Early Christian Views on Magic and Sorcery
Early Christian writings reject magic and sorcery as evil, deceptive, and tied to demons. The Didache, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Lactantius all speak against it, and Acts 8 and Acts 19 fit that same pattern. Some writers also use magic language to attack heretics or explain false claims of wonder-working. The main lesson is simple: Christians were told not to practice these arts.
115 early-church witnesses · 178 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about magic and Sorcery?
Early Christian writings treat magic and sorcery as real but evil practices tied to demons, deception, and false teaching. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Clement, Tertullian, Origen, and Lactantius all reject them, and several writers say Christians should not use them at all. The Didache and Apostolic Constitutions place magic and witchcraft in lists of sins, while Bible passages like Acts 8:9 and Acts 19:19 show the same anti-magic pattern in the apostolic age.
The evidence is broad and consistent, though some later texts focus more on anti-heretic polemic or on explaining how magicians trick people rather than giving a full theology of magic. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Early Christians treated magic and sorcery as forbidden, not harmless.
- The Didache and Apostolic Constitutions list magic with other sins.
- Justin, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Lactantius connect magic with demons and deception.
- Acts 8:9 and Acts 19:19 show that the apostolic church also opposed magic practices.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians say magic and sorcery were forbidden?
The sources repeatedly present magic, witchcraft, sorcery, and divination as forbidden or rejected practices. The Didache, Apostolic Constitutions, and several Bible passages are the clearest direct witnesses.
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Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Background
...shamed and come to their senses through barbarian demonstration, so that, although late, they may clearly see what kind of intellectual attainments they travel across the seas to gain. The things they have stolen must be pointed out, so that we may bring down their pride. And for the things they boast that they discovered by investigation, we must provide a refutation. As a result, we must also discuss what is called the course of study, and how far it is useful, and also astrology, mathematics, magic, and sorcery. For all the Greeks boast of these as the highest sciences. He who boldly corrects is a peacemaker. We have often said already that we have neither practiced nor do we study expressing ourselves in pure Greek, for this suits those who lead the crowd away from the truth. But true philosophical demonstration will help not the tongues of the hearers, but their minds. And in my opinion, the person who cares about truth should not shape his language with cleverness and careful polish, but should only try to express his meaning as best he can. For those who are overly concerned about words and spend their time on them miss the things themselves. It is the skill of a gardener
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
These were the inventors of astrology, and soothsaying, and divination, and those productions which are called oracles, and necromancy, and the art of magic, and whatever evil practices besides these men exercise, either openly or in secret.
More related quotations from this section 23 shown
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Acts 19:19 Direct teaching
And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
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Daniel 2:2 Background
Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
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Ezekiel 13:18 Background
and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?
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Ezekiel 13:20 Background
‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds.
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Exodus 7:11 Background
Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
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Exodus 8:7 Background
But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
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Exodus 7:22 Background
But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
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Zechariah 3:4 Background
because of the abundance of fornication: she is a fair harlot, and well-favored, skilled in sorcery, that sells the nations by her fornication, and peoples by her sorceries.
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Philippians 2:2 Background
And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.
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Philippians 4:7 Background
So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof;
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Philippians 2:27 Background
And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king.
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Isaiah 3:3 Background
the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms.
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Isaiah 47:12 Background
Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
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Deuteronomy 18:10 Background
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
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2 Kings 21:6 Background
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
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Numbers 23:23 Background
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
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Leviticus 19:26 Background
Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
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Exodus 8:3 Background
And the charmers of the Egyptians also did likewise with their sorceries, and brought up the frogs on the land of Egypt.
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1 Enoch 65:6 Background
And a command has gone forth from the presence of the Lord concerning those who dwell on the earth that their ruin is accomplished because they have learnt all the secrets of the angels, and all the violence of the Satans, and all their powers -the most secret ones- and all the power of those who practice sorcery, and the power of witchcraft, and the power of those who make molten images
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Wisdom of Solomon 17:7 Background
As for the illusions of art magic, they were put down, And their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace.
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Leviticus 19:31 Background
Ye shall not attend to those who have in them divining spirits, nor attach yourselves to enchanters, to pollute yourselves with them: I am the Lord your God.
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Exodus 22:18 Background
“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
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Exodus 22:17 Background
Ye shall not save the lives of sorcerers.
Did early Christians think magic came from demons?
Several writers say magical power comes from demons or evil spirits, and they use that claim to explain pagan wonder-working and occult arts. This is stated especially by Origen, Tertullian, Lactantius, Minucius Felix, and Hippolytus.
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Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching
Moreover, if those who pride themselves upon such matters profess also a kind of magic and sorcery — which, in their opinion, is the summit of wisdom — we, on the other hand, make no affirmation about it, seeing we never have discovered anything of the kind.
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Tertullian, Apology Direct teaching
The same homage is paid, dutifully too, by those who consult astrologers, and soothsayers, and augurs, and magicians, about the life of the Cæsars — arts which, as made known by the angels who sinned, and forbidden by God, Christians do not even make use of in their own affairs.
How did early Christians distinguish miracles from magic?
