My main question about the issue of "magic" is the source, from where does the power come? I'm really interested in what people think because there are many different sources just in the stories that I've read. Here is my source of "magic". In my mind, that which would be considered magical or supernatural can only come from one place: the spiritual realm. There are only two ways for people to access that power. The first way is for God to give someone the ability to do miraculous things, or to directly intervene and perform a miracle with no human component. The other way to obtain power is from Satan, the devil or his demons; whether they are giving it without someone's knowledge or if someone asks for it, the power that Satan has and gives is always evil and working towards his goals.
I believe this to be true in the real world as well as in my story (of course in my story the Devil and God have different names).

Hey, Armorbearer, welcome to HW! For me, the closest thing I have to magic is "Ignesia", Eshyklah's gift to the elves. It is simply communication through a garnet stone necklage called "Glory's Fire". I try to define it as well as I can, to avoid the abstract "magic".

My favorite type of Magic is natural ability of someone's race or world. (something that in our world (or people group) would be seen as magical, but in a different world (or race) is completely normal.)

That way I can't be accused of demonic influence, but I still have the desired effect.

I forgot about that possibility, I like that one too

That is essentially very similar to Cobha.

I use a similar magic; Eshyklah give Ignesia to the Elves, only. By defining how the magic is used, I can further define the source of magic.

In my story, "magic" is a gift given to a certain race (the shapeshifters) from God. I made it so that each person can only control a specific thing (like water or fire). Humans can't use magic in my story.
My evil race draws their power from demons that they try to control. They are very powerful, but they often end up being taken over by the demons.

That is the problem with trying to get magic from demons. Natural abilities are still God-given and therefore good. Thanks for the input!

In my novel, pretty much each creature has a special gift. King Kunin (equivilent to God) gives each creature a 'magical gift' and when Hannah disobeys Him, some of the creatures use their special gifts for bad instead of good. My novel is an allegory for the creation. I think that as long as you outline exactly where that magic is coming from, then there should be no problem.

I like the idea of natural God-given ability, but I think even in this there can be potential for creativity in the source of power. For instance, a race that God gave the natural ability to draw upon the power of the forest (this is similar to the Dryad race in one of my worlds).

At one point, my understanding of magic in my world Mythica was that God put power/magic/cobha/"the Force"/whatever into the world when he made it. And magicians, wizards, etc. were those with a God-given ability to harness this power to their will. Well, actually, magicians were those who had a certain God-given amount of this power instilled in them that they could use, and wizards were those super-powerful individuals whom God gave the ability to harness the power of the world directly to their will. The wizards were kind of like the Istari in Middle-Earth in that the reason for their greater power was for the defense of the world against evil, sorcery, etc (they were kind of like the police for magicians). Sorcerers, witches, etc. were those with no God-given ability, that used whatever means they could to procure supernatural power.

So ultimately GOD, was still the source of magic, but in a creative sort of way. And this is what I'm essentially suggesting. God-derived magic/cobha/whatever that has kind of a relay station through which people receive the power/ability that God has given. That's my thought on the source of magic, belated though it be.

In Christ,
Jordan

Those are good thoughts, I agree that God is the ultimate source of all power, and that is a very good way to have "customizable" magic within definite boundaries.

Yikes! That would be evil, then? Very cool, in a creepy sort of way!

While I don't believe that "magic" is an acceptable practice, I think if handled appropriately it can be used in Christian fiction. The way I handle Magic in my stories is through natural ability. However people do not have this magic. The magic is native to the Diegose (a dragonish creature of sorts). The creature's abilities can be tapped into through the Caldarian (a race of humans) that they bind themselves to. However I use physical limitation as part of insuring that the “magical abilities” of the Diegose seem more organic and native to them. It takes lots of energy for them to use their gifts and thus they must use it sparingly. Kind of like a rattle snake only has so much venom so they conserve it only for great need. Once the venom has been ejected it takes time for them to produce more.

I also have an Order of Mankind (order as in the priest’s type of order) who are called Mistrial. The Mistrial are not magical (although my brother’s think they resemble a wizardish type of character), they are more like scientists. I portray them as having longer life due to the fact that they are the chosen historians of the races. They preserve the knowledge of times past. They also draw upon organic materials (minerals, gases, and such) to advance society and mankind in a very scientific fashion.

The Orphlin race are somewhat elfish (although I always try to be more original than using someone else’s idea so I put spins and twists on their character as a race) but they have natural abilities. They are skilled more so than magically talented.

I have many other character’s I could expound on but I think you all get my drift. Anything that is purely magical and black artish I think should be portrayed as evil.

Another point I’d like to bring up in the discussion is that the Chronicles of Narnia use magic. However that magic is only acceptable in the land of Narnia. Lewis draws a very clear distinction. When the witch comes to our world in the Magician’s Nephew she loses all power. That’s because in our world that type of power is not real or acceptable. I think this is an important thing to remember. Magic can be native to another land, just use discretion. We’re all intelligent (I hope). Don’t use black magic as a good thing. Be tactful and careful in how you present it.

Sorry about the double post. Hit the wrong button.

No evil grins please, I'd hate to have a legion of some such evil unleashed.

How could we not pay attention to you, Evening L? Especially with your bluntness!

(Editor strikes again!)

In my world magic isn't something that is accessible or even known about. By the end of the book, however, one finds out that Srugoz was planning to extract magic from the surrounding ground. The energy he would have gathered he was planning on harnessing as power to enter his body and make him almost like a god.

So there's no magic...but there's energy in the ground. Like mechanical energy...not really sure why but it's there, it's just that no one except a very few knew about it, and no one but Srugoz could do anything about. Fortunately, his plan is ultimately thwarted....

I really dislike books like *cough*Eragon*cough* that just use magic as a catch-all for everything, without even explaining where this magic came from. But some of the ideas I read in this thread were really good. Thanks whoever dug it up...I'd never seen it before!

eruheran

In Murel there are two things that could be considered 'magic'.

The first--and the one that is most thought of as 'magic'--is a gift given by the Creator that can be used harness nature--specifically the elements.

The second is an 'alteration' on nature that is caused by something on the angelic plane. It can be done by angels or demons but, because the angels rarely use it, the alterations are almost always associated with demons.

The first is a natural part of life that comes from God.
The second is usually a 'tampering' of the physical world that has been allowed by God in the world's cobha, but is usually brought about by demons.

In my other world, Raymistia, there are quite a few different types of 'magic'.
The first is natural, that the Keeper(God) planted in the world's beginning, just like he set science into the rules of our earth in the beginning. The Lacemere have the ability to understand trees/dryads, for instance, and Mist Faeries can fly and are half mist half elf.
The second is the special kind which the Keeper gives chosen people(just like he gives a prophet the ability to prophesy and just like how God heals people through us) and the chosen use it for his purpose. But when they start using it for their own purpose, things turn out wrong and the gift eventually gets taken away(if they don't repent).
The third kind is when humans/wizards use the natural magic for experimenting and using it. Mostly they do it for themselves and it sometimes isn't for bad things but it is always dangerous because it can have bad consequences if they aren't careful. If they use it too often for selfish things, it turns into dark magic.

I go with the same things as you, ArmourBearer. However, God can either give someone the inborn ability to use 'magic', or they can receive it as a gift later in life. Mostly I just have them manipulate the elements, but I'm working on a magic that manipulates emotions, or possibly that does things to the human body. Such as people having the ability to break a man's ribcage without touching him, or to stop his heart. That would be a complex form of magic studied by evil people and obtained from the devil.
I like the idea of it being a natural inborn talent, given by God to me the way one would have a musical talent or a writing talent.