A quick skim of popular YA and adult fantasy novels, whether by secular or Christian authors, reveals a host of stories with magically powered characters. I think of The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson in the secular field. Most YA fantasy stories by Christian authors include magic as well: Mary Weber’s Storm Siren trilogy, Kara Swanson’s Dust and Shadow, and Nadine Brandes’ Fawkes and Romanov, to name a few. As a casual observer of genre trends, especially in the case of YA books, I think it’s safe to say that magic-filled fantasy stories have definitely replaced dystopias.
Even before this trend began, I noticed many Christian writers plagued by how to handle magical powers in their stories. While some shun magic altogether, others restrict magic to witchcraft and sorcery, avoid those, and opt for writing “magic systems” that may more properly be called “power systems.”
The attention this topic receives is warranted. We as Christians have a responsibility to portray truth in our stories, and how and why we include fantastical powers will say something about what we believe.
Such a realization led me to a writing existential crisis near the end of 2020. How do we as Christian writers portray magic in our stories? Should we even? If we do, what guidelines can we follow? No articles I found satisfied me. So I wrestled, prayed, and explored the minds of some of my favorite Christian writers who had thoughts on this topic: Tolkien, Lewis, and Michael O’Brien. I searched the sources of my Faith and observed great authors in the past who, while not writing explicitly on the subject, wrote works that implied a great deal (such as Shakespeare’s The Tempest).
While my thoughts on this topic will inevitably continue to develop, I want to share what I’ve found for other writers wrestling with this issue. It may also serve as a guide for readers searching to make sense of the messaging behind the magic systems of their favorite stories.
This post is the first in what I hope will be an on-going series. In this first post, besides this introduction, I’ll be exploring what exactly magic is and considerations to keep in mind when approaching it in fiction.
To be clear right off the bat, I do not think including magic systems in Christian stories is immediately and inherently wrong. Tolkien and Lewis were brilliant thinkers, writers, and Christians, and their stories clearly included “magic” that, when examined, I don’t believe to be problematic at all.
However, I think there is a line that can be drawn when creating non witchcraft and sorcery magic systems. As I presume most of my readers are Christians who can agree that witchcraft and sorcery are forbidden by God, I find most of the more subtle (and often unintentional) issues Christian writers like myself stumble into is the implicit messages our magic or power systems create in our stories.
But first, what exactly is magic in general, and how should the nature of it impact how we approach or portray it in fiction?
Some Definitions
When most people, particularly Christians, hear the word ‘magic,’ they likely think of it in the following sense: “the use of means (such as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces.” (Merriam-Webster dictionary) Witchcraft and sorcery come to mind.
My research brought me a more nuanced and illuminating definition:
“Magic is an attempt to bypass the limitations of human nature and the authority of God, in order to obtain power of material creation and the will of others through manipulation of the supernatural… magic is about taking control in areas of life where man has no right to take control. It is a rejection of the divine order in creation.” (O’Brien. For a note on my sources, see the end of the post.)
Further:
“…For us in the real world there is no such thing as good magic, only prayer, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and abandonment to divine providence.” (O’Brien)
I want to point out several parts of O’Brien’s words and the implications:
First, magic is about man grasping for power in an area he has no right to have power in. This is what makes magic demonic. As O’Brien’s first quote says, it’s a rejection of the divine order of creation.
Second, the area in which man takes what is not rightfully his is in the area of the supernatural. I think all Christians can agree on this. Witchcraft and sorcery are essentially manipulating areas of the supernatural that man has no right to. Man has a soul. But one of the natural faculties of that soul is not, for instance, possessing the wills of others. (For a fantastic dissertation on all the faculties of humans, both animal and spiritual, I recommend Aristotle or Thomas Aquinas’ works).
Third, given these truths about magic, “good magic” is a contradiction. It’s like saying there is good sin. Magic, taken in this sense, is a sin, and has nothing good about it. This holds true in our world, and in fictional worlds, whose metaphysical laws (though not necessarily, say, gravitational laws) ought to mirror those of the real world. (Tolkien)
Fourth, a brief excursion: I read a forum discussion some time ago where a writer argued that, given the nature of magic, writers who have “magic systems” in their stories should cease calling them that, and opt for something like “power systems” instead. It’s an interesting perspective that I won’t be addressing too much in my posts, though through my research I’ve gradually stopped calling the magical things in my books “magic systems.”
Given these definitions and the implications, many Christians understandably have warning signs blaring in their heads when an author says, “Hey, my book has a magic system!”
However, I would argue that most Christian fantasy books (though fewer secular ones) steer clear of the magic I’ve defined above. As I will show in later posts, the magic that, for instance, Sanderson uses in Mistborn, has nothing problematic about its source (to my knowledge; the Cosmere is complex, imma right?), but the messaging behind it can get a bit wonky. A magic system can avoid being the type of magic I’ve defined above and yet still send the same message as that magic would. But in sum, I think as writers and readers it’s unfair to immediately assume a story with a magic system is glorifying something evil.
In my future posts I’ll use the definition and implications I just investigated to explore how Christians can ethically include magic systems in their stories. Below is a general outline of some topics I’ll be addressing:
DIVISIONS OF “MAGIC”
- Different, non-human races with naturally magical powers
- Powers given to humans
- Powers from nature, science based and not connected to the spiritual realm
- Twist in the natural world creating a power in a person, not a tool (e.g., spiderman)
- Creation of a tool based on the natural world (e.g., machinery)
- Supernatural powers from the spiritual realm, either good or evil.
- Powers from God
- Charisms—extensions of natural human powers, made greater by grace and God
- Supernatural good powers. Beyond natural human powers. Debatable usage
- Powers from the evil one.
- Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.
- Using an object associated with an evil power
- Powers from God
- Powers from nature, science based and not connected to the spiritual realm
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- What is the source of the magic?
- What are the limits and consequences of the magic?
- What message does the presence of the magic send? That man can fix everything, or that tools are good but in the end only virtue and reliance on God overcome evil?
A final word: I don’t write these posts to make writers and readers scrupulous about the stories they write and enjoy. As I’ll show in future installments, fantastical and magical elements are an incredibly powerful storytelling tool that can set afire the hearts and imaginations of readers. No author is perfect in how they do this. By being more aware of this aspect of stories, writers can craft more powerful tales and readers can enjoy them more fully.
See you in the next post, and if you have thoughts, please share them in the comments!
K.M.
Note on my sources: I principally drew from three sources in my research for this initial post. The first two are from Michael O’Brien. One examines the implications of Harry Potter’s magic system, and the other looks at the results of pacifying traditionally evil symbolism in children’s literature. Both are phenomenal books that create much food for thought, regardless of whether or not you like Harry Potter and friendly dragons. People may think the views in the books are extreme, and my drawing from them does not mean I agree with the author on all points. However, his treatment of magic seemed most in line with Christian tradition.
The third book is an unlikely source—a fictional conversation on the Eucharist between Tolkien, Lewis, and Billy Graham, written by Peter Kreeft. While the quotes I will use from Tolkien and Lewis are not always direct quotations from either men, I know Kreeft is a phenomenal writer, Christian, and thinker who is familiar with their works. The chapter of this book regarding magic and the Eucharist was extremely insightful.
If you ask: why aren’t you drawing directly from the Bible? my answer is that the Bible is very clear regarding witchcraft and sorcery. I’m drawing from writers who I know are faithful Christian thinkers to help weed out areas where Scripture does not directly say, “You shall not have characters who can fly or form icicles with their hands.”