Witchcraft

[OpenSky]

No............we are influenced by our own natures, The you can not serve both God and mammon means you have to make a choice, you can't ride the fence and hope to be approved before God.

The, I have no control over my actions Satan made me do it..............is a cop out. We choose to do right or wrong, if you keep choosing wrong long enough.............the Holy Spirit leaves and that leaves you open to everything that is of the world and Satan.

Thank you for correcting me.

[eric]

C S

Splitting the Red Sea was more than glory-making. It achieved a purpose--saving Israel and wiping out the Egyptians who were chasing them. We don't call it "magic" because it was done by God through Moses for aforementioned purpose.

If God hadn't parted the Red Sea to allow the captives to escape He would have failed Moses and His people would not have been alive to Give Him glory.

Man was created so that He may be glorified. Man fell because eve was conned that she would be like God and wouldn't die, thereby giving glory to satan because she believed the lie and in turn so did adam.

At the cross, man's sin was washed clean by the blood, making it possble for man to be reconciled back to God, so that God could once more glorified.

as christians we are supposed to bring glory to God in everything we do. Writing about the occult brings glory only to the writer. Read the scriptures quoted by gypc.

If you write about the occult you are making yourself guilty of witchcraft by association.

[secondeve]

Eric:

I mentioned God and the Devil as absolutes because, both as concepts and to those who believe in them, that's what they are; calling them otherwise here would be pointless and inaccurate. And I don't 'believe' in fantasy books or the magic which occurs in them; I suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy them. They remain, along with the whole genre, fiction. What you're essentially proposing is that, if I read, say, A Game of Thrones by George R. R Martin, I go away believing that the world of Westeros and everything in it is real, up to and including the magic and gods. Patently, this is false; you can't even compare it to my looking at the Bible and deciding it isn't true.

It seems to me that if, knowing nothing about me, you can claim that I'm only holding back from the Bible because I'm scared of what people will say, then I, knowing nothing about you, can similarly claim you're only holding back from athiesm because of the pity and scorn of your Christian friends. Isn't it enough that in the mind of every Christian here I'm purposefully abstaining from God without deciding I'm doing so against my better judgement as well? smid_11

[igh]

balaam was a sorceror, so why did God use him? I wonder about that, since God hates all those things that are selfish and evil, and causes mankind harm. satan pulls people to him by showing them they can have what there hearts desire, but they have to reject Jesus to have them!! so they fill up on worldliness, and this is selfishness, idol worship,coveting,murder, adultery, pride, lusting, and hating God! Yes rejecting God means you hate him and his Son Jesus for your Salvation. For God is Justice , Love, Truth, Mercy, goodness, and you reject God's Sovereignty over all his Creation and you!! Look how satan wants us to love all God hates! Incredible. Balaam was a sorceror who disobeyed God, for money. i need to read up on balaam, so God can teach me on it. I wil post again when i do.

[Copper Scroll]

C S

Splitting the Red Sea was more than glory-making. It achieved a purpose--saving Israel and wiping out the Egyptians who were chasing them. We don't call it "magic" because it was done by God through Moses for aforementioned purpose.

If God hadn't parted the Red Sea to allow the captives to escape He would have failed Moses and His people would not have been alive to Give Him glory.

Man was created so that He may be glorified. Man fell because eve was conned that she would be like God and wouldn't die, thereby giving glory to satan because she believed the lie and in turn so did adam.

At the cross, man's sin was washed clean by the blood, making it possble for man to be reconciled back to God, so that God could once more glorified.

I thought God is love--not vanity... that God wants humanity reconciled with Him for the good of humanity--out of love for humanity... that God parted the Red Sea to save humankind--out of love.

In the fantasy stories we are discussing, when "magic" is used by "good" characters or heroes, they tend to use it to save people--oftentimes entire races--oftentimes the entire world... the same purpose for which God performs miracles in the Bible. ...not for their own selfish reasons or for their own glory.

as christians we are supposed to bring glory to God in everything we do. Writing about the occult brings glory only to the writer. Read the scriptures quoted by gypc.

If you write about the occult you are making yourself guilty of witchcraft by association.

God is love. If I write stories reflecting, respecting, and bringing praise to the character of love then I am bringing glory to God.

To your mind--I suppose--there is no such thing as a Christian writer who writes about anything but the Bible.

Your position is extreme and paranoid.

[Copper Scroll]

And I don't 'believe' in fantasy books or the magic which occurs in them; I suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy them. They remain, along with the whole genre, fiction. What you're essentially proposing is that, if I read, say, A Game of Thrones by George R. R Martin, I go away believing that the world of Westeros and everything in it is real, up to and including the magic and gods.

Great book... and good point.

[eric]

copper scroll,

To your mind--I suppose--there is no such thing as a Christian writer who writes about anything but the Bible.

I am fully aware of christian writers who write stories that are not bible based. Dont try and hijack the topic. I was referring to christians who write about the occult and witchcraft.

and to able to write about the subject, a person must have been, or still are dabbling in it or they wouldn't know what you are writing about. How can you write about a train ride if you have never been on a train yourself?

I'm not paranoid, just standing on God's word and stressing the point that to Him the occult is a no no. You can read and write what you like, but dont come on this board and try and covince the readers, that witchcraft and anything to do with the occult is approved by God. This board is read by hundreds of young christians and they don't need to read anything that could cause them to stumble.

eric.

[secondeve]

Eric:

Are you then suggesting that I, as a woman, can't write male characters because I've never been one? The same logic applies to saying I must practise magic to write about it. How could we write about made-up characters if they've never existed; write about unicorns when they don't exist, write about Africa if we've never been there? Imagination and research. Neither implies belief in, compliance, practising of or being onself a given anything, religious or otherwise.

[eric]

Eric:

Are you then suggesting that I, as a woman, can't write male characters because I've never been one? The same logic applies to saying I must practise magic to write about it. How could we write about made-up characters if they've never existed; write about unicorns when they don't exist, write about Africa if we've never been there? Imagination and research. Neither implies belief in, compliance, practising of or being onself a given anything, religious or otherwise.

Don't be so naive, eve. The OP was asking what was wrong with witchcraft, not writing fictional stories about witches. Real live stuff eve, not fairy stories. One doesn't just pick up info on witchcraft by someone else's writings. If you wish to know about witchcraft and sorcery, I would assume, that you would have to research it or become actively involved in it, both of which is unacceptable to God. Researching something is the same as studying it. You couldn't write a story about a male unless you knew a male or experienced one. Even an atheist can't see into another's mind. That is of course, unless you are writing fiction and this thread is not about novels.

BTW just how do you research a unicorn. No one has even got a picture of one.

[gypc]

Eric:

Are you then suggesting that I, as a woman, can't write male characters because I've never been one? The same logic applies to saying I must practise magic to write about it. How could we write about made-up characters if they've never existed; write about unicorns when they don't exist, write about Africa if we've never been there? Imagination and research. Neither implies belief in, compliance, practising of or being onself a given anything, religious or otherwise.

1st Cor 2:10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

Get right with God and these things we speak will not be foolishness to you for they are spiritually discerned. This doesn't make us any better than you because our boast is not in us but in God who gives wisdom to those who seek him.

I too use to speak from the spirit of this world, the wisdom that is not of God..............but by his mercy he gave a scumbag like me his wisdom. Praise God forever!!