I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the yesterday… Mostly because in the gap between Transformers and Ratatouille + The Simpsons Movie, there’s nothing else to see right now.
When Harry and ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ clash with the Death Eaters in the Departmet of Mystery’s prophecy storage room, most of the kids fire off little spells – stun blasts and the like. But Hermione lets off one nice, big boom of a spell, blasting the baddies away momentarily and starting all the racks of prophecy globes falling over.
Which got me thinking: What is the source of magic in the Harry Potter universe? After all, it’s not explained where the energy comes from. If it were out of nowhere, then logically Hermione and the rest ought to let off the tactical nuke spells every single time, instead of pinging away with finger pokes.
I guess it’s because I’m familiar with RPG games and their concept of magic points or mana. As a balancing factor, more powerful spells use up more magic points. So if you keep launching big spells, you’ll run out of magic energy reserves quickly.
And IMHO, magic can’t come out of nowhere. Energy cannot simply be created out of no energy (according to the First Law of Thermodynamics). Ergo, magical energy must have a source.
So what could the source of Hogwartsian magical energy be?
And remember that Harry Potter’s universe is one where flashy, fun-times-for-all magic exists in our own Muggle-run world of science and technology.
So let’s take the question further, and ask: What could the source of magic in our nonfiction reality be? Where do humans draw their magic from, since we don’t come equipped with nuclear-fusion-to-magic-energy-reactors in our guts?
As a fan of the fantasy genre, especially high fantasy, let me tackle this pertinent question by comparing several different continuities as I delve into the source of their magic.
———————
ERAGON
In the Eragon universe, dragons can form a special bond with humans. The human becomes a Dragon Rider, sharing a special life-and-death link between them. This special link also gives the Dragon Rider access to magic – but using too much magic in one shot severely drains the caster.
Now, where the dragons get their magic is another thing, but suffice to say that Dragon Rider humans draw their magic power, or at least gain magic-usage, from their dragons.
Do dragons exist in the real world? No, Peter Dickinson aside. And especially not the spellcasting kind.
———————
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Ah, the great classic and grand-daddy of modern role playing gaming fun, Dungeons & Dragons in all its paper and electronic forms.
In the popular Forgotten Realms D&D setting, magic is drawn through something called the Weave. Spellcasters manipulate the Weave to alter its balance of energy, thus creating changes in reality that result in magical effects.
The Weave itself is a barrier between the Forgotten Realms world and raw magic. A similar, more sci-fi concept exists in the Immaterium of Warhammer 40000.
Does The Weave or a comparable magical energy barrier exist in the real world that we can manipulate to mess with the rules of physics? No, unless you count the freakiness of quantum theory.
———————
MAGIC: THE GATHERING
In the multiple planes of existence that is the Magic universe, magical energy is called mana. Mana is drawn from the very land, and sometimes powerful artifacts. (But it can be argued that most mana-producing artifacts are merely storage devices for land-based mana.)
Anyway, magic-users draw mana from the lands they have formed a bond to, and use the accumulated mana to cast mighty spells and summon fantastic creatures to do battle!
The most gifted of these magic-users may actually have the in-born planeswalker spark, which makes them magnitudes more powerful. But it all still comes down to the magic of the land.
Do lands providing magical energy exist in the real world? No, ignoring the unproven claims of ley lines, geomancy and feng shui. Solar power as ‘energy cascading down onto the land’ doesn’t even come close! And definitely not in the channel-mana-cast-spell way.
You can also read my post about my tournament gaming experience, which has lots of links to card images that may give you a feel for how the game plays.
———————
WARCRAFT
In the world of Warcraft, magic comes from several sources. Mortal or limitless-lifespan folk can use magic, sure, but they need a source to draw their magic from.
In the Frozen Throne storyline, the High Elves used to have their source of magic in the mystical geographic feature known as the Sunwell. It was created long ago by smuggling out a small portion of the original source of magic on the world, the Well of Eternity.
Unfortunately, the invasion of the Undead Scourge resulted in the defiling and destruction of the Sunwell. Their homeland destroyed, the High Elves renamed themselves as the Blood Elves and pledged revenge.
However, the Elves soon began to feel ill and apathetic. Having been exposed to the Sunwell’s magical energies for so long, they had become addicted to magic. Now with no source of magic to feed their addiction, they were suffering from magic withdrawal symptoms.
Fate played out its hand, for the leader of the serpentine Naga came to them with the revelation that the Elves could always turn to other sources for magic… Such as demons.
Thus the Elves pledged their allegiance to Illidan Stormrage, the Demon Hunter who himself became a demon.
Does the Well of Eternity exist in the real world? Nope. Does the Sunwell exist in the real world? No.
Do demons exist in the real world?
YES.
According to Christian beliefs, demons really do exist in our real world.
——————–
Did everyone read that right? Demons exist in the real world? What’s wrong with this blogger? Hasn’t he read The Demon-Haunted World and left his outdated superstitions behind yet?
But you forget. This particular nutter is a Bible-believing, fundamental Christian.
Of course you won’t see big, hulking, horned, hooved, flaming sword demons wandering around ripping people’s hearts out for snacks. In Christian doctrine, demons are always spiritual entities – non-corporeal beings who cannot take real physical form.
You can imagine how Hollywood would find itself hard-pressed to sell movies where the villians are all invisible, hence the popular portrayal of demons as physical-combat oriented warrior-beasts… Although Poltergeist and The Exorcist are good exceptions.
However, demons are no less real for all the Hollywood artistic license. Being spirits, they can’t be proven to exist through the usual scientific observation methods (although the reputed effect of spiritual phenomena on the electromagnetic spectrum may hold some promise).
——————–
So there you have it – if magic exists in this real world of ours, then demons are in all likelihood the source of it. And since Christian doctrine claims that demons do exist, then it is likely that practitioners of demonic magic also exist (knowing or unknowing of the demonic origin of their magic, see the mafia rackets bit at the Conclusion to this post).
But not fancy, flashy magic mind you… No area-damage fireballs and Patronus here.
