L
Lost_Wanderer
Guest
(I originally wanted to post this thread in another category but I felt I’d get more response here.)
Now it has come to my attention more than once these past two months but it seems that there are some Catholics (even on this site), who still can’t tell the difference between magic in fiction and magic in the real world. I would also like to add that many of these people also tend to label anything that glorifies magic and fantasy as occult and are “tools of satan”.
Frankly, this saddens me. :nope:
During my discussions with them, I have found some common or significant arguments and here, I will address them so that in the future, you might want to think about these things before you start labeling things as demonic.
I. The Bible forbids magic, divination, witchcraft etc.
As I said before, there’s a huge difference between the many kinds of magic you see in fantasy and the kind we have in the real world. First difference is the most obvious: Appearance. Now, watch this video here. It’s taken from a popular anime called Card Captor Sakura and is about a young girl who accidentally unleashes a set of powerful cards and must use a magic of her own to seal them again.
People, do you seriously think that real life magic spells, as in the ones practiced by the likes of Wiccans and pagans, are anything like that? They’re not. Look it up. There are no bright lights, no magic circle suddenly showing up under your feet, and nothing appears out of thin air. What the Bible and the Church condemn are actual practices that leave you dangerously open to demonic forces. They don’t say anything condemning any sort of unnatural phenomenon in fiction that just happens to get labeled with the word magic. (Heck, some wiccans even say it’s spelled magick not magic.
)
II. People who like to pretend they have magic rely on their own power instead of God and thus, want to be God.
Not necessarily. Anything I can do as a Wizard, God can do it way better. If I can rain meteors on one spot, God can rain meteors on entire cities. Now what am I trying to say here? Just because I like the idea of wielding such power, it doesn’t mean I’ll be a match for an omnipotent being. And what is wrong with relying on one’s own strength? Is that not a gift from God? Does He not give people talents and gifts so they may use it to glorify Him and what is good?
III. Fantasy glorifies magic and monsters.
This is similar to the first one. People say that fantasy fiction often glorifies magic and creatures that are considered “evil”. However, as I said before, this is just another difference between reality and fantasy.
In the worlds of fantasy (including stories that are set on a planet Earth just like ours), people use magic constantly and is depicted as a neutral phenomenon/force. And not only are the effects physically presented as a reality, the magic users themselves do not suffer from the demonic attacks that plague those who are involved in occult activities in our world (the real world). Does this, however, change our actual reality? That real magic isn’t occult? No.
The similar things can be said of monsters. I’ve heard people complain of how we have begun to glorify creatures that have been traditionally considered evil. The problem with that is that there are differences between monsters in fantasy and their counterparts in the real world (if they even exist). For example, in Twilight, vampires are said to “sparkle” in the sun when the usual depiction was that they would turn to dust.
To be honest, I don’t know why you should cling to such notions when they are only traditions of literature, not the Church. Mermaids, dwarves, dragons and vampires were all once considered malicious entities however, what is so morally wrong to depict them otherwise? There are so many variations of even one creature in fiction these days but are they presenting the real thing? (That is to say if the real thing even exists.)
IV. Why engage in Fantasy when there are “better” thing to do?
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen religious people (of any belief) make with regards to fantasy is that they assume religious material would make a much better substitute. Look we all know that it’s nice to read the Bible, the lives of the saints, papal encyclicals but you forget the actual purpose of these things: spirituality. They are there to teach the faithful just as much as textbooks are there to teach students about science, math, history etc. However, not all students are brainiacs obsessed with such subjects or getting high grades. If I wanted to learn about the Church’s position on homosexuality, I’d read the Catechism. If I wanted to do well in my Biology class, I’d study my notes and books.
If I wanted to have fun and kick back however, I wouldn’t do either of these things! I’d grab the nearest RPG, watch an anime episode, or read a manga. Don’t you see? People engage in fantasy for entertainment. There’s a time for spirituality and a time to have fun. There’s a time for work and a time for play.
Here’s a much simpler analogy. Say your child loves playing with robot action figures like this one. He does all sorts of typical things kids do with such toys like pretend they’re flying, shooting lasers, and makes sounds that go with it like “Whoosh! Whoosh! Blam! Blam!”
Now in your house, you have a statue of the Blessed Virgin or of a particular saint. Would you want your child to play with those things the same way he would play with his robot? Seriously. I don’t want to imagine it.
