Doc Wants to Know, "What Kind of Christian Are You?"

You really want to watch the video down below . . . but first, some context:

Spring Break began Friday, and our evangelism team (being College and Seminary students of Columbia International University) already scattered to the far reaches of wherever-it-is-they-come-from. I’ve been burdened all week for meeting one specific person (some day I would like to devote one entire blog to him) and really did not want to miss going down, even without the team. So my lovely wife, Leslie, accompanied me to the green fountain of Five Points.

We made our way to Starbucks for coffee where I spied this older man standing at the counter, doing nothing, actually. I greeted him, and noticing the small bags hanging off his shoulder, thought him to be an out-of-town visitor. Not only was he from out of town, but since he left the Navy (where he’d was “bitten by the travel-bug”) he spent the last 50 years traveling the world. He listed a recent visit to China, Tibet and a few South American countries where he’s climbed this or that mountain. I was impressed by his itinerary (many of you know what’s on my “bucket list” to climb).

“Why do you travel so much?" I wanted to know. “Is there anything else besides ‘seeing the world’ that you travel?” It turned out, there was another reason. Doc told me he travels with a special entourage, where he has graduated to being a facilitator in the education of others who join the travel group.

Education, huh? What is studied? All the religions and philosophies of the world! Talk about throwing the dog a bone! Now I wanted to know where he “was” in his travels. What conclusions has he reached about (oh, for the sake of conversation, man) what is man’s purpose? What had he concluded as to the reason man exists? Doc began to hem and haw making some argument that he would not answer me because he had to be careful about what he said—he makes people mad. I assured him I would not get mad. He still did not answer.

I wanted to know more about the group he traveled with, is it a University program? He reached in his pocket and produced a small memo/calendar book. He belongs to a group called, “Astaria” (don’t Google that yet—stay with me). As he thumbed through his book, my knee-jerk reaction was to process who this group was—I’d never heard of Astaria. I thought “Egyptian deity?” No, maybe not. New Age? Probably. A worshipper of Ashteroth or Ashera?

I noticed the silver cross on a chain around his neck. He showed me a card with “Astaria” printed on it, a gold thread glued to the middle of it in a ribbon fashion. I went for the cross.

“I notice you wearing the cross. What does the ‘cross’ mean?” I asked. Doc educated me on the pure-white energy of the cross, that it is a symbol of power, energy. As Doc was telling me about how he harnesses and directs energy through the cross (he can project an energy field up to 30 feet from his body!) I thought, “I need to get this recorded,” so I asked permission to continue the conversation on-record, to which he consented. What follows is the remainder of the conversation. The first minute or so is a little hard to hear, but he is explaining the relationship between the cross and the power of pyramids. Enjoy this video:



The video ends abruptly because Starbucks kicked us out (they already let us stay just a few minutes past closing time). I asked Doc if he would please continue our conversation outside, as I would love to hear more about his worldview. He declined and mumbled something about having to be somewhere.

I thanked him for his time and gave him a copy of a CD by Ray Comfort on “Nostradamus and Future Prediction.” He took it. What is really cool about that CD is that I had no intention of making it, but earlier in the day, I really felt I needed to . . . perhaps the Lord wanted him to hear it . . .

In the next day or two I will share with you some observations, what happened when I Googled “Astaria,” and offer some suggestions on witnessing to New Agers.