In line with their spiritual traits, demons called upon by various practitioners (such as malignant bomohs) to attack the target by disturbing the mind, emotions and will. And through the psychosomatic process, to affect physical health as well.
That doesn’t mean that all mental disorders are necessarily the work of demonic influence, but simply that demons can sometimes meddle with normal mental health.
(By contrast, holy miracles are not limited to messing with the mind, as anyone familiar with the more spectacular scenes in the Bible knows. Nor are they ever invoked by humans, but always commanded and caused by God. And they are never for selfish reasons, but always to glorify God.)
——————–
This theory of demonic magic does have a Biblical basis, gleaned from the following passages (bolding is mine for emphasis):
They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. - Deuteronomy 32:16-17
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. – Psalms 106:36-38 (SHOCKING! Still happening in modern times!)
Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. - 1 Corinthians 10:19-20
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. - Matthew 9:32-33
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. - Matthew 17:14-15,18
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. - 1 Timothy 4:1
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. - Matthew 24:23-25
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. - Revelation 13:13-14 (see whole of Revelation 13 for more ungodly magic)
Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. – Revelation 16:13-14
——————–
CONCLUSION
So what is the moral of this little exercise in high fantasy continuity? Well, if demons are the source of real ‘magic’ in our real world, then we shouldn’t risk having anything to do with them!
Like mafia rackets (see Virus/Anti-virus Scam on the Spiritual Plane for more), they will eventually demand a high price for their services.
It is the testimony of my Indigenous friend from Borneo that his uncle, a real life bomoh (tribal shaman), was full of deathly fear of something as he lay on his deathbed. We reckon that it was because he knew his magical patrons were coming (or already there) to collect their dues.
Perhaps you can see now why some Christian families do not want their children to become engrossed in the world of Harry Potter. Sure, it’s all make believe and rollicking good fun. And doubtless J.K. Rowling would not mould the Potter continuity to make his magic reliant on demons.
But those cute little don’t-know-better kids, who are so enamored of fly-on-broomsticks magic, might start experimenting with magic in real life… Hoping beyond hope to discover that elusive secret, the amazing gift of REAL MAGIC!
And God forbid, what they will find when they search long and hard enough… Or perhaps simply stumble onto the wrong names to utter in jest. It is never merely jesting to the demonic criminal syndicates of the spiritual realm.
“You will not surely die. Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”
Tags: demon magic, demonic magic, Harry Potter magic source, magic in Christianity, magic in real world, real magic
August 14, 07 at 11:32 pm
Am I writing to the person who wrote this blog about the origin of magic? If so I would really like to talk to you. I am a fantasy author (soon to be published) and stumbled on this ‘blog’ whilst doing some research. (I’m not familiar with blogs – not entirely sure how it works).
I’d really appreciate a message back I think we could have a lot to talk about plus it would be very helpful to me
Caro
March 10, 08 at 4:17 pm
the Bible tells us there are more things in heaven and earth than we could ever imagine. The common idea that humans conciously use only 10% of our brain capacity, the documented existence of people with extra-normal abilities (such as the ability to conciously raise the body’s core temperature and thus withstand cold conditions thought to be impossible), and so forth offer us a glimpse of this. Practitioners of some martial arts have long been able to perform apparently superhuman feats like walking on burning, broken glass without being harmed. Does exploration of mind over matter, producing results that could appear “magical,” necessarily involve dark forces?
March 10, 08 at 6:40 pm
There’s a very serious flaw in your argument. You are going through a list only so far as to ensure you find the angle you need to spout your beliefs- you pass by several fantasy series’ which don’t help and don’t say where the magic comes from, but as soon as you find the one angle you need (which is, I might remind you, only one aspect of the world it is set in) you immediately latch onto it, forsaking all other examples.
You even go so far as to mention a series which does the job quite well. That being Warhammer, although you only mention the sci-fi version, not the fantasy version that would fit the theme of your post better. Interesting point, that.
For example, in Warhammer 40k ‘magic’ manifests as people who genetically evolve a link to the Immaterium, more commonly called the Warp. The Warp is a parasite dimension composed of pure energy, which reacts to the emotions of sentient beings in material space.
Does such a dimension exists in the real world? How should I know? I certainly can’t find a way of proving it, but that in itself is not enough. Something is wrong when it is DISproven, not when there is simply a lack of evidence to back it up. That is, after all the idea of theory and what di many of the laws of physics, biology, etc start out as? Theory.
Yet, unlike your example, the Warp is not deamonic. It can seem so, on the surface. It is certainly inhabited by malevolant energy-beings commonly referred to as ‘Daemons’, but this is an oversimplification.
The inhabitants of the warp are not demons. They are energy-constructs formed out of the overwhelming emotions of the material world- the fact that they are malicious creatures is a result of the dark, brutal world that Warhammer is, rather than any intrinsic leaning towards metaphysical concepts such as ‘good’ and ‘evil’.
The warp itself is also not demonic. When a wizard or ‘Psyker’ as they are referred to in Warhammer 40,000 (although despite the name, they are for all intents and purposes, spellcasters), do not channel demonic energy to fuel their incredibl power.
Although it is true that some Psykers do so, unlocking the secrets of sorcery by making demonic pacts, this is not the most common case, and as evidenced by some of the more powerful Psykers, not the only route to unlimited power.
Most Psykers simply channel extra-dimensional energies which, while volatile and potentially destructive, are not intrinsically evil. As such, the idea that magic stemming from demonic pacts is an argument I find narrow-minded at best.
This is not to say that Warhammer 40k is the only example of magic with a defined source in its world, it is simply the one that I, personally, know best. As such, I suggest you perform further research before you judge so readily.
March 10, 08 at 7:11 pm
Taliesin, dude… You’re WAY too serious into this…
Yes, I just used a few examples, out the dozens I know of (e.g. Final Fantasys 1-10 which each have their own system) and the countless others I don’t.
Yes, I homed in on just one example – that of Warcraft III.
But this is because, according to Christian theology (which I take to represent truth, fact and reality) demons are the SOLE source of magic in this real world.
And Warcraft III is fantasy universe I know well where demons are mentioned as a source of magic. The other examples I gave were just red herrings.
