Editing Christian views on magic (section)

==Modern views==
During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], belief in the powers of witches and sorcerers to harm began to die out in the West. <ref name="Hayes" /> 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 in West and North Europe, 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.  {{cite web |url=http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM |title=Untitled |access-date=2007-04-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415185117/http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM |archive-date=2007-04-15 }}</ref>

The situation was further complicated by the rise of [[new religious movements]] that considered witchcraft to be a religion. These perspectives do not claim that witches actually consciously enter into a pact with Satan because Satan is not normally believed to exist in [[Wicca]] or other modern neo-pagan witchcraft practices.<ref name="Hayes"/><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>

===Christian opposition to witchcraft===
Several Christian groups believe in witchcraft and view it as a [[Theistic Satanism|negative force]]. Many [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist Christians]] believe that witchcraft is a danger to children.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cockrell |first=Amanda |date=2006-02-10 |title=Harry Potter and the Witch Hunters: A Social Context for the Attacks on ''Harry Potter'' |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-734x.2006.00272.x |journal=The Journal of American Culture |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=26 |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734x.2006.00272.x |issn=1542-7331}}</ref> The 2006 documentary ''[[Jesus Camp]]'', which depicts the life of young children attending Becky Fischer's summer camp, shows Fischer [[Religious debates over the Harry Potter series|condemning]] the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' novels and telling the students that "Warlocks are enemies of God".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schaefer |first=Donovan O. |title=Religious affects: animality, evolution, and power |date=2015 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-5982-1 |location=Durham}}</ref> While Fischer's summer camp has sometimes been identified as [[Pentecostal]], Fischer is most closely associated with the [[Neo-Pentecostal|neo-Pentecostal movement]] known as the [[New Apostolic Reformation]] (NAR).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Weaver |first=John |title=The new apostolic reformation: history of a modern charismatic movement |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2421-1 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=95–96}}</ref>

Among Christian organizations, the NAR is especially aggressive in [[spiritual warfare]] efforts to counter alleged acts of witchcraft; the NAR's globally distributed ''Transformations'' documentaries by filmmaker George Otis Jr. show charismatic Christians creating mini-utopias by using [[spiritual mapping]] to locate and drive off [[Territorial spirit|territorial spirits]] and by banishing accused witches.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lampman |first=Jane |date=September 23, 1999 |title=Targeting cities with 'spiritual mapping,' prayer |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0923/p15s1.html |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/29340/holvast.pdf?sequence=2 |title=Spiritual Mapping: The Turbulent Career of a Contested American Missionary Paradigm, 1989-2005 |first=René |last=Holvast |publisher=[[Utrecht University]] |pages=98–99 |access-date=2008-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919034958/https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/29340/holvast.pdf?sequence=2 |archive-date=2015-09-19}}</ref> During the 2008 United States presidential election, footage surfaced from a 2005 church ceremony in which an NAR apostle, Kenyan bishop [[Thomas Muthee]], laid hands on [[Sarah Palin]] and called upon God to protect her from "every form of witchcraft".<ref>{{Cite news |last=MacAskill |first=Ewen |date=2008-09-24 |title=Video shows Palin in anti-witchcraft prayer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/25/sarahpalin.republicans |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 19, 2011 |title=The Evangelicals Engaged In Spiritual Warfare |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/139781021 |access-date=May 1, 2024 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

===Magic in literature===
{{See also|Religious debates over the Harry Potter series}}
Magic in literature, while condemned by some Christians, is often viewed by Christians as non-evil. The key distinction would be between real-life magic and pretend magic. This view holds that in real life, the practice of supernatural abilities (i.e. magic) must have a supernatural power source or origin, which would be either holy or evil. Thus born of Holy Spirit or of demons. (See [[Spiritual gift]] and [[Christian demonology]] for details on these teachings.) Thus, magic in the Biblical context would be viewed as only an act of evil, whereas in literature, pretend magic is a morally neutral tool available to conduct both good and bad behaviors.

In literature, magical abilities have many different power sources. Technological ability (science) can appear as magic.<ref>, Arthur C. Clarke. "Profiles of The Future", 1961 (Clarke's third law)</ref> Often, wielding magic is accomplished by imposing one's will by concentration and/or use of devices to control an external magical force.  This explanation is offered for [[the Force]] in ''[[Star Wars]]'', magic in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', and magic in ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

The latter two works are by notable Christians, [[C. S. Lewis]] and [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], respectively. In the first book in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', ''[[The Magician's Nephew]]'', Lewis specifically explains that magic is a power readily available in some other worlds, less so on Earth. The Empress Jadis (later, the [[White Witch]]) was tempted to use magic for selfish reasons to retain control of her world Charn, which ultimately led to the destruction of life there. Lewis related questions of the morality of magic to the same category as the morality of technology, including whether it is real, represents an 'unhealthy interest', or contravenes the basic divine plan for our universe.<ref>[[Matthew T. Dickerson]], David O'Hara. "Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C.S.Lewis", 2009</ref>

Tolkien, a devout Catholic, had strict rules imposed by the ruling powers, angels who had assumed the 'raiment of the earth', for the use of magic by their servants. These included a general discouragement of magic in all but exceptional circumstances, and also prohibitions against use of magic to control others, to set the self up as a political power, or to create a world that violates the natural order.<ref>[[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien, J. R. R.]] 'The Istari', in "Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth", edited with commentary by Christopher Tolkien; published posthumously, George Allen & Unwin: 1980, pp.390-391.</ref>  He did however allow his wizard character to entertain children with magical fireworks.<ref>[[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien, J. R. R.]] "The Hobbit", 1937; 4th edition, George Allen & Unwin, 1978: p.14</ref><ref>[[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien, J. R. R.]] 'A long-expected party', in "The Fellowship of the Ring", 1954; 15th impression, George Allen & Unwin, 1966, pp. 35-36.</ref>