Discovering the Real Jesus in Monroe

(MCCC)

Charles Kraft is an anthropologist who taught at Michigan State University and now teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Years ago Kraft wrote a book called Christianity With Power: Your Worldview and Your Experience of the Supernatural. Kraft’s book, which I read in 1989, influenced me a lot. Here’s how.

While believing in God, my life experiences in church settings rarely exposed me to supernatural activity. Most of the things I saw in church could be attributed to human expertise and human fallibility. The church as I saw it was, largely, human, all too human. Yet when I read the Christian Scriptures I was exposed to realities that could not be attributed to mere human abilities. Did the things I read, e.g., in the New Testament, actually happen? Did they still happen today? If they happened in the past, why aren’t they happening now? And if they happen now, why aren’t I seeing them?

My academic training did not prepare me for the supernatural. My dad was an engineer, and when I entered college I declared metallurgical engineering to be my major. When I chose to follow Jesus at age 21, I changed my major to philosophy because, to me, that’s where the big questions of life were being asked and talked about. My studies were in areas of empirical and analytic philosophy, not exactly areas affirming of supernatural things. I was trained in being a reductionist, which means I learned how to reduce any candidates for miracles to the language of sense experience. In other words, I thought that if you can’t see it, smell it, touch it, taste it, or hear it, then it can’t be real.

Charles Kraft thought the same way I did. Until he began to encounter things that could not be explained within the narrow worldview of empiricism. Kraft actually saw some people he knew healed, which challenged his naturalistic worldview. He writes of these things in his book, and brilliantly explains the notion of “worldview” and the explanatory power of worldviews.

I was fascinated as I read Kraft on all of this, and found that some of my experiences paralleled his. Now, almost 20 years later, I can say that I have seen many miraculous things like, e.g., people being healed of diseases, that I easily conclude my naturalistic worldview was wrong.

This makes all the difference for me as I approach Christmas. I now believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, omnitemporal being called God. I believe this omni-God came to earth in human form to communicate his love for us. To me, among the world’s religions, this remains the most sensible idea; viz., that instead of humans trying to figure out God, God has reached down to us.

I have a very high expectation level in these days in terms of God-with-us (also called “Emmanuel”). God is with us. God is with you. You were made by God and for God. God loves you. Embrace him. And discover that your existence and experience need not be any longer confined to a narrow empiricist worldview.

[One more philosophical thing. It simply cannot logically be true that the only things that are true are things you can see, smell, taste, touch, or hear. Here's why. Consider this statement: The only things that are true are things that you can see, smell, taste, touch and hear. Now, is that statement true? You can't see, smell, taste, touch, or hear the truth of that statement? Therefore it cannot be true, logically, because it's self-refuting. This kind of narrow empiricism, called Logical Positivism, was refuted early in the 20th century.]

Since the final exam for my Logic course is a week from today I’m posting this as a warning to my students that this kind of argument won’t work for two reasons: a) the informal fallacy it commits; and 2) astrological signs have no causal efficacy.

The story as I remember it brings the alien Klaatu (beautifully rendered by Michael Rennie) to earth, in love and in power. We fearful, threatened earthlings misunderstnad and kill Klaatu. Klaatu’s powerful robot, Gort, gets angry. Love has been rejected. Power gets exerted. Earthlings are about to get hurt.

The power of Gort is power restrained by the love and wisdom and curiosity of Klaatu. If Klaatu is the Gospels, Gort is the Apocalypse. If Klaatu is the Son, Gort is the Four Horsemen. Or, Gort is God. Instead of applying a final solution after Klaatu dies, Gort raises Klaatu from the dead.

In “Day” you had to wait to see Gort. This made the film better. “Day” takes the road less traveled, which is: delay gratification. Then, unlike “Waiting for Godot,” Gort shows up. When he does, the earth and every kid watching the movie stood still. It was a holy moment pierced by arguably the most famous words any extraterrestrial ever said - “Gort, Klaatu barada nikto.” Klaatu barada nikto. I wonder how many others never forgot those words? “Say them to Gort,” Klaatu tells the earthling Helen, “should I die.” “Gort - stop - don’t kill anybody!”

As a kid I felt less interested in love and wanted to see power break forth. It’s not fair to crucify pure innocence. When this happens there’s the desire for revenge. But my inability to let love rule and win places me among the fearful, non-trusting earthlings who cry out “crucify him!” I wanted Gort to wipe us all out because we deserve it. Instead, because “Klaatu barada nikto,” apocalpyse got delayed, and there’s a resurrection instead. It’s a great story, isn’t it? A story that has stayed with me through the years.

