It's understandable that atheists and antitheists would use the word "magic" to mock the power of God. To play it safe, true agnostics should not mock God's power on the chance He turns out to be real. But it smacks of hypocrisy when professing Christians parrot this form of
ridicule in criticizing miracles associated with sects other than their own.
So, I ask you modern miracle mockers who profess belief in the Bible:
- Do you believe in the "magic" staff of Moses and Aaron’s "magic" rod and the "magic" staff of Elisha? These, like the staff of the wizard Gandolf, were used in the performance of miracles.
- Do you believe in the "magic" mud Jesus used to heal the blind and the "magic" Jordan River water that healed Namaan’s leprosy and the magic Ark of the Covenant?
- Do you believe in Gideon’s "magic" fleece and the "magic" manna that always knew whether it was the sabbath or not and the widow’s "magic" pot of oil and her "magic" jar of flour?
- How about Moses’ "magic" brass serpent on a pole that healed the Hebrews of snake bites?
- Have you wondered whether Jesus Christ’s "magic" spit would still heal blind people if He had saved a bunch of it in a sealed jar for us in modern times to sprinkle on the faces of the visually impaired or to mix with mud and smear on their eyes? (See John 9:6 and Mark 8:22-26)
- And do you believe in the "magic" urim and thummim, elements of the hoshen, the breastplate worn by the High Priest that was attached to the ephod and used for divination and cleromancy? The urim and thummim were sacred stones hidden in the breastplate which the High Priest could pull out and peer into for discovering God’s will. Calling these magic spectacles is disrespectful to God. And, if Joseph Smith claimed to receive a set from an ancient American prophet named Moroni and to have used them to start translating the Book of Mormon, don't mock the stones. Smith learned later that God would still reveal things to him through stones he found on his own. He used various means to block his surroundings from distracting him while receiving revelation. And, after sufficient practice putting himself in the right mind to receive revelation, Joseph stopped using tangible items to assist him when receiving revelation. So, such artifacts have no power of their own, but serve as spiritual training wheels for revelation. You can disagree with the revelations, but mocking concepts and tools consistent with scripture doesn't make sense unless you're an atheist or antitheist.
All of the “magic” artifacts used by God with prophets and other people were examples of spiritual training wheels, tangible symbols of God’s power that helped focus a person’s faith. It is hardly important what mechanisms God uses in His miracles. If you had been in the crowd of 5,000 being fed by Jesus would you obsess over whether your piece of bread came from one of the original loaves or was conjured into existence by magic?
Let's all just be respectful when speaking of things considered sacred by other sects. Respect priestly garments whether worn as outer clothing or otherwise. Respect the clothing worn by orthodox Jews. Respect the rosary. And respect those who believe in visions, healing, prophecy, and revelation along with any artifacts used in such miracles. Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do." (John 14:12)