Christian apologists often argued that Jesus and the apostles did not work by secret arts or magical trickery. They claimed true divine works should be tested by lives, morals, and effects, not by occult methods.
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Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching
...men, or that there is any reasoning different from sophistry. But if we once admit that, along with magic and sorcery, which get their power from evil demons who are bound by elaborate incantations and made subject to sorcerers, there must also be found among men some works that come from a power that is divine, why should we not test those who claim to do them by their lives and morals, and by the results of their miracles? We should ask whether these things tend to harm men or to reform their conduct. For example, what servant of evil demons can do such things? By what incantations and magical arts can he do them? And on the other hand, who is the person who, with his soul and spirit, and, I think, also his body, kept pure and holy, receives a divine spirit and does such works in order to benefit men and lead them to believe in the true God? But if we must examine, without being swept away by the miracles themselves, who performs them with the help of a good power and who with the help of an evil power, so that we may neither slander everyone without distinction nor admire and accept everything as divine, will it not be clear from what happened in the times of Moses and Jesus,
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
But the magicians, and those whom the people truly call enchanters, when they practice their detestable arts, call upon them by their true names, those heavenly names which are read in the sacred writings.
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Tertullian, De Anima (On the Soul) Supporting witness
...ay, to be sure, what almost everybody says about it: that it is an imposture. But it is not only we Christians who notice this system of imposture. We have discovered these evil spirits, not by joining with them, but by a kind of knowledge that is against them. Nor do we deal with them by any method that attracts them, but by a power that brings them under control. I mean their miserable system, that many-sided plague on the mind of man, that maker of all error, that destroyer of our salvation and our soul at one stroke. In this way, even in magic, which is really only a second idolatry, they pretend that after death they become demons, just as in the first and literal idolatry they were thought to become gods. And why not, since the gods are only dead things? So the Aori and Biaeothanati mentioned earlier are actually called up. And not unfairly, if someone bases his belief on this principle: that those souls, more than all others, are clearly likely to be given over to violence and wrong, since they were hurried away by violence and wrong through a cruel and early death, and would have a sharp desire for revenge. However, under cover of these souls, demons are at work, especia
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Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
...have answered well enough the charges of the many crimes on which these fierce demands are made for Christian blood. We have fully presented our case. We have shown how we can prove that what we say is true, from the trustworthiness and antiquity of our sacred writings, and also from the confession of the powers of spiritual wickedness themselves. Who will dare to refute us, not with skill in words, but, as we have made our demonstration, on the basis of reality? But while the truth we hold is made clear to all, unbelief meanwhile, even at the very time when it is convinced of the worth of Christianity, now well known both for its benefits and from the intercourse of life, takes up the idea that it is not really something divine, but rather a kind of philosophy. "These are the very things," it says, "that the philosophers advise and profess: innocence, justice, patience, sobriety, and chastity." Why then are we not allowed the same freedom and immunity for our teachings that they have, when we are compared with them in what we teach? Or why are they not also forced to the same acts, by refusing which our lives are put in danger, if they are so much like us? For who forces a phil
How did early Christians talk about pagan magic and divination?
Some writers describe astrology, augury, divination, necromancy, omens, and related arts as part of pagan religion and deception. These texts criticize the whole system of occult knowledge rather than isolated techniques only.
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching
...l and full of curse. It includes murders, adulteries, lusts, sexual immorality, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, acts of robbery, false testimonies, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, pride, depravity, self-will, greed, filthy speech, jealousy, overconfidence, arrogance, and boastfulness. These are people who persecute the good, hate truth, and love a lie. They do not know the reward for righteousness. They do not hold fast to what is good or to righteous judgment. They do not watch for what is good, but for what is evil. Meekness and endurance are far from them. They love empty things and pursue payback. They do not pity a poor man or work for the afflicted. They do not know Him who made them. They are murderers of children and destroyers of the handiwork of God. They turn away from one who is in need and afflict one who is distressed. They defend the rich and judge the poor without justice. They are utter sinners. Children, be delivered from all these.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
.... From these come murders, adulteries, fornications, perjuries, unlawful lusts, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, acts of robbery, false witnesses, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, pride, malice, insolence, covetousness, obscene talk, jealousy, confidence, haughtiness, arrogance, impudence, persecution of the good, hatred of the truth, love of lies, and ignorance of righteousness. For those who do such things do not hold fast to goodness or to righteous judgment. They do not watch for good, but for evil. Meekness and patience are far from them. They love vain things and chase after reward. They have no pity on the poor. They do not labor for him who is in misery, nor do they know Him who made them. They are murderers of infants and destroyers of the workmanship of God. They turn away from the needy, adding affliction to the afflicted. They flatter the rich, despise the poor, and are full of sin. May you, children, be delivered from all these things.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching
You shall not use magic. You shall not use witchcraft, for He says, "You shall not allow a witch to live." You shall not kill your child by abortion, nor kill what is begotten. For everything that is formed and has received a soul from God, if it is killed, will be avenged, because it was unjustly destroyed. You shall not covet the things that belong to your neighbor, such as his wife, his servant, his ox, or his field. You shall not swear falsely, for it is said, "You shall not swear at all," Matthew 5:34. But if that cannot be avoided, you shall swear truthfully, for everyone who swears by Him shall be commended. You shall not bear false witness, for he who falsely accuses the needy provokes to anger Him who made him, Proverbs 14:31.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...re shall be no divination in Jacob, nor soothsaying in Israel," in Numbers 23:23. You shall not use enchantments or purifications for your child. You shall not be a soothsayer or a diviner by great or small birds. Nor shall you learn wicked arts, for the law has forbidden all these things. Do not be one who wishes for evil, for you will be led into unbearable sins. You shall not speak obscenely, or use lustful glances, or be a drunkard, for from such things come whoredoms and adulteries. Do not be a lover of money, lest you serve mammon instead of God, as in Matthew 6:24. Do not be vainglorious, or haughty, or high-minded. For arrogance springs from all these things. Remember him who said, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. I have not occupied myself with great matters, nor with things too high for me. But I was humble."
