MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring
This article examines the performance practices of U.S. gospel magicians, evangelical Christians who convey religious messages with conjuring tricks. Emphatically denying that they possess supernatural powers and scrupulously avoiding effects that resemble biblical miracles, they take pains to prese...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82013 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6435-7066 |
| _version_ | 1826214819893608448 |
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| author | Jones, Graham M. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Anthropology Program |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Anthropology Program Jones, Graham M. |
| author_sort | Jones, Graham M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This article examines the performance practices of U.S. gospel magicians, evangelical Christians who convey religious messages with conjuring tricks. Emphatically denying that they possess supernatural powers and scrupulously avoiding effects that resemble biblical miracles, they take pains to present their tricks as unambiguously skillful performances intended to entertain, uplift, and instruct. When patterned on a Christian motif, otherwise self-referential magic tricks constitute a versatile signifying medium. Addressing the poetics of gospel magic in the setting of instructional workshops, this analysis explores a variety of ways performers utilize iconic resemblances between conjuring effects and Christian referents to produce complex and evocative expressions of faith. At the same time, they carefully manage signifiers of virtuosic agency that are intrinsic to the efficacy of gospel magic performance, but that also threaten to undermine their Christian message. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:11:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/82013 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:11:59Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/820132022-10-02T06:59:38Z MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring Jones, Graham M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Anthropology Program Jones, Graham M. This article examines the performance practices of U.S. gospel magicians, evangelical Christians who convey religious messages with conjuring tricks. Emphatically denying that they possess supernatural powers and scrupulously avoiding effects that resemble biblical miracles, they take pains to present their tricks as unambiguously skillful performances intended to entertain, uplift, and instruct. When patterned on a Christian motif, otherwise self-referential magic tricks constitute a versatile signifying medium. Addressing the poetics of gospel magic in the setting of instructional workshops, this analysis explores a variety of ways performers utilize iconic resemblances between conjuring effects and Christian referents to produce complex and evocative expressions of faith. At the same time, they carefully manage signifiers of virtuosic agency that are intrinsic to the efficacy of gospel magic performance, but that also threaten to undermine their Christian message. Fellowship of Christian Magicians 2013-11-06T21:41:54Z 2013-11-06T21:41:54Z 2012-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 08867356 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82013 Jones, Graham M. “MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring.” Cultural Anthropology 27, no. 2 (May 2, 2012): 193-214. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6435-7066 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1360.2012.01140.x Cultural Anthropology Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wiley |
| spellingShingle | Jones, Graham M. MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title | MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title_full | MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title_fullStr | MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title_full_unstemmed | MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title_short | MAGIC WITH A MESSAGE: The Poetics of Christian Conjuring |
| title_sort | magic with a message the poetics of christian conjuring |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82013 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6435-7066 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonesgrahamm magicwithamessagethepoeticsofchristianconjuring |