An Interview with Jason Robert on Background, Christianity, and Christ (Part One)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2020/05/15
Abstract
Jason Robert grew up in Orange Country, California, where he also currently resides. He holds a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He directs a non-profit Christian ministry and has written nine books. He is a people-person and enjoys spending time with friends and family. He discusses: conversational opener; family heritage; family life; faith as part of earlier family life; formative moments; important moments in higher education; lessons from work; touching moments in life; faith in Jesus; and and personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ as “LOVE.”
Keywords: Christ, Christian, Christianity, faith, Jason Roberts, ministry, MIT.
An Interview with Jason Robert on Background, Christianity, and Christ: Author (Part One)[1],[2]*
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citation style listing after the interview.*
1. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Hi Jason! Thank you for taking the time to participate in the series with the others, as you have valuable contributions to make in the overall narrativees and views provided here, I can note the consistency of well-considered and thoughtful divergent opinions on all manner of subject, which can make for vibrant community life for the individuals who wish to find this in some of the high-IQ communities. Firstly, let us give emphasis on the personal narrative for you, as this becomes an important part of the groundwork, the story of you. What is some family history? Only have to provide as much data as you feel comfortable placing in a publication.
Jason Robert: Thank you, Scott.
2. Jacobsen: Are there any points of this family heritage that stuck throughout life for you? I mean in terms of a sense of identity, of self, stretched across the vast expanse of time for family, even centuries.
Robert: The Robert name comes from the French quarter of Switzerland where my family has lived for hundreds of years. We were a great family of painters. My uncle, Leopold Robert, is featured in the Louvre. And my Grandfather, Leo-Paul Robert, was a very influential Christian painter in Switzerland. I have not inherited a talent for art from my family, however. On the other hand, I value our rich Christian heritage which I can trace back seven generations.
3. Jacobsen: When you reflect on some family life as opposed to some of the things in the deeper family history, what were some of the warmer memories from childhood?
Robert: I remember my Dad leading me to the Lord when I was three years old and growing up in a Southern Baptist church. I can still remember worshiping God in my childhood at church and feeling his wonderful love for the first time. I still think of those days with fond memories.
4. Jacobsen: As I am aware, you are a person of faith. Was this part of earlier life and in the family?
Robert: Yes.
5. Jacobsen: What were some formative moments of adolescence when it’s, as for many, a time of turbulence and rapid physical development and mental maturation?
Robert: I was only interested in sports during my childhood. I played football and basketball competitively all throughout my childhood and adolescence. It wasn’t until being introduced to Algebra as a freshman in high school that I developed an interest in academics, primarily mathematics.
6. Jacobsen: What were some important moments in higher education and achievements there too if any?
Robert: I was accepted to MIT as part of the class of 2003. I worked hard in college there and was very intellectually satisfied there. I graduated in three years with a degree in Management Science and a concentration in Finance. I was, however, not relationally satisfied at school. Pulling some of those guys away from their desks to go have a fun time in the city was like trying to pull a rusty nail out of a 100-year-old train track. Though I made a few friends at MIT, I did most of my socializing at Harvard where I was part of an inter-collegiate Christian group called Real Life Boston.
7. Jacobsen: As you began to enter the formal working world, what were some important lessons gathered from the experience for you? The life lessons any individual with academic talent, or not, can benefit from in the longer term, setting them forward with certain sensibilities and images of a wider range of the possible lives to live in a society.
Robert: I left college with a degree in Finance, but I soon learned that I knew nothing about starting a business or leading other people. This is where guest-speaker at the Sloan School of Management, the billionaire Warren Buffett’s advice came in handy, “If you are smart enough to get into this school, you are smart enough to make it without this school. Find a mentor that is doing what you want to do and learn from them.” Buffett’s advice back in the Spring of 1999 as been paying me dividends ever since I started using it after I graduated. You see, there’s a difference between being book-smart and life-smart. What I never learned in school was that I needed to learn to become life-smart. Buffet’s advice has greatly helped me in this as I have employed it. In fact, it is still helping me now, over 20 years later. There is just so much to learn and many great people to learn it from!
8. Jacobsen: Since you’re more established professionally, intellectually, and emotionally in life, what have been some touching moments in life, which you’d recommend for others to potentially aim for in their lives? In one sense, the things valuable to individuals with a religious faith. In another sense, the things valuable to anyone, faithful or not, men or women, at some point in life, so as to become more well-rounded in their approach to life.
Robert: If you are religious and share my Christian faith, I would encourage you to pursue God’s Spirit through God’s Word, the Bible. You see, there are spiritual people and there are mature people, but there are very few spiritually mature people. If you do not share my faith, I encourage you to discover the universal laws that Providence has put in place and can be discovered through the people you meet, the books you read, and by reflecting on the lessons that life presents us all with.
9. Jacobsen: Let’s set some of the stage for the next part, a focus will be on religion and philosophy, potentially extending in social and ethical views. To use the appropriate verbiage and tone, how does faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and His redemptive sacrifice on the Cross influence every part of life – body, mind (intellect and emotions), and soul – for you?
Robert: My faith in Jesus influences my life by providing me with the hope of eternal life. On a daily basis, my faith provides me with a framework for learning, growing, and improving my life as well as the lives of those around me.
10. Jacobsen: What is Christianity to you? What does being a follower of Christ mean to you? What does living as a Christian do for you?
Robert: Christianity is faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died on the cross, and rose on the third day. If you believe that, you have eternal life now – a relationship with God and Jesus Christ based on LOVE. Being a Christian means following Christ’s commandments to love God and others. Living as a Christian gives me a purpose because God has given me spiritual gifts that he uses to bring both me and others joy.
Appendix I: Footnotes
[1] Author.
[2] Individual Publication Date: May 15, 2020: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/robert-one; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2020: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.
*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.
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