Christian views on magic
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Fuzzypeg
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Mention the active engagement in magic of esoteric christianity. The previous editor was correct in seeing that something along these lines needed to be mentioned.
{{Refimprove|date=January 2007}}
'''Christian views on [[Magic (paranormal)|magic]]''' vary widely across [[denomination]]al and individual barriers, and are often influenced by [[Biblical]], [[theological]], and historical considerations. Some [[Christian]]s actively condemn any form of magic as [[Satanic]] while others simply dismiss it as [[superstition]]. Conversely, some branches of [[esoteric Christianity]] actively engage in magical practices.
==Introduction==
Beliefs regarding magic have been around for centuries, and are to be found in many human societies. They were common in the society of the [[Roman empire]] into which the Christian faith emerged. (See the [[Book of Acts]]) Christian responses differed from the surrounding society in that Christians believed that since [[Christ]] by his death and [[resurrection]] had won a victory over all forces of [[evil]], neither [[witchcraft]] nor sorcery had the power to harm Christians. ([[Epistle to the Romans]] 8:38-9) A corollary of this was that witchcraft and sorcery were proscribed in Christian scripture. ([[Galatians]] 5:20) The practice of witchcraft and sorcery were [[sin]]s that Christians needed to repent of, confess and forsake.
Among [[Eastern Christians]] belief in witchcraft was regarded as ''deisdemonia'' -- superstition. In the West, however, by the 9th and [[10th centuries]], belief in witchcraft began to be seen as [[heresy]].
Towards the end of the [[Middle Ages]] and the beginning of the Early Modern period, belief in witchcraft became sanctioned by the Church, and witches were seen as directly in league with the [[Devil]]. This marked the beginning of a period of [[witch-hunt]]s which lasted about 200 years, and in some countries, particularly in North-Western Europe, thousands of people were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death.
During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], belief in the powers of witches and sorcerers to harm began to die out in the West. But the reasons for disbelief differed from those of early Christians. For the early Christians the reason was theological -- that Christ had already defeated the powers of evil. For the post-Enlightenment Christians, the disbelief was based on a belief in [[rationalism]] and [[empiricism]].
It was at this time, however, that Western Christianity began expanding to parts of [[Africa]] and [[Asia]] where premodern worldviews still held sway, and where belief in the power of witches and sorcerers to harm was, if anything, stronger than it had been in [[Northern Europe]]. Many [[African Initiated Church|African Independent Churches]] developed their own responses to witchcraft and sorcery.<ref name="Hayes">Hayes, Stephen. 1995. Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery, in Missionalia, Vol. 23(3) November. Pages 339-354. [http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM]</ref>
In the 20th century the situation was further complicated by the rise of [[new religious movements]] that considered witchcraft to be a religion.
==Modern views==
Usually, this view does not claim that witches actually consciously enter into a pact with Satan, which is especially important because most practitioners of [[Wicca]] and other modern witchcraft do not even believe in Satan.<ref>U.S. Department of the Army, "Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains": "It is very important to be aware that Wiccans do not in any way worship or believe in "Satan," "the Devil," or any similar entities."</ref><ref name="Hayes">Hayes, Stephen. 1995. Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery, in Missionalia, Vol. 23(3) November. Pages 339-354. [http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM]</ref>
===Syncretic religions involving Christianity and witchcraft===
Few Christians practice Witchcraft or engage in magic. Among the most notable exceptions is [[Santería]], a [[syncretism|syncretic]] hybrid of African [[animism]] and Christianity. There are also those who practice a combination of Wiccan and Christian beliefs, see [[Christian Wicca]]. The designation of these belief systems as Christian is disputed.
===Christian mysticism and witchcraft===
There are various forms of [[mysticism]] that claim Christian roots. Some Christian denominations reject these as another form of witchcraft or sorcery, while others accept at least certain forms of mysticism. The [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]], for instance, formally recognises many [[spiritual gift]]s reported by some Christian mystics, such as visions and healing. It is worth noting that, in the early years of Christianity, the situation was reversed, with the majority of Christians following a more mystic variant. These spiritual gifts are often referred to as [[charism]]s. Whether a particular vision is from God or from the devil is the subject of "the [[discernment]] of spirits", which is itself a charism. Early Christian with these gifts include the apostles [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] and [[John the Apostle|John]].
==Medieval views==
During the early Middle Ages, the Church did not conduct witch trials.<ref name=InnerDemons>Cohn, Norman: "Europe's Inner Demons: The Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom." London: Sussex University Press, 1975</ref> The [[Council of Paderborn]] in [[785]] explicitly outlawed the very belief in witches, and [[Charlemagne]] later confirmed the law. The [[Inquisition]] conducted trials against supposed witches in the [[13th century]], but these trials were to punish [[heresy]], of which belief in witchcraft was merely one variety.<ref name=InnerDemons>
Inquisitorial courts became systematically involved in the witch-hunt only in the [[15th century]]: in the case of the [[Madonna Oriente]], the Inquisition of [[Milan]] was not sure what to do with two women who in [[1384]] and in [[1390]] confessed to have participated in a type of [[white magic]].