To be blunt: MtG, Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, Merlin, My Little Pony, Disney’s Aladdin, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bewitched, and – yes – even Warhammer all have fictional, make-believe, untrue and WRONG accounts of magic. They are unintentional LIES told for the purpose of amusement. Warcraft comes close, but is inaccurate in stating that non-demonic sources of magic exist.
So in conclusion: Yes, I judged quickly. I believe that the Christian doctrine of all magic being from demonic sources is true, and from the start geared my entire post towards providing an example that rings true to that belief.
March 10, 08 at 7:21 pm
Practitioners of some martial arts have long been able to perform apparently superhuman feats like walking on burning, broken glass without being harmed. Does exploration of mind over matter, producing results that could appear “magical,” necessarily involve dark forces? – Reuben
Reuben, I too have some control over the normally subconcious bodily functions. I can speed up my digestion, make my stomach contents more acidic or more alkaline, and constrict or dilate my skin’s blood vessels (though not very consistently).
Feats such as these, or future proven abilities such as telekinesis, are distinct from magic – just as teleportation using quantum physics is distinct. They likely rely on yet-undiscovered physical laws and biological characteristics.
Using the Biblical principle, a simple way to distinguish between magic and cool-stuff is this: If the source is demonic, then it is ‘magic’ according to the Biblical understanding. If the source is not demonic, then it isn’t the ‘magic’ described in the Bible.
March 11, 08 at 9:57 pm
So you are, in effect, ignoring the idea of proving anything in favour of providing a biased, christian-only account without even accepting the possibility that such a belief might be wrong?
Whether you believe the christian belief is correct or not is irrelevant. If you want to prove anything, then actually try and prove it- don’t just spout your beliefs which may or may not be correct.
For example, why should christianity be correct? What provides it with so much more reason to be true than anything else?
Maybe I am taking this too seriously. Well, as a firm believer in truth when I see people doing nothing more than spouting a biased, self-serving account and citing it as the irrefutable truth, I believe I have just cause to argue back with any amount of ferocity I deem appropriate.
Furthermore, as a pagan when I see somebody declaring the magic -a fairly central part of my beliefs- is evil and demonic without at any point accepting the idea that they may be wrong, or that other points of view may be right, I also believe that I am justified in, to put it bluntly, biting back.
So, in summary you say that “MtG, Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, Merlin, My Little Pony, Disney’s Aladdin, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bewitched, and – yes – even Warhammer all have fictional, make-believe, untrue and WRONG accounts of magic”
Okay, fine. Why is christianity any different?
March 12, 08 at 9:16 am
First up, I apologize if my equation of magic with demons is offenseive to your beliefs. However, those are the facts of the matter according to Christian doctrine.
Secondly, this post is not about proving Christianity correct – I have many other posts to that effect.
This post instead assumes two things: 1) That Christian theology is correct, and 2) That most people in the First World do not actually believe in magic as portrayed by the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres.
This post was therefore meant to interest Fantasy fans (i.e. Warcraft players) in Christianity in a way they can connect with.
If I were to post about logically, objectively proving that magic exists in our real world – I’d be in for a loooooooong, hard time. It’s not exactly hard science and 1 + 1 = 2, if you catch my drift.
Thirdly, as to why I assume Christianity to be correct, it’s because the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are textually, historically, archaeologically, logically and scientifically verified… Unlike the other faiths.
Easy 3 Steps to Why We Can Believe The Bible About Spirituality and Metaphysics
Go ahead and challenge me on it – Christianity is a faith based on reason and truth, not make-believe and illogicity. It is an amateurish mistake to assume that Christians are all mindless, unthinking, brainwashed, glassy-eyed sheep.
(This particular Christian is a skeptic, a scientist and a cynic – it takes a whole lot of convincing to make me believe anything.)
Fourthly, while you’re at it, YOU try and prove that: 1) Magic exists, is observable and has been objectively verified, and 2) It stems from non-demonic, non-malevolent sources.
But just FIY – I’ve already prepared a rebuttal of any ‘Magic does good things’ arguments…
Virus/Anti-virus Scam on the Spiritual Plane
Fifthly, why do you yourself assume that demons = evil? Isn’t that offensive to pagans and New Agers with different beliefs from you?
Sixthly, why are you even defending the metaphysics of Warhammer, which is a fictional system created for recreational gaming?
Or do you believe that Warhammer’s metaphysics actually reflect the true hidden reality, just like how Scientologists claim that all Sci-Fi is actually an unsconcious reflection of their Space Opera doctrine?
March 24, 08 at 9:31 pm
Please tell me that this is just some sort of joke. Grown ups don’t actually believe that magic really exists, because a couple fictional and mythological books say so, do they?
March 25, 08 at 9:03 am
Unfortunately, you just insulted the Wiccans, New Agers, Vodun pratitioners, etc.
And unlike Christians, they are not averse to immediately calling the ACLU and suing people’s pants off. Heck, they even got a Wicca symbol hoisted onto the rooftops at Christmas.
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2007/12/wiccan_pentacle.html
For the record, most Christians I know do not believe in Hollywood style rainbow coloured lightning blasts (as I have stated). To us, so-called ‘magic’ is limited to the spiritual, psychological and emotional realm – very nonphysical as it were.
March 25, 08 at 5:04 pm
Haha… “moonbattery” indeed.
March 25, 08 at 5:37 pm
Say… have you thought about promoting the tin-foil hat brigade too?
March 25, 08 at 6:04 pm
See, all you do is quote various straw men in an effort to ad hominem me. What, no Flying Spaghetti Monster yet? Flat Earth?
Or have all the other atheists already come up with the last of the original material?
March 25, 08 at 8:29 pm
You’re suggesting that magic really exists, and you suggest that I’m the only one that makes things up? I thought I was just joining in the fun with you.
March 26, 08 at 4:22 am
Scott,
You’re “right on” brother. The source of magic always comes from a demonic source. Despite what Wiccans and other pagan-sourced religions want us to believe, magic is always demonic. What appears to the eye as some unseen force carrying out the will of the practitioner, the knowledgeable see the force what it truly is, which is a fallen angel doing the magic that results with a fantasitic feat. However, the ticket to the show always comes with a high price, one that will have to be paid at the end by the conjurer. And, sadly though, most magicians will eventually discover how they were deceived when it may be too late to do anything about it.
