talkmagic.co.uk

Lord Freddie wrote:

sleightlycrazy wrote:Lord Freddie, that sounds like a very homophobic 'Haggard'-y comment. I hope you don't honestly think such a thing.

It's quoted from a television programme. That's why I put it in quotation marks. And credited the person that said it.

http://www.alan-partridge.co.uk/multime ... am_eve.mp3

and more here:
http://www.alan-partridge.co.uk/multime ... s01e05.htm
Including the classic "You're a Mentalist!"

Great stuff!

Following on from the slightly over-zealous mother I experienced some years back - today I performed my close-up routine for around 20 teachers at a training day at their school. Their theme was "putting magic back into teaching", hence me being there.

After perfroming for close to an hour (which is quite long in front of the same 20 people, especially for close-up stuff), I decided I'd end by introducing a pack of tarot, explaining a bit about their history, and then seeing if anyone wanted a quick demonstration reading. This all went well. However as I was leaving the headteacher asked me if I'd noticed three members of the teaching staff walk out of the room when I'd brought out my tarot. I hadn't. Apparently they are "very religious" and are easily offended. Is it me, or has the world gone mad?

At the other end of the spectrum, in our local community we have a woman who "audibly" hears the word of God being spoken to her. Far from being taken away for treatment, this woman has been embraced by our local church and is now something of a minor celebrity - being interviewed in the parish magazine etc. She runs an alternative to Halloween night for children called something awful like "Little Sparklers" (a stoning offence in any sane society I would have thought), and also runs a Christian children's club on a daily basis.

So the woman who audibly hears God speaking to her runs a children's club, while the magician who has a packet of tarot cards is walked out on. Sheesh.

There are always people who will be offended at Tarot cards as their reputation in fortune telling and so on tends to suggest they are something to be avoided. The fact that the same performer could probably do the same routines, or at least produce similar results, with a normal deck or other props isn't considered. In hindsight perhaps the teachers could have checked with you first about what you were likely to be using to make sure there were no issues such as kids coming form backgrounds where these items would be a big problem?

As for the lady referred to, many people, will hear the word of God but it doesn’t mean they 'get the voices', probably more along the lines that they've read and understood a lot about their faith and hear 'the word' via those studies. Having said that, a lot of stuff done in the name of extreme Religion is questionable and, taking the example of Derren Brown's early experiences, the more evangelical (he calls them 'Happy Clappy') faiths can take a lot of understanding. He refers to his smarmy days of praying for others even when he hasn't been asked to do so and smugly telling them about it. Pray by all means but there's no need to be an @rse about it.

Al Doty wrote:Well, I uh, gee, maybe, not sure, well yes, I guess so. I thought the question was about gospel magic. I didn't think I would have to worry if doing sponge balls would be appropiate at a gay party but I guess that would make me homophobic. I'm not knocking religion either, they don't need my help in that area. I just think, leave the preaching of the gospel to those who are qualified and perform magic for those that want to be entertained by it. It's hard enough to adapt patter to any effect for perfomances in other venues but religious guidelines prohibit what effects to use and how they are presented. If you like gospel magic, then go for it, you will be happy doing what you like.

So long as you aren't using the Blue Sponge Balls @ the Gay Parties, it's fine... Of course, you probably shouldn't use the blue ones at heterosexual bachelor parties either... especially if you bring along the Magic Ding Dong...

Nowt like a sponge ding dong to scare the more prudish away.

anyone that chooses to be easily offended should be offended alot more often to raise their resistence...

fundamentalists (no pun intended) of any belief are the ones to worry about...fundamentalist atheists too...

Can we add 'Extremists' to that list as well? Fundamentalists are a rather worrying group - even if they do have 'mentalists' as part of their name!

themagicwand wrote: However as I was leaving the headteacher asked me if I'd noticed three members of the teaching staff walk out of the room when I'd brought out my tarot. I hadn't. Apparently they are "very religious" and are easily offended. Is it me, or has the world gone mad?

Well to be fair to the ladies they did leave nice and quietly without causing a fuss. They could easily have kicked up a comotion.

This may be a little off topic, but not too much. Also, this is not my belief, just something I want to hear input on.

There is a (not widely accepted) theory that Jesus was simply a magician. I know that sounds crazy, but think about it. Multiplying food, turning water into wine, walking on water. These are all things a magician can do. If the word got out, it's possible people would "worship" someone with those abilities. Finally someone decided to kill him for the same reasons witches were burned at witch trials.

It seems out there, but maybe Jesus was a very intelligent man that thought up illusions thousands of years before they were commonplace.

Josh Clarke wrote:It seems out there, but maybe Jesus was a very intelligent man that thought up illusions thousands of years before they were commonplace.

I seem to recall Craig writing about this before (maybe not here), but there's a history of holy men using magic. Have a look at the magicians' duel between the Pharaoh's wise men, and Moses and Aaron, way before Jesus' time.

Think that couldn't happen today?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/t ... 813469.stm

I'm sure that I read somewhere that one of Sai Baba's 'miracles' is for ash to appear inside someone's closed hand...

It would appear that there's good and bad everywhere..... (oh c'mon - the ol' ash in the hand effect? There's hope for me yet!!)

themagicwand wrote:Is it me, or has the world gone mad?

I read the other day about a yoga class being banned from a church hall because yoga is 'unchristian', so yeah, I'd say it has.

nameless wrote:I read the other day about a yoga class being banned from a church hall because yoga is 'unchristian'

That almost happend at our local Church back in the 1980s. Someone complained that the Yoga class and the Karate classes using the Church Hall had different spiritual yardsticks to the good ol' C of E. The vicar told the complainant to 'go forth, multiply and get a life' or words to that effect !

Lady of Mystery wrote:Well to be fair to the ladies they did leave nice and quietly without causing a fuss. They could easily have kicked up a comotion.

True Becky. And to be honest I kind of get a weird kick from upsetting folk who need to be upset every now & again. My local chemists is full of assistants who look down their half-moon glasses at you and take an age to serve you because the paperwork in front of them is so important. The customers tend to be intimidated and stand quietly until an assistant deems that they have waited quietly for long enough and can finally be served. I don't stand for any of it. I walk in and ask at the top of my voice, "Ointment for the treatment of piles. Do you stock it?"

I should add that the pile treatment was for my wife, and not me. She was pregnant at the time and I understand that piles is one of the less desireable side effects of being "with child".

I'm a christian. I guess i am what you would call a professional christian because I am employed to help people get their heads around it.

Personally tarot does make me a bit twitchy (usually the left eye for some reason) but maybe that's because my grandmother used to read fortunes for people.

I don't use magic to comunicate any particular Christian message. I get quite irritated when a particularly good trick is ruined when someone tries to lamely attach it to a phrase which is so cliched that everyone ignores it anyway.

Personally I like to use magic for pure entertainment. If someone asks me about JC then I answer them. Preferably in return for a pint.