By fantasy-scare, I mean the scare surrounding things like D&D or other media that depicts magic as narrative element and neutral part of the fictional world. The scare surrounding this is that it was/is seen by some as gateway into real-life magic and/or devil worship.

Is this in any way justified by the Bible?

We see:

• magic explicitely being forbidden in the Old Testament, alongside with idol worship
• one instance of necromancy supposedly working (Elija? appearing to ??? I forgot)
• one instance where real miracles are counterfeited through whatever means (ten plagues)
• demonic possession in the New Testament, however with no connotation, as far as I can tell, that the possessed did anything wrong to bring about their troubles.
• a man practicing sorcery giving it up to follow Christ. No indication, as far as I can tell, that the magic worked, or that anything bad followed from it, outside of it being forbidden.
• indication in the New Testament that devils can manifest, similar to angels. But as far as I can tell, no instance of this actually happening

But most of the time, there is simply a lot of mockery in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, that idols are man made and have no power. Satan, in the Old Testament, barely even appears as a character, and there is no claim, as far as I can remember, that idol worshippers are actually worshipping demonic powers. Satan does appear a lot more prominently in the New Testament, but is linked to wrongdoing, not so much to Gentiles worshipping idols.

Now, my hypothesis here is magic and idol worship are shown in the Bible to be leading astray from God, but ultimately powerless. A substitute religion, not a devil worship. The scare seemed/seems to be, though, that children playing D&D etc. ultimately get involved with demonic forces(?!)

Is there any biblical support to the idea behind the scare that engaging in "narrated magic" leads to practicing "actual magic" and that "actual magic" leads to "engagement with the devil"?

By fantasy-scare, I mean the scare surrounding things like Dungeons & Dragons (a tabletop roleplaying game), Harry Potter or other media that depicts magic as narrative element and neutral part of the fictional world. The scare surrounding this is that it was/is seen by some as gateway into real-life magic and/or devil worship. (mostly in the 80s and 90s, but still, for some, today)

Is this in any way justified by the Bible?

We see:

• magic explicitely being forbidden in the Old Testament, alongside with idol worship
• one instance of necromancy supposedly working (Elija? appearing to ??? I forgot)
• one instance where real miracles are counterfeited through whatever means (ten plagues)
• demonic possession in the New Testament, however with no connotation, as far as I can tell, that the possessed did anything wrong to bring about their troubles.
• a man practicing sorcery giving it up to follow Christ. No indication, as far as I can tell, that the magic worked, or that anything bad followed from it, outside of it being forbidden.
• indication in the New Testament that devils can manifest, similar to angels. But as far as I can tell, no instance of this actually happening

But most of the time, there is simply a lot of mockery in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, that idols are man made and have no power. Satan, in the Old Testament, barely even appears as a character, and there is no claim, as far as I can remember, that idol worshippers are actually worshipping demonic powers. Satan does appear a lot more prominently in the New Testament, but is linked to wrongdoing, not so much to Gentiles worshipping idols.

Now, my hypothesis here is magic and idol worship are shown in the Bible to be leading astray from God, but ultimately powerless. A substitute religion, not a devil worship. The scare seemed/seems to be, though, that children playing D&D etc. ultimately get involved with demonic forces(?!)

Is there any biblical support to the idea behind the scare that engaging in "narrated magic" leads to practicing "actual magic" and that "actual magic" leads to "engagement with the devil"?

By fantasy-scare, I mean the scare surrounding things like D&D or other media that depicts magic as narrative element and neutral part of the fictional world. The scare surrounding this is that it was/is seen by some as gateway into real-life magic and/or devil worship.

Is this in any way justified by the Bible?

We see:

• magic explicitely being forbidden in the Old Testament, alongside with idol worship
• one instance of necromancy supposedly working (Elija? appearing to ??? I forgot)
• one instance where real miracles are counterfeited through whatever means (ten plagues)
• demonic possession in the New Testament, however with no connotation, as far as I can tell, that the possessed did anything wrong to bring about their troubles.
• a man practicing sorcery giving it up to follow Christ. No indication, as far as I can tell, that the magic worked, or that anything bad followed from it, outside of it being forbidden.
• indication in the New Testament that devils can manifest, similar to angels. But as far as I can tell, no instance of this actually happening

But most of the time, there is simply a lot of mockery in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, that idols are man made and have no power. Satan, in the Old Testament, barely even appears as a character, and there is no claim, as far as I can remember, that idol worshippers are actually worshipping demonic powers. Satan does appear a lot more prominently in the New Testament, but is linked to wrongdoing, not so much to Gentiles worshipping idols.

Now, my hypothesis here is magic and idol worship are shown in the Bible to be leading astray from God, but ultimately powerless. A substitute religion, not a devil worship. The scare seemed/seems to be, though, that children playing D&D etc. ultimately get involved with demonic forces(?!)

The question here is two-fold:

Did D&D and similar media which depict magic neutrally in a fantasy/narrative setting lead to an increased interest in the occult?

Is there any biblical support to the idea behind the scare that engaging in "narrated magic" leads to practicing "actual magic" and that "actual magic" leads to "engagement with the devil"?

By fantasy-scare, I mean the scare surrounding things like D&D or other media that depicts magic as narrative element and neutral part of the fictional world. The scare surrounding this is that it was/is seen by some as gateway into real-life magic and/or devil worship.

Is this in any way justified by the Bible?

We see:

• magic explicitely being forbidden in the Old Testament, alongside with idol worship
• one instance of necromancy supposedly working (Elija? appearing to ??? I forgot)
• one instance where real miracles are counterfeited through whatever means (ten plagues)
• demonic possession in the New Testament, however with no connotation, as far as I can tell, that the possessed did anything wrong to bring about their troubles.
• a man practicing sorcery giving it up to follow Christ. No indication, as far as I can tell, that the magic worked, or that anything bad followed from it, outside of it being forbidden.
• indication in the New Testament that devils can manifest, similar to angels. But as far as I can tell, no instance of this actually happening

But most of the time, there is simply a lot of mockery in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, that idols are man made and have no power. Satan, in the Old Testament, barely even appears as a character, and there is no claim, as far as I can remember, that idol worshippers are actually worshipping demonic powers. Satan does appear a lot more prominently in the New Testament, but is linked to wrongdoing, not so much to Gentiles worshipping idols.

Now, my hypothesis here is magic and idol worship are shown in the Bible to be leading astray from God, but ultimately powerless. A substitute religion, not a devil worship. The scare seemed/seems to be, though, that children playing D&D etc. ultimately get involved with demonic forces(?!)

Is there any biblical support to the idea behind the scare that engaging in "narrated magic" leads to practicing "actual magic" and that "actual magic" leads to "engagement with the devil"?