Interfaith Talk @ MMU Melaka

Many people today think religion is “pre-scientific,” bound to the past, and practiced only by the superstitious and ignorant. In their view, we’d be better off without it. John Lennon expressed this sentiment in his song “Imagine” when he wrote, “Imagine there’s no heaven, and no religion too.”

This anti-religious viewpoint has a lot of appeal to people who don’t want their personal moral choices “restricted” by tradition or creed. It appeals to young people who want to “kick over the traces,” and to older people who long to

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In traditional occult terminology, black magic is malevolent magic that seeks to hurt, while white magic is used for healing and other good purposes. ¹

From a biblical perspective, this distinction is not valid. Magic — whether black or white — draws power from the same source. All magic — whether “black” or “white” — seeks to tap an impersonal source of power that is controlled by ritual or formula.

In contrast to magic, prayer (when properly understood) appeals to a personal source of power — an Ultimate Authority who is in charge of our lives and to whom we must be submissive ( Matthew 16:25 ). ² It’s true that some religious people have a “magical” view of prayer, thinking that a particular formula of prayer requires God to respond to their desires. But a biblical view of prayer places the

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Many modern Neopagans and other practitioners of what they call the “Old Religion” insist that they aren’t involved in black magic. ¹ While they call themselves witches and use the term “witchcraft” in reference to what they do, they renounce the use of a manipulative or malevolent black magic, and they have adopted an ethic that generally fits in well with the moral values of Western culture. Outsiders find it puzzling that such groups refer to their religious practice as witchcraft even though the term has many so bad connotations.

1. There is reason to question whether a clear distinction between “white” and “black” magic really exists. This will be taken up in a later article.

Source: RBC

By no means. While some Neopagan witches have made a strong effort to redefine witchcraft, the standard definition of witchcraft still fits most of its historical occurrences as well as the general meaning of the term as it is still used in the modern world. Even a large number of those who practice witchcraft today in the United States and Europe continue to perform manipulative and black magic. ¹

Again, it is puzzling why the members of any religious group would insist on calling themselves witches. Terms like witch, sabbat, and coven are all associated with the particular kind of diabolical witchcraft that was pursued during the witch craze of the 16th and 17th centuries. These terms may attract attention, but they also generate misunderstanding and hostility. It would seem more reasonable for Neopagans to stop using the terminology of diabolical witchcraft.

1. “To make the mistake of thinking that black magicians do not exist today is one of the most foolish of all premises. I would say that the dark forces are gathering now at a much greater rate than ever since the Middle Ages. They also have the advantage of being much more organized; their fallow period of lying low for a few centuries has honed their sensitivity, as well as their recognitionthat now is the time when seeds of evil can grow into whole crops of mandrake-oriented communities” (Sybil Leek, The Complete Art Of Witchcraft, p.67).

Source: RBC

Although we disagree with the teaching and practice of these groups,it would be wrong to assume that their adherents are any more evil than other modern people. Many self-proclaimed witches are kind,well-intentioned people. Although Christians consider their religious views flawed, they deserve as much protection under the Constitution as any other legitimate religious group.

Source: RBC

The question is important. No one can deny that Harry Potter has taken the world by storm. Children are reading again. British author J.K. Rowling has captured the imagination of millions with gripping, well written stories about a childhood hero who engages the forces of evil with his own magical powers.

Many parents are concerned especially because of the Bible’s strong condemnation of witchcraft, sorcery, and magical arts ( Jeremiah 27:9 ; Revelation 21:8,15 ). Many wonder whether Harry Potter, innocent as he seems, might contribute to an acceptance of more dangerous kinds of sorcery lurking in the shadows of postmodern culture. An answer to this concern needs to be balanced between the warnings of Scripture and the legitimate use of creative imagination in fiction.

Witchcraft approaches the supernatural as a means of providing a substitute for dependence upon the one true God. The pursuit of witchcraft therefore involves a moral decision to turn away from and against God — something that seems contrary to the main thrust

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The Scriptures condemn all sorcery as opposed to a proper sense of dependence upon God. In Galatians 5:20 , witchcraft is listed as being one of the acts of the sinful nature. The book of Revelation contains several passages that condemn sorcery in the strongest terms ( 9:21; 18:23; 21:8; 22:15 ).

The Bible asserts that only God has the right to understand the realm of the supernatural ( Genesis 40:8 ). Under Old Testament law, intrusion into the realm of the occult made one worthy of death ( Exodus 22:18 ). ¹

Interestingly, several Greek words in the New Testament that are translated “witchcraft” and “sorcery” have the root pharm, from which our words pharmacy and pharmaceuticals are derived. This root refers to “drugs, potions, and poisons.” Those who are familiar with the practice of sorcery, both among primitive tribespeople and modern occultists, know that psychoactive drugs are often used by shamans and sorcerers ² to induce dramatically altered states of consciousness that provide supernatural knowledge or contact with spirits.

Source: RBC

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines witchcraft as:

The human exercise of alleged supernatural powers for antisocial, evil purposes (so-called black magic). A female held to have such powers may be called a witch or sorceress, the male counterpart being named wizard, sorcerer, or warlock. Belief in witchcraft survives in modern technologically developed cultures and remains a potent factor in most nonliterate societies.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines witchcraft in the following way:

a. an act or instance of employing sorcery especially with malevolent intent: a magical rite or technique; b. the exercise of supernatural powers: alleged intercourse with the devil or with a familiar.

and the Colliers Encyclopedia states:

Witchcraft may be defined for general purposes as the use of supposed supernatural power for antisocial ends. In primitive societies where magic is an accepted part

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Blood sacrifices have a divine origin. Although Scripture offers few details, it makes it clear that blood sacrifices were first instituted and approved by God. God gave the skins of animals to Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness ( Genesis 3:21 ). Abel’s sacrifice of fat from the firstborn of his flock was accepted by God, while his brother Cain’s fruit offering was not accepted ( Genesis 4:2-7 ). ¹ Later, after God destroyed an overwhelmingly corrupt human race with a flood, Noah built an altar and offered blood sacrifices to God, an action that also received divine approval ( Genesis 8:20-21 ).

The Bible doesn’t indicate that these early biblical characters had a clear understanding of the significance of sacrifice, but God’s approval of their blood sacrifices pointed towards the coming of a divine sacrifice that would be given for the salvation of the world.

Soon after the flood our ancestors again

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Like Israel’s prophets, Jesus brought a message that repelled the political, cultural, and religious leaders. But His message was even more inflammatory than the message of the prophets. It was so inflammatory that He didn’t bring it to the center of political power until the end of his ministry, realizing that when He did He would

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