Miracles and Witchcraft, same difference

Compiled by Olivia Phiri
‘Same Difference’ does not mean 'same thing'. Same difference refers to two subject matters which are not equal yet share similar values.  A miracle and an act of Witch craft are both aberrations of nature but are based on conflicting ideals by society. A miracle is an event credited to divine intervention. Otherwise, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader for example T.B Joshua of Nigeria. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God commonly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well. Mean while Black magic or Witchcraft has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. In modern times, some find that the definition of "black magic" has been complicated by people who define practices that they disapprove of as "black magic". Many rituals performed by black magic practitioners mentioned on television are mentioned as having characteristics similar to Christianity though in a tainted form, and it appears to be universally based upon a religion, but using perverted rituals to suit the needs of the user.

Good and evil are both very intangible concepts. Most philosophies accept the dualism of good and evil. Good coexists with evil and there can be no thing such as ‘good’ unless there is ‘evil’ and vice versa.

From a society’s point of view, whatever is beneficial to general mankind is considered good and whatever is not in the interests of the general mankind is considered evil. Therefore, labeling any action as good or evil is clearly based upon one’s perception and judgment. Society has made laws based on precedents of what it has viewed as good and evil. However, these perceptions keep changing with different generations

In a certain context, even devotional forms of ritual such as prayer can be regarded as a form of black magic, if the intended purpose of the prayer is to cause harm or injury to another. Prayers such as those that evoke the devastation of enemies and so on that produce negative results fall within the realm of ill objective.

In conclusion, both witchcraft and miracles can have good endings and also bad implications depending on the situation, and it must be understood that all that perform the two acts are created by God and thus only one divine creator will oversee their judgment and not society. Therefore society needs to heed caution when labeling an action good or bad because many other factors come into effect such as preservation of traditions and culture which are important even in facilitating the act of evangelism to Christianity in order to save humanity from itself, indeed a miracle.