Posts Tagged ‘Supernatural’

PART FOUR- What on Earth is Supernatural?

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

On earth it seems that there are natural and supernatural happenings taking place. The earth is covered in vegetation, and as far as I can see it grows in a natural fashion, just as it was created to do. I have not heard of a tulip doing tricks, so lets move on.

Then upon the earth there are the animals, those who swim, fly and move along or under the ground. In my life I have had a pony, a cow, 10 dogs, 5 doves, 3 rabbits, 2 ferrets, 2 parrots, 1 guinea pig, a fish, and a cat. All of these animals were able to learn special tricks, except those with low brainpower (the fish, the cow and the cat). But I cannot say any of them proved supernatural. They only could be trained to do natural activities on command.

This brings us to the caretakers of earth, Human Beings (Gen. 2:15 “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” NIV). I believe humans are very different than other earth life. We have a soul, we can create from innovation not instinct, we wonder, reason, change, love, communicate at will. We are of the dust and yet possess a spirit. We long to be connected to a community and to a supernatural being, which I call God. In short Humans are physical beings and spiritual beings. We possess bodies, which will die and a soul that will not. We have physical limitations; we cannot fly, go in two directions at once, or live underwater. We have spiritual limitations, we cannot tell the future, read minds, know all things, or create from nothing. Humans are made in God’s image, but we are not gods. God does give supernatural gifts to his followers by his spirit, but these are for the common good read 1Cor. 12:7:

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines”. (NIV)

I do not at this point wish to discuss the gifts, only show that there are special gifts, from God’s Spirit, which brings good to the community.

I see no place, in the Bible, where any evil forces give supernatural powers to humans, mainly because they do not posses many themselves.

Often as I travel I hear stories about humans that have convinced people that they have supernatural abilities. The person talked about the most at the moment is Chris Angel from Mind-Freak. Chris is a great magician and actor, but has no special powers. I have met him, my son has had dinner with him and he himself, like most magicians, will tell you they are only entertainers. I invite you to watch Chris, on this video, try to prove this, with the help of a few magicians I know from Las Vegas.

I’ll let you think about this and I will continue this discussion next time.

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PART THREE – Saul and the Witch of Endor

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Part Three – Saul and the witch of Endor
“The Wizard of Oz” remains one of my favorite movies. It is the amazing journey of an orphan girl named Dorothy. In this movie there is a wicked witch of the west. As a child, she and her flying monkeys would send me into my mother’s protective arms. I loved it! But she was just a fake character in a classic movie.

In the Bible there is a real witch of the east living in Endor, which may or may not have had real powers.

Read the story from 1 Samuel 28:7-20:

“Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said. So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.” But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

OK stop here for a moment. If this witch has the ability to contact the dead, does it make any sense that a disguise would fool her? Just read Saul’s deceptive mind witchie-poo, unless of course you are a fake! Read on:

“Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”

Why on earth is Saul swearing by the Lord? Isn’t he doing something totally against the Lord. Don’t worry God is about to freak everyone out. Read on.

“Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

I must say this moment was a shock for everyone, even the so-called “witch”. Saul some how lost his disguise, the woman acts like this is the first time this has ever happened, which it most likely was. She calls Saul a deceiver and I say it takes one to know one. But God still has something to say. Read on.

“ The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.” “What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Wait a minute. Why is this witch so afraid? Why didn’t Samuel refer to the witch as the one who brought her up instead of Saul? Perhaps Samuel arrived despite the woman’s counterfeit life, because she didn’t know who it was. I think it was God sending a message to Saul through the request of Saul. Perhaps God was the first to use “instant messenger”. Samuel does not need to hear what is on Saul’s mind because he seems to already have a message ready from God. Read on.

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

Seven times Samuel speaks about the LORD. This passage isn’t about a witch, a deceptive king or a dead prophet speaking, it is about the LORD and his final message to Saul. Is that your final answer? YES! I must say Saul would have felt better to not get this message. I am most amazed that God would allow Samuel to be disturbed, and surprise everyone with this freak moment in time. No one expected it except God, the sender of the messenger and message. I love the fact, that Samuel says, see you tomorrow.

“Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night”.

So is she a witch? I doesn’t seem that see is able to actually talk to the dead, but she has deceived many to believe she could. This time see surprises herself. I believe she will be more careful next time. It is just not good for business if you let all your clients know that they are going to die the next day. No return customers . . . word gets around you know.

God has to get credit for this one I believe. If this was “myth-busters”, the witch myth would be BUSTED!

Dorothy in the “Land of Oz,” faces a supernatural wizard. She is standing next to a scarecrow with no brain, a tin man with no heart and a lion with no courage. There is fire and smoke, then the all-knowing and all-powerful appears. But he was just a little man hidden behind a curtain. To see him took no brains, heart or courage, just the desire to pull back the curtain of deception.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,
Dan Potter

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PART TWO – Moses and the Magician

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

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Imagine me walking up to you with three random coins from around the world. They lay in my open hand. I ask you to place your finger upon one coin. You think hard and drop your finger upon the coin of your choice. I open the displayed paper in which I wrote my prediction and it matches your free choice . . . impossible!

You will look up at my eyes, step back, shake your head and laugh. I know because I have done it a thousand times. You will not think I have any supernatural abilities, but you will be amazed at the unexplainable moment.

Now let me take you into a jungle area, where it is murky and we sit around a fire. A dark man in feathers and bells steps forward with three eggs of different colors. He stares at you and thrusts his hand into your face. People around you scream and shout. You are to reach out and grab one of the eggs. As you extend your arm, the people go silent. You pick up the red one. He quickly crushes the other two in his grip, rubs his hands together and only red drips from his hands. It is your chosen color. The crowd explodes in excitement as the man places his dripping red hands upon your head . . . impossible!

You freak out. You refuse to look into his eyes. You look to someone for some kind of help. Fear replaces amazement and you write home about this supernatural event.

Same trick . . . but a different atmosphere!

The coins and eggs were in the hands of people skilled in the art of illusion. I entertained and you laughed. The other, through natural means, manipulated your mind and emotions. Fear and mystery caused you see it as paranormal and you chose to believe the person had supernatural abilities. You even retold the story several times.

The impossible . . . fooled twice, but lied to you once. The lie grew and was retold by many, as a supernatural fact.

I have heard so many people do this even with Bible stories. Take a look at a man called Moses. God had him perform several miracles, not illusions. The magicians of the time were asked to create the same effects, but they could only reproduce three. So people, even followers of Jesus, spread the lie that these magicians had supernatural abilities. But if people were to read on and use their brains they would see that they did not have supernatural abilities, only secrets.

Read the following verses and see how Moses refers to these events.
1. In Exodus 7:10-12 we are given the record of when God, through Aaron, and the magicians made snakes. I think rabbits or poodles would have been a better choice, but they make terrible sticks. Besides God, for some reason, likes using snakes. “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs”. It wasn’t as if the magicians were standing there. They had time to get ready. I wonder what was slithering up their sleeves or what secret science project made their snakes paralyzed. I think it was drugs because they were so high that they didn’t even move away when one snake ate them all. I think God won this match. To bad for those magicians who had trained those snake to act like a stick for several years. Well they are now unemployed . . . actually dead!

2. Exodus 7:22 comes right after God, not Moses, turned the water in the Nile into blood. Oh why not cookies and cream ice cream? “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said”. To this I say, easy, easy, easy! If everything is blood just go with it man. I think the miracle would have been to find water that was not blood. It is not too difficult for a crafty deceiver to make this happen.

3. Next we have frogs of God everywhere. Imagine the amount of tadpoles God needed to pull this off, and where did He keep them until their grand entrance? That is a supernatural occurrence. Exodus 8:7 “But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt”. Now if I get this right God makes several million frogs, so that they are everywhere. I love frog legs, they taste like little chickens. So if you open a jar one jumps out. If I reach in my pocket out comes another. Just kick a bunch of dirt upon the shore and say, “Abra-come-invertabrae” and those frogs are going to stick their heads up because they are stepping upon their mother-in-law. Buy the instructions for this trick at the dollar store.

