Christian magicians rise to defend themselves as not involved with the occult:

[dimbear]

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-magicians-rise-to-defend-themselves-as-not-involved-with-the-occult-100093/



I am so relieved that these magicians are not actually invoking demons. Whew.

[rug]

1. I'd like to see Penn try this.

[cbayer]

3. He probably could if a lion were coming after him.

[cbayer]

2. The guy that called them out does believe in sorcery

and he apparently doesn't understand the "illusion" part of magic tricks at all.

They are right to defend themselves against him. He appears to be on a witch hunt.

[rug]

4. Youtube signals the end of exorcists.

[cbayer]

5. Can't watch. Can barely open a complex page.

Damn boy scouts and their porn.

[rug]

6. Lol!

It's got a cartoon diagram of how he thinks it was done.

[cbayer]

7. The article talks about that as well, but the magician is neither confirming nor denying.

I'm serious about these boy scouts. Some of them are always on a break between activities and they are destroying my internet connection.

[rug]

14. Oh, he's blaming it on the Boy Scouts, is he?

[cbayer]

15. And what's with calling each other a girl when they show the slightest hint of anxiety

or trepidation?

They are doing some really challenging things out here and we get to see the scuba lessons very up close and personal.

The constant stream of "pull up your skirt" type references is pretty stunning.

For reason related to pure naiveté, I suppose, I thought we were past that.

[rug]

16. Both my sons were in the Boy Scouts.

The younger one still is.

I hate the meetings. If I want that I'll just stay in the Lounge.

[cbayer]

17. I had two boys and neither was in the Boy Scouts.

They did both spend time in catholic schools, though.

But they and their friends didn't use "girl" as a put-down. And they stopped using "gay" after some of our friends had serious talks with them. And, after one jaw droppingingly embarrassing incident, never used "jew" as a verb again (as far as I know).

But they still use "retarded" despite my explaining why they shouldn't.

Anyway, I'm sitting here at anchor under some some disconcerting conditions at times and they can see me. I am sure that I am braver than they are when it comes to certain things. And I'm a girl.

Go figure.

[longship]

8. Amazing that they're actually debating whether it's real.

The most Christian of all Posts has a real conundrum here. Start by denying the levitations; the next step is the healers like fucking Benny Hinn and the already defrauded Peter Popoff. Can Jesus' miracles be far behind?

Once one goes down that road...

[cbayer]

9. Yes, that site is very evangelical

I had not previously seen this kind of controversy, but i don't go there very often.

Of interest is that they seem quite concerned that non-believers are using this to show how they have all gone around the bend.

[longship]

10. As should they be concerned.

When a magician can fool them with his tricksie tricks, what more can one say. Of course, there are still far too many who still believe Benny Hinn and other thieving pretenders.

[cbayer]

11. Had to look up Benny Hinn.

Shysters and scam artists have long used both religion and medicine to prey on vulnerable individuals.

I don't blame these magicians at all for trying to distinguish themselves from that crowd and saying that they are merely entertainers.

[longship]

12. Magicians are very cool.

As long as they do not claim that they have special powers. It's interesting to see a Christian evangelical magician who reveals he is doing tricks.

Lots of magicians do that, though. It makes it all the more fun to fail at trying to catch them.

[cbayer]

13. Masters at emotional/mental/visual manipulation.

I like them, too.

But those same traits do come in handy if one is going to pull scams.

[Hestia]

18. And what is so wrong with the occult? Why is something for others to disparage?

Just like if we were gay or another color, occultism, Paganism, etc., is something to make fun of. It's all fun and games until you lose your job or children due to your spiritual path.

[cbayer]

19. Excellent point.

I think this has more to do with the context of them being Christian magicians than actual occultism.

[TlalocW]

20. I'm a magician, and I used to live in Tulsa.

This attitude of all magic is of the devil is true. Time to bore you with some stories.

A simple card trick made a woman (with a masters from Oral Roberts University) believe I had supernatural mind reading powers.

When I worked part time at an arcade (just when I was getting interested in magic) one year to earn some extra money for Christmas, a regular from ORU would come in, and we would chat before he played games. He told me he had just come from a healing where a woman's cataracts fell out of her eyes. I happened to be eating gummy bears before he came in and snuck one into my hand, squished it up, and "pulled it out of my eye," for him - freaked him out.

When I was laid off from a good programming job, I got seasonal work at one of the magic/costume stores for Halloween. Two teenage boys came in and asked the owner to help them find a neat trick they could do for a church's talent show and panicked when he reached for a self-working card trick. They couldn't use cards because they were, "of the devil," and the Joker was made to mock Jesus. The owner has this great look he gives anyone he thinks is an idiot. He gave it to the boys, gave them a 10 minute lecture about the history of cards, then sold them a gospel magic trick.

I went into Mardel's (a Christian supply store) to find some small manila envelopes (the kind you put offerings in) for a magic trick. The clerk who helped me showed them where I was and asked why I wanted them (probably thought I was a youth minister or something). I forgot where I was and told her - a magic trick. She visibly stiffened and became less friendly. I figured, "I'm already going to hell in her eyes," so I told her it was a neat trick involving playing cards, a poker chip, and gambling by making a bet. She couldn't get away from me fast enough.

A lot of churches would hire me for their October, "Harvest Parties," to twist balloons. They had costumes, treats, apple bobbing, bonfires, and hayrides; everything Halloween, but the word was verboten. So I said it as often as I could when talking to them on the phone or at the party.

I'm now in Kansas City where I *thought* things were different. On Saturdays if I don't have a gig, I'll go to the Plaza and twist balloons for tips and to hand out cards, but I always bring a deck of cards and a few other things with me too. I was setting up and got a crowd who wanted to see some magic so I did some tricks for 20 minutes. A guy hanging around the outside of the crowd gave me a, "Chick Tract," after I was done and told me to repent from doing magic. I chased him off by forcefully demanding that he take a card, memorize it, and return it to the deck.

TlalocW

[Iggo]

21. I like those stories!

Thanks for the laughs.

[cbayer]

22. Great stories. Thanks for sharing them!