Demonic beings are clever, they sometimes conceal their true nature, making it appear as if unknown universal forces have been tapped into to successfully conduct magic. I’ve known folks who’ve dealt with magic (most were frauds) and have regretted their choice to pursue it. They’ve given up their practice and now lead normal, magic-free lives. They have confirmed that dealing with this stuff is horrible, and that if it weren’t for a re-commitment to a life based on Christian ideals (they are not fanatics), they would’ve probably been doomed by now.
As for Dan, are you an atheist? Or are you a Satanist solely trying to undermine Scott’s message? Or neither? Either way, in order to prove that demons and magic exist, this can only be verified from your participation in the occult. This is something that I do not recommend (the danger is obvious). Your lack of belief is immaterial, as magic and demon invocation can occur independently from your belief system. I can go deeper into this, but for now, I’ll leave my message as is. In short, I just want to re-emphasize Scott’s message that magic is real and its source is demonic. This is not only Christian doctrine, but Islamic as well. If you decide to dabble in this, don’t say you weren’t warned when things begin to go out of control.
March 26, 08 at 5:23 am
Hi – no, I’m an atheist and a scientist. I come to this discussion from the perspective of Arthur C. Clarke’s third law:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
That is, magic doesn’t exist. Until a day or two ago, I thought that believers of magic existed only up until the Enlightenment, and were strongest during the Dark Ages.
Have you guys not heard of the Enlightenment or something? This is just astonishing to me that people still actually believe in magic and fairy tales, and cannot distinguish fact from fiction or mythology.
March 26, 08 at 8:33 am
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
Okay, so let me redefine the message of my post:
Technology that is so advanced that it is virtually mass-less and dimensionless yet can alter reality without any visible source of power, is the product of a race of sentient but malevolent beings so ancient and advanced that they have long ago transcended the physical plane and now exist as pure mental/emotional energy that cannot be detected by our primitive scientific tools.
Any objections to that, Mr. Scientist?
March 26, 08 at 8:38 am
Spot on, Believer, I say just as much in this post:
http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2006/11/01/virusanti-virus-scam-on-the-spiritual-plane/
March 26, 08 at 1:03 pm
Dan,
I have an engineering degree. My job deals with solving problems with an engineer’s perspective. Half of the engineers I work with are atheists, or agnostic to say the least. Subjects like religion or the belief in God have no place in our discussions when we eat lunch, or when we go for a cold one right after work. I understand what you’re saying and why you are skeptical with our point of view. But as a scientist, you should always keep an open mind to forces that you don’t understand. After all, much of today’s chemistry is derived from yesterday’s magicians, or alchemists, right? Magic, my friend, has its own set of rules that are constant and immutable, just like physics. The only difference in what you and I learned at the university and what “true” magicians practice is that one can be confirmed with scienctific methods and the other cannot. However, our failure at this point in human history to confirm the validity of magic, or a spiritual world for that matter, should not mean the subject should be chucked or dismissed so lightly. In fact, several highly-noted academicians from Stanford University have conducted some interesting studies on the subject matter. Their studies yielded fantastic yet inconclusive results (which I will describe more in my next post), but nonetheless allowed for the existence of forces that are outside of our contemporary understanding of how the physical world functions.
Anyway, it is true that the Enlightenment brought us a great deal of understanding of our physical world, but it did nothing to completely quash the belief in magic and people’s pursuit of it. What it did do is relegate this world to obscurity as civilization continued to advance with the advent of great discoveries and inventions in the last three centuries.
However, having said that, I have to vehemently disagree and take offense with your implication that somehow Scott and I are deficient in our understanding of science and our physical world only because we believe that magic exists and that it is controlled by demonic forces. Magic will never be explored or studied by academicians due to the manner in which grant funding is secured. In today’s world, most of our advances and great technologies are discovered by funds from either a governmental or industrial entity. No entity with deep pockets will want to fund such a “non-scientific” endeavor such as magic. The professors from Standford University were fortunate enough to secure funding from an unusual source, an eccentric man with an abundant supply of resources.
I have to eat dinner now. I will contribute more tomorrow.
March 26, 08 at 2:11 pm
Thanks for the input again Believer. Do give us the link when you do post that info.
Btw, engineers may be plentiful atheists, but psysicists who study the universe aren’t:
“If we need an atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.” – Robert Griffiths, physicist and winner of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/physicists-believe-in-god-or-at-least-a-creator-or-designer-a-collection-of-quotes/
April 2, 08 at 9:13 am
Equip: Increases healing done by spells and effects by up to 42. Veteran’
April 27, 08 at 6:00 am
well i found all this very ointeresting and inlightening
and i found many facts and learned alot
however i have a question,, keep in mind i am not trying to prove you wrong , just was wondering about something
1. i think there is good magic
a. every action has a reation, every yin a yang
i think that the magic god used in creation, the magic jesus used ,and the magic that is in several parts of the bible, like moses staff, the parting of the waters,the burning bush,water in to wine , bread into fish,ect are examples
also the bible says that there willl be healers , children with have visions and people will speak in tounges , also there are exorcisms to reverse demonic possesssion with would be good right?
keep in mind i am not questioning you i found your points and counterpoints quite factual just thought i might would give you a thought and see what u think
also if you think about it technolgy in a way is magic , we harness wind , water ,fire ,light and earth for energy in technology just as they do spiritualy , someone from biblical times might find our cars , lights , telephones and television to be magic
April 27, 08 at 11:14 am
And What About Miracles? (Magic included, i.e)
http://www.parami.org/buddhistanswers/what_about_miracles.htm
1. The marvel of supernormal power to appear as many persons, to pass through walls, to fly through the air, walk on water. All these are physical actions the ordinary people cannot perform.
2. The supernormal power to read other people’s minds.
3. The supernormal power to be able to guide people according to their mental development, for their own good, using suitable methods that fit these people.
