A Slight of Hand, A Twist of Fate
Tonight Shawn and I saw “Now You See Me“- a movie about 4 magicians who preform awe-inspiring tricks that end up getting attention of the FBI. (on a movie review note–you should go see it.) As a courtesy I will not spoil any of the movie but it got me thinking. About God & Magic. About the analogies and similarities and the people I know who love magic yet have the strongest faith in God. And when I get to thinking… I have started coming to my blog…
Some things to think about:
My brother, who is an amazing pastor, worked as a magician and still does the little tricks for his kids.
I have another friend who was is into magic yet is a strong believer in Christ.
…However…
Several fundamentalist shun magic stating it is affiliated with the devil.
Many people think of God as the Head Magician… “conning” people into believe some great giant trick.
So let’s look at some positives of magic & God/faith.
Magic is meant to entertain, deceive and to inspire curiosity. According to the movie it gives people a little bit of hope beyond what they can see. (again, go see the movie…) In working with religion and God. God is the source of faith, He is what is beyond what you can see. And maybe not to entertain for financial gain, I would arguably says God is definitely here to inspire. And (in a more blunt way) He is deceiving as the few things that we can see of Him are only a spark of what is to come–much like magic.
Another movie about magic, The Prestige, refers to 3 elements of an illusion–the pledge, the turn & the prestige. It’s the presentation of something ordinary, the change of the ordinary object into something extraordinary and the final presentation of the extraordinary proof. (See QuoteFromTheMovie) God can do these three things… God creates the ordinary, makes it extraordinary and then spends His time presenting the prestige to the world…. this can apply to every human including the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
Just remember though–magic has bad elements and can lead to a belief in hocus pocus spells or an imaginative reality that leads to emptiness or lack of stability. Or even worse–bad spirituality (aka demons, “black…”) Remember that God is alive, in control, created reality and has come down to be with those He loves the most-humanity-through Christ. And remember that magic, though sometimes simply an illusion, can inspire that little bit of hope for a happier world through Him who Is.
Musings of An AfterThought 
June 10, 2013 at 03:22
Hmmm… there’s a lot to chew on in this post, so I’ll just hit a few points.1. To the fundamentalists who shun magic stating it is affiliated with the devil, I say: “meh.” They also shun dancing and drinking, even though both activities are well documented activities of God’s people in the Bible. As a matter of fact, Jesus is documented to have made some of the best wine ever! And he did so for people who were probably so drunk that they were incapable of knowing that the very best wine had been served at the end of the celebration. 2. God is not some cosmic magician or con man, nor will he perform on cue to prove his existence or power. And while magicians will boastfully claim to perform miracles, they are only trying to inflate their tricks and illusions to some greater level3. The movie “The Prestige” is a complete fiction… all of it. The 3 elements of an illusion–the pledge, the turn, and the prestige don’t exist in the vernacular of magicians. All magic (the kind we professionals perform) is illusion. Illusion is, simply stated: lies. The “prestige”, the presentation of extraordinary proof, if it were not just a movie fiction, would only be more lies designed to make the illusion seem real. God is NOTHING like that!There is just too much to discuss, and it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m already way over the reasonable response limit, so let me wrap up…I am a magician, so how do I approach my magic? As a performing science? Yes. As an art form? That, too. But mostly as a marvelous means to an end: entertaining people; bringing them joy and wonder for a brief moment in time where they can suspend their belief in the physical world and recapture the lost magic and wonder… of looking at the world through childlike eyes and laughing with wonder and amazement!I am also a committed Christian, so how do I approach my Christianity? As a marvelous means to introduce people to a loving God; bringing them the joy and wonder of a relationship with Jesus where they can suspend their belief in the fear and hopelessness of the physical world and recapture the lost magic and wonder… of looking at the world through childlike eyes and laughing with wonder and amazement at the realization that they are beloved children of God!Your brother in Christ,Dave Hoag
June 10, 2013 at 06:53
Thanks for the reply David… there is a lot to chew here and yes, I did know the movie is fiction. But still its in the world and "now you see me" is also a movie just working with the ideas and concepts of magic. I think you stressed some of rhe important idea I wanted to stress…most of all that's magic and God have a way of existing positively. I had not got into too muxh on the topic where I know you have. Houdini would be an interesting figure to study in my mind under the same umbrella