Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted here, I wanted to throw out a topic for discussion that I've come across lately.
A while back I was in a youth group meeting and the topic of the night was Exodus 20:3; Do not have any other Gods before me, one of the 10 commandments. Some people might not realize it right away, but this is the commandment that causes many people to protest things such as Harry Potter, or similar sorcery based movies/books. It is believed that this "Sorcery" is the same thing as believing in another God, therefore, watching and supporting something like that is essentially blasphemy.
Now, I am technically Catholic, but I do not necessarily believe everything that Catholics believe. The people around me knew that I performed magic on a regular basis, so I thought I would bring that up as a means to further the discussion. After a few harmless arguments, I found out that they had assumed that I had never actually tried to convince anyone that what I was doing was actually magic, and that it would be going against my religion if I were to ever perform magic without clarifying that what I am doing is not in fact magic, and that there is some trick behind how I do what I do. I will agree with them to a point and say that it is very rare that someone fully believes that I have magical powers, but if everything I did was approached with the idea that there is just a trick behind everything I do, it would not have the same effect.
Through my experiences the best reactions from people come when they start questioning reality, where what just happened is so impossible that they do not necessarily assume magical powers, but the wonder and awe that they have is so great that it goes far beyond the idea of "just a trick."
So what's my point here? My point is not to call out the ideas and beliefs of different people and decide who's right and who's wrong, but to bring up that idea of how you approach the magic that you do for people. I know people here range from all different beliefs and religions, including atheists. This applies to you too though, because despite what the magician may believe, there are a ton of people out there that believe the idea of magic and wizardry is wrong and a sin to support. If you knew the person you were performing for had this belief, would you approach your magic differently? Probably, because someone like this is likely to have a better time if you weren't trying to get them to question reality, because someone like that will just never do that. Then what if you didn't know, and you end up offending someone because they don't appreciate the idea of real magic because it goes against their religion. However, this person could also be the type of person who, if you perform correctly for, would have an incredibly memorably moment as he or she starts questioning reality based on what you just did.
Thoughts, Ideas, I'd like to hear what some of you guys think or have come across with this matter
-Kevin