Sunday, January 15, 2006
There is theurgy, high magic that gains the favor of the gods by developing sympathies with them.
There is low magic, which intends to manipulate the gods by way of spells and incantations.
Then there is deep magic, the magic of C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia.
The deep magic existed before Aslan, and required Aslan to be sacrificed for the sake of traitorous man.
The deep magic requires Aslan to die so that Edmund, who is capricious, dishonest and certainly unworthy of becoming royal, may become true, honest and regal, ultimately to be called Edmund the Just.
Later in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis has Edmund be the quiet one of the four sibling Kings / Queens.
He is relied on by the others for good counsel.
I would have it that Edmund is quiet because he has the deep wisdom that his being just is due to a sacrifice that had to be made for him.
He knows he is regal, a son of Adam and a child of God because Aslan was humiliated and killed in his stead.
Quite the heady mixture for such a young boy.
I am a christian.
But due to various experiences I have had, some of which I would dare to say have been mystical, I have wondered about magic.
I have never studied the subject with any seriousnesss, but have read a few 'metaphysical' books on the subject.
First of all, I am inclined to believe magic is real. I believe there are those among us who have tapped into it's power and have even used it for personal ends.
But can I partake of magic as a christian?
Other than this deep magic that preceded Aslan, or Christ, no.
Reason has it's limits.
I can say:
All deer have legs.
Socrates had legs.
Therefore, Socrates was a deer.
The syllogism is manifestly wrong, but reasonably true.
Since pure reason has limits, and since man's lot is to continually push the limits, he has discovered all sorts of ways to do this pushing.
Man pushes the limit of reason toward the divine.
One of the ways is to tap into the telluric currents of nature and live accordingly.
My paternal grandmother was such a person.
Though she lived in the inner city, she was able to keep a garden that provided vegetables not only for her, but for her extended family as well.
'Mom' was first and foremost a christian, but she also had a wisdom of nature that sustained her in many ways.
She know when to plant. She knew when to harvest. She knew when to preserve, and when to bring the preserves out of the cellar to eat.
Another way to push the limits is via low magic. Here we have the reading of palms, the tarot, the stars and so on in order to divine the future.
Perhaps I need to state the obvious. What we are trying to do is bridge the gap between the limit of reason and the divine.
Am I to consult sorcerers?
No.
Being a christian, the only acceptable way for me to bridge the gap between the limit of reason nad the divine is through faith.
Don't underestimate faith.
There are objects of belief.
When Jesus healed people of various diseases and physical abnormalities, He often would say: It is by your faith that you are healed.
There no longer is a delphic oracle.
Or runes to consult.
Their magic dissipated long ago.
So magic dies. And changes.
But faith....O death where is thy sting?
There is low magic, which intends to manipulate the gods by way of spells and incantations.
Then there is deep magic, the magic of C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia.
The deep magic existed before Aslan, and required Aslan to be sacrificed for the sake of traitorous man.
The deep magic requires Aslan to die so that Edmund, who is capricious, dishonest and certainly unworthy of becoming royal, may become true, honest and regal, ultimately to be called Edmund the Just.
Later in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis has Edmund be the quiet one of the four sibling Kings / Queens.
He is relied on by the others for good counsel.
I would have it that Edmund is quiet because he has the deep wisdom that his being just is due to a sacrifice that had to be made for him.
He knows he is regal, a son of Adam and a child of God because Aslan was humiliated and killed in his stead.
Quite the heady mixture for such a young boy.
I am a christian.
But due to various experiences I have had, some of which I would dare to say have been mystical, I have wondered about magic.
I have never studied the subject with any seriousnesss, but have read a few 'metaphysical' books on the subject.
First of all, I am inclined to believe magic is real. I believe there are those among us who have tapped into it's power and have even used it for personal ends.
But can I partake of magic as a christian?
Other than this deep magic that preceded Aslan, or Christ, no.
Reason has it's limits.
I can say:
All deer have legs.
Socrates had legs.
Therefore, Socrates was a deer.
The syllogism is manifestly wrong, but reasonably true.
Since pure reason has limits, and since man's lot is to continually push the limits, he has discovered all sorts of ways to do this pushing.
Man pushes the limit of reason toward the divine.
One of the ways is to tap into the telluric currents of nature and live accordingly.
My paternal grandmother was such a person.
Though she lived in the inner city, she was able to keep a garden that provided vegetables not only for her, but for her extended family as well.
'Mom' was first and foremost a christian, but she also had a wisdom of nature that sustained her in many ways.
She know when to plant. She knew when to harvest. She knew when to preserve, and when to bring the preserves out of the cellar to eat.
Another way to push the limits is via low magic. Here we have the reading of palms, the tarot, the stars and so on in order to divine the future.
Perhaps I need to state the obvious. What we are trying to do is bridge the gap between the limit of reason and the divine.
Am I to consult sorcerers?
No.
Being a christian, the only acceptable way for me to bridge the gap between the limit of reason nad the divine is through faith.
Don't underestimate faith.
There are objects of belief.
When Jesus healed people of various diseases and physical abnormalities, He often would say: It is by your faith that you are healed.
There no longer is a delphic oracle.
Or runes to consult.
Their magic dissipated long ago.
So magic dies. And changes.
But faith....O death where is thy sting?
