Daniel, was a great prophet of God, yet his political position was that of Chief Magician in Nebuchadnezzar's court (Daniel 5).
The Greek word 'magoi' from which the word 'magic' is derived is literally translated 'wise man' and is used to describe the men of the east who brought gifts to the Christ Child.
From the point of view of adherents of
Fundamentalist Christianity, the terms "magic" and "wizardry" connote practices involving collusion with devils, demon-gods, or Satan himself, and this has inspired persecution of those seen as practicing magic, most notably during the
witch trials of
early modern Europe. In this sense, the term 'magic' is typically outdated, although in the direct quotation of
religious scripture it may have some limited usage in modern times.
The aforementioned outdated ethnocentric view of degrading magic is still quite common in modern scholarship. In attempting to define magic in relation to religion, a dichotomy of the two ensures the separation of them. One particular scholar that established a dichtomy in the early twentieth century was that of Marcell Mauss. In Mauss'
A General Theory of Magic'', Mauss distinguished the two from one another with the use of a comparative analysis in order to better define what magic is and is not. By associating magic with more primitive societies and religion with more technologically advanced peoples, a clear trend of ethnocentrism was established in the studies of defining magic and religion. The definition of magic and religion are constantly changing, for the ongoing debate on the relationship between the two has begun to include a hyphenated version of magico-religious.
Medieval authors, under the control of the Church, confined their magic to compilations of wonderlore and collections of spells.
Albertus Magnus was credited, rightly or wrongly, with a number of such compilations. Specifically Christianised varieties of magic were devised at this period. During the early Middle Ages, the cult of
relics as objects not only of
veneration but also of supernatural power arose. Miraculous tales were told of the power of relics of the
saints to work
miracles, not only to heal the sick, but for purposes like swaying the outcome of a
battle. The relics had become
amulets, and various
churches strove to purchase scarce or valuable examples, hoping to become places of
pilgrimage. As in any other economic endeavour, demand gave rise to supply. Tales of the miracle-working relics of the saints were compiled later into quite popular collections like the
Golden Legend of
Jacobus de Voragine or the
Dialogus miraculorum of
Caesar of Heisterbach.
Christian legend and myth also found fertile ground in the practices of http://www.britannica.com/memberloginalchemy. Through the perfection of metals the alchemists sought their own perfection and, indeed, the salvation of all matter. Through the mysterious and great work (magnum opus) of alchemy the alchemist dissolved, then fused, his own physical matter and spirit with the prime matter of the universe.
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Science, notwithstanding, is at the basis of Magic, as at the root of Christianity there is love, and in the Gospel symbols we find the Word Incarnate adored in His cradle [/FONT]
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by Three Magi, led thither by a star--the triad and the sign of the microcosm--and receiving their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, a second mysterious triplicity, under which emblem the highest secrets of the Kabalah are allegorically contained. Christianity owes therefore no hatred to Magic, but human ignorance has ever stood in fear of the unknown. The science was driven into hiding to escape the impassioned assaults of blind desire: it clothed itself with new hieroglyphics, falsified its intentions, denied its hopes. Then it was that the jargon of alchemy was created, an impenetrable illusion for the vulgar in their greed of gold, a living language only for the true disciple of Hermes. [/FONT]
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Extraordinary fact! Among the sacred records of the Christians there are two texts which the infallible Church makes no claim to understand and has never attempted to expound: these are the Prophecy of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse, two Kabalistic Keys reserved assuredly in heaven for the commentaries of Magian Kings, books sealed as with seven seals for faithful believers, yet perfectly plain to an initiated infidel of the occult sciences.[/FONT]