No.2 can be attained using an invoked disembodied spirit. I knew of one such guy at least who could read my mind this way.
We live in a Mental Universe created by minds, individually and en masse. This is one hint. Thus our own thoughts themselves are not that absolutely insulated and ‘unseen’.
Jameson: “1. i think there is good magic”
Yes, but the temptation to go bad is also great. Yes, Moses could easily have been treated to a holographic burning bush indeed,
April 27, 08 at 6:13 pm
Well jameson, what you’d deem as ‘good magic’ and the examples you’ve listed out fall under the category ‘miracles/works of God’.
If one were to talk about the ‘good magic’ supposedly used by practicers of magic nowadays, the source is still demonic and not from God, so even if it produced good effects it would still not be classifiable as good magic.
April 27, 08 at 7:05 pm
Magic, “the source is still demonic and not from God”
Then one would have to also condemn Milarepa with this statement – without having first defined God.
http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Av/Milarepa/Milarepa.htm
April 27, 08 at 7:08 pm
I was limiting discourse to the frame of reference of the post as well as his comment, so yes I was not addressing the issue of Milarepa.
April 27, 08 at 7:31 pm
T o described unknown as demonic is rather often too convenient. Agreed that the Black Arts are greatly corruptive as with all Earthly powers in the annals of human history.
BTW, If God created Everything, that must include demons too. IF not, then, he is not ALMIGHTY.
April 28, 08 at 3:25 pm
also id like to point out people can use godly powers
so magic either comes from god or demons
always from an alternate source
i agree that mostly would be demonic as eeven in the bible its says evil is beautiful and easily confused
and i think demons used to be angels minus the snake i think dont kill me if im wrong
in my personal opinion if it is in you if you natually do it then its god
if you call upon something other than god it is demonic
just my thoughts with the knowledge i have know
thanks guys
April 28, 08 at 4:11 pm
Jameson, in the West, the Ouija Board remains a danerous thing to use. With that, one does not know what he/she is invoking. There’ll be demons and evil disincarnate just waiting for that chance to do mischief.
In a trance state too, unlike a Samadhi state, a person is not in control and possession is very possible.
If you are not living in the Orient, you may not be accustomed to or experience the temple medium trance in action. Under the auspices of presiding deity, the medium is not threatened although he himself is not an achiever of any Samadhi state via meditation, e.g. In fact the medium is chosen by the Deities themselves and was given a choice to accept or not.
The titulary gods are real and their lending hands are quite efficacious, though help is often limited by the appelant’s own state of karma and chosen path. Were they not efficacious, how did all those temples survived generation after generation wrt to the temple trance in SE Asia?
From my experience, they’re certainly not malicious but benevolent ; they do not cast curses on your oppressor(s). That would indeed have to be via black magic. If you, e.g., need to know about who is fixing you or stole something from you, they know who dunnit alright but what will be revealed would be dependent on your own character too. I believe they weighed the benefit against the harm that comes with you knowing. If your disposition is that of a vicious and vengeful one, I doubt they will tell you who fixed you if they see you are capable of handling matters – as they have told me a few times in the distant past wrt similar matters. No, I’m not an addict but I’ve brought a couple of friends and translated for them. That helped to save one from serious injury in a predicted accident.
They also never claimed to be Almighty God.
April 28, 08 at 7:41 pm
`T o described unknown as demonic is rather often too convenient.`
I would have said `very convenient`. Reminds me of this bunch of Christians meeting one Thaipusam day, and one of them asking the others to bless him `cos the devils were out on the streets. Have heard muslims say the same.
To me no big deal. I`d just join in and break a coconut or two if I felt like it
May 24, 08 at 1:45 pm
magic is rooted in the mind of the being who uses it. biblical sources aside, i believe that what can be called magical, is often nature acting according to its design. energies come from many sources. every religion has a core. some are very mystical. not to anger any one of the others, as a Christian i have read accounts of miracles that weren’t Earth shaking. there are many divine beings, and they are all great.
May 25, 08 at 10:23 pm
Well, I’m quite cynical… So just as I initially suspect that every stranger on the street is a potential criminal and aggressor until proven otherwise, I see no reason to unquestioningly trust ‘divine beings’ just because they’re all glowy and spiritual and say that they’re just here to help.
See To Serve Man.
June 29, 08 at 11:33 pm
“if magic exists in this real world of ours, then demons are in all likelihood the source of it.” As I read this quote among the rest of your blog I thought that as a bible believing Christian you might want to look at a verse in the bible that may explain some magic in the world. In the beginning of the world God in all his wisdom created man and after that history began to form. As Christians we like to believe that man, God, and Angels (both demon and holy) are the only intelligent beings with the potential of faith. In genesis 6 it explains another race existed and may still be around.
Genesis 6:1-4,
1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
Keep hope in the magic of the world my friend.
June 30, 08 at 9:49 am
But nowhere does it say that the Nephilim had magical abilities. They may have all been Fighter class heroes, rather than Mage class. And they’re no longer around anyway…
July 5, 08 at 2:58 pm
What Mr Thong was saying is in fact true, however the statement that they no longer exist is foolish. We have no way of knowing that they were wiped out, and if he pretends to understand every living being he is a tired fool. Tired because he would have to go through massive amounts of information and foolish because he would never complete this fools errand. It is true it never speaks of the magical abilities of the Nephilim, but it does not say they did not have any magical abilities. When you look at the deeds of angels in the bible you see them do things no man could possibly accomplish. It is also foolish to say that some of these supernatural ability’s did not carry over to that race. I never said these creatures absolutely have magical powers I was merely making an observation that they could have had them.
Again I say keep hope in the magic of the world my friend.
July 5, 08 at 7:34 pm
Ah, but see, you forget what happened to the Nephilim:
Everyone except Noah and his family – a total of 8 people, were wiped out by the Great Flood. No more Nephilim or their ‘magical genes’.
However, you may argue that they survived due to their ‘magicalness’.
For we see:
Now it could be that the Israelites just heard the rumoured to be descended from the Nephilim (which would be impossible if they all died off in the Flood).
