For my book I have toyed with the idea to have one of my good guys as a wizard and one of my bad guys as a wizard.

But I am still not sure what to do about this.

I know that lots of people think that all magic is bad....
But I think it's a cool idea to have in books good and bad magic.

Any thoughts on this any one?

Personally, I have no problems with magic being a neutral force that both good and bad guys can use, or with the concept of "good" magic. The main reason I know of for people to think that all magic is bad is the assumption that all magic is supernatural and comes from either God or the devil (and if it comes from God, it's not called magic). But if you have magic being a natural part of the world, not something gifted by "higher powers" then as far as I'm concerned, good or neutral magic is quite possible.

'Tis really on how you view the magic of your world. Leandra basically covered everything... the whole thing about it being from God or the devil.
Good comes from good, bad comes from bad. Good coming from bad and bad coming from good do not work. Either the magic is from the bad guy and it's bad, magic is natural and comes from a neutral source, or it is good and comes from the good guy. Mixing the first and the third doesn't work.

They took the words right out of my mouth.

I'd recommend you peruse this thread as well as this one, Alina. These are threads where lots of people have tackled questions very similar to your own. And I'll admit that pretty much what you'll find there agrees with what our wonderful friends have already said here

In my book Magic is a gift the creator gives to his children. I guess you could say it's one of the spiritual gifts. They can choose to use it for His glory, or abuse it, (IE, use it for evil). You are blessed with magic only by the creator, and no other person can bestow it upon you. So in short, yes, if done right you can have good magic. The #1 most important thing when dealing with magic is, EXPLAIN THE SOURCE. Don't leave it as just a force that's out there you can manipulate, that nobody really knows about. Explain it.

Very good point, mate!
God bless,
Crushmaster.

Hmm...that's a good idea, Elanhil and every one else

I think what I'll do is something like this:

Magic is a gift people were born with, God gave it to them.
Some have realized this and use it to serve their creator to protect
his people.
Some use it for evil, and ignore the fact that God gave it to them, and think that it is a power they merely created for themselves.

Thank you so much for all the advice every one!

I think that this is a great idea! I also came across this question myself. Who says that if magic can be used for evil, it can't be used for good either?!

You stole my words.

Ditto.

I also say that when writing about magic make sure that nobody is invincible because of magic, then it can get really boring when the bad guys/good guys can't die. I like the way Christopher Paolini did it in the "Inheritance Cycle."

I also agree with Danko. Nobody likes a story where you know that nothing bad can happen to anyone!

*nods* I have come to a conclusion! Thanks all!

You are very much welcome Isra!