In my previous post, here, I mentioned the idea that while Scripture instructs us not to use magic, It says nothing about reading or writings stories with magic. I wish to unpack that idea.
At first glance, this statement appears to be mere word play, and I agree. Without examination and expansion, it's like calling something a half-truth instead of a lie. However, I do think there is a difference between humans in real life trying to perform magic and allowing our fictional characters to do so.
The foundation for my position comes from one question: why is real sorcery evil? Or another way to say it is why does Scripture condemn sorcery, sorcerers, and witches? To answer, I will use a phrase my sister used, which is that, in performing magic, humans are attempting to "cross domains." They are trying to obtain power not naturally bestowed upon them by God. It's a mirror of the original sin. God made humans finite yet mentally and physically capable of incredible things, like converting sand into the computer chips in my computer and yours, but Eve allowed herself to be deceived into thinking she could become even greater than the amazing creation God made. She wanted to be like God, His equal, and then Adam, for whatever reason, followed after her into a fallen state. The original sin involves humans trying to cross into God's domain. Real life magic, I think, attempts the same.
What's more, in order to obtain supernatural powers, such as seeing the future or summoning dead spirits, there are only two sources humans can turn to: God or demons. Magic/sorcery in the real world is supernatural power fueled by demonic forces. In attempting to be all-powerful like God, we turn to evil spirits rather than humbly admitting our finite nature and letting God work His power through us. Prideful listening to/seeking the aid of evil while rejecting God, now what does that sound like?
To reiterate, I think the reason performing magic in real life is evil has to do with how it's a repetition of the original sin: rebelling against God and seeking demonic aid in order to become more god-like. So why isn't magic a problem in stories?
Well, could God have made humans with the ability to use magic? He didn't, but, yes, I think He could have. I think God could have given humans abilities that we title "magic" without undermining His character and position as God. Actually, I don't think doing so would have even influenced Adam and Eve's fall. Finite humans will always be inferior to an infinite God, after all, making them susceptible to the temptation of becoming more "like God." Point is, I do think He could have given humans magic, and it is that possibility that convinces me of magic's permissibility in story.
In our universe, titled Reality, one of the "rules," so to speak, is that humans don't have the natural ability to fly, breath fire, see the future, etc., so humans using magic "breaks the rules." Imagine the chaos and outrage of a football game if a player kept "scoring" by running outside the boundary lines down to the end zone. No fair referee, or reasonable viewer, would let that slide. It breaks the rules of the universe called Football Games, just as magic is trying to play out of bounds in Reality.
But in the multiverse of Fiction, the human imagination can construct a universe where the "rules" say humans are capable of using magic, often with some other rules limiting that magic, and I don't think such worlds necessarily conflict with God's nature. Do some? Of course some do, but why should I condemn the whole genre of magical fantasy because of such stories? I would much rather discard a story because it is unedifying than because it exists in a universe that is not my own.
For more on the importance of fantasy/magic stories, I suggest reading J. R. R. Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories", C. S. Lewis's "Three Ways on Writing for Children" and Holly Ordway's works, which can be found on her blog Hieropraxis and in her book Not God's Type
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