My friend has been telling me that for the last month now, ever since the topic of religion became a common theme between us. That is why last week’s discussion of which is worse, murder or magic, took me by surprise. And then I realized that while in the eyes of god there may not be any differentiation between the two – in the eyes of man there is. Religious figures have constantly been trying to determine which sin carries more gravity than others and how to cleanse the soul of that sin.
If we look back to Burchard of Worms on page 63 of Kors and Peters it is plain to see that even he was trying to find ways for a person to repent. Depending on their crime, the punishment would alter. From that we can gather even in 1008, Christians were trying to level out just what sin is worse.
According to the church which is worse: magic or murder?
Martin Luther would have you believe that magic was worse. His argument for that is based on the first commandment, which is not to worship false idols. He states that magic is a form of worshiping the devil and therefore breaking the first commandment. But I do not overly agree with this sentiment. While the church did believe that all evil magic was the work of the devil, good magic was still done by the church. With that in mind, magic can be achieved by worshiping God.
Murder on the other hand is outlined strictly as prohibited in the ten commandments. "Thou shalt not kill." It is not arguable as to if a person is dead or nearly dead, unlike in the Princess Bride. Once you have committed the sin of murder, you have broken the sixth commandment and there is no arguing the fact. By that logic, the ten commandments state that the act of murder is more grievous a sin than murder. In conclusion: in the eyes of the church, murder is worse than magic.
