Magic Shows..Entertainment or Witchcraft

Most of us have attended and enjoyed magic shows especially during our childhood. We take our children to these shows today and enhance the experience with popcorn, cotton candy and the likes. I can recall vividly my excitement and wonder as I watched a Dove fly out the magician’s pocket or a bunny hop out of his hat. It was truly fun to watch. We talked about it for days afterwards.

In many churches today, magic is employed to teach children the Word of God through games and skits. It seems like innocent fun.

Today as a Born- Again Christian, I view this seemingly harmless practice differently because magic produces effects beyond the natural powers/ mental understanding of man. Okay, so in Magic Shows the magician uses tricks to confuse the mind of his audience. In other words he uses tricks and emulations. Tricks come from the word trickery. Emulations mean imitating an original practice such divination, sorcery etc. Both trickery (deception) and emulations( imitations) are used to deceive the audience. Both are condemned in the scriptures. They fall into the category of witchcraft. See Galatians 5:20.
Incidentally nagging, gossip, and rebellion also fall into the category of witchcraft, described as Variants in Galatians 5:20.

 Nowhere in the Bible is any sorcerer or magician portrayed in a positive light. All are condemned by God. Are we deceived about what witchcraft really is? Isaiah 1:2 (NIV) Hear, O Heavens! Listen, O Earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me."
Has Satan repackaged witchcraft to fit our modern Christian tastes but left the essence the same? Are we unknowingly practicing witchcraft?

The Holy Bible states that ​all types of magic fall in​to​  the category of witchcraft. Are we to understand that even this simple Magic Shows fall into the witchcraft category? Let us delve a little into the history of magic and its relation to witchcraft.

Ancient history determines that its deities were themselves dependent upon and influenced by a meta-divine realm; This realm spawned/ gave birth to a multitude of both malevolent(evil) and (benevolent) good entities; And that if humans can tap into this realm they can acquire the magical powers. The practice of magic originated as far back as the early Assyrians, Babylonians, and Canaanites. Later the early churches in Israel banned witchcraft but this did not end the practice of this Art.
The underlying concepts of magic are more or less based on emulation, concepts of religion, and magic from the late 19th century. False prophets, healers, evil doers like Jezebel, and Medicine men, misused the name of YHWH(God) by performing black magic through tying knots and other manipulations. They profaned the name of YHWH to make people believe that it was okay to participate in their rituals. John 8:44-45.NIV.
The apostle Paul condemned Elyas, the sorcerer, proclaiming him a “child of the devil” who was full of “all kinds of deceit and trickery” and was “perverting the right ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10).
This is still being done today in the name of God. Today witchcraft has been diluted. Magic Shows is one of its dilutions using trickery, imitations, and rebellion. By employing any form of magic, we are focusing on a lie and rebelling against God.. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry..." 1 Samuel 15:23.
  Magic is rebellion coupled with a desire to "stay in the game” or gainful employment.
All supernatural power comes, ultimately, from either God or Satan. God gives power to those who believe the truth. God’s power is the opposite of Satan’s whose nature is deception. Satan gives power to those who believe a lie. Witchcraft bolsters up the lie with mystery, pseudo-science ( astrology, psycho-kinesis, or clairvoyance), ancient knowledge, new knowledge etc. The more absurd the lie, the better. A lie acts as a distracter. This is where Magic Shows come in. It distracts us from the truth. It is sad that we innocently expose our children to the wiles of Satan. He is truly a deceiver. He blinds us to the truth.  Be alert, for Satan can appear as an angel of light.  This brings to mind the old adage..” where innocence is bliss, it’s folly to be wise.

copyrighted 2014