And, for that matter, the Witch of Endor was real too.
You can't compare actual worship of pagan gods and consulting unclear spirits with the little kids dressing up as firemen or princesses to go score some candy -- nobody believing a word of it.
Some believed, many did not. And demons ARE real.
And, for that matter, the Witch of Endor was real too.
The witchcraft can be real, no matter whether people believe in it or not. And playing with witchcraft is a serious sin no matter if it works or if it is believed.
BTW, I knew one women who was into some Asian meditation and who once when in trouble tried a magic technique she learned in the class. She did not pay her tickets and the boot was put on her car one morning. She was broke and she could not use her car, so she sat before the car and meditated, the boot fell down. She was scared beyond her wits as she did not believe that such magic can work. (She NEVER did anything with eastern meditation after that.) Still she took the advanateg of this situation and drove her car off :)
You can't compare actual worship of pagan gods and consulting unclear spirits with the little kids dressing up as firemen or princesses to go score some candy -- nobody believing a word of it.
You know very well that "firemen or princesses" are not the issue here.
Invoking spirits or demons or trying magic can be quite real as the story with Saul illustrates. Saul was a fool.
"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,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD
(Deut:18)
If you want a good "magic" or a miracle, pray to God or to one of His Saints. This is the proper way for a Christian.