Miracle & Magic: Money, Ministry, and Missionaries

Magic is everywhere.[1]

In fact, the demand for magic is high.

According to one source, between 2016 and 2021, revenue for the psychic industry totaled $2.2 billion with “a projected 2.6% growth in 2021 alone.”[2]  A quick search on the popular website Fiverr reveals that ordering various spells, curses, and counter-curses is just a click away (and ranges in cost from $20- $6500)!

It is not only magic, however, that has been marketed. Exorcism too has been monetized.

For less than $100 you can hire a Muslim exorcist to expel Jinn (the Islamic equivalent to a demon).

Alternatively, you can spend $130 to hire a warlock to cleanse you of evil by using “old world dark sorcery.”

Or, if you are feeling especially adventurous, you can pay upwards of $700 for a graduate of Athens Theological Seminary to perform a pythagorean ritual to rid you of your demons.

Elsewhere in Christendom, the protestant exorcist Bob Larson can be seen charging nearly $300 for an exorcism performed over the video conferencing platform Skype. You can also enroll in the International School of Exorcism (ISE) founded by Larson where tuition ranges anywhere between $500 - $1200. ISE teaches subjects such as: 1) Organization of Demons; 2) Legal Rights, 3) Strongholds & Curse Breaking, and 4) Angelic Assistance, among others.

This commodification of miracles in modern times not-so-shockingly resembles the kind of on-demand magic available online.[3]

But paying for miracles-on-demand is not actually a new idea.

The Roman poet Juvenal (second century CE)[4] and his contemporary Lucian,[5] for example, satirize how Jews in ancient times would often interpret dreams or perform exorcisms for various negotiable prices.

Additionally, amulets were commonly bought and sold in the ancient world and were worn to protect oneself from misfortune or evil spirits. Christians were no exception! In fact, one of many sources we have for reconstructing the New Testament is amulets. One 6th century amulet, for example, quotes Matthew 4:23-24, a narrative about Jesus healing the sick and driving out demons.[6] The passage is prefaced with the following statement: “The gospel of healing according to Matthew”. In the center of the amulet one can see an image of a person, perhaps meant to symbolize the owner.

In other words, the production and selling of amulets, even among Christians, was a lucrative business venture.

The issue of selling “miraculous protection” became such an issue among Christians that a later prohibition by the Council of Laodicea (4th century CE) forbids “the objects called phylacteries” among Christians, probably due to the production and sale of magical amulets by Christians (Canon 36).[7]

So…should Christians charge for miraculous services?

Many have answered this question with a resounding yes, quoting (among other passages) 1 Tim 5:17-18, Gal 6:6, and 1 Cor 9:12-15. It is clear from the New Testament that Paul expected those in Christian ministry to be provided for.

Additionally, in the culture of the Hebrew Bible, it was often expected that a prophet would be paid or rewarded for their services. Thus “the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand” to visit Balaam (Num 22:7). Similarly, when Kish’s donkey goes missing, Saul and a servant boy discuss visiting a “Man of God” (one term for a prophet in the Old Testament) and what they will pay him for his services to locate the donkey (1 Sam 9:7–8). In this case, they decide to pay the man a quarter shekel of silver. Elsewhere in 1 Kgs 13:7 and 2 Kgs 4:42, food and money are offered to prophets for their services. In one narrative (2 Kgs 5:15-27) the acceptance of such payment for prophetic services was in turn rewarded with a curse!

Yet, Jesus differentiated how his followers are to perform miracles:

“…Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,  but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.” (Matt 10:5-10).[8]

Christian ministry in the first century was thus starkly different than other contemporary magicians and miracle workers of the time. Instead of accepting a wage (μισθός / misthos) for a miracle, Jesus states that the laborer deserves food (τροφή / trophē), perhaps modelling that of the Old Testament prophets.[9] That is to say, charging for a miracle is not Jesus’ policy, but accepting gifts out of gratitude is fine.

In one early Christian work called The Didache, instructions are given on discerning between true and false prophets. These discernment tips are mostly centered around the ethical behavior and greed of the prophet:

“Not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet but only the one whose behavior is the Lord’s. So the false prophet and the prophet will be recognized by their behavior. No prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit eats of it himself; if he does, he is a false prophet…You shall not listen to anyone who says in the Spirit, “Give me money, or something,” but if he is asking that something be given for others who are in need, let no one judge him.” (Didache 11:8-9, 12).[10]

When the author of The Didache refers to a prophet speaking “in the Spirit,” this likely refers to a form of ecstasy or trance (compare 1 Cor 12:3 and 1 John 4:1–3). While in this state, the prophet is understood to be speaking oracles from God. Yet, the explicit asking of monetary gain by the prophet while in this state is viewed as a sign of a false prophet by the author.

Indeed, many modern Christians within denominations that practice prophetic ecstasy and trance are targeted by itinerant teachers or pastors. They are sometimes coaxed to purchase various miraculous ministries (such as exorcism) and items (such as prayer cloths for healing). Similarly, cults and sectarian groups often utilize claims of visions, dreams, and altered states of consciousness to compel their congregants to give monetarily. In the Mormon magazine Ensign (Dec 2011), for example, a story is relayed of president Lorenzo Snow telling his congregation to tithe under the auspices that this will end a drought in southern Utah.

