What About Magic?

What about magic? If you are a Christian fiction/fantasy writer, this is a question you must ask yourself at some point: what do I do regarding magic? Well, what do we do? I once wrote fantasy and horror stories that employed magic as a brute, elemental force that either good or evil could draw from; it was the moral fabric of the character that either sanctified or corrupted the source. When I began to approach writing Dragonsong and its successors I considered: what do I do about magic now?

The Bible is clear on its condemnation of magic. "A man or a woman who is a wizard...shall surely be put to death," Leviticus 20:27. A wizard is likened to "one who conjures spells, or a medium (wizard), or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead," Deuteronomy 18:11. The term "wizard" appears in the KJV of the Bible 11 times; none of them good. The New Testament equivalent "sorcerer" is used 8 times (Acts and Revelation) and is likewise condemned in clear language. So what is an aspiring Christian writer to do?

I cannot tell others what to do on command; I will only put forth what this Christian writer did to pen fantasy fiction without surrendering or compromising biblical worldviews. Magic is evil in the Bible because of the source it hails from. I decided despite the fact that I am writing fantasy and creating my own world with my own rules it would hardly glorify the Lord if I abandoned His admonition simply to have a device that tantalized my senses. Magic undeniably possesses moral qualities and tends to represent what all men lust after: power.

Therefore in Andurun there is sorcery and necromancy, which any man can pursue, but is only and entirely evil. This energy is abysmal in nature. Is there good magic? Not really. There is the Order of the Valar, or the Valarym in the first three books. They are my prophets/priests, and God sometimes works through these men to perform miracles. The Order has no innate ability or control over any miraculous power; it is God choosing when and how to act, and the Valarym is submissive to this very tangible reality. On the contrary, the necromancer wields his power like a weapon, but only so that those who gave it to him may draw him into a seductive net he cannot withdraw himself from.

The same with magical items. There are divine and abysmal objects. Divine objects may only be wielded effectively by a follower of God. The Lodestone in Dragonsong is an example. The Mirror of the Songstress and the cursed sword Zagmatar are examples of abysmal objects in the same novel. Their power is free for everyone to employ, but the item in question always seeks to pervert anyone who chooses to use it. Ultimately the item in question is subject to its masters (demons) not to its wielder.

I found that carrying over my biblical worldview helped to create a sharp and contrasting dichotomy between good end evil. As a Christian fantasy writer I wouldn't create my own world where fornication is entirely permissible by the "good guys" because I wanted to use it as a device to accentuate my story. The same applies for me with magic. Both are condemned in Scripture, and Scripture is our final rule of authority in our lives, including what I choose to create with the imagination God gifted me with. Here I give thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I leave this as food for thought, and some of the internal arguments and conflicts that arrested my attention when I began in earnest to pen Dragonsong. God bless.