You may be asking, "Why is this necessary? I know I am washed in the Blood of Jesus, I am Saved and Redeemed and looking forward to Eternity with my Lord in Heaven. Why do I need to consider these fringe topics?" To begin, Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are supernatural! They are above, beyond, and far greater than anything that is called natural; they are immortal and invisible; they are super-natural. Secondly, the Bible records supernatural beings throughout its history: Behemoth, Leviathan, Angels, Demons, Nephilim, the Repha'im, the cherubim, Ezekiel's wheel, etc. In addition, the Bible tells us of the future supernatural beings that will appear at the end of the ages: the demonic scorpion-like locusts in Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation, and the Red Dragon in Chapter 12.
If you call yourself a true Christian, then you know the Bible is not just a storybook. It is the Word of Truth and Spirit. It verifies that the Supernatural plays an important part in our faith. Our culture will say that the Supernatural is essentially all phenomena that are based on religious perspectives. They will say that the Paranormal is almost any other phenomena that is not explained by science. So can you see that there is an attempt to distract us by creating an argument pitting religion against science? But if you have a personal relationship with Jesus [a heart vs head connection], then you know that the supernatural is real; you have experienced it and no amount of intellectual obfuscation will convince you otherwise.
I find it regrettable that "the Church" has stifled any curiosity or scrutiny into the supernatural history of the Bible -- which could serve to provide more testimony and confirmation of the greatness of our God. How much more powerful could our influence in the world be if we knew the fullness of Whose image we are made in? And that brings me to one of the first times I realized how this constraint has harmed our recent generations who have grown up in the "technological age." My husband, Mark, and I served at the Fisher House [a comfort home at Fort Sam Houston for military veterans and their families, while they are recovering in the hospital]. The Army Chaplain shared that the young soldiers began to disappear from his Bible study teachings. When he asked them why, they said that Odinism [the worship of Odin, Thor, and the Nordic "warrior" gods], and the Islam and Wicca religions were more exciting and adventurous than the Bible. Christianity had white-washed its history, rendering it "boring" to these young men and women in our military! In truth, it is anything but boring!
But, now there is a new podcast that is beginning to change that dynamic, and it is exciting the hearts and minds of both our young and more mature generations. It's called "Blurry Creatures", and is the genius of Nathan Henry and Lukas Rodgers, who in their own words "explore the mysteries surrounding creatures on the fringe. [They] look into the depth of the unknown through a biblical lens. This takes them down the trail of Bigfoot, Ancient Giants, the Nephilim, alternative history, and the sightings of beings that haven't yet been proven to exist. [They] are out to find better answers for the questions surrounding these."
They ask the questions and let the experts tell them their opinions. Some of their guests have included the late Dr. Michael Heiser, an Old Testament scholar with training in ancient history, Semitic languages, and the Hebrew Bible; Gary Wayne, author of The Genesis 6 Conspiracy; and Dr. Douglas Hamp, researcher and pastor, with an M.A. in "the Bible and its World" from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Some of the titles of episodes include The 12 Stones/Urim and Thummin by Dr. Doug Bookman; The Book of Enoch with Timothy Alverino; The Tower of Babel with Dr. Judd Burton; and Territorial Spirits with Dr. Joel Muddamalle.
As you can see, the podcast explores topics and questions outside the range of our modern Western Churches. One of the most interesting episodes I listened to recently shared the history and the treasure-trove of documents left by the Essene sect of Judaism in the caves of Qumran, around 100 BC. These documents have become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. I listened, transfixed by what was being revealed about the Essenes, the scrolls, and the reasons those documents were hidden. I've always said that everything in the Bible is true and points to Jesus... but everything about Biblical history and our God is not in the Bible; it would be so many volumes that there aren't enough libraries to hold all that history. So, anytime I can read or listen to learned men and women who authentically love the Lord and want to share more of His character, Spirit, nature, and supernatural accomplishments, I'm all in.
Of course, it is incumbent upon us all to discern the spirits of those who bring us the information. Admittedly, some of it is for entertainment, and is not trying to be declared Biblical, but I have found that everything on this podcast is meant to seek answers that enlarge and expand our desire for more knowledge about this supernatural world we live in; whether we can attribute it to the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness. And I have been delighted to see middle age men receive a curiosity about things of the Bible; things they never would have considered before this podcast ... for example, how the apocryphal books [many of which were once included in the Bible] are answering some of their questions that have long gone unanswered by their Church. It's like watching a child get excited about learning for the first time! And it's opening up discussions about the vastness and greatness of God's character; it's growing their faith and their understanding of the majesty and glory of God. They are realizing they don't have to rely on the Vatican or the Smithsonian to give them their interpretation of the answers. They can actually begin to do their own research by going to the Bible themselves. This podcast is creating a fountain of love for the Word in hearts that were dry and thirsty.
Then there is the 16-year-old home-schooled young man who wants to go on to study history, majoring in Biblical history. Blurry Creatures can ignite some areas he may want to investigate and explore. I think the real value of this podcast lies in the demeanor of the hosts who created it ... by "letting the Bible say what it says", or letting the Book of Enoch "say what it says" -- without putting their personal slant on it, they are encouraging people to search out their own answers in the best resource possible ... their Bibles. The podcast gives people a place to go; people who know there is more than what their denominational theology has taught. They can listen to an unbiased rendition of facts, and then take that back to their Bible to let the Book and the Holy Spirit reveal more of God's Truth.
The popularity of Blurry Creatures exposed the huge vacuum of unanswered questions that Church-goers had. Imagine if Church leaders had invited this forum into their churches to present some of these topics. Think how they could have taken advantage of the curiosity and the questions that would arise and led their memberships back to the Bible for the answers. And yes, there are topics out there on the periphery that qualify as "fringe"; topics about exorcisms, gray aliens, reptilians, and the hive mind. But these are all topics that people, young and old, are talking about. And Blurry Creatures brings in the experts to examine them and you'd be surprised how many of them are actually alluded to in the Bible.
My final comment on this topic is that I'm sure there will be those who will not consider this blog as appropriate for Christian consideration. It will probably be seen as blasphemous by more than a few. But, just like Jesus, I'm not afraid to confront those biases, and I am grateful for the free will that God has given everyone to decide for themselves. If it's not for you, that's fine; there is absolutely no judgment or pressure on my part. But if you decide to give it a listen, all I can say is Welcome to the Blurryverse! I hope that you find answers to some of your questions and if you do, I give all the glory to God!
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.
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