come into his own until Donkey Kong Country when I was around 12 or so (and Jr. was in the first Mario Kart I guess)... and while I appreciate his efforts I have always been very loyal to Mario. Err... and as far as gameplay and not just characters, I've definitely enjoyed the main Mario games over the DKC series. DKC is fun, though, definitely.

Steelers or Ravens?

I... what... this is a horrible question.

Steelers have been around much longer, thus the rivalry with the Bengals goes back farther and is THAT OF LEGEND, so I guess the Ravens by default. The Ravens are really just Browns in a different outfit, and I don't like them either, though.

[Knight Fisher]

We should compile a list of the most disliked teams.

When was SMCrossover made?

How could you let 7 people join here before you?

[The Top Crusader]

When was SMCrossover made?

Eh, I forget. It might say on the website somewhere, I am thinking its close to a couple years old by now.

On that topic, VERSION 2 was just released... it has some really neat upgrades (two new characters plus different graphic options that mimic other NES games as well as Game Boy and Super Nintendo, also a bigger selection of weapons for characters that typically have a bigger arsenal), but some other things have changed that I'm not totally sold on yet. Now only Mario and Luigi can defeat enemies by jumping on them, instead of everyone like before. It just seems odd NOT to be able to jump on a goomba.



Here is a trailer, anyway!

How could you let 7 people join here before you?

I was here in the first few minutes, but I was on a semi-slow DSL connection at the same time.

Actually I had had an account prior to the board opening along with a handful of others but Shadowpaw deleted them all when it was officially opened so we didn't already have a bunch of posts and money (because money was a really cool thing right off the bat back then).

[Baragon]

What did you get your wife for her birthday?

[The Top Crusader]

What did you get your wife for her birthday?

A toilet seat warmer and a blue Yoshi.

[Whitty Whit]

If you had the chance to eat a hotdog with peanut butter, or a tomato and tuna sandwich, which would you eat?