For a long time, some people have been credited with unusual abilities. Magicians and wizards, witches and sorcerers, saints - their capabilities cause the most conflicting feelings. Someone feels fear, someone - admiration. To correctly relate to certain unusual phenomena, it is necessary to understand their nature.
There is a well-known legend about how Prince Igor in Novgorod in 1069 killed the sorcerer, who incited the people to revolt against Christianity. At the city council, when the choice arose of whom to follow - the sorcerer or the city bishop, most of the townspeople chose the sorcerer. Seeing this, Prince Igor approached the sorcerer and asked if he knew the future. The sorcerer replied that he knew. And what will you do in the evening, the prince asked again? I will perform great miracles, he replied. Then the prince took out an ax from under the floor and killed the sorcerer, thereby proving that he was lying and he did not know the future.
This short historical episode reflects well the chasm that lay between Christianity and other teachings. True miracles, from the point of view of Christians, happen only by the will of God. Everything that the wise men, magicians and similar public do, according to Christians, is produced exclusively with the help of dark forces.
Miracle, magic and witchcraft
Traditionally, a miracle is understood as an unusual phenomenon for which no intelligible explanation can be found. In Christianity, it is believed that a person cannot be a miracle worker by himself, all miracles are performed either by the power of God or thanks to the support of dark forces. In particular, any magic is considered sinful, since it does not come from God.
Is this really the case? Disputes about this have been going on for centuries, so now there are all the same opposing points of view. However, the undeniable fact remains that many other teachings also have their own miracle workers. Moreover, their actions cannot be called evil, satanic, etc. - on the contrary, many non-Christian miracle workers devoted their whole lives to serving people. But this raises the question - by whose power all their miracles were performed?
Not all miracle workers believe that they perform miracles by the power of God. Many of them have a completely different approach to understanding the universe and man's place in it. And if they achieve some skills, then this becomes a consequence of understanding the laws governing the world. Their skills can be called magic. Magic can be based on the power of words and thoughts, the power of magical artifacts, knowledge of processes occurring in nature, etc. etc.
It is important to understand that magic is never directed to harm someone, this is its main difference from witchcraft. The methods can be the same - for example, the sorcerer can also use conspiracies, various magical potions, etc., but the actions are usually performed to the detriment of someone.
How to relate to miracle, magic and witchcraft
Of course, each person answers this question for himself, in accordance with his convictions. However, it is well known that the truth is often found somewhere in between the extreme points of view. It is quite possible that those who recognize as "correct" only miracles performed and performed exclusively by Christian ascetics are not entirely right, rejecting the culture and history of other peoples and religions.
Those who are ready to put magic and witchcraft on the same level are also wrong - after all, human intention lies at the heart of any action. An ax can be both an excellent tool and a weapon of war - it all depends on whose hands it is. Likewise, knowledge of the laws of the universe can be directed for the good of people, and then we can talk about wonderful magic. Or against a person, which is the main criterion for witchcraft.