4. Finally the magicians meet their match. God created gnats, those nasty winged bugs that go right up the nose. The magicians could not stop sneezing long enough to catch a few thousand for a really good trick. You try it, go try to catch 10 (and they did not even have vacuums back then). Exodus 8:18-19 states,“But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said”. The finger of God! If it is just the finger imagine what He could do with his whole hand. What the magicians were saying is that there is more paranormal in one finger of God than all the magicians of Egypt. And for once I agree with them.

5. But God was not done with this deceptive lot of Charlatans. Exodus 9:11 makes it very clear, “The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians”. OK boys what’s up your sleeve now? Perhaps it is the same thing that is up your pant leg? Boils are terrible, I can’t even imagine trying to multiply them. Happy scratching!

6. Finally we understand why God had this supernatural contest with the un-supernatural magicians. Exodus 9:16 “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth”. In Exodus 14:31 after crossing the red sea this is recorded, “And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant”.

So if these “wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians” are the best of the best, they are in the same league as the jungle man. They all have secret arts, but not supernatural abilities. We shall continue our search, but thus far God leaves them all in the gnats . . . literally.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,
Dan Potter

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PART ONE – The First Deception

Friday, January 29th, 2010

PART ONE
I was sitting in a Brazilian grill in Asuncion, Paraguay with Suzie and some South American friends, when the table discussion switched from our amazing slabs of meat to unexplainable supernatural abilities. Several questions about the paranormal followed.

Being a magician, I use illusion and the art of deception, along with Suzie, to educate and entertain people of all ages. It takes much time to learn how to make the impossible look possible, but once these skills are acquired the average person is very easy to mislead. As a magician, I play the role of one with supernatural abilities, while making it very clear that any 9 year old could do what I do . . . with about 37 years of practice.

Often I hear people claim that this magician or that mentalist has supernatural powers. These claims often come from a person’s inability to explain how an illusion was performed. It would be like me trying to explain how a satellite beam becomes a HD program on my TV. All I know is that it is not supernatural!

I will attempt over the next few weeks to prove the following:
1. Human beings do not have any supernatural powers, except those who from God alone, but have gifts for special purposes (making bunnies appear is not one of them).
2. Satan cannot give supernatural abilities or skills to people that he does not posses, and he possess very few.
3. God is the only one who is all knowing, able to be everywhere, holds all power, created all things and lives forever eternal.

I invite those of you interested in Unexplainable Supernatural Abilities to take this journey with me as I seek to EXPLAIN it from a magician’s point of view.

Our journey will include truths about the Supernatural. These truths are discovered in the Bible, human stories, and personal experiences. I hope to expose the deception, while valuing the mysteries of living in a world of wonder.

THE FIRST DECEPTION
Let us begin with the first recorded supernatural deception found in human history.

The first deception on earth appears in Genesis 3. Satan comes in the form of a serpent, (to me that is a pretty amazing way to enter the stage). He encounters Eve and Adam and tricks them, causing them to choose to believe an illusion. Of Satan it is said, he is crafty (3:1) and he is a deceiver (3:13). Both of these are marks of a grand illusionist. These are two skills which Satan possesses.

When I have encountered anyone who claims to have supernatural powers to see the future, predict the unpredictable, exhibit power over the elements or power to control people. I have found them to be “crafty” and “deceptive”. If they know that I am a magician they will not show me their “tricks” for I am trained in their skills and will be able to expose them.

Often people expect performing magicians to trick them; they even pay them for a show. But humans somehow believe the “deceivers” would not trick them, and after a few crafty demonstrations . . . “tricks not found in boxes” they like Eve and Adam choose to believe the illusions and are lead into a lie.

There is much more on this subject, but I will stop for now for I am trying to keep every entry under 500 words and I see that I am already way over. See you on the next leg of the journey.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,
Dan Potter

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