Okay, actually, this has been bothering me a very long time, even before we started discussing the Exodus. Okay, while I wouldn't consider myself to be well-versed in scripture, I do remember hearing that sorcery is forbidden to all, right? Okay, So, what do you call everything that God pulls off...? I know the Bible calls it "miracles", but a lot of the miracles God pulls off...The Pharaohs' sorcerers can perform as well, albeit Gods is stronger. Even then, a lot of these "miracles", at least to me, sound more like "magic" than "miracle." When I think "miracle", I don't think "swarm of locusts." Heck, even the word magician derives from "Magi", which I believe were what the wisemen who visited Jesus were called.
What I'm getting at is this: Is there REALLY a difference between "miracle" and "magic"...?
Commented on Lucas H's post.
God is the creator of the universe. He has no limitations. He can do anything that He wants. When He decides to do something on earth that exceeds our understanding of how things work, then we call it a miracle. It is an act of God, that ultimately results in someone's life being changed to glorify Him. (Check it out in scripture. All the miracles. Old Testament and New)
ReplyDeleteMagic is something that is humans trying to do what God can. They do this by means of using spells or spirits or the like. This, I beleive, is evil. I beleive that the source of all "magic" is from demons: angels that were cast out of heaven for worshipping Lucifer, instead of God(I would suggest reading a book called "Demon" by author Tosca Lee. She paints this picture better than anyone I have ever witnessed). These demons have been around for a while, and know the true nature of things better than we do. Therefore, they can do things that we consider "supernatural". When we use demons to do the supernatural, we are falling into their trap: their plot to seperate us further from God.
I agree completely with Jeremy. Allow me to put it in simpler terms. Anything that is performed with the power of God is a miracle; anything performed as an impersonation of God's works is sorcery or magic. The difference is the ploy which Satan is pulling by using the deception of fleshly sights and senses to his advantage. He performs many "miracles" that seem God-like, but are really just follow the whole "the hand is faster than the eye" trick.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing, you cannot analyze a word like magi and magician like that. Especially with English, you must analyze the context, and even revert back to the original writing to understand the meaning. There is an example even in this paragraph. What you said would be like me saying that the word "meaning" is the same as treating someone poorly because is starts with the word "mean". Just to further run my point into the dirt, try these words out, putting a different emphasis or sound on different portions of the word to change their meanings.
-object
-minute
-present
-record
-dove
-lead
-bow
-bass
It's called a heteronym and English is full of them. Soak it up.
-Will
I wouldn't call the plagues miracles either. I would call them acts of God. I would call them God's punishment on Egypt. I would call them God acting in His power (which He is completely entitled to do) to make His name famous.
ReplyDeleteThis "magic" that the Egyptians can do as well, have you ever seen voodoo being practiced? What about Wicca? It's from Satan and anything "magic" that comes from it is of Satan. So, can people do real "magic" to try to imitate God? Yes. Satan is the "prince and the power of the air." But can they calm raging seas, soothe a troubled heart, or ultimately save the world from eternal condemnation? Most certainly not.
Only God can do that.
Know how you can tell the difference? In the Dominican Republic they practice a ton of voodoo because of Haitian influences. Well I had the oppurtunity to visit some of these people. It was dark, scary, and restless.
However I've also seen acts of God. They may be full of challenge, but for His people there is peace. There is love. There is true power, not the counterfeit power of Satan.
Counterfeit money is outed when held up to the light. Counterfeit power and love is outed when held up to the light of the world.
I hope this helps!
Keep asking the hard questions~