a quick question for christians?

Question

If you consider magick and witchcraft to be evil, why was it ok for the 3 magi astrologers to visit baby Jesus?

workben003, since you lack the capability to defend your own belief and hide behind non-existant spelling nit picking, I have to assume that you are the incompetent one. "magicK" is an accepted alternate spelling that differentiates it from stage magic.

dmd...it did NOT use fortune telling? why do you think astrology was created if not for foretelling the future? the 3 wise men obviously were using it thusly.

sr...I studied the bible intently for 6 years, and it's inconsistencies are part of the reason I no longer believe.

Answer 1

They were, in fact, star gazers, or astrologers.

In the Old Testament, Daniel was one of the Jewish captives in Babylon. He prophecied WHEN the Messiah would come (49 weeks of years, or 483 years after the command to rebuld the temple in Jerusalem), and this information was recorded in their historical records.

When the time came, they wanted to know if this Daniel of Jewish heritage was right, or just a raving lunatic, so they set out on their journey, and in case he WAS right (after all, he had been right about everything else that came to pass after he proclaimed them), so they brought gifts, gold, frankensense and mir. I heard once that these three items are symbolic, but I don't remember what for.

They were not practicing magick or witchcraft in this activity of theirs, but rather following the star of Bethlehem (an angel in the sky, perhaps? Definitely NOT a meteor, because meteors don't stand still in one place in the night sky). But it shows that ALL bow down to Jesus who is Lord of all, even astrologers. ("Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father.")

We have the choice to bow before His authority NOW and He will save us from our sins, forgive us, and adopt us into His Forever Family; or we can wait till we stand before Him as our Judge and bow before Him because we see the infinite glory of God upon Him. The choice is really ours, but if we choose to wait, it won't bode well for us.

Thank you for a good question, and I apologize for such a long answer. I just felt that I should give sufficient details to cover the subject properly.

Answer 2

Magic as in "illusion" is not evil. Witchcraft is because of what it does. Now the 3 magi, hmmmm.... I don't think they are "magicians", although the rootword seems to be coming from that. Question: Did the 3 magi's perform a trick in the Lord's presence..? Also, it's yet to be confirmed if the 3 are astrologers. Some say they are kings of tribes, others say they are just "wise men".

Anyway, the 3 magi's role in the life of Jesus is to tell the people of the world that: 1.) The coming of the Messiah is expected; 2.) That 3 persons who just met on the site, where awaiting this most spectacular of all events; and 3.)Non-Jews (representing humanity) bow down to a Jew.

Answer 3

The 3 magi, were called so because they studied the stars for prophecy. They understood the stars as God's messages, not those of a soothsayer.

Satan has adopted God's creations as his own, perverted the meanings and twisted the interpretations. Why does he do this? To keep mankind as blind as possible.

We are not afraid of these things, we have a better understanding of them. Those books you pick up at the crystal shop, give you no information at all. I could write one and you would believe it. Ever hear about the power of the written word? All it needs is to get published and the public eats it up.

I've often thought how funny it would be to write a series of books, each one leading the reader closer to believing that I'm some sort of guru, only to publish the last book letting the cat out of the bag and letting the reader know that I think they are gullible. It would be easy.

You see, you're asking those who believe in the Master of all things, about things He Himself created, if we believe in those things. Why would there be a question, if 'those things' had not been perverted as to their meaning?

Yours is not the original translation. Yours is the perverted one.

Answer 4

They were coming to honor and worship the "KING". They new he was King because of ancient ways of reading the stars. Astrology then is not what it is today. In ancient days, reading the stars was used for determining the seasons and days. It was also used for predicting weather, etc. Remember, they did not have the modern technology that we have. The skill of astrology did not use astrology for fortune telling as it is today. Grant it there were some that were using it for evil interpretation, but it was also a common use as we use technology. The point is, aside from the fact that they were astrologists, they did come to HONOR and WORSHIP the KING, JESUS CHRIST.

Answer 5

Astronomy isn't the same thing as astrology.
These men were not necessarily themselves astrologers, but it thought to have been leaders, rulers.
Consider this: when their show rolled into town, they must have had a caravan, necessary for anyone making a long journey. Recall there were no cars, and no refrigeration for the keeping of food.
So it's going to attract much attention. See how that would add to the worry in Herod's mind? Herod had a family with a wide cruel streak running through it. Read about him to gain a better understanding.
The last thing I would point out is the gifts these men made were meant as prophetic. It is not known if they were even aware of it or not.
Gold, which symbolized His Kingly role, Frankincense, which symbolized His Priestly role, and Myrrh, symbolizing His Sacrificial role.

Answer 6

The same reason that it was OK for whores, demon filled people, and other "sinners" to visit Jesus.

The sick need to visit the doctor, not the healthy. Jesus came to call the sinners to repentance, not the righteous.

The Magi got their information about the messiah from reading Jewish prophecy. It was the height of irony that pagans understood what the Rabbis missed, and obviously Matthew was trying to make this very point to his fellow Jews since his is the only gospel to mention this.

===edit===

To further make my point clear, according to church tradition, the various gospels were written with different purposes in mind. For example, the Gospel of Luke was written by a Greek as an appeal to Greek people, so it mentions things that the Greeks would find important. Matthew was a Jew writing to other Jews to try to convince them that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, so he would have mentioned things that would have caught the attention of his Jewish readers.

Answer 7

keep in mind, as Christians we are to evangelize to the unbeliever (unfold the awareness). in spite of the actuality that, we might desire to continuously be careful and make useful the guy we confront is waiting to hearken to. a approaches too in many cases the act of throwing hearth & brimstone on the non-believer will basically reason greater torment, the latter is the voice of devil driving the non-believer even further away. the right technique could be to chat with the guy as a pal and once you experience a quick biblical passage will greater healthful the undertaking of activity it would be conveyed. in the progression the above would not look achieveable then maybe yet another day will shed some consequences. besides, we might desire to continuously comprehend that Jesus did seat and consume with the sinners yet He did no longer make it a habit. Our Lord noted the significance of residing a existence with God and the point that conveys a civilized - non secular experience. finally, after we affiliate with unbelievers on a ordinary foundation as a stable pal we are able to truthfully tackle their sinful way, the state-of-the-paintings nuances of sin lead one into it even further. devil is amazingly crafty and manipulative which will very much impression your desire to unfold the awareness in case you reside interior of a destitute crowd. God bless'

Answer 8

You can study the sky, and not believe it controls your life. People didn't have Zodiac signs back then, so, studying the stars was like being an astronomer, not astrologer

Answer 9

astrology is star gazing and reading life from the stars
god spoke to these people on the level they were on

its nothing like witchcraft

Answer 10

I think this is a great question.

Jesus did not come to save those who were righteous but to save those who were lost. Christ came to save man from his sins, a sinless man has no need for a savior. In a way it shows that Christ can redeem anyone.

Everyone is welcome to worship Jesus.