Pat,
I think magic might be described as attempting to secure an effect by
certain practices, while miracle is supposed to involve God's unforced
action. Needless to say, my distinction blurs a bit in practice when one
speaks of attempting to secure the effect by entreating God directly or
via intermediaries, though God's will remains - by definition - free &
unbound. D. P. Walker added further complications to this in a lecture I
attended at the Newberry in 1983 by pointing out that Protestants he had
studied questioned Catholic reports of miracles. That form of polemic -
leading to the burlesque of the Latin words of consecration as "Hocus
pocus" - falls more into the distinction you are making.
tmi
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