The Big Idea

(A Babylonian cylinder seal above shows a worshipper standing in between the goddess of love, Ishtar, on his left and the sun god, Shamash, on his right. Note the abundance of magical symbols including the crescent moon and stars.) A fair amount of discussion has been going on recently among my fellow Christians who write speculative fiction on the nature of magic in relation to fantasy fiction. E. Stephen Burnett in  Speculative Faith  especially has made some comments that have inspired this particular blog post. I would say there is a real connection between fantasy fiction and the practice of magic--or there is a possible genuine connection anyway. But that connection doesn't really lie where people who worry about such things (usually fellow Christians) think it does. It is not true that the very mention of magic or the practice of magic is somehow dangerous. However, those who dismiss such concerns with a wave of the hand are not really correct in their understanding