In a statement about how to discern between true and false prophets, Jesus states the following: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15).

The Greek word Matthew uses for “ravenous” (ἅρπαξ / harpax) can be used as a noun elsewhere to refer to a thief or swindler (Luke 18:11; 1 Cor 5:10, 6:10; Titus 1:9; Didache 2:6). In other words, part of how to recognize a false prophet is their greed and explicit desire for monetary gain through their ministry and prophetic utterances. This is part of why Paul commands the believers in Thessalonica “Do not despise prophecies,  but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess 5:20-22).

Paul further notes that, in contradistinction to the false “super-apostles” deceiving the Corinthian Church, he did not rob them but shared the Gospel “free of charge” (δωρεάν / dōrean).

Thus, the differences between magic and miracle in the context of Christian ministry may be summarized as follows:

1)      Magic is for money. Miracles are for ministering. Jesus set the precedent that miracles are to be given freely because the power to perform miracles was given freely (Matt 10:8). The purpose of a miracle is to point people to the God of miracles (John 2:23), not for the reputation or gain of the miracle worker whom God uses.

2)      Prayers are not incantations. Saying the “right words” in the “right order” at the “right time” does not guarantee a miracle (Matt 6:7). Ministries that spend time teaching how to break “generational curses” and to purge yourself of “negative energy” using legalistic rituals and patterns are not conforming to biblical principles found in the New Testament. There is a difference between persistent prayer (Luke 18:1-8) and trying to circumvent God with manmade traditions (Col 2:20-23).

3)      Those “in the Spirit” need to be properly judged. In Churches where trance and ecstasy are part of the prophetic experience, we must judge the words spoken based on criteria other than outward physical manifestations and claims of inspiration (1 Cor 2:14; Phil 1:9; Heb 4:12). The trajectory of scripture and the early Church is to reject prophetic words in which the prophet profits individually (Matt 7:15; Didache 11:8-9, 12).

4)      Vocational ministry and miracle working are not synonymous. The New Testament teaches that those in fulltime Christian ministry, such as church eldership, ought to be compensated for their work. Yet, Jesus explicitly rejects people being paid for miracles, except for volitional gifts from the recipient. Some have argued that “the working of miracles” is an office in the Church, similar to apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. based on 1 Cor 12:27-31 where “miracles” are listed after a number of (what appear to be) ecclesiastical offices. Space prohibits a long explanation on why this is improbable, but the following three reasons should suffice: 1) 1 Cor 12:27-31 lists apostles, prophets, and teachers using ordinal numbers that are not continued for the rest of the list, suggesting that only the first three are actual offices in the Church body; 2) Eph 4:11 lists 5 offices (“apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers”) for equipping the Church, but miracle workers are not counted among them; 3) Jesus does not seem to think miracle working is a profession based on his prohibition of taking money for ones services, unlike that of elders in the local Church.[11]

As with many things in the Christian life, it can be difficult to know with 100% certainty that you are judging someone accurately. Yet, I think that Scripture does give us some solid guidelines on this particular subject by which to discern the difference between miracle and magic in ministry.

Blessings,

Merrill Greene

Notes

[1] See Jason Josephson-Storm, The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences (University of Chicago: University Press, 2017).

[2] https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/psychic-services-industry/

[3] C.K. Barrett, “Light on the Holy Spirit from Simon Magus” in J. Kremer, ed., Les Actes des Apôtres, (Leuven University Press: 1979), 288f.

[4] Juvenal 6.544–47

[5] Philopseudeis 16

[6] This particular amulet is designated as P. Oxy. 1077, signifying that it was found in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt among many other archaeological finds

[7] Teffilin and Mezuzot consist of scriptural quotations affixed to the hand/forehead or doorpost based on the instruction of Ex. 13:9, 16 and Deut 6:8; 11:18. The word Teffilin is often translated as phylactery, which suggests that it was used for protective purposes similar to amulets (perhaps they were amulets). See Yehudah Cohn, “Were Teffilin Phylacteries?” JJS 59 (2008): 39-61 and Yuval Harari, “Power and Money: Economic Aspects of the Use of Magic by Jews in Ancient Times and the Early Middle Ages,” Pe‘amim 85 (2000): 14–42 (Heb.)

[8] This parallels the miracle working ministry of Elisha in 2 Kgs 5:15-17: “Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!” He urged him to accept, but he refused.”

[9] In 1 Timothy 5:18, Paul quotes this Jesus saying from Matt 10 using the word “wage” (μισθός / misthos). Since Paul is speaking about church eldership as a form of vocational ministry, this makes sense. It is also possible that Paul was familiar with an earlier version of this saying from an anonymous source called Q. See Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A Commentary. Edited by Helmut Koester (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 76 n. 45.

[10] Kurt Niederwimmer and Harold W. Attridge, The Didache: A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998), 53: “In sum, the date of the Didache is a matter of judgment. An origin around 110 or 120 c.e. remains hypothetical, but there are as yet no compelling reasons to dismiss this hypothesis.”

[11] Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 1013-1024.