Magic and Religion

Religion asks and petitions and loves and honors. Magic tries to make things happen by using specific words and actions. Sometimes magic masquerades as religion. To wear a cross, a pentacle, a Star of David or other symbol as a sign of your belief is one thing. But to think that a specific rendition of this symbol has somehow been activated to bring good fortune or blessings on the holder is something else entirely. This is like trying to manipulate God: Wear this pendant and God will bless the holder, whether He wants to or not.

Furthermore, it is quite possible to integrate religion, magic, and science as one aggregate--the most obvious way is to pray that the magic or science will work, or to ask for God's blessing on what is to be accomplished. But, one must ask, is this really any different from praying for help or blessing in any other endeavor? Indeed, people do not pray every time they turn on a light switch, or start their car or computer, because they expect these things to work. But when they are doing something they do not understand enough about, and where there are factors beyond their control, the tendency is to ask God for help. Since humanity does not understand everything about the universe as of yet, prayer seems a natural companion.

But, it is important to remember that magic and spells are different from religion and prayer. When one prays, he/she is asking: please Holy One, do this. When one executes a spell, he/she is telling: I am putting this and this and this together and I expect to get this result. In other words, magic or science deals with many things humanity does not fully comprehend as of yet, and hence scientists are not sure what to put together to get the results they want. This is called the scientific research process. And moreover, there is often many ways to get the same results one may be looking for. Modern day magical practitioners, like scientists, do this.

Scientists keep extensive notes, on which, they keep track of every possible thing that could contribute to the success or failure of an experiment or "spell." And, furthermore, if one were to examine modern science objectively, it contains all the supposedly distinctive features of magic. Nothing is as mystical as some of the concepts of modern science. For example, the inability to determine if a phenomenon is a particle or a wave. For another, the inability to determine the precise location