The infamous ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' was condemned by the Catholic Church shortly after its appearance, but enjoyed sustained popularity in Protestant regions during the [[Reformation]].
Not all Inquisitorial courts acknowledged witchcraft. For example, in 1610 as the result of a witch hunting craze the Suprema (the ruling council of the Spanish Inquisition) gave everybody an Edict of Grace (during which confessing witches were ''not'' to be punished) and put the only dissenting inquisitor, Alonso de Salazar y Frias, in charge of the subsequent investigation. The results of Salazar's investigation was that the Spanish Inquisition did not bother witches ever again though they still went after heretics and Jews.<ref>1978 "A witch with three toes too many"; Out of this World Encyclopedia 23:9-12</ref>
==Martin Luther on witchcraft==
[[Martin Luther]] shared some of the views about witchcraft that were common in his time.<ref>Susan C. Karant-Nunn and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Luther on Women: A Sourcebook, (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 2003), 228.</ref> When interpreting Exodus 22:18,<ref>[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible%2C_King_James%2C_Exodus#Chapter_22 Exodus 22:18]</ref> he stated that, with the help of the devil, witches could steal milk simply by thinking of a cow.<ref>''Sermon on Exodus, 1526'', ''WA'' 16, 551 f.</ref> In his Small Catechism, he taught that witchcraft was a sin against the second commandment<ref>Martin Luther, [http://www.ProjectWittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/little.book/web/book-1.html#b <cite>Luther's Little Instruction Book</cite>], Trans. Robert E. Smith, (Fort Wayne: Project Wittenberg, 2004), <cite>Small Catechism</cite> 1.2.</ref> and prescribed the Biblical penalty for it in a "table talk":
<blockquote>On 25 August 1538 there was much discussion about witches and sorceresses who poisoning chicken eggs in the nests, or poisoning milk and butter. Doctor Luther said: "One should show no mercy to these [women]; I would burn them myself, for we read in the Law that the priests were the ones to begin the stoning of criminals."<ref>''WA Tr'' 4:51–52, no. 3979 quoted and translated in Karant-Nunn, 236. The original Latin and German text is: "25, Augusti multa dicebant de veneficis et incantatricibus, quae ova ex gallinis et lac et butyrum furarentur. Respondit Lutherus: Cum illis nulla habenda est misericordia. Ich wolte sie selber verprennen, more legis, ubi sacerdotes reos lapidare incipiebant.</ref></blockquote>
==Biblical references and interpretations==
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There are several references to witchcraft in the [[Bible]] that strongly condemn such practices. For example, [[Deuteronomy]] 18:11-12 condemns anyone who "..casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the {{LORD}}, and because of these detestable practices the {{LORD}} your God will drive out those nations before you" (NIV); [[Exodus]] 22:18 states "Do not allow a sorceress to live" (NIV). Many people today, particularly [[fundamentalist Christians]], assume that these texts refer also to modern witches.
Some adherents of near-east religions acted as "[[Medium (spirituality)|mediums]]", channeling messages from the dead or from a "familiar spirit". The Bible sometimes is translated as referring to "necromancer" and "[[necromancy]]" (Deut 18:11 [[KJV]]) However, some lexicographers, including [[James Strong (theologian)|James Strong]] and Spiros Zodhiates, disagree. These scholars say that the Hebrew word ''kashaph'', used in [[Exodus]] 22:18 and 5 other places in the [[Tanakh]] comes from a root meaning "to whisper". Strong therefore concludes that the word means "to whisper a spell, ''i.e.'' to incant or practise magic". The [[Contemporary English Version]] translates Deuteronomy 18:11 as referring to "any kind of magic".
===Context of verses===
The context of Exodus 22:18 as part of the laying forth of the [[Law of Moses]] may indicate that its purpose is to keep the religion of [[Yahweh]]'s people distinct in its practices from those of the surrounding peoples.
==See also==
*[[Benedicaria]]
*[[Christianity and paganism]]
*[[Religious debates over the Harry Potter series]]
*[[Thomas Ady]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Norman
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Europe's inner demons
| publisher = Sussex University Press
| date = 1975
| location = London
| url =
| doi =
| id = ISBN 0-435-82183-0 }}
*{{cite book
| last = Fox
| first = Robin Lane
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Pagans and Christians
| publisher = Knopf
| date = 1987
| location = New York
| url =
| doi =
| id = ISBN 0-394-55495-7 }}
*{{cite book
| last = Hutton
| first = Ronald
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Pagan religions of the ancient British Isles
| publisher = Blackwell
| date = 1991
| location = Oxford
| url =
| doi =
| id = ISBN 0-631-17288-2 }}
*{{cite book
| last = Williams
| first = Charles
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Witchcraft
| publisher = Meridian
| date = 1959
| location = New York
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}
==External links==
*[http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11197b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "Occult Art, Occultism"]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "Witchcraft"]
[[Category:Christian interfaith and secular relations]]
[[Category:Christian viewpoints|Magic]]
[[Category:Witchcraft]]