World renowned Christian magician Andre Kole and his team of magicians brought a unique act of faith-based illusion to the Campus Center auditorium Thursday evening.
Kole, who has been named Magical Inventor of the Decade, has performed in 76 countries and has collaborated with David Copperfield on over 100 stage and television illusions. Kole said that he has dedicated much of his career to debunking fraudulent claims of paranormal activity. He cited communication with the dead and psychic phenomena as examples of these false paranormal acts, giving a brief history of each.
Kole also researched psychic surgeons for Time magazine in 1973. In his book about his experiences, Miracles or Magic, Kole says he writes "Strictly from a magician's point of view, apart from the moral and ethical issues, watching these healers was fascinating. They performed their fake operations using some of the most clever sleight of hand that I have ever seen."
Kole t old the audience a brief biography of his career in illusion. He said that at one point in his life he struggled to invent three new magical effects every day.
Dramatic fanfare blasted through the sound system as the lights dimmed. Kole appeared to materialize through an upward-facing industrial fan under a billowing red sheet. His illusions ranged from levitating five feet in the air to Pink Floyd's "On the Run" to making a 12 foot, several hundred pound replica of the statue of liberty disappear, recreating of one of his most famous illusions. The recorded voice of David Copperfield introduced the trick:
"My name is David Copperfield. In a moment you will witness one of the most remarkable illusions ever attempted on stage, anywhere in the world. Ladies and Gentlemen, Andre Kole."
Kole claimed to possess no supernatural powers and told the audience about an ongoing offer of $1 million to anyone who can perform a supernatural act that Kole cannot figure out.
"No one has even passed the preliminary test yet," Kole said.
Kole also warned of the dangers of deception, alluding to politics in a subtle manner.
"When anything, no matter how absurd it is, is presented in a serious manner through a medium where honesty is presupposed, anyone can be deceived," he said.
Kole spoke of the miracles performed by Jesus, a topic he was challenged by Time magazine to investigate "as a magician and a skeptic." He said that his investigation changed his life, because he came to the conclusion that Jesus could have faked the miracles.
"Jesus did not have three tractor trailers full of magic equipment following him around the desert," Kole said.
Toward the end of the performance, preceding Kole's statue of liberty illusion, the audience was led through a short prayer in which Kole instructed those willing to "invite Jesus into your life."
Kole instructed the audience to question everything that they see.
"I encourage people to be skeptics, but you can't deny the facts in front of you," he said.
Kole's new book is called The Psychology of Deception. Past books include Astrology and Psychic Phenomena, Miracles or Magic, Tricks and Twists, Mind Games, and From Illusion to Reality.
The event was sponsored by the UMass chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ, an international organization advocating religious ideas of which Kole is a representative.
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