Magic in the Bible

[foxmoth at qnet.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 18036

	Joshua Trachtenberg, in "Jewish Magic and Superstition" (out of 
print and  hard to find) explains that the distinction between magic 
and religion has always been subject to political considerations. 
Governments seek to enhance their authority with the power of religion. 
One of the ways to do this is to label the beliefs and practices of 
those who oppose them as magical or superstitious.
	The Talmud (the compilation of early rabbinic interpretations of 
Jewish Law which defines Orthodox Judaism) contains many  incantations 
and cures. Later Rabbis forbade the use of these, saying their proper 
application was no longer certain.
	 The Rabbis also  forbade as sorcery any attempt to discern the 
properties of natural objects by experimentation. This prohibition was 
eventually dropped, citing Proverbs 25:2, "It is the glory of God to 
conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
	In the real world, to pull this back on topic, we may have a far 
harder task than the Wizards do in deciding what should be called magic 
and what should not.
Pippin