But regardless, read on and find:
Hmf. Their magic skillz didn’t help them much against the power of God’s will. So even if they had residual magic powers, it was no match for God’s righteous wrath. Same goes for all other magic and powers and forces – God is supreme.
But I reiterate, I do not disbelieve in magic. I do believe it exists. I simply believe that all supernatural power comes either from God, or from forces not submitted to God (i.e. rebellious or evil spirits).
July 5, 08 at 10:14 pm
And if there are forces in-between, ultimately they must decide or have decided for them which way they should swing: to the Lord or to “the other place”.
July 7, 08 at 3:27 pm
I completely agree with the statement,
“And if there are forces in-between, ultimately they must decide or have decided for them which way they should swing: to the Lord or to “the other place”.
We as humans and possibly the Nephilim were all given certain powers whether they be speech, intelligence, or magical powers(purely hypothetical don’t worry im not making a claim to actual truth) as well as free will to do with it what we will. Its just interesting to think of the actual POSSIBILITY of magical powers. thanks ado
July 13, 08 at 8:21 am
You marled him john.
July 13, 08 at 8:39 am
Mikey Mobbover: You marled him john. Sorry, did you mean ‘marled’? That’s an interesting word but not used as a verb. Marl is soil consisting of clay and lime; or a type of fabric with threads that are of an uneven color (blue marl stockings). Or did you mean “mauled”?
July 13, 08 at 3:25 pm
its a saying not something you would find in a dictionary, but more of an inside joke. You thongs take things so literally
July 13, 08 at 10:15 pm
And who is inside with you, to share your joke, just a majority of two? This is a blog, public, open to all and sundry (that includes you). Keep your inside jokes inside lest the outsides laugh at your insides.
July 15, 08 at 6:05 am
is magic just an illusion or an desire ( thirst for power ) best way to learn it is to see somone doing it then u wont have doubts it even exists in 1st place about the sources there might be a few nature/soul/spirit/brain’s electormagnetic feild generation energy or manipulating existing elements and maybe the earth itself if an source ( why do we even consider paranormal stuff somthing diferent coze it’s not hapening evry day )
obtaining magic is geting imposible this days tryed to find sources in darkenss/light … ( the legend of atlantis thery king sunked the city becoze they were corupt abusing power or some mysterios crystals )
my opinion there are ALOT of magic sources not only demon’s/angles
in the end all the search of power leaded to myself in our bodyes must be an energy core ( not heart or brain ) the body wont just live on the organs
and what about biblic ino about soul and spirit + the lost souls who belife they are still alive or seek vengeance or hatred towards living persons
hell ya magic is real hope some day i find out the basic of magic the source til then it’s an complete mystery
July 15, 08 at 9:18 am
Well Valeriu, I can’t provide much real and factual info about non-demon potential magic sources on this Earth.
But I can safely say that the Bible does not permit the possibility of lost souls or vengeful ghosts of dead humans.
According to the Bible, once a person dies his/her soul immediately faces judgement and goes to either heaven or hell. From there, none can leave or return to this world except for a time by God’s specific permission. Nor can they remain in this world.
Bible verses:
The above verse shows that when people die, their souls go to either heaven or hell where they must stay. And this happens immediately after death, because the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to the land of the living to warn his brothers.
Again, the Bible shows that the souls of people immediately go to the afterlife when they die, so that the repentant criminal can meet Jesus in heaven on the same day they die.
This is an interesting passage. The woman made a living from summoning the ’souls of dead people’ so that the living could consult them. But when the spirit of Samuel appeared, she was frightened! She recognized the famous (and dead) prophet and realized that, for the first time, a real human spirit had come from the other world!
Why is this? It is likely because when she performed her service, she was not really calling up the ghosts of the dead. She was (probably) actually calling upon demonic spirits who then pretended to be the ghosts of the deceased.
So when a REAL ghost appeared (the ghost of Samuel), she was very afraid – it had never happened before! In this case and ONLY in this case, God allowed Samuel’s spirit to return to the world in order to deliver a message to Saul.
July 21, 08 at 2:17 am
13. [They (the leaders) and all ... of them took for themselves] wives from all that they chose and [they began to cohabit with them and to defile themselves with them]; and to teach them sorcery and [spells and the cutting of roots; and to acquaint them with herbs.] And they become pregnant by them and bo[re (great) giants three thousand cubits high ...]
– Book of Enoch (from Translation by J. C. Greenfield
This is a passage from the Book of Enoch, and it furthers my suspicion into the idea linking magic to the nephilim. Just interesting
July 21, 08 at 8:47 am
3000 cubits high? You do know that the Book of Enoch is not considered canon, even though it is referred to once by actual canon in the Bible?
August 3, 08 at 5:57 am
Thanks for the post
September 18, 08 at 7:39 pm
nice post… wouldn’t necessarily agree with all of it, but very insightful…
thanks
February 1, 09 at 8:56 am
I stumbled on this by accident and I really find it interesting to read. But I have lots of things to say about.
Do you like say demons exist only because it is written in the bible? but you cant believe in leylines and fengshui just because they cant prove it? Ever thought of the fact we cant prove if the bible tells the truth? Don’t forget all the translations made from the original that can be wrong? Ever thought of that ? I don’t think so.
If people believe in the bible? why not all start believing in all the fantasynovels? I mean how did man ever came up with creatures like elves and dragons and like sphinxes and weird creatures, lost worlds, mermaidstuff? There must have been a source ? I mean like weird dreams with for example faeries in it and stuff? Arent dreams supposed to be a quick review of what you all have seen in you life, but then mixed together. You can tell yeah but dreams about elves for example can come because you just saw lord of the rings. But where did the man who wrote the stories got it from? Where did the man who first wrote or told stories like this got his ideas from? Not from dreams because if you have to believe the scientist like I said before they are a review of what you’ve all seen. So sorry I don’t think you can believe in the bible without believing in all other still not proved things.
