The Bible, Magic, and Fairy Tales
Why would we want to learn about magic in the Bible and fairy tales?
Many Christians are very concerned about the increasing use of magic and magical practices in the real world.
Some see that magic in stories is similar or the same magic that's practiced in real life, and they don't want their friends or family to become caught up in magical practices.
Others may be concerned about the ability to distinguish between magic that's in stories, and magic as it's practiced in real life.
These are very valid concerns.
So how can we justify reading stories by Christian authors who with magic in them where it's not always portrayed as evil?
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are notable examples of this. Middle Earth and Narnia are both worlds of magic, and both authors were devout Christians. Knowing that both of these authors were Christian has allowed many Christians to dismiss the use of magic in their stories.
But should they dismiss them so easily?
We live in a time where many people are open about being practitioners of magic.
And what about the magic in classic fairy tales?
- Cinderella's fairy godmother used magic to bring her to the ball
- The Blue Lady in Pinocchio was able to do magic
- The Shoemaker and the Elves relies on magic
How can we reconcile the use of magic in these stories (and others) as Christians?
What makes it a bit more difficult to figure that out in our current time is that some practitioners of magic in real life imitate the magic and characters in some of these stories.
There ARE ways to sort through this and figure it out. Lewis and Tolkien are wonderful examples of this in their stories and in real life.
I'll show you some of the ways to do that in The Bible, Magic, and Fairy Tales