tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post7225817311281634197..comments2024-03-22T18:43:00.710-04:00Comments on Unam Sanctam Catholicam: Fantasy Magic and the Christian AuthorBonifacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-63340777977741985542017-03-27T08:35:14.601-04:002017-03-27T08:35:14.601-04:00Hi Cecilia! That all sounds fine to me. You are ob...Hi Cecilia! That all sounds fine to me. You are obviously taking great care with the way you form the plot. Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-40929238669749036702017-03-27T00:15:27.341-04:002017-03-27T00:15:27.341-04:00Hello,
First of all, thank you for writing this p...Hello,<br /><br />First of all, thank you for writing this post. This was exactly the sort of discussion I was looking for, and I'm glad it popped up on my Google search. <br /><br />I realize that this post was from 2010, so I'm not sure if you will see this comment, but I would love to get your opinion on something. I am in the process of writing a novel for older children, around the eleven- to fifteen-year-old range, and I am concerned about the magical elements that drive the plot. It is a comedy, although I try to address serious themes as well, and magic is simply a part of the characters' lives that they cannot control; there are magical creatures, magical locations, and sometimes random occurrences that can only be explained with magic. There are also people who can practice magic.<br /><br />I have been trying to make a clear distinction between good and evil when it comes to magic. There are some people (none of the main characters, but some side characters) who are born with magical abilities, and who may study magic in order to learn to control those abilities. These people may be either good or evil. There are also people who, regardless of whether they are born with magical powers, attempt to harness magic, but they almost invariably become power-hungry and overstep the boundaries of what magic should do. Generally, these people are evil (or at the very least, misguided), because they want the power for their own gain, and often use that power against others. They also must use some sort of object in order to control their power (a staff, a jewel, etc.), and the process by which they perform their spells is given much more description, whereas the "neutral" magic-users usually just wave their arm. <br /><br />Because magic is as real to their world as gravity, there isn't generally any ritual to it, unless one is practicing the "evil type" of magic. I have been trying to tweak it further, in order to make sure I am not inadvertently promoting the occult, but I was wondering whether you could see any potential moral issues in what I have described. I would be very grateful! <br /><br />Thanks, <br />CeciliaCecilianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-126591962117610542015-07-28T04:28:25.978-04:002015-07-28T04:28:25.978-04:00Hi Boniface,
I have read Harry Potter and I think...Hi Boniface,<br /><br />I have read Harry Potter and I think that readers may form Christian values depending on their Christian background.<br /><br />In relation to magic, my 11-year-old son just completed reading a book on magic and math, Libellus de Numeros (The Book of Math) by Jim West. The book just made math fun and relevant through magic. Please see goodreads for great reviews.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16417704083463196856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-75615189708214556072013-11-09T17:02:14.691-05:002013-11-09T17:02:14.691-05:00...continuing...
At any rate, in the fantasy genr......continuing...<br /><br />At any rate, in the fantasy genre some folks can innately do magic. That means they don't have to mess about with demons in order to achieve these effects. And that means that the thing which makes it wrong in our world, isn't necessarily a factor in theirs.<br /><br />Of course, it might still be: One's own magic powers might be limited unless augmented by demonic assistance. In that case, the moral injunction would be against using magic with demonic assistance. No using magical "steroids," so to speak.<br /><br />But the comparison from magic to adultery is bad, I think.<br /><br />For persons in whom magic is an innate power, the comparison would be between magic and sexual reproduction: Innate powers with great consequences, easily able to be abused...but with possible good outlets, also.<br /><br />In all likelihood, the use of a power so consequential would have been rolled up into a sacrament -- as with marriage -- and accompanied by social restrictions and religious ceremony -- as with marriage.<br /><br />Finally, an author should make use of distinctions recognized by C.S.Lewis:<br /><br />#1 - When using supernatural power, Our Lord acted "in the family style," doing only what He saw the Father doing. He did not turn stones into bread, but he multiplied fish and turned water to wine: Things the Father does all the time, through natural processes and at a slower rate.<br /><br />I would expect good use of magical powers, and evil use, to have a similar character of imitating what happens in nature rather than entirely departing from it. Purifying unclean water or healing the sick: Good magic. The Father does that. Turning persons (even bad persons) into frogs: Evil magic: The Father doesn't do that.<br /><br />#2 - Functioning magic and "technological advances" are twins: Both are attempts to manipulate what exists to our convenience. But this leads often to an attitude of treating people as things; e.g. to be mind-controlled by magic or drugs. I expect that "good magic" would largely preserve the dignity of whatever entity it touched, thereby establishing a fitting relationship between the magic user and the other entity. A "good magician" with respect to animals would strike us as a St. Francis or Noah or Horse Whisperer kind of person. But a person who used magic to "control" animals would impose his will violently, treating persons and animals as impersonally and un-humanely as if they were rocks to be shoved about.R.C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-17979525447298589262013-10-10T11:59:01.900-04:002013-10-10T11:59:01.900-04:00I occasionally write fantasy stories in my free ti...I occasionally write fantasy stories in my free time, and after much thought, here is my solution to the magic issue:<br />If good people have "powers", I call those powers "gifts" implying that they recieved those powers from a higher power (ie.,God), somewhat like the preternatural abilities of angels. Only evil people use real magic. <br />And of course, even those powers are used very sparingly.InTerramDiligereEstPatinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-55941588139436316302012-09-10T08:23:51.372-04:002012-09-10T08:23:51.372-04:00Karl, I'd say go with it. That's what we n...Karl, I'd say go with it. That's what we need - something where good is good and bad is bad.Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-35737362327026972832012-09-10T08:02:55.707-04:002012-09-10T08:02:55.707-04:00Boniface, I'd very much like you opinion on th...Boniface, I'd very much like you opinion on this.<br /><br />I've been seeing more and more supernatural fiction pop up in television and in books, and it's always innovative, ie "no, crucifixes don't work ha-ha silly old stuff", and the monsters are just people who try to get by like everyone else, and silly things like this. This has made me want to write a book myself, a real dark and bitter book where monsters are monsters with lots of garlic and holy water everywhere and on everything. I'm a good writer (in my native language), but I got caught up on something, similar to this post.<br /><br />I just wondered if it's moral to write something about supernatural fables like this and tie it so closely to real, religious things. When it was old fairytales it was fine, but it's a different, more serious time today. I can't figure out on my own if it's entirely correct to write, as a Catholic, a book about Catholics fighting, say, vampires, in a secular society like this, where they'll go "ha-ha, it's all such nonsense" - more about the Catholic things than the mythological big baddies.<br /><br />Do you understand me? I hope so. I can't make myself more clear at the moment.Karlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-64548401631621644332011-06-23T15:26:37.592-04:002011-06-23T15:26:37.592-04:00Henry-
Unfortunately, I have not read the Eragon ...Henry-<br /><br />Unfortunately, I have not read the Eragon books, though I did see the movie. What I know of Eragon is taken from talking with kids in my high school writing group about it.Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-15730481786615895592011-06-23T12:34:38.781-04:002011-06-23T12:34:38.781-04:00Boniface,
What do you think about Eragon? My paris...Boniface,<br />What do you think about Eragon? My parish priest has not read the books and can give me no advice.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Henry<br /><br />P.S.<br />From your article on Avatar I assumed you had read the books. if this is not so, sorry for bothering you.Henry Bartholomewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-57846714314769331282010-03-19T07:06:36.780-04:002010-03-19T07:06:36.780-04:00Yes, but there must be an ethical way to include n...Yes, but there must be an ethical way to include not just magical beings but normal beings with magical powers. My whole point is that, while magical beings are less problematic than magical powers, if we do choose to go the route of having magical powers, the focus ought to be on the effect of the powers over the process itself. For me, the primary factor here is whether or not the magic portrayed will lead kids to imitate it. If it is something that cannot or will not be imitated in real life, I have less problem with it, which is why depictions of magic that contain graphic details of "how" to do spells are more troubling.Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-22536780537497479502010-03-19T04:10:36.675-04:002010-03-19T04:10:36.675-04:00C.S. Lewis distinguished wisdom and magic by sayin...C.S. Lewis distinguished wisdom and magic by saying (iirc) that the wise man conforms his desires to nature (i.e. virtue, given his own nature), while the magician wishes to conform nature to his wishes. Clearly the former would be superior both as wisdom and virtue, and would involve a lower risk of corruption. Either learned or innate magic (like any power) would be susceptible to such problems. Magic of either kind could function as an amplifier of Christian stewardship responsibilities in the <br />'spiderman' style ("With great power, etc.")<br /><br />But your concern in Christian fiction is mostly with the metaphysics, if I read you correctly. I think this is the basic issue. Any useful kind of 'magic' will involve a complex manipulation of reality that requires superhuman intelligence and capability (e.g. curing a cancer). To say that differently, there is no such thing as 'magical forces' or energies, only magical <i>beings</i>, which I think equates to supernatural beings. If a cancer is removed who actually does the work of excision and repair? That may be a better line into the ethical questions.Kalessinhttp://chapman.id.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-21875933727555563852010-03-18T13:53:45.512-04:002010-03-18T13:53:45.512-04:00I've read the Harry Potter books, some of them...I've read the Harry Potter books, some of them several times. I recommend them. I suggest you read them and see whether and how the fit your thesis. <br /><br />But there is something else. In African traditional religion, there is no devil. The personification if evil is the witch. And the witch is usually someone whoe magical abilities are innate and malevolent, and they may not even be aware of them. <br /><br />In some cultures there are also sorcerers (the English distinction is made by anthropologists) for whom magic is learned. Some cultures have two words, others have one. But the problem with the view of an innately evil witch is that there is only one way of dealing with them -- kill them. There is nothing that compates with the Christian view that there is no sin so great that one cannot repent of it.Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-57552756404738246742010-03-12T18:56:50.518-05:002010-03-12T18:56:50.518-05:00Dear Boniface, I've not read Harry Potter eith...Dear Boniface, I've not read Harry Potter either, but I get the impression that its content is hardly conducive to the formation of the Christian virtues. And I'm not talking about the mere fact that the novels mention magic. I found this article published by the SSPX particularly interesting:-<br /><br />http://www.edocere.org/articles/harry_potter.htm<br /><br /><br />It seems to identify in the HP books some of the faults you mention in the post. And again, the behaviour noted by the article hardly seems virtuous.Tony W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02167111142050752619noreply@blogger.com