Another question: Why does magic has to come from demons, why be so negative about magic. Just because you are afraid it maybe real?? If it would be real, I wouldnt say it comes from demons. We are all a form of energy ever noticed that? I believe it there would be magic we can get it from the simplest thing, just pick some massive energy out of space? What about the stars oh wait dont look so far ever heard we live on earth. The planet itself can be used to draw magic from. Energy doesnt dissapear after its used. It just is going to a lot of different forms, for example fire: you put it on so the fire uses energy, but that energy becomes warmth, the warmth gives us energy to put another fire ( I know its a stupid example, but I just want you to get the point) Everything is some kinda sorce of energy.
There is no such thing as bad magic, magic is magic. The way we would use it makes it bad or good magic. If you would use magic to kill whatever is alive, then that would be bad magic. If you would use magic to heal then it would be good magic.
It’s just my point of view here. I really have respect who believe in god heaven and hell or other religions. It’s your choice away to explain things you actually cant. But sorry if I have to believe in a god then I should believe in dragons and faeries as well.
Oh and the manavision of using magic is like a perfect way to explain how magic can work. You cant use more energy then your body and mind can handle. And like told big spells absorb more energy.
Oh and a last comment: If you want to refer to a fantasynovel please be sure to actually read the book or books. Like in Eragon if you read the 3 books you should notice he can also draw magic out of living beings but he has to compensate that by not eating meat. In lots of fantasynovels they make this as a rule. Like in the books ‘Laws of Magic’ (dunno if it’s the right translation I read those in dutch) it’s also the rule for the man who uses the magic of a sword, when he kills he cant eat meat or he becomes awfully sick.
I leave it with this, I hope you enjoy my respond.
February 2, 09 at 9:10 am
It’s nice to hear some thought-out views.
This post of mine is actually meant to argue a certain position, therefore I purposely slant the examples and argument to suit my position. My argument is basically that if magic comes from evil beings (i.e. demons as described in the Bible) and is only used at the pleasure of those beings, then the ultimate result of magic is always evil. According to Christian doctrine, God = good. Anything that goes against God is therefore evil. And the definition of magic is relying on anti-God demonic forces for more power.
I’ve covered the matter of whether the Bible is likely to be true or not about spiritual matters at Easy 3 Steps to Why We Can Believe The Bible About Spirituality and Metaphysics. Basically, I argue that we can prove the Bible’s claims about proveable things (such as history or archaeology), and therefore it is more trustable as an authority on unproveable things (heaven and angels etc).
Apart from that, there is also the personal testimony of many Christians (including myself), where coincidences too impossible to be random chance happen in response to prayer. I cover a few at Atheists: Can You Discount Every Single Testimony of Miracles and Answered Prayers?.
This is therefore my reason for believing what the Bible says, while not believing in faeries and the Greek pantheon of gods and other religions. To me, the claims of Christianity are factual, not fantasy.
Note too that I never claim that elves, dragons, magic etc. do not exist. I am open to the proof of the existence of anything, even the Land of Oz. However, until these things have more substantial evidence (at least close to the kind of evidence the Bible has), it’s pointless to believe in everything I hear about.
As for the different Bible translations, the cool thing is that there are still thousands of manuscripts of Biblical Scripture (24,000+ in fact) in the original languages that we can check. For example, see Isaiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls where the copy of Isaiah found in the Dead Sea Scrolls is scientifically dated to at least 100~300 BC, and has more than 99% the exact same contents as Isaiah in the modern Hebrew Bible.
February 9, 09 at 1:33 am
I still don’t believe the bible is the real thing, something i should believe. I know what te bible says; it’s not because I don’t believe in it that I’m a stuborn person who directly puts it away. I’ve read huge parts of it and for me it’s more a big story. If I should believe in a god then it wouldn’t be the christian way, but then I would chose for one of the oldest religions; natur relegions with different gods. Those religions were even before christian beliefs.
If you would like try to put the things that happened in the bible on a timeline; then you would see that people already lived before all the things in the bible and that there were other religions.
I think the bible was a way to try to unite people in those times. So they made up some things and yes some things probably will be true, but that doesnt makes the bible a total true book. Everyone can tell a story or write a book with true things and made up things. It’s like writing a normal book about things that can happen in real life so it would give you the feeling it happend for real; but it didn’t happen. It’s the art of a good writer: mixing up real events with unreal to let people think the unreal are real as well.
To end I wanna point out something about translations: yes the original text still exists but how many people can actually read the original language? Even if you have studied hebrew it’s still hard to translate it. There are to many words that can have different meanings. And mostly if people translate something they take the meaning that fits most how they want it.
Translating is a difficult job and you can be certain that in translations that there are always mistakes even small ones; but small mistakes can sometime lead to huge misunderstandings.
I know I’m a difficult person
and I think to much, but thats because I’m a curious person. I always wanna learn more and more about everything. I don’t think I’ll ever believe in a god. And if there is one and the bible is true then I don’t think I will go to hell just because I don’t believe in god. I’m a nice person and optimistic, trying to find my way in this world. If there is a god and he sends me to hell because I’m good but didn’t believe in god then I’ll be happy I didn’t. Because he wouldnt be rightous then.
I still have respect for those who believe in a religion, but only for those who really believe not those who fake to believe to look like a better person. My whole family has respect for eachothers believes; like my aunt is a christian to but is married with a moslim. They both respect eachothers believes and they will let there children chose what they want to believe later on in there lives. My dad is like me he doesn’t believe in a god and my mother is more someone who believes in the ways of the buddha. I’ve got friends who are protestant, christian, moslim, even wicca, jehova, …. and so on. I will never look at them and see them as a bunch of lunatics because they believe in something I dont believe. I respect there choice. They probably see me as a lunatic because I dont believe at all
.
If I later on will have children I will never tell them they shouldnt believe; it’s their choice and their life.
Oh and I would recommend everyone to read some more books, even fantasy. In every book fiction or non-fiction you can learn things about life. But mostly read to enjoy
even the heavy ones like the bible. But if someone reads the bible then that someone should read the books of other religions as well. It’s worth it even for those who don’t believe like I.
February 9, 09 at 10:31 am
I respect your viewpoints and rationale, even though I disagree with them. Your politeness is also a welcome rarity in this usually rude Net!
You have some experience regarding the Bible; allow to me add some more information that may be helpful to your complete understanding.
