Do chrisitians believe in magic?

Question

Consider holy water. One minute it's regular azz water, then a priest waves a magic wand, spits some gibberish and suddenly it's "holy" water.

If you look at these rituals objectively, don't they strike you as being sort of silly?

To yummygood...regardless of what you nutcases believe, catholicism falls under christianity...

Answer 1

Christians believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Anything else comes from Satan.

Answer 2

What the priest is doing is blessing the water in the name of God, therefore acting on his authority. Although, I personally have my doubts about the effectiveness and need for holy water, I can break down the Christian belief about magic.

There are two supernatural powers in the world. One is ultimately good (God), and the other is ultimately evil (Satan). Picture a compass. At due north is God. Everything else is Satan. Why is this? Because God will not abide any evil. Not even the slightest bit of it. Therefore, anything that is not 100% God is the Devil. Now let's take a look at magic. What is the goal of magic? Human empowerment. Christianity doesn't work this way. Christianity puts control of your life in the hands of God, because God knows best. He's timeless. He designed everything, and everything happens according to his plan. Human empowerment is a way of trying to take control back. It's saying that you don't want to be a part of God's plan, and because of that, you are rebelling against God, which is also known as sin, which is what the Devil wants you to do, because if your sins are not forgiven, the Devil gets you in the afterlife. That's what makes magic the path to the Devil.

Answer 3

It's all about what the individual believes. You may not believe that holy water is real, but other people do. Whether it's real or not, isn't the point. The point is that belief has a powerful effect on the human mind.

Ever notice the number of people who believe that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day? Usually what I see is that it's unlucky only to the people who believe that it's unlucky. Friday the 13th is just another day. But a person can make it unlucky because of what they believe.

If someone believes that holy water is going to make them feel better, chances are that holy water will make that person feel better.

I, personally, don't believe "holy water" exists in that way. But considering the power that belief has on the human mind, such rituals are far from being silly.

edit: And to answer the original question, I don't believe in magic. But I do believe in the power of God.

Answer 4

yes I think the idea of Holy water is ridiculous. I mean C'mon Holy Water can't heal, only God can. And about magic. Yes, whether or not christians do believe in magic, because we know that it is of the devil and if it's of the devil, than it ain't good. So, I am a christian and I do believe in magic because it's of the devil and I know I need to stay away from it.

Answer 5

Och Es Corpus Me um. This means in Latin (or close to it) "This is my Body" This is what a priest says when he consecrates the Host which then becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus. What you are saying is nothing new. Scoffers have been saying it for centuries. Even before the Reformation. The Evil One has always mocked Holy things. That is his M.O. sort of speak. The above Latin phrase is where they got Hocus Pocus and they also add sometimes the word Dominocus. This is nothing short of Blasphemy.

Some of these people who have answered need to see a real exorcism. They'd change their mind in a hurry about alot of things when it comes to Catholicism and the notion that Catholics are not Christian is absolutely laughable.

Answer 6

That's Catholics-not Christians that believe in the HOly Water thing. We believe it's regular water too.

Answer 7

You do realize that real Christians and Christian religions don't consider Catholism a Christian religion, don't you? And the holy water is just one of the many reasons why.

Mutterhal - You downed catholism with your question because they are the ones with the priests and the "holy water", then you call me a nut case for agreeing with you. Who's the nutcase here, really?

Answer 8

Not catholic, so the whole "holy water" thing doesn't really pertain. I don't believe they wave a magic wand though, I think they just bless the water, but hey, what do I know, I'm presbyterian.

Answer 9

They don't like to call it magic, but you're right, that is precisely what it is. Exorcism is magic. The miracle of the loaves and fishes was magic. Walking on water. Baptism. Prayer. Communion. Changing water into wine. Resurrection. Virgin birth. These are just spells, charms, incantations, amulets, hexes, trances, and whammies dressed up with respectable names.

I don't believe in magic, either.

Answer 10

Prayer is magic, but it is passive magic; you pray to God and ask Him to do all that is needed to grant your prayer. You pray, and wait to be answered. There's nothing at all wrong with that, but that's why prayer feels different from active magic. It's like the difference between being in a play and watching a play.

Active magic happens when you pray to God and ask Him to grant your prayer and to make you the agent of its granting. You make your talismans and work your other magic, as I work mine, by the grace of God and by His strength. ("All things come of Thee, O Lord, and of Thine own have we given Thee.") Neither you nor I nor anyone can do magic except by God's will.

I think perhaps the difference you are feeling, that makes you feel as though you are "making demands of God" is the active/passive distinction. It IS a bit scary to be acting to bring things about rather than simply placing everything in God's hands.

But, then...you've probably heard the story of the man who was stranded on a roof during a flood. He was a devout Christian, and he began to pray earnestly that if it be the Lord's will, that he be rescued. The water rose and a log came floating downstream, within reach of him, but he kept praying and let it go by. Presently a small boat came floating by, and he kept on praying. Finally an evacuation helicopter showed up and someone started to let down a ladder, and he waved them off and said, "The Lord will provide." And then the waters rose higher and the man drowned. When he got to heaven, the first thing he said was, "Why, Lord? Why did You let me down? I trusted You and You failed me!" "What more did you want?" God asked. "I sent you a log, a boat and a helicopter."

God has given you and I and other Christians who work magic the understanding that magic exists and is good, and He has arranged for us to be taught to use it. Surely He must expect us to use the knowledge He has arranged for us to have! In my opinion, it would be rather ungrateful of us not to.