Celebrity Evangelist Dylan Novak Shares Gospel with Harrison Ford: ‘Pray’
By Movieguide® Contributor
“Celebrity Evangelist” Dylan Novak recently spoke about his experience sharing the gospel with actor Harrison Ford.
“In June of this year, The Hollywood Reporter asked about one of his majors in college, philosophy,” Novak wrote in a Facebook post.
He quoted the article where the writer asked if any of the philosophy Ford studied in college stuck with him through the years.
“Yeah,” Ford replied. “There’s a Protestant theologian named Paul Tillich who wrote that if you have trouble with the word ‘God,’ take whatever is central and most meaningful to your life and call that God. My mother was Jewish, my father was Catholic…I didn’t have any religious construct, but I think nature and God are the same thing.”
The actor continued, “The mysterious origin of life—science tells us how it happened, and prophecy tells us another story. I found that everything in nature—the complexity, the biodiversity, the symbiotic relationships—is the same thing other people attribute to God.”
Novak wrote that his post with Ford “is a testimony of when God tells you to do something, no matter how many times you fail, you keep pressing on towards His will.”
“This was the 7th attempt in 2 years of trying to meet Mr. Ford. Every opportunity we had, we were there waiting for him with his gift,” he continued. “There are so many details that go into why this particular day was such a miracle and how God’s timing was so perfect.”
He shared that he was “able to have a quick conversation” with the INDIANA JONES star, who he called “incredibly kind” and “showed a lot of appreciation for his gift (Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, tracts, and letter).”
“Please pray for Harrison’s heart to be fully opened to the Gospel,” Novak ended his post.
Ford has previously spoken about his views on the relationship between God and nature.
“For me, the complexity of nature is proof of the existence of what serves me as a god,” he told The Washington Post.
Movieguide® also reported on the actor’s appreciation of nature, especially as it relates to his work in CALL OF THE WILD:
Ford believes that much of the value for THE CALL OF THE WILD comes as viewers take an introspect take.
“One of the things I think, that we get from [this] film that’s really important is the experience of being present in the context of a story and not knowing how you’re going to feel about it, but then having an opportunity to get some emotional exercise to feel our common humanity,” Ford said.
Like Ford’s character, Thornton, the actor creates margin to get into nature and detach from a tech-filled world.
“Recently [I] went on a 12-day raft trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon,” Ford recalled. “[There were] no phones, no contact with the outside world. Occasionally we’ll see an airplane and that was it. 12 days is enough to lose touch with the complications of who you are, and just to allow you to slip into the place you are. It’s a powerful experience in the presence of kindness, nature and it’s magnificent.”