I agree. I've met many people who think a great deal about what they believe. They can be of any faith. When one is open minded, you have the potential to keep becoming a better person. Close minded people stagnate and have many unresolved issues.

Blind faith, on the other hand, is destructive in nature. If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

I have never, ever met anyone like that. The closest I've come is people getting a concerned, disturbed look on their face, or asking a question that indicates they think something unnatural may have taken place. Other times, people may walk off, but that is probably as much because they thought what I did was stupid as it is attributable to concern about the supernatural.

But I think the reason some of you have, indeed, experienced this kind of thing is because "magic" as a hobby has developed more than one meaning. Go to the magic section in many large bookstores and you'll find all kinds of books on casting spells and witchcraft. The section containing books on prestidigitation is often called "magic tricks," to point out the difference. The point is, it's not necessarily just the oft-stereotyped and Hollywood-ridiculed christian simpleton who believes magic is supernatural. The magic section in those stores has been taken over by plenty of others who do, and who actively pursue it as a hobby. And there are probably more of them, or the booksellers wouldn't have given the primary category designator of "magic" for books of interest to them.

One of the reasons I probably have never encountered anyone like what the original poster described is I never let anyone think, expressly or implicitly, that any of the tricks I'm performing are any thing other than tricks. I might jokingly say "magic" when asked how I did something, but when people start looking at me funny or indicating they are close to considering paranormal explanations, I make it a point to let them know that I'm a magician, not a warlock. I assure them that some of the tricks may require a lot of skill, or an understanding of psychology, but that they are still just tricks.

And others among us often blur the lines themselves. I've seen plenty of magicians try to persuade people that they have some kind of special powers. I think the guys who pretend that there is something supernatural about what they do, or that there is at least an element of the supernatural involved, do us and their audiences a grave disservice. You can't really fault some people out there for believing you if you spend lots of time, energy, creativity and money trying to convince them something is real.

Unfortunately much of the this topic is true and some people get superstitiuos ( did I spell that right, I should have paid more attention in school instead of practicing magic during class, heh just kidding). And it boils down to just that, superstition. If you perform something so well that it looks like a miracle, thats good, thats your goal right. However some people use religion as an excuse to be lazy minded. Notice how I said some.
I am a Christian and have been doing magic since I was 7yrs old. I now do it professionaly part time and have done stage, close up, restaurant, private parties and Gospel presentations at churches. Most understand that it is a form of entertainment. It has been my experience that most people who call me the devil are joking. Some of my closest friends know I'm a Christian but time to time joke with me about my " Dark powers". I just simply say, " That can't be how I do it, the Devil and I don't get along. My God beat him with a big ugly stick." It gets a laugh and I continue entertaining.
For the few who are set in there minds that you are doing something bad don't worry about them. If its someone you care about like in my case my grandma. Show them a simple sleight like the glide or the french drop, this will put them at ease.
Also some of us don't help the situation by assuming the role of a psychic adviser, we are here to entertain, remember that.
There is a line between the palm reader who will manipulate the emotions of someone for the sake of taking there money, and the magician who wants to amaze his audience for the purpose of entertaining them. One decieves and gives false hopes, the other (the magician) should make people feel better, perhaps spark that child like feeling again that anything is posible.

what is the creature?

senxo my grandma is extremly christian so i realised to do fun little things like multiplying rabbits or ball to square

As an Atheist I don't care if they say that.

But, I can see how that can be annoying.
I'll have to remembre these when I preform at my (mostly Christian) High School.


~CDE

'The creature' is an ugly creature,about size of a tenis ball,which originally live in the forest.Most of them were found in the graveyard because they like to feed on dead bodies.Some people say they are the slaves of the devils.they can penetrate into human body,travel like curent and can appear and dissapear on our bodies in a split second.This creature is very dangerous but very dumb,they can be slaves to anyone but be careful,they might get to the heart and cut of the veins and arteries of their master if they get mad.

If you want it,you can buy it in downtown,or through an agent.

The creature is a sweet effect where a creatur appears in your hand.

Any time someone acuuses my of being satan I say I am,and I should suffer. I show them the knife for knife thru arm, smash it anto my ar,m and rock it back and forth while laughing maniacally and speaking latin in my demonic voice( not much different from my normal voice, darn Father giving my a deep voice!) and start singing children's lullabies ( my favourite is Mary had a little lamb) while rocking back and forth in a girlish voice. Depending on my mood I might do dragon's breath or Wonder wand with fire kit. They usually say crap like" STop f(BEEP)ing with my head I know your not Satan" I shrug turn around and secretly put in my red contacts and take off my glasses Stare at them and Laugh. SOmetimes they run away other times they yell at me. Eh what is an immortal to do. OH CRAP DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD??!!! I meant Mortal... yes mortal.

Sincerely,
Satan Dammit! I meant to say Stan yes... Stan.

Pretty good routine for an amateur. Who's the chick? Girlfriend?

And BTW, Creature is NOT sweet....It's lame and isn't puzzling, mysterious, or creepy at all. It's awful and if I spent $30 or $40 on it, I'd be one pissed off dude.

TRue the trick itself is not sweet, but the reactions can be if you do it to the right people and present it scarily.

I definitely don't do effects that particularly scare people in a demonic way. You can do romantic effects or productions that are actually quite sweet or at least honorable, rather than "reading" someone's mind on the streets. Of course, if this is a show or something professional I doubt you would care if anyone said that because you are portraying yourself with those kind of powers. But Blaining, there is definitely a set type of tricks that can avoid this.

I've said this so much. Its my explanation for everything. I'll go into this big thing saying how i went to a little part time school to learn all my stuff and just keep them interested, then when they ask where, you say hogwarts, works every time!

I tell them that I am the messiah.

dude the EXACT same here... but then again I do name myself satan.. and I have used the pentagram for ...certain tricks but yea Im on the same boat everyone thinks Im the devil or have some sort of involvement. when they ask things just give them a smile and walk away. that will leave them just freaked out and wondering

it is crazy how many people think we do witch craft.
My own dad actually thinks i do witch craft.

I am a christian. I am a magician. I' performed several times at my church and to friends who are members of their own church. I used to get the "you are the devil" bit, but I usually explain that at the end of a movie like BraveHeart Mel Gibson does not have to come out to explain to the audience that his entrails weren't REALLY pulled out through his groin, because everyone knows he was acting. Robert Houdin said that a magician is an actor playing the role of ...a magician. That is what and who we are. A recall a magician explaining it this way: There are things we believe because they are real; then there are those things that become real when we believe. --Leiafecto Gorbane