IDEAS TO CONJURE WITH

by Mark Howe

What is "Gospel magic" Is it a useful tool, a harmless gimmick or a dangerous distraction? Ben Van Den Akker believes that creative visual aids have a valuable role to play in evangelism.

Christian conjurors make a clear distinction between magic, which is often associated with spiritism and the occult and is strongly condemned in the Bible, and illusions, which are produced by the skilful manipulation of cleverly constructed objects. In this they follow in the footsteps of the Old Testament prophets, who spoke out against fortune-telling (eg Ez 13:20) but used many visual aids to help people to understand their message (eg Ez 4:1ff; 5:1ff; 12:3ff).

The recent conjuring seminar in Marseille, France attracted eight keen participants. One or two of them had already used conjuring, but most came to learn about another way of improving their communication in evangelism or in their Sunday School class.

Ben began the day with a biblical introduction to evangelism, and then moved on to demonstrate and teach a range of visual aids. The emphasis was always on the spiritual application of the visual aid: the aim is not to entertain but to teach.

In one illusion, Ben asked one of the participants to write down the worst thing she had ever done on a piece of paper. He took the paper in his hand, and spoke about the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. As he did so he dropped the paper into a glass and filled it with water. The water turned red and the paper vanished. In the same way, Jesus washes away our sin by his death.

In another illusion, linking and unlinking ropes were used to show how the three persons of the Trinity are one. We were often amazed to see how simple the tricks were once they were explained.

However, professionalism is very important. Ben stressed the importance of practising before performing in public, and of not revealing the secrets on which others depend for their livelihood. Ben often performs as a secular entertainer, and so is aware of the high standards expected of conjurors.

Some of the tricks required special equipment, but many could be made easily and cheaply. At the end of the seminar the participants left with piles of materials and lots of ideas to develop themselves.

There are certainly no magic responses to the challenge of taking the Gospel to our society, but illusions of the kind Ben uses and teaches can still communicate powerfully to believers and seekers alike.

OAC has played its part in developing Christian conjuring in Europe. It was one of the organisations behind the Fellowship of Christian Magician's conference in Britain, now in its 8th year. The Scandinavian Christian Conjurors Conference, initiated by OAC evangelists, also looks like becoming a regular event. Ben has just been elected as continental representative of the Federation of Christian Magicians, and Pete Hodge (OAC Wales) is the Vice President.