The book Spellbound, written by Dominic Alexander, explores the historical relations between science, magic, and religion. There are stories referenced from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe on people who were originally great creators, being scientists and architects, who were later called magicians by the descendants of the culture. There is also extensive information concerning the dark ages and Christianity's approach to magic and witchcraft. Between religions, there are also claims of the opposing faith using magic or sorcery rather than prayer. Spellbound follows a timeline, from ancient Egypt to the present, and focuses on different elements depending on the time period. Egyptians revered magicians; Greeks had little use for magic, but spoke of magic in stories as an obstacle, or something ordained; Romans classified types of magicians and did not approve of them, passing a law that banned seeking out sorcerers; the church then followed by rooting out magic. Yet, when magic was being sought out for the purpose of being destroyed, the most frequent practitioners used folk lore and magical skills for aid. The use of magic for human aid and the persecution of magic for its characteristic mystery is a theme followed through the evolution of religion and the passage of time.
This book has helped focus me towards the interaction between magic and religion, both the conflicts and the places where the two are like minded. The evolution from acceptance to rejection as far as the tolerance of magic is concerned is intriguing, and to explore why magic became such a taboo might prove to be the focus for my paper. Another question that the book brings up for me is the place of folk magic in culture and why it was practiced, especially in times of low tolerance for such activities.
Jacob, great job on your research paper! It looks like you did some really extensive research on your paper and have a really nice topic! You have some really interesting points. Nice job making points about history and religion and magic. I'm interested in how it's going to turn out. Keep me posted and good luck!
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DeleteThanks for the support of my topic, I'm pretty excited about it as well! I'm going to have to pick out which points I can support best, but I look forward to making that distinction.
DeleteJacob,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting subject and I am super excited to hear more about it! It should be interesting to see and explore why people practiced magic in times when it was not tolerated and misunderstood. I feel like there is a lot of correlation between magic and religion in that both were treated as ridiculous and were misunderstood and the concept that even when certain religions were banned or not tolerated, people still practiced them. Thanks for sharing!
Abby,
DeleteYou make an interesting point in mentioning how both magic and religion have been persecuted in the past, and I think I might use that idea to compare the two, just as the persecution of magic from religion acts in sharp contrast. The fact that you also brought up the question of why magic was practiced leads me to ask the same question. Thanks for the ideas
Jacob,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting topic! Would you focus on the practice of magic within one specific culture, or would you be looking it across the world? I also know that within some cultures their practices of medicine are similar to what we would consider "magic" or "witch craft", maybe you could look at that for a reason why magic has thrived in times of adversity? Good luck!
Jenny,
DeleteI'm primarily looking at magic in Western European culture, with some historical support from the Mediterranean area, but perhaps I'll expand the area covered and narrow down the aspects of magic I am researching instead. I certainly plan on examining why magic was practiced in times of rejection and persecution, and the fact that you mentioned "magic-like" medicine brings up a good point, perhaps I could look at alchemy more in depth. Thanks!
Jacob,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a perfect book for your topic. The fact that it explores multiple cultures is great, especially seeing as how they all took different approaches to magic. I think it would also be cool to talk about the similarities on how the church banned both scientists and magicians and the similarities that they share. It seems this book might touch up on that. Best of luck.
Gabe,
DeleteMentioning how both science and magic were, for lack of a better term, heretical ventures was a strong point to bring up. I am cautious about how in-depth I want to describe the involvement of science, but it is a near necessity. Thanks for reaffirming that
Jacob, I'm happy you chose this topic because I believe it is right in your "element of interests". This book sounds like it could provide you with insight to answer such questions as "Why did magic become so taboo and when?" That is certainly a question I am curious to know the answer to, and I'm sure you will be able to soon enough and with more depth.
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