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Does God use magic?
Yes, miracles are magic. 21%  21%  [ 4 ]
No, miracles are not magic. 16%  16%  [ 3 ]
No, miracles/magic do not exist. 47%  47%  [ 9 ]
I dunno. 16%  16%  [ 3 ]
Total votes : 19

Eggman
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12 Aug 2008, 2:00 am

Technolgy signifigantly more advanced then our own could seem to be magic.



slowmutant
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12 Aug 2008, 4:44 am

Eggman wrote:
Technolgy signifigantly more advanced then our own could seem to be magic.


Yes, but only if you didn't understand that technology. IF it's beyond your understanding it isn't necessarily magic. I'm not sure if I believe in magic.



Malsane
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15 Aug 2008, 4:24 am

Okay, I'm going to try to catch up on everything I've missed, and respond to everything that was said to me. I've been coming off my meds, so not on regularly, and I apologize for posting a discussion and disappearing. This'll be long, and with many edits.

oscuria wrote:
You're thinking that what you are doing is your own work, but it is actually work being performed for another. The idea that you are your own person and that all your actions and joys are done in order to satisfy your own need is flawed. Once you realize that God alone is the one that performs and gives pleasure there is no lost sense of work.
So, any magic performed is actually done by God. So then why is magic bad if God does it, even if we don't recognize it? Are you encouraging us to sit back and do nothing, as we are wholly useless and only God actually does stuff?

Also, the magic I work is pretty much just psychological. I get myself in a better frame of mind, I'm more successful and happier in life. There's no God in that equation. Unless I'm secretly worshiping him and don't know it, but if that were the case, why would anyone care?

Arr, I can't edit the OP, so I'll just say it here. When I said 'magic' in the OP, I was referring not magic tricks you see magicians do at shows, although those do amuse me. I meant witchcraft. Turning people into newts, riding broomsticks, or something more mundane like what actual witches do. Jesus walks on water. If I walked on water, that would be witchcraft and bad, but when Jesus does it, it's a miracle and is good. Personally, I don't believe in miracles to begin with, but the question really requires that we take miracles and magic for granted, as a hypothetical if you don't believe it to be true. How come Jesus can turn water to wine, but if I did it, I'd be a witch?

Also, pretty much no one who identifies as a witch worships Satan. I don't want to be talking about that, as it's not really at the heart of what I'm asking. I'm not trying to set up a dichotomy between God magic and Satan magic. The magic worked by every pagan I know has nothing to do with Satan. Whether or not God, Satan, miracles, or magic are real doesn't matter to the question. Most witches will not claim Satan as the source of their power, so it seems kind of silly to throw Satan into the discussion, as practitioners of the Craft don't bother with Satan.
slowmutant wrote:
Good and Evil are two seperate forces on earth. God and the Devil. Angels in Heaven, demons in Hell. Mankind is sensitive to both angelic and demonic influence, and without knowing it will come to serve one of two masters. God and the Devil are competing for your soul, my soul, everybody's soul. Right this very minute, right wherever you are. They grab and reel us in through influence, never direct contact. Some people are aware of this and others are oblivious to it.
I really don't get this. First, I don't believe in good and evil, so these concepts are always borderline nonsensical to me. Second, are you really serving someone if you don't know it? Wouldn't that just be happenstance that you did something they wanted done? Not believing in either God or Satan, I can say pretty firmly that I don't serve either. I also don't serve Lord Voldemort. They're in the same category to me. I also don't understand how anyone can own a soul. It is me. You can't own me. If God is trying to own my soul, I'm not a fan of him.
slowmutant wrote:
Do not screw around with dark magic. It's extremely dangerous. I hope to God you are not messing around with a Ouija Board. God will not protect you from the stupidity of your free will, or at least He should not be put to the test like that. Bad things happen in this world because A) People have free will, B) The world became fallen after Adam & Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden. Deal! :x
I'm confused now. What is 'dark magic?' And a Ouiji Board? Really? Are Christians even supposed to believe in that stuff? Honestly, I think the whole Ouiji board thing is an overactive imagination.

The problem of evil really needs to be addressed now. You assert that all evil comes from sin, am I correct? Then why did God give us free will? If every pain is caused by free will (which is more than debatable (natural disasters, bad things happen to good people)) then God is either irresponsible or malicious to give us such a thing. A responsible parent does not let their toddler juggle knives.
Daran wrote:
I meant one should not use occult powers. Things happen for a reason and the way nature works is part of connecting all the countless different individual destinies. Going against the way nature normally works has its repercussions, namely the spiritual downfall of the person who abuses his powers to locally alter the rules of nature.
This concept drives me mad. Yes, everything happens for a reason, that's called causality. Cause has no moral value. Just because something happens does not indicate that it 'should' happen (morally speaking) or that it is in any way good. This whole concept of fate seems to me a psychological band aid. If something good happens, it was destined to be. If something bad happens, you can sweep it under the rug and say, "God wills it to be so" and not take responsibility.
slowmutant wrote:
But who are we to say what's real and what isn't?
Well, for one, scientists. Truth exists externally to us. Our perception of reality does not affect reality. (note, if anyone wants to dispute that, take it to another thread. That is my thought on the nature of reality, and if you want to question that, a thread on the nature of reality would be better, as that is a huge topic. For now, just take that as a given for this particular discussion) Zombies either are, or aren't. Sure, there's plenty of leeway there. Zombies may exist in a way we do not understand. The same can be applied to every 'supernatural' thing. God either is or isn't, but his parameters are wide open for discussion. A God defined to be x, y, and z either exists or does not. Disproving that particular notion of God (or whatever supernatural concept) does not disprove the concept as a whole, or a possibility.

This is basically the reason I debate with people about religion. Forgive the cliche, but the truth is out there, and I want to find it. People have different opinions, and not all of them can be right. So I want to investigate these ideas, and figure out which ones are plausible, which ones are not, and hopefully arrive at a better understanding of the universe. So this sort of cultural relativism doesn't fly with me. I'm all for respecting boundaries and differences, but I find there's huge merit in coming together and exploring those differences, in order to discover the elusive truth.
Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Obres wrote:
He sure does. One time I took his name in vain and he magic missiled me in the nuts :x

Just be glad that he didn't use Melf's acid arrow there, that would have hurt.
D & D jokes are always appreciated.
slowmutant wrote:
No, if God could be scientifically defined He would not be God. You either underestimate God or overestimate science. Either way, I pity the fool who thinks God can be scientifically defined.
This idea is incomprehensible to me. Do you mean science as a sort of ideal concept, or our capability to use science? Why must God defy his creation? Why must he be so separate, so alien from nature that nothing natural can comprehend him? And if he is so incomprehensible, how do you know he exists, or that you have even the faintest clue about him? Assuming something so great that no one can understand it, it's extremely arrogant to then turn around and talk about his intentions, or any of his parameters.
slowmutant wrote:
Your instincts are bang-on. I applaud you for having good Christian instincts. God warned you not to play with the occult and you heard Him. :salut: :wtg:
Are you serious? 'Good Christian instincts? And atheists are arrogant?