I am a hard-core Harry Potter fan ... and I'm also a Christian. I had a conversation with one of my bosses not too long ago about the Harry Potter conspiracy ... Christian parents wouldn't let their children read the wonderful writing and brilliant adventures the "Golden Trio" experienced. Why? Because it dealt with witchcraft? I would imagine so. Witchcraft is against the Bible and so many other things that Christian's were against ... But why am I not? I believe in God, I try to be a good Christian and go to church (even though it doesn't happen often), I believe that the world will end just like the Bible says (maybe with a few twists), and yet, I fully enjoy the Harry Potter books. They are my favorites to read ... Are there other Christians out there that liek the HP books as much as I do? Or am I the odd-man out?
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I'm sure you're not alone.
I've never heard one rational explanation why people think Harry Potter books are a bad influence on kids. In fact, I think most people who have read them would agree that Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, et al are excellent role models. Sure, there are some "bad guy" characters, but if we refused to read any story with a bad guy we'd have nothing left to read.
If you're into HP enough that you are willing to read something a little bit academic/philosophical about it, I would recommend this book: The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What our favorite hero teaches us about moral choices"
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
When you think of it like that, then ANYTHING becomes morally right for you to watch. It then becomes easier for you to watch the most vulgar movies with no good characters, and STILL be able to claim its good because the bad guys teach us a lesson-not to be bad guys. Come on, what's the real reason. IS it for the morals? No. Its just for entertainment.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
And by your logic, many, many books become impossible to read because they mention supernatural events. You don't believe in talking to the dead, so any books with ghosts is out of the question (Hamlet is out, The Mediator series is out), any books with magic in it is out of the question (Narnia is out, Macbeth is out, Ella, Enchanted is out... the list can go on and on and on).
Ban your children from reading those, and you're depriving them of some good literature. Heaven forbid you let your children actually think for themselves and spend time parenting explaining that while witchcraft is wrong, the good guys in the Harry Potter books are fighting against evil, and they are not being destructive in the process. They let evil defeat itself, rather than sinking to that level in order to defeat it.
~C
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If I were a parent I would trust my kids to be able to tell fiction from fact.
I don't think that reading HArry Potter will turn a kid into a witch.
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There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
My 3-year old loves Harry Potter Movies. We are Catholics and I still read the books and watch the movies. I don't agree with a lot of people saying that Harry Potter is bad it should be banned. Well, if you can not tell the difference between what is real and what is fiction then I guess you are in trouble.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
But that's not what its about. People aren't stupid. They know the difference between fiction and fact. But when you allow your kids, or even you, to watch this stuff-what happens is that you get familiarized to the witchcraft. IT becomes of no consequence. And you forget that its totally and completely against God. But that
s if you are christian. If you are not, then what do you have to worry about? (besides after life).
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
The reason those Christians have problems with the book is because they don't understand the principle of existant universal laws in a fiction world.
The brief summary is that, according to Christian doctrine, witchcraft is evil. However, this law applies to this world and to this set of people. In a fiction novel, the world, no matter how similar it is to ours, is entirely "other," and, thus, things can be existant in that world (such as magic) that aren't in ours.
The reason that this dichotomy is important is because, according to Christian doctrine, in this world, practice of magic must come, by necessity, from the devil. It's not that magic itself is evil, it's that its source is evil. However, in the Harry Potter world, magic is as natural as breathing and doesn't have any such source. Therefore its practice in that world is not demonic.
Just something for the Christians to consider.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Okay, but you are teaching hypocrisy to your kids. You are saying its okay for harry potter to do it but not for the kid. Or, its okay for them to get involved in all sorts of stuff, but not you. Also, familiarizing them in books results in their failure to understand what is wrong with witchcraft, or wicca or whatever.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
And what IS wrong with Wicca?
(Just an innocent question)
I don't need drugs - I have genetics.
the thing these parents need to understand is that harry potter is just a book. if they are doing their jobs as parents then they should be able to resolve or explain to their children any issue that may arrise in a child's mind after reading the books.
i personally find the books very entertaining and fun to read...
