"Oh, oh, oh, it's magic! you know...never believe it's not so!"
Magic has intrigued me my whole life. In it is embodied endless possibilities, but most of all the concept that anything could happen, anything at all. It's exciting and new and admit it, wouldn't anyone love to be able to have magical powers? But it's never taken the place of God.
There have been numerous books, movies, tv shows, even documentaries about magic. As Christians, how do we respond to them? I wasn't aware that it was even a question until about a year ago. Of course, there was Harry Potter--that was anathema in my house--but that seemed to me a different sort of magic and I never dreamed that anyone could denounce magic in storytelling wholesale.
They do, though. A friend of mine won't go near the Narnia books and flatly refuses to watch Merlin, a TV show that has many, many merits, in my opinion. She holds that scripture is very clear that sorcery is evil, and we should avoid it everywhere--certainly not voluntarily go near it, or invite it into our homes.
That has been incomprehensible to me, especially as she won't explain all of her reasons to me. She's said that magic and witchcraft are bad, but not much beyond that--and up until today, I was still pretty confused.
Today, in Mass, the priest giving the homily (sermon) spoke on magic in the media--Harry Potter and the BBC's Merlin, specifically--and how it hurt people by telling them that the fake world filled with magic was better than their own, that it made them apathetic about our world, desiring fantasy, rather than live a good life seeking after God here and now in reality.
I was skeptical of the whole idea and was tempted to write him off. Yet yes, we should not see magic as an escape, of a be-all and end-all. It's not what we should be seeking after, that's true.
When I watch a movie, however, the magic is not what I aspire to. I live through the characters in the story and my favorite part of sharing their experience is not the magic; that is merely part of their world. It is going through their experiences, feeling their triumphs and failures, learning with them, growing with them, feeling sad with them.
I sat down and prayed about it this afternoon and here's what I came up with: believing in magic in our world may be bad, but it is not evil in fantasy and alternate realities.
Magic is bad in our world if it is not connected with the movement of God. Searching for it would be like looking for an alternate source of power rather than accepting that God is in control of everything. It would be trying to rebel, because it is not a part of the natural order of things for us as humans.
Magic may not be bad in alternate worlds or in fantasy because for their world, it may be a part of the natural order. It may be a born-in trait or learned skill such as being double-jointed or chemistry. If so, it is not having the gift or even using it that determines if it's good or bad. It's how you use it, as with any skill, with any passion. You can be an excellent chemist, but if you use your knowledge of chemistry to kill someone, your actions are even. You can be righteously angry, but if you let that anger control you, you're in trouble and people are going to get hurt.
Look at superheroes. They have 'magical' powers, but they are only considered superheroes if they use their powers for good. A world with magic is like our world; the people there are simply different from us because they have talents we do not have.
My final thoughts? Writing magic in fantasy is not wrong. It depends on how you do it. What are your opinions?
-Tina
Magic has intrigued me my whole life. In it is embodied endless possibilities, but most of all the concept that anything could happen, anything at all. It's exciting and new and admit it, wouldn't anyone love to be able to have magical powers? But it's never taken the place of God.
There have been numerous books, movies, tv shows, even documentaries about magic. As Christians, how do we respond to them? I wasn't aware that it was even a question until about a year ago. Of course, there was Harry Potter--that was anathema in my house--but that seemed to me a different sort of magic and I never dreamed that anyone could denounce magic in storytelling wholesale.They do, though. A friend of mine won't go near the Narnia books and flatly refuses to watch Merlin, a TV show that has many, many merits, in my opinion. She holds that scripture is very clear that sorcery is evil, and we should avoid it everywhere--certainly not voluntarily go near it, or invite it into our homes.
That has been incomprehensible to me, especially as she won't explain all of her reasons to me. She's said that magic and witchcraft are bad, but not much beyond that--and up until today, I was still pretty confused.
Today, in Mass, the priest giving the homily (sermon) spoke on magic in the media--Harry Potter and the BBC's Merlin, specifically--and how it hurt people by telling them that the fake world filled with magic was better than their own, that it made them apathetic about our world, desiring fantasy, rather than live a good life seeking after God here and now in reality.
I was skeptical of the whole idea and was tempted to write him off. Yet yes, we should not see magic as an escape, of a be-all and end-all. It's not what we should be seeking after, that's true.
When I watch a movie, however, the magic is not what I aspire to. I live through the characters in the story and my favorite part of sharing their experience is not the magic; that is merely part of their world. It is going through their experiences, feeling their triumphs and failures, learning with them, growing with them, feeling sad with them.
I sat down and prayed about it this afternoon and here's what I came up with: believing in magic in our world may be bad, but it is not evil in fantasy and alternate realities.
Magic is bad in our world if it is not connected with the movement of God. Searching for it would be like looking for an alternate source of power rather than accepting that God is in control of everything. It would be trying to rebel, because it is not a part of the natural order of things for us as humans.Magic may not be bad in alternate worlds or in fantasy because for their world, it may be a part of the natural order. It may be a born-in trait or learned skill such as being double-jointed or chemistry. If so, it is not having the gift or even using it that determines if it's good or bad. It's how you use it, as with any skill, with any passion. You can be an excellent chemist, but if you use your knowledge of chemistry to kill someone, your actions are even. You can be righteously angry, but if you let that anger control you, you're in trouble and people are going to get hurt.
Look at superheroes. They have 'magical' powers, but they are only considered superheroes if they use their powers for good. A world with magic is like our world; the people there are simply different from us because they have talents we do not have.My final thoughts? Writing magic in fantasy is not wrong. It depends on how you do it. What are your opinions?
-Tina
2 comments:
I agree with you Teens, magic within the realm of Merlin, or Narnia are not bad. But there are shows and books that can lead to the wrong "kinds" of magic, and aren't healthy for you.
Also, I think it entirely depends on the mindset of the person who reads the books, or watches the movies/shows. If they are not well formed in their opinion, it is easy to be swayed.
love you!,
Ruth
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