I've decided to return to occult forums. On reflection, I think a case can be made that the biblical magi really did practice magic arts. In addition, the prohibitions of magic in the Bible tend to connect it with three main areas: (a) familiar spirits, (b) divination, (c) mediumship. The overarching problem is idolatry. Diviners are portrayed in the NT, for example, as using demons to acquire knowledge. The witches of the OT were shamanesque figures, pacting with spirits to gain power.
So, the question now seems to me: is there such a thing as non-idolatrous magic?
It seems to me that magic done for good aims without the use of spirit pacts would satisfy the demand. As Jesus himself testifies in Mt 12:25-28:
Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Of course, Christian magicians need not be using gifts of the Spirit in their operations. The point is only this: if magic is being used toward good purposes, it cannot rely on evil, for then evil would be defeating itself. Of course, one must remember that pacts can have long-term repercussions despite short-term gains...
Last edited by One and Only...; 08-12-2009 at 04:15 PM.
Reason: Typo
"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
"Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person... has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." - Colossians 2:18-19
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