Illusion vs. Magic

Should we use “magic” or "Illusion" in evangelism?

First I would like to quote from “Handbook of Today's Religion”, (Josh McDowell&Don Stewart):

”Magic - in occultism, any practice which seeks to use or manifest occultic powers. In entertainment it refers to sleight of hands and tricks used to entertain.”

In every one of my programs, I always point to the difference between illusion, and “real magic”, and make a disclaimer, explaining that all I do is simply using tricks, sleight of hand, and nothing of the supernatural. As André Kole says:” any five-year old could do these tricks, with thirty years of practice…”

What the Bible condemns as a practice, and sometimes is translated in our Bibles by the word “magic”, refers to occultism, and sorcery, and not to the popular form of entertainment often referred to as magic. The problem that sometimes concerns Christians really has to do with confusion about words, or ignorance. Some tricks are very clever, but not to know how it is done should not imply that there must be a supernatural explanation. It is a general rule with illusionists that we do not freely tell how our tricks are done.

Some non-Christian performers have used tricks, yet pretended to have supernatural abilities. That makes them liars. I like to use the term “Illusionist” for myself, and feel it can be used as a great tool to show that we cannot trust what we see, and that deception can make people believe a lie. With this in mind, I point out that the only absolute and trustworthy source of truth is not what we feel or see, but the Word of God.

You can read a good article on the subject by: Robert H. Hill. “ Should a Christian Do Magic or Conjuring?” (Click on this link to view the article).

 

 

With sponge ball