Christian views on magic

Christian views on magic vary widely across denominational and individual barriers, and are often influenced by scriptural, theological, and historical considerations. Some Christians actively condemn any form of modern witchcraft as satanic while others do not. There is also no universal consensus among Christians on what is and what is not witchcraft, particularly as it is referred to in the Bible.

Introduction

Beliefs regarding magic have been around since the dawn of the human race, and are to be found in most human societies. They were common in the society of the Roman empire into which the Christian faith emerged. 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. A corollary of this was that witchcraft and sorcery were proscribed in Christian scripture. The practice of witchcraft and sorcery were sins that Christians needed to repent of, confess and forsake.

As Christianity expanded into tribal societies outside the Roman Empire, it encountered people among whom witchcraft, and the fear of witches, was more deeply rooted. Among Eastern Christians this was regarded as deisdemonia -- superstition. In the West, however, by the 9th and 10th centuries, belief in witchcraft began to be seen as heresy, since it denied the victory of Christ over evil. People who accused others of witchcraft were to be punished. In addition to church discipline and the imposition of penance, secular punishments began to be imposed.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, and the beginning of the Early Modern period, there was a dramatic inversion in the Western Christian approach. A new view was promulgated -- that witches were directly in league with the devil. Whereas it had previously been regarded as a heresy to believe that witches and sorcerers had power to harm, now it became heresy to deny that they had such power. Whereas in former times the accusation has been punished as much as the acts, now accusations were encouraged. This period, of the Great European witchhunt lasted about 200 years, and in some countries, particularly in North-Western Europe, thousands of people were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death.

The European witch craze died down as suddenly as it had begun. The Enlightenment killed it.

Following the 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, that such things "just don't happen."

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 in Northern Europe. Western Christian theology was largely unable to cope, and many African Independent Churches developed their own responses to witchcraft and sorcery.

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

Many modern Christians do not genuinely believe that witchcraft works. Many who condemn it associate witchcraft with Satanism, that witchcraft derives its power from forces of evil. Other Christians simply consider witchcraft to be a false religion. Such Christians, however, sometimes believe that Satan will use his power to make the witch's spells appear to work in order to deceive people. 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 believe in Satan.

Syncretic religions involving Christianity and witchcraft

Few Christians practice Witchcraft or engage in magic. Among the most notable exceptions is Santería, a 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 among Christians.

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, for instance, formally recognises many spiritual gifts reported by some Christian mystics, such as visions and healing. These spiritual gifts are often referred to as charisms. 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 mystics include the apostles Paul and John.

Medieval views

During the early Middle Ages, the Church did not conduct witch trials. 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.

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 Suprima (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.

Martin Luther on witchcraft

Martin Luther shared some of the views about witchcraft that were common in his time. When interpreting Exodus 22:18, he stated that, with the help of the devil, witches could steal milk simply by thinking of a cow. In his Small Catechism, he taught that witchcraft was a sin against the second commandment and prescribed the Biblical penalty for it in a "table talk":

On 25 August 1538 there was much discussion about witches and sorceresses who steal chicken eggs out of nests, or steal 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."

Biblical references and interpretations

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 to any and all people to whom the word witch has been applied.

Some claim that the use of this phrase in the Bible referred to a specific religious practice: some adherents of near-east religions acted as "mediums", channeling messages from the dead or from a "familiar spirit". The words "witch" and "witchcraft" in the Bible are sometimes translated "necromancer" and "necromancy" for this reason. However, some lexicographers, including 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 view that this word referred to mediums rather than witches or sorcerers as the words are used today is supported by the fact that the Hebrew word owb is used in the condemnation of mediums elsewhere, as in Leviticus 20:27.

Context of verses

Some argue that it is incorrect to interpret verses condemning witchcraft without considering the verses' context, pointing out that verse divisions were not added to the Bible until the Middle Ages . 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. If an activity was part of the religion of a neighboring tribe, this in itself, rather than its own intrinsic evil, was sufficient to secure condemnation; condemnation meaning, of course, the necessity of death for the "offender".

Bibliography

• Cohn, Norman (1975). Europe's inner demons. London: Sussex University Press. ISBN 0-435-82183-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Fox, Robin Lane (1987). Pagans and Christians. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-55495-7. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Hutton, Ronald (1991). Pagan religions of the ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-17288-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Williams, Charles (1959). Witchcraft. New York: Meridian. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Occult Art, Occultism"
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Witchcraft"

See also

• Witchcraft
• Witchhunt
• Voodoo
• Malleus Maleficarum
• Thomas Ady
• Harry Potter Controversy