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Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness
... flesh are manifest, which are these: adulteries, fornications, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, witchcraft, murders, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, anger, strife, seditions, divisions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness, revelries, and such like: of which I tell you beforehand, as I have also told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, magnanimity, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control, chastity." Galatians 5:17-22 And therefore we make this our prayer every day, yes, in continual supplications: that the will of God concerning us should be done both in heaven and on earth. Because this is the will of God: that earthly things should give way to heavenly things, and that spiritual and divine things should prevail.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...herit woe. Also avoid indecent spectacles. I mean the theaters and the pomps of the heathens, their enchantments, observations of omens, soothsayings, purgations, divinations, observations of birds, their necromancies, and their invocations. For it is written, "There is no divination in Jacob, nor soothsaying in Israel," Numbers 23:23. And again, "Divination is iniquity." And elsewhere, "You shall not be soothsayers, and follow observers of omens, nor diviners, nor dealers with familiar spirits. You shall not preserve alive wizards," Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10. Therefore Jeremiah exhorts, saying, "Walk not according to the ways of the heathen, and be not afraid of the signs of heaven." So it is the duty of a believer to avoid the assemblies of the ungodly, of the heathen, and of the Jews, and of the rest of the heretics, lest by joining ourselves to them we bring snares on our own souls, so that by joining in their feasts, which are celebrated in honor of demons, we may not be partakers with them in their impiety. You are also to avoid their public meetings, and those sports which are celebrated in them. For a believer ought not to go to any of those public meetings, unl
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
III. You shall not use magic. You shall not use witchcraft;
Did early Christians accuse heretics of using magic?
Irenaeus and Hippolytus accuse heretical groups connected with Simon Magus of using incantations, charms, and secret arts. These are examples of anti-heretical polemic, not endorsements of the practices.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness
These are the deeds of the magicians, and there are countless other tricks like them. These work on the gullibility of the deceived by smooth, well-crafted words and by the appearance of convincing acts. And the leaders of heresy, amazed at the skill of these sorcerers, have copied them. They have done this partly by handing down their teachings in secrecy and darkness, and partly by presenting these ideas as if they were their own. For this reason, since we wanted to warn the multitude, we have taken greater pains so that we would not leave out any method used by the magicians, for the sake of those who might be ready to be deceived. Yet we have also been led, not without reason, into giving some account of the secret mysteries of the sorcerers. These are admittedly not very necessary to the subject before us, but they may still be thought useful for guarding against the villainous and incoherent art of magicians. Since, therefore, as far as description is possible, we have explained the opinions of all these thinkers, giving special attention to making clear the opinions newly introduced by the leaders of heresy—opinions which, as far as piety is concerned, are empty and false, a
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Justin Martyr, Connection to Acts 8:9 Supporting witness
the Samaritans Simon and Menander, who did many mighty works by magic, and deceived many, and still keep them deceived. For even among yourselves, as we said before, Simon was in the royal city Rome in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and so greatly astonished the sacred senate and people of the Romans, that he was considered a god, and honoured, like the others whom you honour as gods, with a statue.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness
These men, moreover, practise magic; and use images, incantations, invocations, and every other kind of curious art.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness
3. They practise also magical arts and incantations; philters, also, and love-potions;
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness
They use exorcisms and incantations. Love-potions, too, and charms, as well as those beings who are called “Paredri” (familiars) and “Oniropompi” (dream-senders), and whatever other curious arts can be had recourse to, are eagerly pressed into their service.
More related quotations from this section 4 shown
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Acts 8:9 Direct teaching
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
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Acts 8:11 Background
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
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Acts 13:8 Background
But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
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Acts 13:6 Background
Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,
Common Questions
Did early Christians think magic was real?
Yes. Writers like Origen and Lactantius spoke of magic as real but evil, tied to demons, tricks, and deception.
Did early Christians allow magic?
No. The Didache and Apostolic Constitutions forbid magic and witchcraft, and other writers say Christians did not use these arts.
Why did early Christians reject sorcery?
They linked it with demons, false teaching, and harm to people.
Source Index for Magic and Sorcery
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 143 ranked source links from 178 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 143 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 115
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 63 included
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.