A Philosophical Look at Miracles and Magic in Africa and Its Implications for The Church in Nigeria

Abstract

Existing scholarly debate within the Christian faith have interrogated conceptual clarifications on miracles and magic. While some of these arguments contend that miracles and magic are almost synonymous, other studies remarked that a thin line of demarcation exists between these concepts. Although most studies within the Christian faith have criminalised magic, this study notes that magic and miracles are concepts that should be interrogated from an eclectic viewpoint. To respond to the debate around magic and miracle, a distinction has been made between magic and miracle with specific illustrations from the bible. The specific questions the study asks are: What is the relationship between magic and miracles? What are the implications of the use of magic and miracles for the 21st-century Christian faith? Responding to these questions requires a contextualisation of miracles and magic in the Christian faith. In Nigeria, for example, there are magic and miracles to pursue selfish interests. In the data, the encounter between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh's magicians, as recorded in Exodus Chapters four to ten, was subjected to the supremacy of God in his acts and deeds. In addition, the Christian should also be wary of manipulators who institute magical powers in a bid to convince otherwise.