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Ask the Pastor

† Theological musings and answers to selected questions by a confessional Lutheran pastor.






01 August 2005

Is Any Magic Good Magic?


Q: Can you practice good magic and be a Christian at the same?

A: No. Magic calls upon powers other than God, and even the so-called “good” forms are contrary to His Word and lead people to trust in a source of goodness other than God. Not for nothing does God warn us in the Bible that “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14).”

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

3 Comments:

Blogger John H said...

Presumably, however, "magic" in the David Copperfield, David Blaine, Penn & Teller sense - clever trickery for entertainment, with no (real or purported) "supernatural" element - is fine.

04 August, 2005 05:03  
Blogger Orycteropus Afer said...

I'll weigh in on this: Most of these people, rather than calling themselves "magicians," tend to use terms such as "illusionist." Penn and Teller, in fact, go out of the way to debunk spiritism and false claims of supernatural behavior. Unfortunately, they go too far, also taking regular shots at Biblical Christianity.

As for the shows, if they're entertaining and don't lead people astray, what problem should a Christian, living in the Gospel's freedom, have with them? Of course, if portions of the show are given over to shock, titilation, et al. (cf., perhaps, the aforementioned Penn and Teller)....

Orycteropus +

08 August, 2005 13:22  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Impressesed.

26 November, 2005 13:02  

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