Is magic in fiction acceptable for Christian readers? an essay by Kelsey Lightfoot

Magic and supernatural powers have been a part of our myths, stories and legends since the beginning of time. Humans have always been fascinated with powers and occurrences that can not be explained, and we seek to explain them by magic or the paranormal. While here on earth magic either comes from God or the devil, in fictional stories it can come from other sources. This is why I believe that the use of magic and the supernatural in fiction is acceptable for Christian writers and readers.
Magic – to some it is from the devil, but to some it is simply a cool part of many books and movies. In our world the only way to get power or magic is through the devil, but not so in many stories. In stories, such as Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, magic just is. It exists just as electricity and Turkish Delight do. It is part of the world the characters live in. You see, an author creates a world and its dimensions, then inputs his own version of good and evil, and usually some sort of deity. In Harry Potter, though the world is based on ours, it is a world where magic exists. It is not from Satan, it just is. How the magic is used can be good or bad, but the magic just is. Even in Twilight the world is not ours, because vampires and werewolves exist in that fictional world. The reader does have to be careful, though, to remember that these stories are fiction. Also, the reader must be careful that good triumphs over evil. A story where good does not prevail is not appropriate for Christian writers or readers. The God-figure must be portrayed as all-knowing, all-loving, and always victorious. Readers should take it book by book, world by world, story by story.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an excellent example of an analog. The plot of this story closely follows the sequence of events of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The story starts when Lucy Pevensie enters Narnia through a magical wardrobe. Then Edmund follows and meets a Witch. She tempts him with Turkish Delight and thoughts of fame and fortune to betray his siblings, for she fears they will be her downfall. Coinciding with the law set up by the Great Emperor Beyond the Sea, traitors fall under the Witch’s jurisdiction. She decides his punishment is death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death”, reinforcing the idea that rebellion against God’s law deserves punishment. However, Romans goes on to say that because of mankind’s state, Christ took on human flesh and died for us. Aslan takes the place of Edmund and endures capture, mocking and death. However, though the Witch understood Deep Magic, she does not remember it all. “There is a deeper magic still which she did not know…when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, … Death itself would start working backwards.” (Lewis, Lion 132). Aslan then came back to life, as Jesus did, and shows his commitment and willingness to serve. The fact that it is recognizably based on events in the life of Jesus automatically leads the reader to make the connection between the love of Aslan and the love of God through Christ. Therefore, the emotional story enhances the most fundamental of Christian beliefs: that God loves mankind so much that He died so that we would not have to bear the horrible shame and punishment, but that because He did not deserve to die, He came back to life, thereby defeating death and evil.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is very similar to Narnia in that it is full of Christian symbolism. The Lord of the Rings often uses the numbers one, three, seven, and nine in its storyline. Three and seven are used in the Bible to signify Holy Presence and Perfection. Three, seven and nine are used philosophically when referring to eternal things. At the beginning of the novel, the Ring verse introduces the first use of the numbers one, three, seven, and nine:

“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the land of Mordor where shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor where shadows lie.”

This is also in the old rhyme told by Gandalf:

“Tall ships and tall Kings
Three times three,
What brought they from the foundered land
Over the flowing sea?
Seven stars and seven stones
And one white tree.”

There are many other times these numbers appear in these books. Nine Rings for Mortal Men which leads to Nine Ringwraiths, seven male Valar, seven female Valar, seven stars of the house of Elendil, seven stars traced on the blade of Anduril, seven gems in a circlet on the Crown of King Elessar, one white tree which is the emblem of Arnor and Gondor, as displayed on Banner of Arwen, three hallowed jewels, three ages of the world under oppression of evil, three times did Frodo wear the ring, thirty-three was the age of Frodo when he receives the Ring. This last number and age is indicative to Tolkien’s thoughts as it is the age of Christ when he undergoes His Passion and dies on the cross. Upon receiving the Ring Frodo begins his Passion which does not end until he departs for the Undying Lands.
While Twilight is not like Narnia and Lord of the Rings in that it does not contain Christian symbolism or a deity, it still depicts the battle of good and evil with good triumphing in the end. Vampires tend to be “dark” characters, but the author creates and controls them. Can a vampire be a nice guy? Can a werewolf enjoy scratches behind the ear? Sure, why not? They are not real, after all. Some people are drawn to traditionally “dark” creatures, and a Christian author can use “dark” characters in good ways to affect people he normally would not be able to effect. Twilight is acceptable because the vampires are fighting their bad temptations. Any creatures who know the difference between good and evil and choose good are commendable to use in stories. But glorifying, glamorizing, or looking up to creatures who choose evil is not moral, and it could very well affect a Christian’s faith and beliefs. In Twilight, Edward Cullen not only recognizes and fights his temptations, but he tries to lead a good life. He does not think vampires have souls, but he tries to live an honorable life so that if he is wrong he will not spend eternity in Hell.
Harry Potter mainly focuses on the art of wizardry and magic. Our modern definition of magic is “any extraordinary or mystical influence, charm, power, etc.”, and the definition of wizard and witchcraft are simply “someone who practices magic” and “the practice of magic”. A sorcerer, however, is described as “someone who practices dark magic”, and is, therefore, unacceptable for a Christian to read about or look up to. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary says this about sorcery “In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.” In Harry Potter the characters are wizards, not sorcerers, and they use their magic for good to defeat evil. These characters are born with this magical ability, just as some in our world are born with musical ability or athletic ability. The practice of magic and wizardry is commendable in this book, because the world is not ours, rather it is a fictional world springing from the imagination of the author. The author used our world as a basis, but the world of Hogwarts and Dumbledore is not the world we live in, as magic is normal there. However, if the reader reads books like Harry Potter with the thought that magic and witchcraft are real, and that they can become wizards themselves, the books are obviously dangerous to that audience and should not be read by them.
While magic and the use of werewolves, vampires, etc. is acceptable for use in Christian writing, the writers and readers do need to be careful and analyze the story. Is it good triumphing over evil? Does it have a positive message? If it has some sort of deity, is it kind and loving, or evil and malevolent? Analyze the story for yourself and deem it worthy or unworthy of reading by a cherished and loved child of God.