Are some of the Bible miracles really just magic tricks?  The Bible has things like turning water to blood, parting the Red Sea, a staff turning into a snake, a talking donkey, etc.  So, aren’t these just old tricks that really didn’t happen and a primitive culture recorded them as being real?  To answer this, let’s first look at what the word magic means.  Dictionary.com defines magic as “the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.”

First of all, if magic were a reality, then it would mean there is a set of laws related to the supernatural realm that could be manipulated by people in our realm.  If this were the case, technically speaking, it wouldn’t be magic because it would really mean that people would have discovered how to control things through means that are natural to that the supernatural realm but would seem “magical” to us.

Second, magic that forces the supernatural hand of God would mean that God himself was subject to some sort of laws. These laws would be above him, and this would imply that God himself was part of the created order and would need to be subject to the natural or the “supernatural” laws of their respective realms.  But this is not biblical and does not fit the definition of magic.

Third, God is the supreme being who is not forced into action by human attempts to manipulate him or the environment through “the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.”  Again, this is not biblical and does not fit the definition of magic.

Fourth, if the God of the Bible exists then it would not be a problem for him to turn water into blood, part the Red Sea, turn a staff into a snake, or have a donkey talk.  It wouldn’t be magic.  It would be miracle.  The issue is not if these things are accurate representations of historical events (though I believe they are). The issue is whether or not God exists, and if he does then such events are certainly possible since he is the creator and master of all things.  Therefore, the ultimate issue is whether or not God exists, not if the miracles recorded in the Bible were really magic tricks.

So, were the miraculous things in the Bible simple magic tricks?  No, they were not.  They were miraculous events authored by God.