Now it has come to my attention more than once these past two months but it seems that there are some Catholics (even on this site), who still can’t tell the difference between magic in fiction and magic in the real world. I would also like to add that many of these people also tend to label anything that glorifies magic and fantasy as occult and are “tools of satan”.
Frankly, this saddens me. :nope:
During my discussions with them, I have found some common or significant arguments and here, I will address them so that in the future, you might want to think about these things before you start labeling things as demonic.
I. The Bible forbids magic, divination, witchcraft etc.
As I said before, there’s a huge difference between the many kinds of magic you see in fantasy and the kind we have in the real world. First difference is the most obvious: Appearance. Now, watch this video here. It’s taken from a popular anime called Card Captor Sakura and is about a young girl who accidentally unleashes a set of powerful cards and must use a magic of her own to seal them again.
People, do you seriously think that real life magic spells, as in the ones practiced by the likes of Wiccans and pagans, are anything like that? They’re not. Look it up. There are no bright lights, no magic circle suddenly showing up under your feet, and nothing appears out of thin air. What the Bible and the Church condemn are actual practices that leave you dangerously open to demonic forces. They don’t say anything condemning any sort of unnatural phenomenon in fiction that just happens to get labeled with the word magic. (Heck, some wiccans even say it’s spelled magick not magic.
)II. People who like to pretend they have magic rely on their own power instead of God and thus, want to be God.
Not necessarily. Anything I can do as a Wizard, God can do it way better. If I can rain meteors on one spot, God can rain meteors on entire cities. Now what am I trying to say here? Just because I like the idea of wielding such power, it doesn’t mean I’ll be a match for an omnipotent being. And what is wrong with relying on one’s own strength? Is that not a gift from God? Does He not give people talents and gifts so they may use it to glorify Him and what is good?
III. Fantasy glorifies magic and monsters.
This is similar to the first one. People say that fantasy fiction often glorifies magic and creatures that are considered “evil”. However, as I said before, this is just another difference between reality and fantasy.
In the worlds of fantasy (including stories that are set on a planet Earth just like ours), people use magic constantly and is depicted as a neutral phenomenon/force. And not only are the effects physically presented as a reality, the magic users themselves do not suffer from the demonic attacks that plague those who are involved in occult activities in our world (the real world). Does this, however, change our actual reality? That real magic isn’t occult? No.
The similar things can be said of monsters. I’ve heard people complain of how we have begun to glorify creatures that have been traditionally considered evil. The problem with that is that there are differences between monsters in fantasy and their counterparts in the real world (if they even exist
). For example, in Twilight, vampires are said to “sparkle” in the sun when the usual depiction was that they would turn to dust.To be honest, I don’t know why you should cling to such notions when they are only traditions of literature, not the Church. Mermaids, dwarves, dragons and vampires were all once considered malicious entities however, what is so morally wrong to depict them otherwise? There are so many variations of even one creature in fiction these days but are they presenting the real thing? (That is to say if the real thing even exists.)
IV. Why engage in Fantasy when there are “better” thing to do?
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen religious people (of any belief) make with regards to fantasy is that they assume religious material would make a much better substitute. Look we all know that it’s nice to read the Bible, the lives of the saints, papal encyclicals but you forget the actual purpose of these things: spirituality. They are there to teach the faithful just as much as textbooks are there to teach students about science, math, history etc. However, not all students are brainiacs obsessed with such subjects or getting high grades. If I wanted to learn about the Church’s position on homosexuality, I’d read the Catechism. If I wanted to do well in my Biology class, I’d study my notes and books.
If I wanted to have fun and kick back however, I wouldn’t do either of these things! I’d grab the nearest RPG, watch an anime episode, or read a manga. Don’t you see? People engage in fantasy for entertainment. There’s a time for spirituality and a time to have fun. There’s a time for work and a time for play.
Here’s a much simpler analogy. Say your child loves playing with robot action figures like this one. He does all sorts of typical things kids do with such toys like pretend they’re flying, shooting lasers, and makes sounds that go with it like “Whoosh! Whoosh! Blam! Blam!”
Now in your house, you have a statue of the Blessed Virgin or of a particular saint. Would you want your child to play with those things the same way he would play with his robot? Seriously. I don’t want to imagine it.
:thumbsup: