The Church of New Game Plus
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Sermon: How to Discover Your Main Quest
🕑 Added 2024-11-24 23:29:32 +0000 UTCI will update this with a video and podcast, my apologies the holidays have made things difficult.
GG's Church
How to Discover Your Main Quest?
I hope this message finds you well—and if it doesn’t, that’s okay too. We've reached another Sunday, which means it’s time for another message. My hope is that it inspires you, validates you, and gives you the strength to keep pushing forward.
Some of you may be wondering how we got here, both in your immediate life and existentially. While neither I nor the Church have a definitive answer, there are interpretations for you to explore. Ultimately, I hope you will choose your own.
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Where Are We?
First, we need to take a look at where we are. I've been following your messages in the advice and support channel on Discord. I see the struggles you’re going through, and some of you are being hit really hard right now.
The world isn’t in the best state either. Many of you come from Christian backgrounds, and it would be naïve to ignore how “end-times-y” everything feels.
We have wars in the Middle East.
Climate disasters are happening left and right.
People are making difficult decisions to separate from loved ones whose political ideologies threaten their safety.
Everywhere you look, there is pain and suffering. What’s even more frustrating is how often the villains in this MMORPG we call Being Human seem to thrive. Those who choose to grief the servers are rewarded with financial success, and their behavior is not only encouraged—it’s celebrated.
Our algorithms are infected with divisive rhetoric and complaints about wokeness, diversity, and inclusion. Instead of celebrating the beauty of the world, these voices amplify negativity.
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Why Does Suffering Persist?
One question we might ask is: Why?
Why, in a world with abundant resources—many renewable and readily available, in a world full of infinite beauty and possibility, in a world that could be a paradise—does suffering persist?
More importantly: What can be done to stop it?
And: From where do we draw the energy to try?
One of the greatest questions in existence is: Why is there something rather than nothing? I’d add: Why does that something have to include suffering?
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Possible Answers
When we look for answers, none feel entirely satisfying.
Christianity tells us that God, a perfect and all-knowing being, created the heavens and the earth. This decision directly led to the eventual existence of evil and suffering. Proponents often say free will is a gift, but I’ve wondered:
Why would a perfect being create anything at all if they were truly in need of nothing?
Why wouldn’t such a being create only those who would choose good?
And why give us a tool (free will) that they knew we’d misuse to harm each other?
Science tells us everything arose from nothing billions of years ago. Through evolution, life spontaneously emerged via the perfect mix of water, chemicals, and heat. Eventually, microbes became microbiologists. While I can understand gradual changes over billions of years, I struggle to accept the idea of something from nothing.
What we can all agree on, however, is this: Something exists.
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The Absurdity of Existence
Here’s the truth: As long as we’re here, asking the question, we’ll never truly be able to answer why we’re here.
This realization splits people into two groups:
1. Those who sit with the absurdity of existence.
2. Those who seek answers from others to make sense of it all.
In the Church of New Game Plus, one of our most sacred principles is Infinite Choice. We believe everyone has the right to define their own reason for being here, so long as it respects others’ interpretations.
This doesn’t mean interpretations won’t conflict, but we seek to find connection in those conflicts.
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Life as a Video Game
To me, life is best understood as a video game called Being Human.
Who created it? I don’t know—any more than a character in Baldur’s Gate 3 knows about Larian Studios.
Why was it created? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it’s an experiment by advanced intelligence, or perhaps it’s a game being played by future versions of ourselves.
What I do believe is that life is a video game, and this perspective helps me make sense of our current state of affairs.
Once we accept this, certain questions become less relevant—or their answers, though unpalatable, must be accepted:
Why are we here? Because we’re programmed to be.
What’s our purpose? Whatever you choose it to be.
Why is there suffering? Because of glitches in the code.
Where did the glitches come from? Perhaps, like biological evolution, the source code of existence is prone to errors.
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Your Main Quest
This brings us to today’s sermon: What are you going to do about it?
In non-linear games, we’re presented with a variety of quests to undertake. Life is no different. However, while video games have a limited number of quests due to programming constraints, life offers near-infinite possibilities:
Do you want to help solve world hunger?
Do you want to become rich and famous?
Do you want to escape and live in a cabin in the woods?
You alone have the power to dictate the narrative of your game—and with that power comes great responsibility, owed to no one but yourself.
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Finding Your Quest
How do you determine your main quest, especially if you’ve realized you were following one laid out by someone else?
The answer lies in your internal emotional system:
What activates your nervous system?
What injustice or unfairness angers or saddens you?
For me, it’s knowing so many gamers believe there’s something wrong with them—that they’re broken and need fixing. But the truth is, they’re doing their best to navigate a world that’s broken.
That’s why I started this Church: to bring people together, show them they’re not alone, and help them find connection and support.
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Small Steps
Often, when we choose a main quest, the sheer scope of the work can overwhelm us. The small steps we need to take can feel insignificant in the face of the larger goal.
But remember: Progress in games happens step by step. Life is no different.
Drink water.
Nourish your body.
Move, even a little.
Create spaces to rest, relax, and respawn.
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Final Thoughts
If this message helped you today, I invite you to join our Patreon and get involved in our community. Let’s create a sanctuary to level up and grow together.
Remember: You’re not alone, and this game isn’t single-player. Your community is waiting.
GG.
Comments
Derrick Hoard
I'm thankful I have so much to share.
Mike
I love reading all you share
Mike
This has been a good place for me. Covid got me. So I'm locked in a room for the last week.
AThievesEnd04
GGs. This one really resonated with me, I needed this! Thank you!
Derrick Hoard
Would you let people know on patreon that the semon is up?
Scar Rivers
Well said gg