If one takes the entire Bible timeline to be true, then it stretches back to the very first humans (Adam and Eve, as I’m sure you know) – this relationship with the Judeo-Christian God (YHWH) precedes any other
According to Judeo-Christian theology (which I believe to be correct, but at the same time do not assume that you will take as correct), YHWH is the only true God who created everything. Any other claimed ‘gods’ are actually spiritual powers pretending to be the true god, but none have even a fraction of the power of YHWH (since YHWH created even them!).
This is a valid criticism, and there are various rebuttals by Jewish and Christian thinkers. Some of them which I’ve heard are:
- It cannot be fiction written by authors who lived centuries after the events (e.g. the way novelists write about the 1800s today), as there are many details included that only a real person living at that time could have known – and some of these details we only discover in modern times). Examples: The details about desert life in Exodus, names of ancient kings, the existence of the Hittite empire.
- If it were fiction intended to unite a nation or race, then the embarassing and shameful parts would not have been included. Examples: The sinful behaviour of some patriarchs and kings; the total defeat of Israel and Judah; the exile to Babylon. When comparing the legends of how other nations were founded, we find few or no such shameful events recorded.
That depends a lot on where your definition of ‘righteous’ comes from. To Christians, God by definition is righteous, and so is anything He does (it was Him who invented creation, all life, and even morals after all!). If we have a different opinion, then it is actually us who are mistaken about righteousness.
I admit that is a very biased viewpoint, but that’s how Christians define goodness, morality, justice etc.
These two posts may help you understand the logic of hell and how only belief in Jesus Christ can avoid it while infinite good deeds cannot:
Hell, If I Know – How hell can simply be understood as ‘where YHWH is not at’, which is exactly what non-Christians want (and get)
Pure Soul Water – One drop of ink will make purified water no longer 100% pure water. Adding more purified water will NEVER make it pure again, as the ink is still there (no matter how minute a percentage). And if you add the ink-contaminated water to a reservoir of pure water, ALL THE RESERVOIR WATER WILL NO LONGER BE PURE. The ink must be removed to make the water pure. Follow the link for the conclusion.
February 9, 09 at 8:34 pm
I was raised with the vision of having respect for everyone and their way of life. That’s why I’m a polite and nice person. Maybe it’s because I’m still young (only 19years old), but I think it’s in my nature. I already have had a huge taste of the hard life in this world, but I’m still like I’m now.
although they know I will never follow in their belief.
I never tell people what to do or what to believe, but just tell my opinion and they tell theirs. That’s the way people learn from eachother, get different points of view of life.
I’m still wondered how people can fully believe in the bible or like in other religions in the koran for example. I can’t believe in it, and it’s beautifull to meet people who really do believe in it, because it helps them to face hard parts of life. I’m just mostly I think like you say maybe to rational and realistic. But I face hard parts of life on a different way then. Friends and family have great value for me.
I have a friend as well who always wants to try me to let me believe in god, my friends who believe never give up
Sometimes we also start theological debates, it’s actually fun to do that. Especially because we know that we have respect for eachothers view of life.
Just another question ( I know I’m difficult :p): Where does Yahweh come from if he would exist. He can’t just come out of knowhere right? My friends who believe in god can’t answer me on this question, they just say I have to believe he/she exists (another matter if there is a god why can’t it be a she)
They always get annoyed when I come up with those questions.
I’m a thinker, always thinking further and further.
Greetings
February 10, 09 at 10:36 am
Well, Christian ‘faith’ is not about blindly believing something or somebody. It is just stupid to believe for no reason at all – just like all the people who are scammed by African black money, Ponzi schemes, email you-got-an-inheritance etc.
Christian faith is belief based on reason and past experience. It is like how your mother takes care of you for 20 years. Then one day, she tells you to JUMP OUT THE WINDOW NOW!!!! And because you know she cares for you from those 20 years of trust and proof, you know she must have a good reason for it.
It is that way with Christian faith in God and the Bible. From personal experience, I am persuaded that God must exist (see the last testimony of this post). From research, I find that many things the Bible claims are historically proven (see this post).
Therefore, based on this ‘preliminary’ evidence, I choose to believe that God really is real (even though I can’t prove it 100%), and that the Bible is true (even though not every claim is proven yet).
This is a very old question actually.
For the first question, it is a misconception that EVERYTHING must have a beginning, including God. The accurate statement would be Everything THAT WAS CREATED must have a beginning.
God was the one who created everything – the universe and all life, which therefore had a beginning. God Himself was not created and always existed, so He is exempt from this.
For comparison, look at secular science – the current leading model for how the universe was formed is the Big Bang theory. Once upon a time, there was nothing. Suddenly, for no reason, it exploded into everything. (See the fifth poster at this fun collection for an illustration.)
Where did all this everything – the entire universe – come from? Why did nothing becoming everything instead of staying nothing – especially since, according to physics, TIME ITSELF didn’t even exist before the Big Bang? Crazy!!!! Yet it is considered accepted science.
I know it’s difficult to accept or understand such a concept, but that’s because we are stuck in 3-dimensions.
(I have tried imagining how God created Himself – I get a headache every time, my brain feels like it cannot comprehend it!
It also happens when I try and imagine what a 4-dimensional or 5-dimensional world looks like, since physicists believe such extra dimensions exist. It is like a 2-dimensional square trying to understand what a 3-dimensional cube is like!
Try it yourself – just because you cannot imagine it, does not mean it cannot be real.)
Well, actually there is nothing to stop ‘god’ from being a ’she’. It is just that the JudeoChristian God is described in the Bible as a ‘he’ all the time. So we take it that YHWH has a ‘male’ personality – loving but disciplining like a father.
This is not to say that YHWH is constrained because His personality is based on human maleness – rather, since humans were ‘created in the image of God’, it is human males which are based on YHWH’s maleness!
For comparison, this question is kind of like asking why the JudeoChristian God is called YHWH instead of YHWG, or why Joseph was a carpenter and not a blacksmith, or why Tiger Woods is not named Lion Woods. It just is.
Share these thoughts with your friends and see what they think.