"A twentieth-century classic, uncannily smart, incredibly learned."--from the foreword by Bart Ehrman This book challenges traditional Christian teaching about Jesus. While his followers may have seen him as a man from heaven, preaching the good news and working miracles, Smith asserts that the truth about Jesus is more interesting and rather unsettling. The real Jesus, only barely glimpsed because of a campaign of disinformation, obfuscation, and censorship by religious authorities, was not Jesus the Son of God. In actuality he was Jesus the Magician. Smith marshals all the available evidence including, but not limited to, the Gospels. He succeeds in describing just what was said of Jesus by "outsiders," those who did not believe him. He deals in fascinating detail with the inevitable questions. What was the nature of magic? What did people at that time mean by the term "magician"? Who were the other magicians, and how did their magic compare with Jesus' works? What facts led to the general assumption that Jesus practiced magic? And, most important, was that assumption correct? The ramifications of Jesus the Magician give new meaning to the word controversial. This book recovers a vision of Jesus that two thousand years of suppression and polemic could not erase. And--what may be the central point of the debate--Jesus the Magician strips away the myths and legends that have obscured Jesus, the man who lived.

The Christian Magician is an occult manual that talks about practicing the craft of magic as a Christian. Many Christians are discouraged from practicing magic thinking that engaging in the ancient and sacred art of magic is a grave sin. Can you really practice magic as a Christian or is it really a forbidden art? When Jesus was born, He was visited by three wise men (Matthew 2:1-12). If we look at the original texts, the wise men are magi. Magi is the plural form of magician, where the word magic came from. Simply put, Jesus was visited by magicians. Do you really think that God would allow Jesus to be visited by magical practitioners when He was born if the craft of magic was a sin? The Christian Magician talks about not only how you can safely practice magic as a true Christian, but it also reveals and discusses magical techniques that you can learn and use in your magical life. Many people shy away from discussing the practice of magic in Christianity by immediately dismissing the idea as nothing more but a grave sin. The way this issue has been tackled is largely based on fear rather than the truth. Now is the time to finally talk about the hard facts and finally lift the veil to reveal the secrets of the mystery. It is time to realize the truth and break free from the chains of fear. The Christian Magician is a discourse that is based on truth and love rather than fear. For many years, so many Christians have been discouraged from practicing magic in order to keep them ignorant and afraid. However, it should be noted that there are few who have understood the truth and have wielded great magic in the service of Jesus. Do not let fear prevent you from embracing the magical craft. It should be noted that the craft of magic is pure and sacred, and it is of ancient origins, coming from God Himself. We will also discuss how you can practice it safely without falling into the traps of the evil one. Indeed, the practice of magic is a pure spirituality. Therefore, it should bring you closer to Jesus and make you a better human being. Are you ready to experience the true power of magic and love of Jesus in your life? Are you ready to wield magical power in the service of God? If yes, then I kindly welcome you into this magical journey -- a magical journey to Jesus -- for Jesus is, indeed, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jim Munroe tells his story of how he lived his passion for amazing audiences as a magician. MAZE, more than just a magic show, has entertained crowds and raised thought-provoking discussions. Life-threatening leukemia, doubts, heartache, loss and other lows in his life, matched by faith, restoration, and success speak to our own struggles and dreams.

The outspoken half of magic duo Penn & Teller presents an atheist reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments, discussing why doubt, skepticism, and wonder should be celebrated and offering humorous stories from his own experiences.

In this mind-bending exploration of traditional Christianity, firebrand Peter Rollins turns the tables on conventional wisdom, offering a fresh perspective focused on a life filled with love. Peter Rollins knows one magic trick—now, make sure you watch closely. It has three parts: the Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige. In Divine Magician, each part comes into play as he explores a radical view of interacting with the world in love. Rollins argues that the Christian event, reenacted in the Eucharist, is indeed a type of magic trick, one that is echoed in the great vanishing acts performed by magicians throughout the ages. In this trick, a divine object is presented to us (the Pledge), disappears (the Turn), and then returns (the Prestige). But just as the returned object in a classic vanishing act is not really the same object—but another that looks the same—so this book argues that the return of God is not simply the return of what was initially presented, but rather a radical way of interacting with the world. In an effort to unearth the power of Christianity, Rollins uses this framework to explain the mystery of faith that has been lost on the church. In the same vein as Rob Bell’s bestseller Love Wins, this book pushes the boundaries of theology, presenting a stirring vision at the forefront of re-imagined modern Christianity. As a dynamic speaker as he is in writing, Rollins examines traditional religious notions from a revolutionary and refreshingly original perspective. At the heart of his message is a life lived through profound love. Just perhaps, says Rollins, the radical message found in Christianity might be one that the church can show allegiance to.

For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganised Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery. Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets - - Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - - planets which Lewis described as "spiritual symbols of permanent value" and "especially worthwhile in our own generation". Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality. The cosmological theme of each Chronicle is what Lewis called 'the kappa element in romance', the atmospheric essence of a story, everywhere present but nowhere explicit. The reader inhabits this atmosphere and thus imaginatively gains connaître knowledge of the spiritual character which the tale was created to embody. Planet Narnia is a ground-breaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook. Ward uncovers a much subtler writer and thinker than has previously been recognized, whose central interests were hiddenness, immanence, and knowledge by acquaintance.