![]() However, Justin Martyr and other Christian apologists like Irenaeus insist he was an antichrist and continued his sorcery, even founding Gnosticism itself. It would appear, contrary to apocryphal and Gnostic texts that seek to glorify his role as sorcerer and his previous satanic abilities, that Simon was repentant and may have continued to be a member of the local church in Samaria. Fearful of the apostle’s words, Simon pleads with Peter to pray to the Lord on his behalf.Īfter this event, the Bible never again refers to Simon the Sorcerer. At this point, Peter strongly reprimands Simon for his greed and states that he needs to “repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart” (Acts 8:22). Simon witnessed this event and “offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 8:19–20). Later, the apostles Peter and John arrived, at which time the Spirit came upon the believers. The Bible says that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come” upon the Samaritans (Acts 8:16). ![]() In the wake of hearing and seeing the disciple Philip “as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12), Simon was baptized into the early church and “followed Philip everywhere” (Acts 8:13). Interestingly, however, Simon’s empowerment by Satan did not include loyalty to the demonic. It appears Simon was the latter, as Luke states that he had amazed the Samaritans “for a long time with his sorcery” (Acts 8:11), some even declaring that he was “the great Power of God” (Acts 8:10), a messianic title. Sorcery, which is strongly condemned by God (Deuteronomy 18:9–13), was common in the ancient world, and, while some acts and demonstrations were no more than illusions of the mind, others were empowered by Satan in an attempt to discredit the power of God (Matthew 24:24 2 Thessalonians 2:9). The Jew called Simon who “pretended to be a magician” is referred to by the historian Josephus ( Antiquities of the Jews, book 20, chapter 7), but this appears to be a different historical figure, as he was born in Cyprus. Christian apologist Justin Martyr is believed to have propagated the idea that Simon was a Samaritan from the city of Gitta, and this has been accepted in early church tradition and today by some church historians. In the book of Acts it is stated that he “amazed all the people of Samaria” (Acts 8:9), but the account does not identify him as a Samaritan himself. A minor figure in New Testament history, Simon also appears in Gnostic texts in which his character and biography are expanded upon, but these accounts are unlikely to be historically reliable due to the nature of these writings and their anonymous authors. He appeared in the wake of the newly established church in Samaria. And its sequel, Simon the Sorcerer II, as well! By the way, did you know that a reference to this computer game was used by a Czech translator in his translation of one of the books by Terry Pratchett? Obviously, I was not the only one in this country who loved Simon.Simon the Sorcerer, sometimes referred to as Simon Magus or Simon of Gitta, is mentioned by Luke in Acts 8:9–24. If you do not insist on 3D action and film-like rendering of the characters in the games you play, I can only recommend Simon the Sorcerer. Various half-hidden hints will make you ask other characters more questions than you actually need to get to the end (you will end up asking each character ALL of the possible questions, as far as I can judge from my own experience), and it is worth the time. ![]() You will find yourselves walking around talking to other characters just for the sake of talking. ![]() Now, 13 years later, I can appreciate other aspects than the graphical design. Even though I was not able to play this game without the help of the directions in a computer magazine (remember - English is not my mother tongue), I loved to walk around exploring various locations - the village, the forest, even the swamp. It was colourful, hand-drawn, the wizard moved in a funny way and it had this fairy-tale atmosphere. In those times I did not understand English very well (actually, I did not know more than a few words and a couple of phrases.), so I did not know what was going on there. ![]() In 1993, when I was a little girl, my father brought this game home. ![]()
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