"I was raised believing in God, there was never any problem with that aspect, but that never seemed to make a difference in my life style. At most I just feared dying because I knew I was going to go to hell. I was just living my life doing whatever my fancy was and trying to make myself happy any way possible (and hurting many people along the way). I started doing drugs pertty early on in life, around 11 or 12, and dove full force into them from there. That didn't seem to do anything for me except get me in a lot of trouble. As a result I spent most of my youth in and out of juvenile hall, spent 14 months in a group home for boys, and was on probation from the age of 12 to 18. Around the age of 16 I realized that drugs were not the way to go and I discovered the great outdoors. I began rockclimbing quite a bit and turned to that for my happiness. I unfortunately hurt my back pretty severly and I was unable to pursue my dreams of becoming a climber. After a short bout of drinking I decided to go to college. There I found science, and boy did I think I found what I was looking for! I decided I was going to save the world through science, but in the process I decided that science proved that God did not exsist and I was willing to argue it with anyone, and I did! I ran with this idea for quite some time and did away witht the idea of happiness because after all, I was just another organism trying to "eat, excrete, and reproduce" and happiness was just a human construct and by any means, relative. So there I was, an angry, disillusioned atheist. This went on for a time and led me nowhere. I worked, went to school, had my freinds and said I was content. Then I met a girl named Darcy. Darcy was unlike any person I had ever met. She was kind, sweet, genuine, and loving--Darcy was a Christian. We started dating and I thought things couldn't be better. But I soon found out that true happiness couldn't be found in other people either. So if all these things could bring contentment or happiness, then what could!?
Well I din't go looking for it thats for sure, because for one, I didn't even know I was looking for it! But one day for some reason (I would later realize it was God) I decided I wanted to read the Bible, so I asked Darcy to buy me one. As I read throught Psalms and Proverbs I discovered wisdom and knowledge and the perils of folly and sloth. Then I discovered the wisdom and love of Jesus Christ, but at this time I wasn't sure what to think of him. Darcy kept encouraging me and I kept reading and studying and even started to pray, even though I didn't know who I was praying to. Then one day it hit me, maybe I should ask God if he was real or not. So thats what i did, I asked. And you know what? I got an answer. God clearly and blatantly said yes, He was indeed very real. So, I didn't have much of a choice, when God tells you something, you got to believe it! Then I started a new school. I realized that the crowd I became involved in would be very fundamental in my future, so I sought out the Chriastian ministry on my new campus. There I met a man named Nate, and he became an important figure in my life. Nate explained to me why Jesus died on the cross to forgive my sins, and that without His sacrifice, there was no way I could be in fellowship with God. It was very soon after this that I asked Jesus to come into my life. I wanted a personal relationship with God, and I put my faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins.
I am still attending this college, Fort Lewis in Durango Co. I still love science, but my veiw of it has changed. I now see science as Gods masterpiece and it points me to Him even more. I am studying apologetics in my "freetime" and am a leader amoungst our students. I have started a skeptics bible study, an open safe environment for people to come ask questions about God, the Bible, Church and everything in between. I plan on attending seminary when I graduate to study to become a pastor and an apologist. My life is not easy, and things did not magically become perfect when I asked God into my life, but I know one thing for sure--it is a lot easier now and it is a work in progress! I know that what ever I am going through, Jesus walked there first, there is no temptation I have faced that Christ did not also face, and come through clean on the other side, and no matter what I am not alone because God is with me always, and he will never leave me nor forsake me. Today my joy and happiness comes from knowing that there is a God who loves me enough to come to Earth to live a life I could never live and die a death I should have died so that I should never have to be separated from his love! And as for Darcy, we are getting married July 23, 2011!"
Check out the interview I did with Joseph after he shared his faith for the first time here:
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