Jesus Christ, David Blaine, Bobby Sands and Orson WellesInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Now the disclaimer: I am not holier than thou or even holier than Mr. Blaine. I am not good or sinless. I am not beyond the need for God?s grace in my life and I am well-aware that but for that grace, I would get exactly what I deserve. Fortunately, though, God has promised that grace to me and secured his love for me and us by the cross of Christ.

Now, we get heavy.

I?m Irish-Catholic and was therefore interested in the hunger strike of the famous H-Block prisoners in Belfast. On the average, these men lasted about 50 days without food or water as they protested their imprisonment and their political belief that England should leave Northern Ireland. Saying that I am Irish-Catholic and that I was interested did not and does not mean I support the IRA. I didn?t and don?t, and when I was in Northern Ireland I had a chance to meet a gunrunner and told him just that. (I wasn?t that smart a guy back then but I escaped unharmed).

There was one prisoner on H-Block that garnered much attention here in the states named Bobby Sands. He lasted 66 days without food or…

Now, we get heavy.

There was one prisoner on H-Block that garnered much attention here in the states named Bobby Sands. He lasted 66 days without food or water. He did not slip into a coma 17 days before that as Mr. Blaine claims (perhaps to enhance the putative danger of his own publicity stunt) but was fully conscious, blind and in tremendous pain when he passed from this life.

One of my family members suffered from leukemia and during the bone marrow transplant phase of her treatment, was unable to take food for many days. There were many other victims of cancer in the same hospital that had been with out food for more than 44 days. They did not choose this course, the circumstances of their illness chose it for them and they endured. Their motivation was to survive or to fight for survival.

Mr. Blaine will have an I.V. tube to provide liquid to him during the Fasting Fiesta and there was enough doubt about what would actually be fed to him through that I.V. tube to cause the gambling houses to refuse betting on the chances of Mr. Blaine?s success.

Now, we get really heavy.

Why this stunt, Why England, Why over the River Thames and Why Now?

After receiving his baptism in the river Jordan, Jesus went out into the desert and fasted there for forty days. At the end of the fast, he was hungry and tempted by Satan. The devil suggested he turn the stones into bread and thereby provide an instant solution to his hunger. Jesus resisted this first of the three temptations he would face in the encounter. His ability to resist temptation ? even in his hungry state ? remained strong. Man does not, after all, live by bread alone but ?by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.? MT 4:4. This echoed Deuteronomy 8:3.

So we have the setting correct. We have the rivers: Jordan and Thames. We have the isolation: the desert and a plastic box hoisted high in the air. We have the timing: forty days for Jesus and forty-four for Mr. Blaine.

Now, I am not suggesting that Mr. Blaine selected forty-four days to outdo Jesus or that he selected England ? a country well-familiar with hunger fasts with the H-Block prisoners and, when still within the Empire, Gandhi. It could just be coincidence. There seems, however to be very little coincidence in Mr. Blaine?s world, however. If there is one thing he does well ? and he does many, many things well ? he plans with great detail what he will do next.

Mr. Blaine commented, ironically, to the Irish Press that his stunt will be ?the most extreme exercise in isolation and physical deprivation ever attempted.? Even if you take away the H-Block prisoners, Mahatma Gandhi, cancer patients, trapped victims in mine accidents or avalanches, the statement still amounts to hyperbole.

Maybe I?m going to far with the notion that Mr. Blaine is attempting at least a subtle comparison with Jesus. He has commented favorably on Jesus, in his own manner of speaking, ?I think what Jesus did was the ultimate magic,” he has said. “He would appear out of nowhere and show people things that would make them re-evaluate their lives.” (The Daily Mirror)

And like Jesus, Mr. Blaine noted in an interview given as he prepared for the Fast Fiesta, ?Jesus was a magician, and so am I.? (This is London)

Mr. Blaine has placed Jesus in the pantheon of great magicians. He told Uri Gellar in a newspaper article, ?He told me he was desperate to meet me, that he had three heroes in his life, and they were Jesus Christ, Orson Welles and Uri Geller.?

I am the first to admit that Orson Welles? Citizen Kane was incredibly ahead of its time and its use of the hand-held camera mounted to a boom, gave a sweeping perspective not previously seen. His magic act was equally intriguing although often depending more on his presentation to dress-up effects previously seen. I will grudgingly admit that Uri Gellar is a pretty decent showman and, until he met up with Johnny Carson, had a bunch of people thinking he could really do amazing things. As good as they are, though, I don?t link them up with Jesus Christ.

Oh, that?s because you?re a Christian so of course you wouldn?t see them on the same level.

Nope. If the comparison had been made between Orson Welles, Uri Gellar and the Prophet Mohammed, I?d say the same thing. If you compared the methods of Orson Welles, Uri Gellar and the Buddha towards life, I?d still have to say there would be a qualitative difference between the great film director, a magician that bends things and Buddha. You may not be followers of the Buddha or the Prophet Mohammed, but you can?t deny they must be seen differently in purpose and effect than a 20^th century film director and someone stumped by a talk show host.

So, where are we? We?re above the River Thames with an I.V. tube dripping something into Mr. Blaine? And why are we there? I don?t know. If it is not for Mr. Blaine?s own ego or publicity, I don?t see another reason. He allegedly had a concentration camp prisoner number tattooed onto his arm to recall the horrible conditions they involuntarily suffered at the hands of God-less men and he claims to have read about IRA member Bobby Sands in preparation for this event. But these two facts do not fit either together or with the publicity stunt he seeks to complete.

No prisoner in any of Hitler?s concentration camps chose to be there or chose to starve to death while they awaited their likely execution and watched the brutal murder of their families, friends and fellow captives. Not one. In Bobby Sands? diary, there is no sense that he was attempting to set an endurance record ? he realized his death was the likely result of his actions.

Jeremy Ward, professor of respiratory cell Jeremy Ward, professor of respiratory cell physiology at Kings College, London, is quoted as saying:

?I think he is a complete idiot. There are enough starving people in the world. For someone to starve themself as a publicity stunt – I don’t think morally it is something which you should do for glamour or glory or money.?

So there we have it. Pretty heavy column. I?m not trying to be negative but I do think it is important that someone point out that Jesus Christ was not a magician, is not equivalent to Orson Welles, Uri Geller or David Blaine. Jesus? fast was in reflection and prayer after baptism and although Mr. Blaine says he is performing this feat as ?art,? his invocation of a two tragic occasions of starvation (Bobby Sands and the Concentration Camps) shows either a gross lack of sensitivity to those who truly starved, or that a complete misunderstanding of the impact his statements and actions can have.

On May 5, 1981, Bobby Sands passed away with his family at his side. His emaciated body was resting upon a waterbed to prevent his bones from shattering. Mr. Blaine claims that he ?read up? on Bobby Sands to prepare for his publicity stunt. When the U.S. Troops entered the concentration camps to liberate the prisoners, they found many so weak that they could not maintain consciousness. Mr. Blaine claims he had the concentration camp tattoo placed on his arm because part of preparation was to study how the Jews dealt with starvation.

Everyday, men and women pass away after months of starvation in hospitals, Red Cross camps, desert compounds, refugee camps and on streets around the world. Although mocking Jesus Christ may get great press, following the teaching of a person you consider one of your top three heroes to help eliminate starvation may be a better use of the $5,000,000.00 you have received for this stunt, David.

That would be real magic.