I was going over the earlier posts you made about magic, and I realized something important.
While Christians are encouraged to engage in religion rather than magic, a significant portion of the method by which Christ expiated the fate of humankind (death and hell) was magical rather than religious.
To speak of an incident that is less sensitive, the episode in the Garden of Eden involves the practical application of magic...God outwitting the devil in order to bring about the divine purpose. Though less explicit, the creation immediately preceding it is also a story of applied magic. It is a recurring theme in the scriptures.
In a sense, Christianity involves trusting God to do magic on our behalf. This is not true of every other religion, there are religions in which the central purposes of deity can be accomplished through direct power without relying on manipulation of evil beings. But the Christian conception is of a God who does indeed rely on magic for at least some of His power.
I still see it as dangerous for mortals to seek out evil supernatural beings and try to trick them into doing good. In fact, I'm rather shocked that God does it.
29 May 2018 at 15:37
If magic was currently possible in England, in any widespread fashion, it would be a disaster - since the people are so corrupt, and so often aligned with evil.
The only safe and beneficial way in which personal magical power could happen, could be, if it were tied-to Christian motivations; if the two were made inextricable.
Magic could not be allowed as a kind of craft, skill or technique - because then it would be misused on a huge scale - since all forms of formal, abstract organisation are corrupt, depraved, evil-seeking (this is the era of the demonic-aspect 'Ahriman' - in which purposive evil takes the form of bureaucracy, systems-thinking, transhumanism, technology).
Magic would need to be - and in fact is, something that arises quite naturally and spontaneously in the course of living - and not by anybody setting-out to Do Magic. This is because magic is driven only by motivations that are in harmony with divine creation.
There is a very general frustration of 'powerlessness' felt by people - especially by young and virile people - for change, improvement, a better world. But these people are deeply corrupted by selfish and short-termist motivations; and that is why they need to be thwarted. They need to learn-from their misery, not try to attain personal power that they would certainly misuse, which they would certainly be corrupted-by.
This applies equally to the people who push for plans and schemes and systems of power that they claim are objective, impersonal, necessarily-benign - such as markets or selection processes, or idealised polities... These are motivated by the prevalent demonic forces; and are forbidden, excluded, ruled-out intrinsically - because they would be the triumph of evil.
Especially consistent power is ruled-out, Magic On Demand! - but Magic does happen unpredictably, unsought and briefly - when a persons motivation is temporarily aligned with the divine. This prevents misuse and ensures only proper use - and this quite naturally and organically...
Magic is actually 'Final Participation' - the conscious engagement with reality of a person's real self. It is the alignment of the individual self with the continuing process of divine creation. Thus, for a moment at least, a person will - by their thinking - have their originality incorporated (permanently) into creation... Thus a single individual act will be solidified and 'amplified' to become absolutely general...
In such a situation, when or if it happens, magic quite naturally follows; in the sense that the individual's real self is active and contributes some-thing new, conscious, willed - to manifestation.
This while magic is not a methodology; on the other side of the same coin if/ when a person is 'ready' (even if just for a moment) that is - when he or she is properly-motivated (which is to say a Christian, a knower and follower of Jesus - rare enough, and also one who is thinking from and with their divine self in harmony with creation - something considerably rarer, and indeed explicitly rejected by many/ most Christians)... Then it will Just Happen - it will be as-if that person's thoughts and acts were amplified beyond comprehension or rational possibility!
And yet, to an outsider (non-Christian, or Christian who chooses not to have this relationship with God) deniably so; since it would be harmonious with divine creation, hence deniable. Yet again, anyone capable (who fulfils the criteria, as it were) may recognise the provenance of creation - it doesn't all blend into one; it was, is, remains personal.
(Because Heaven - as Christians understand it - is eternal relationships between persons, between selves; not any kind of 'reabsorption' of all persons/ selves back-into divinity.)
What we have sometimes seen in history, is the remarkable 'magical' influence of aligned-men - even when they are flawed at other times, or most of the time.
Inspiration and prophecy means to be aligned (whether unconsciously, but sometimes consciously) with creative manifestation. Consequently the human creativity is amplified astonishingly - by its harmony with that of God the primary creator.
"Why magic doesn't happen in modern England (or, hardly-ever)"
1 Comment -
I was going over the earlier posts you made about magic, and I realized something important.
While Christians are encouraged to engage in religion rather than magic, a significant portion of the method by which Christ expiated the fate of humankind (death and hell) was magical rather than religious.
To speak of an incident that is less sensitive, the episode in the Garden of Eden involves the practical application of magic...God outwitting the devil in order to bring about the divine purpose. Though less explicit, the creation immediately preceding it is also a story of applied magic. It is a recurring theme in the scriptures.
In a sense, Christianity involves trusting God to do magic on our behalf. This is not true of every other religion, there are religions in which the central purposes of deity can be accomplished through direct power without relying on manipulation of evil beings. But the Christian conception is of a God who does indeed rely on magic for at least some of His power.
I still see it as dangerous for mortals to seek out evil supernatural beings and try to trick them into doing good. In fact, I'm rather shocked that God does it.
29 May 2018 at 15:37