Where is the Connection?

[Angela53510]

We had an adjunct professor at Seminary who was an illusionist. And he was amazing!

He put on shows at our local university and told the truth that it was just all tricks, but coming to Jesus was not a trick, but the real thing. Many responded to his altar call, including foreign students.

I think with children, you do have to be careful, that they do not think it is real. Then they might indeed confuse the miracles Jesus did, with tricks and illusions.

However, any trick that can be rationally explained, regardless of how you perceive it, is not magic or sorcery. That has no explanation but the devil.

 

[wattie]

Need context of this situation. The teachers, if they were Baptist.. were probably not actually trying to do real magic.. but just as one person typed before-- using some tools for teaching.

Like.. I don't know.. instead of using a flannel board for doing bible stories.. you use computer graphics, lighting and camera tricks.. etc..

This isn't the devils work.. this is just using modern technology for teaching.

The real question should be whether the lesson content was entirely biblical.. or were they going off beam that way I guess.

 

[Sophia]

Magic is bad.
A neat trick is not bad.

If a person is literally saying they are doing tricks by magical powers, then there is a serious issue.
If a person is falsely saying they are doing miracles, but are actually just doing illusions, there is a serious issue.

If they are honest about it simply being an illusion, then I see no harm, so long as the Gospel is furthered by it, rather than it just becoming a distraction.

 

[Tintin]

This is silly. Magic illusions are very different to the occult practices forbidden in God's Word. There's no correlation between them. They're apples and oranges.

 

[Willie-T]

nope it wasn't Moses..if I could remember, I'd tell you who it is..

Wasn't it Elijah calling down fire?

 

[DesiredHaven]

I used to do that ball under the cups trick is that magic?

 

[Willie-T]

This is silly. Magic illusions are very different to the occult practices forbidden in God's Word. There's no correlation between them. They're apples and oranges.

Exactly....

 

[Willie-T]

I used to do that ball under the cups trick is that magic?

Bad Girl.... that will lead someone astray.

 

[Tintin]

Exactly....

Besides, there's a huge difference between having magic illusions in your church just to get bums in pews and using magic illusions to illustrate a message/sermon/address. The first is distasteful, the second is tasteful. That said, there are certainly times you can have magic illusions that aren't connected to a Christian message, just don't hold them in the church then.

 

[Tintin]

Wasn't it Elijah calling down fire?

Yes, and calling Baal's priests to do the same. But the description she gave could've easily have fit Moses in his talks with Pharaoh.

 

[Willie-T]

Yes, and calling Baal's priests to do the same. But the description she gave could've easily have fit Moses in his talks with Pharaoh.

Yeah, that was a pretty snakey encounter at one point..

 

[breno785au]

Illusionists don't use magic to create illusions, there's no tapping into demonic realms in order to make something happen.
You can even use illusions to demonstrate how much your eye is tricking you, so how can you trust it to tell you what to believe?
All this guy is doing is using a gift and desire to spread the message of Jesus according to what he has said on his website.