magic

[kesuke uchiha]

there is a lot to go over on this....but basically I am asking the opinions of everyone here


first off to say my own opinion.....the foundation of ALL magic is Satanist evil and just plain wrong so in no way whatsoever do I ever intend on actually trying to practice or use ANYTHING that actually has to do with magic.
HOWEVER!
I love to read to write and play games....is it wrong to read stories that have magic in them?.....is it wrong to play games like skyrim where your character can use magic?
is it wrong to write stories where there is magic?
mind you I dont like things that glorify magic at all so I did not at all like the harry potter books or movies....lots of stuff like that. but is it wrong to just read things that have such in them?
the lord of the rings and the hobbit both are timeless classics should we ban them burn all copies and shun it just because someone can use magic inside them?
heck every single Disney movie in existence has magic in it
should we stop watching those too? not let our children see these things for something that seems so trivial?  

[King Shining Heaven]

There is some debate about this. One side believes that any material which contains magical things is wrong for Christians and an attempt to lead them into the occult, while the other believes that this is harmless.

I am on the side of the latter as I believe the type of magic that the Bible tells us about is not resemblant to the type of magic portrayed in media. The former is pagan rituals which are intended to summon spirits or call on false gods in order to gain power, while the latter is what I call "fairytale magic", which is intended to be whimsical and entertaining  

[real eyes realize]

So the question really is: should we allow ourselves to consume such entertainment and let kids in the family watch it too?

I think if children will be consuming the information, the parents have a responsibility to watch it with them (or siblings who have spiritual discernment should watch along with them) and point out anything they see that conflicts with their worldview (we don't confide in talismans, idols, chanting, or spirits in the woods, we confide in our Heavenly Father and his son; we rather choose to be taken advantage of instead of kill or hurt someone in hand-to-hand vengeance, otherwise we take it to the courts if they're not a believer; if they are a fellow believer who genuinely believes in God, we're suppose to settle or reconcile amongst ourselves as a witness to the world that we're not petty/catty/stingy, but generous and forgiving). You know, stuff like that, whether it's magic or not, all entertainment needs to be filtered and watched with a sober, alert mind. They're glorifying and condemning certain attitudes/behaviors that we may not categorize the same way.

As for us grown children, lol, again, watch with an alert mind. It depends on the individual's level of discernment, spiritual maturity, and how our participation affects other people around us who don't know Christ and would be led into the occult if they saw us approving of the show/movie, just for simply identifying ourselves as a fan. Our friends, or strangers even, won't necessarily know you disagree with anything presented on the series. So be careful what you broadcast / affiliate yourself with (on your likes, dislikes, the walls of your room, facebook, what have you). I think fanatical freaking out or "souvenir collecting" behaviors shouldn't be characteristic of a Christian. That level of devotion we're suppose to have towards one and one only, and he said not to make images of him. side note: now that I mention it, I wonder if this photography obsession our society has counts as idolatry (making images of people and things, some people even making shrines out of photos and light candles to it, and if it's a grave, annually bringing food and drink "offerings" on the anniversary of their death). Well, that's something to think about.

Anyway, that's a judgment call that needs to be made on an individual basis. I for one don't find it very enjoyable anymore to see people summoning demons, field spirits, or genies, befriending them, making pacts with them for power, trusting in Idols instead of our Heavenly Father to save them from evil (even at times, making pacts with or praying to fallen angels and never praying to God), concocting potions, resorting to witchcraft to get themselves out of a bind. As someone who wholeheartedly believes that following Jesus / YHWH is the only way, I get frustrated when the protagonist, the hero of the story, is being shown as trusting in other things, and the way the story is designed, they want you to sympathize with the actions the "hero" took to "save" others. So, I find myself either rolling my eyes, sighing or twisting my face in disgust. I'm not "enjoying" the shows I use to. Are you allowed to watch? Yes. Just make sure to weigh out the consequences of your actions carefully: how does my participation affect what I communicate about the true and living God to those around me? how will this affect the little kids around me? am I helping them believe false ideas or helping them avoid lies?

