Art Katz
Arthur "Art" Katz (1929 - 2007). American preacher, author, and founder of Ben Israel Fellowship, born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York. Raised amid the Depression, he adopted Marxism and atheism, serving in the Merchant Marines and Army before earning B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from UCLA and UC Berkeley, and an M.A. in theology from Luther Seminary. Teaching high school in Oakland, he took a 1963 sabbatical, hitchhiking across Europe and the Middle East, where Christian encounters led to his conversion, recounted in Ben Israel: Odyssey of a Modern Jew (1970). In 1975, he founded Ben Israel Fellowship in Laporte, Minnesota, hosting a summer “prophet school” for communal discipleship. Katz wrote books like Apostolic Foundations and preached worldwide for nearly four decades, stressing the Cross, Israel’s role, and prophetic Christianity. Married to Inger, met in Denmark in 1963, they had three children. His bold teachings challenged shallow faith, earning him a spot on Kathryn Kuhlman’s I Believe in Miracles. Despite polarizing views, including on Jewish history, his influence endures through online sermons. He ministered until his final years, leaving a legacy of radical faith.
Sermon Summary
Art Katz emphasizes the contrast between the revelation at Mount Sinai and the ultimate revelation of God through the Cross of Christ. He warns against limiting God to our own understanding and images, which can lead to idolatry, even when done in the name of rejecting idolatry. Katz argues that true faith begins where human presumption ends, at the Cross, where all religious concepts of God are dismantled. He calls for a recognition of Jesus as Lord, urging believers to acknowledge His authority and the transformative power of faith. The sermon challenges listeners to live by faith rather than by their own categories or limitations.
Scriptures
Mt. Sinai Versus the Cross of Christ
"Art Katz encouraged the duplicating of his audio messages, and there are no copyright claims for those who desire to share them with others. However, Art’s books and writings (including articles on this website) do still carry a copyright, and permission needs to be sought if quoting from those is required." ----- The Revelation at Sinai God’s revelation of Himself and the giving of the Law at Sinai was a history-shaping occurrence. However, in our insistence upon confining Him to Sinai, are we not again guilty of limiting the Holy One of Israel? Should our well-meaning defending of His Name and interests be founded solely on this revelation? Why refuse to think of Him other than in images that are convenient or congruent to our life-style? This would be the ultimate idolatry, ironically, in the name of rejecting idolatry! As Jurgen Moltmann in his book, God Crucified, makes the statement that “True faith [i.e., the knowledge of God as God] begins where the atheist thinks it should end.” And it ends at the Cross of Christ Jesus, where every religious concept of God is irrevocably smashed, including the making of a god in our own image. Such is the depth of all human presumption, nowhere brought to such ultimate expression than in ‘religion’! All this idolatry can be irrevocably destroyed with the one utterance, “My Lord and my God”; thus acknowledging that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father! For to Him must every knee bend and every tongue confess that Jesus (despicable, cursed, rejected and despised of men) is Lord, crucified, raised, ascended and coming again! The just (justified) shall live by their faith - not their categories.
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Arthur "Art" Katz (1929 - 2007). American preacher, author, and founder of Ben Israel Fellowship, born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York. Raised amid the Depression, he adopted Marxism and atheism, serving in the Merchant Marines and Army before earning B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from UCLA and UC Berkeley, and an M.A. in theology from Luther Seminary. Teaching high school in Oakland, he took a 1963 sabbatical, hitchhiking across Europe and the Middle East, where Christian encounters led to his conversion, recounted in Ben Israel: Odyssey of a Modern Jew (1970). In 1975, he founded Ben Israel Fellowship in Laporte, Minnesota, hosting a summer “prophet school” for communal discipleship. Katz wrote books like Apostolic Foundations and preached worldwide for nearly four decades, stressing the Cross, Israel’s role, and prophetic Christianity. Married to Inger, met in Denmark in 1963, they had three children. His bold teachings challenged shallow faith, earning him a spot on Kathryn Kuhlman’s I Believe in Miracles. Despite polarizing views, including on Jewish history, his influence endures through online sermons. He ministered until his final years, leaving a legacy of radical faith.