The Christian Grimoire Evangelicals Forgot About (Part 1)

The Christian Grimoire Evangelicals Forgot About (Part 1)

From back from the borderline by mollie adler

June 2, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

This episode explores the Arbatel of Magick and its implications for Christian views on magic and power.

Most people think Christian history has a simple answer to anything regarding “magic": don’t touch it, and all of it is “demonic.” The Arbatel of Magick makes that answer harder to defend. This strange little text, translated into English in 1655, sits inside a distinctly Christian worldview while talking openly about prayer, angels, spirits, hidden knowledge, and the deeply serious question of who should be trusted with power. In Part 1 of this two-part exploration, you’ll learn what the Arbatel is, why it’s such a deep cut, and why it complicates the usual evangelical panic around divination and occult material without treating magic like a toy. Part 2 will drop on June 11th on Patreon. Join at patreon.com/backfromtheborderline and search “ The Christian Grimoire Evangelicals Forgot About (Part 2)” for my deeper breakdown of what the Arbatel actually teaches and how its warnings can be carried into your modern life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Mollie Adler

Topics covered

  • Christian history
  • magic
  • evangelicalism
  • prayer
  • occult
  • spirituality

Keywords

  • Christian Grimoire
  • Arbatel
  • magic
  • evangelicals
  • divination
  • occult
  • spirituality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Patreon

Books & works: Arbatel of Magick

More episodes of back from the borderline

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the back from the borderline podcast page.