Don't let the "cartoon" mask or "fiction" label blind you. There's no such thing as innocent fun in this world: everything communicates information, ideas, attitudes. Your guard needs to be up even when watching "Christian" shows.  

[Rednal]

It also depends, among other things, on how you define magic. In many series, what Jesus did would be classified as a kind of magic - creating an impossible effect within the world, solely through His own power. Other people in the Bible were also, effectively, conduits for magic - a part of the show, at minimum, but occasionally receiving direct power themselves.



To take a more modern example, though, let's look at "The Dresden Files". The protagonist, Harry Dresden, is a wizard. He is a professional magic user. In fact, he even has an office where he runs a detective agency from, and he uses a pentagram enclosed in a circle as a symbol - and this is repeatedly noted within the series as being important to him, covering the elements of magic as constrained by human will. In other words, it's not just what you use, but how you're using it. Dresden is very grey morally, as are most characters - but he knows that there is a difference between right and wrong, and he tends to follow it. Also, the setting has a small handful of unambiguously good characters, including an archangel and a very mortal but very religious man. In fact, within the series, Christian characters tend to be portrayed in the most positive light, while those from other mythologies tend to be rather muddier.


Overall... I don't really disagree with magic in fiction. As far as I'm concerned, it's just another form of power - in many settings, magic is a completely neutral force, with the morality aspects focused on how, when, and why it's being used. Most fiction is some sort of metaphor or commentary, and I don't think you should get too bothered by it. By all means, ask questions - but don't worry that stories as a tool for teaching are wrong. After all, even Jesus taught with stories. ^^  

[SolaceSerenitySerendipity]

kesuke uchiha

the lord of the rings and the hobbit both are timeless classics should we ban them burn all copies and shun it just because someone can use magic inside them?

Tolkien was a Christian and his books contain much relating to the Christian worldview as told through his fantasy setting.  

[Virdis Bruja]

Well being a fan of the Disney franchise myself and also many other things with "magic" in them I don't really see anything wrong with it as long as you remember that practicing actual rituals or witch craft is not Christian. It's not bad to enjoy a movie of harry potter as long as you don't go looking to be the "chosen one."  

[Abundant Merci]

I know I'm a little late expressing my opinion, but here it is:

I don't believe that it's wrong to read / write stories with magic in them. But, if you remember, we're supposed to live in a way that shows we remember Jesus Christ and what he's done in every moment of our life. I think writing stories with that in mind limits the magic quite a bit, but not completely. God wants you to live a genuine life. He gave us a conscious for a reason. If you do something that's not inherently evil, but it takes away your focus from God, then it can become a sin very quickly. If you like to play games, that's great! Me too! I love using the imagination God gave me! But, when the game starts to take up hours of your time and you find that you spend more time playing that game and you realize that four hours have passed without God entering your mind once, you might want to reevaluate the way you spend your time.

There are plenty of activities and things in this world that aren't inherently evil or good. It's your intention and the way you utilize these things that ultimately make them sinful or good. Some things are definite, and some things are unclear. That's why God gave us a conscience, so we could know whether or not we're doing something that's not pleasing to him.  

[Star-geeker]

I would say that some magic could be okay, and other side could be bad. However it depends on strongly agree or disagree.  

[Elvis presley123]

Harry Potter has magic spells that are real and satanic in nature. It will be good if we watch out repeating it verbally or mentally. The story too implies the defeat of good completely, harry needs to die for the enemy to die too. It may imply that If the good and the bad will both completely die, it will be a peaceful world.

Lord of the Rings has magic, but if we look carefully at the story, it shows that evil is strong, but if they help each other, they can beat the evil. It requires sacrifice too, but here the shows seems to imply the defeat of the evil and the reign of the good.  

[Elvis presley123]

I suggest. We study the story carefully first in commentaries or review