Next Friday the remake opens, and I’m hoping it gets the story right.

Part of my Christmas in Monroe always includes a visit to the home of Gary and Linda Wilson and Gary’s annual Christmas Art Show. Gary is one of Monroe’s great local artists, and long-time professor of Art at MCCC.

On display and for slae are many of his creations, from wall sculptures to “pots” like you’ve never seen before to beautful mugs and much more.

Gary and Linda’s son is Darren Wilson, professor at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. Copies of Darren’s “Finger of God” (Deluxe Edition), normally for $50 at amazon.com, will be on sale for $40.

It is a 5 DVD boxed set that has a copy of Finger of God (a refurbished, technically “cleaner” version) as well as 4 other DVD’s of footage he had filmed that didn’t make the movie. Darren had over 100 hours of film so you know there was alot of good stuff that wasn’t included. Each DVD has a “theme” and they are broken down as follows:

- Disc 1 - miracle stories
- Disc 2 - ”Theology” - answering many questions regarding what God is doing around the world.
- Disc 3 - ”Extra Footage” (raw footage from the streets as it happened)
- Disc 4 - ”Teachings and Miscellaneous” - some things that just don’t have a category
- Disc 5 - a refurbished copy of the movie “Finger of God” 

WHERE: At the home of Gary and Linda Wilson

327 S. Macomb

734-241-6721

On Dec. 7-8 Hal Ronning, Director of the Home for Bible Translators of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, comes to speak at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Monroe.

Sunday evening, 6 PM - “The Relation of the Old Testament to the New Testament”

Monday morning, 10 AM - “Archaeology and the Bible”

Monday evening, 6:30 PM - “The Jewish Background of the New Testament”

No charge - a love offering will be taken as a gift to Hal.

The Home for Bible Translators and Scholars, Inc. (HBT) is a nonprofit ministry supporting translators and scholars from around the world to deepen their knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. The Home offers a six-month study program especially designed for Bible translators and consultants. The program is offered in partnership with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Hebrew University is fully accredited with about 25,000 students.

Since 1995, the Home for Bible Translators has trained over 80 Bible translators and scholars from 29 countries representing 53 languages. Through God’s strength, these translators, and their teams, will make it possible for over 45 million people to read the Old Testament in their own language.

(Monroe)

This Thursday morning I’ll be giving a seminar called “What Happens When You Add Fasting to Prayer.”

9:30-11 AM.

Redeemer Fellowship Church

5305 Evergreen

Monroe, MI

734-242-5277

 Last week Linda and I went to Subway. “What would you like?” asked the young man behind the counter?

“A tuna sub on honey oat bread.”

“What would you like on it?”

“Swiss cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, extra hot peppers, oil and vinegar.”

He then asked me, “Do you know who you sound like?”

“No.”

“Chuck Norris.”

I thought, to this kid I sound like Chuck Norris. I felt a warm feeling inside. I felt bigger, taller, stronger, more dangerous, more capable. And the only words I said were the ingredients of a sandwich.

Since then I’ve talked out loud while driving alone, just listening to the sound of my voice. A few times I’ve thought, “I do sound like Chuck Norris.” I speak, and my enemies tremble.

Go here.

There’s a nice article in today’s Toledo Blade on Monroe native Darren Wilson’s film “Finger of God.”

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”

- Hebrews 2:18

We’re not in control. Agreed? Things we don’t control include: the global economy, what’s happening in India today, what’s happening in Bangkok today, other people, our own addictions, the weather, the common cold, gas prices, nations, the past, the future, most of what’s happening now, and death. Because these things are fundamentally out of our control or anyone’s control, attempts to control them sometimes get ugly, such as when we try to control other people.

All these uncontrollable things shift and move beneath our feet and before our eyes and make life uncertain. Sometimes the very foundations of our life get shaken and we get fearful. This has happened to me and will happen again, I am certain.

Many years ago my life was shaken. “I” was out of control. My choices and their results left me in a fearful condition. It was then that I looked to Christ. And something inside me shifted. The shift was from a heart that trusted in fundamentally uncontrollable things to life in a “kingdom that cannot be shaken.” This shift has been, for me, THE event of my entire life. Now I spend most of my time seeking the kingdom of God, and studying the things of the kingdom, and looking to God for strength to live these things out. I’m not the perfect kingdom citizen. But, like others I know, I’m the recipient of God’s kingdom. The result is that I am thankful. And it causes me to “worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”