I dont really know anything about the HP books becasue when they first came out my parents would not let me read them becasue of the witchcraft ect... and now I I am so far behind that I am not even going to try. So I just ignored the whole HP fad and chose to get caught up in the Lord of the Rings instead. My parents' general rule is garbage in, equals garbage out. They have not monitored what I read since I have been in HS, not what I watch outside of the home, but my stepdad is really big on not letting you watch something ever again if he sees something inappropriate in it once. I dont live at home anymore. And needless to say, Im glad because whenever I wanted to watch Desperate Houswives and Grey's anatomy on Sunday nights I would have to escape to the family room to watch and hope no one noticed because those are "bad" shows as well. Sometimes parents just go overboard, but at least its good to know that people are trying to include religion in their lives, even if its to an outrageous degree.
I agree that parents just need to consider the fact the the HP books are just that: books. HP is very entertaining to read, and even though I go too far with my wishing, I still know that it's just a book. Christians do need to know that all the witchcraft and stuff is just in the book. Some might say that it would influence thier children's way of thinking about witchcraft, but I agree that parents should have enough sense to tell their children that it is just fictious.
I don't think very young children should read the books because it can make them believe in witchcraft. While visiting a convent a few weeks ago, the nuns said they've had problems with this issue. Some kids in their schools have actually ben trying to perform spells on other children.
I think Harry Potter books are fine for old enough children who understand that it's fiction. But the younger ones don't have that reasoning capability yet. And when a person does try magic, it can result in horrible things because evil is stirred up.
yes...I have always stayed aways from wegie boards etc...why because I do believe in ghosts and eveil and do not want to be any part of all of that crud. whether they really do exist or not...Id rather not take my chances
Witchcraft that was made up of latin phrases...harmless, harmless. The Ougie (sp?) board, yes I stay the hell away from that (ever heard the stories?). Old latin phrases are a joke, stop overreacting.
"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity--and I'm not so sure about the universe"
-Albert Einstein
As a Christian with a family, yes we have read the books, watch the movies and enjoyed them. And no we didn't become wizards and witches.
That is the key, the words, wizard and witchcraft.
Take Star Wars....you will be hard pressed to find a Christian or a church that dis-approves of that series. But can you effectively explain "The Force"?
~~~~Ideas and ten cents change in a poor economy can buy you the world.
I am a Catholic and I believe the Harry Potter books are on the same level with The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I reccomend the books by John Granger, The Hidden Key to Harry Potter and Looking for God in Harry Potter. I've studied the Harry Potter controversy very closely, and talked to John personally as well as reading both the books, and I can tell you, even if you don't agree with all the conclusions he draws, he offers very convincing reasons for why the Harry Potter books are indeed suitable for Christians, for anybody, for that matter, and the farthest thing from satanic.
Oh, and if you ever wonder about being alone in being a Christian and liking the books, in case you haven't already discovered it, there's http://www.mugglenet.com , and their message boards, http://www.cosforums.com . Last time I checked, there were several threads for Christian fans on the boards; great stuff.
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~I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.~
Sorry, I'm more of a mystery fan myself. I never really liked the Harry Potter Series. I'm all for them, but was never really into reading them. I'm in a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church that was planted from an Evangelical Church, and don't have a problem with the books as long as people realize that they are just stories that an English writer made up. I'm not okay with it if people get obsessed with it and start trying to make spells of their own because they read it in the book or saw it in the movie. I personally have read two of the books and have seen the accompaning movies for them.
If you want a truly Christian series to read, I would suggest the Mandie series by Lois Gladdys Leppard. They are mysteries and all teach the main character, Mandie, important Biblical lessons. The Chronicles of Narnia series is also Christian based. I heard an interview on the radio a few years ago with the author, C.S. Lewis, and he talked about the basis of all of his books. The characters were all made up, but especially in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it truly put a message out. Read the Easter story and then look at how Aslan gave himself over to the White Witch to die in place of Edmund.
What I want to know is why people make such a big deal over HP and not other book series. There are tons of books with magic or witchcraft in them, yet HP is the primary target for overzealous Christians. I don't get it.
It's fiction. It's not gonna hurt anybody, and even if children do try to mimic casting spells or whatever, in time they will grow out of it and realize it is simply fantasy. It's just like children pretending to be cowboys or something. It's make believe, and it's not doing any harm.
They just focus on Harry Potter because it's the most popular.
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Denken. Nicht lesen.
That stuff in harry potter is not real witchcraft anyway.
Denken. Nicht lesen.
Yeah, I am a seven day adventist and Harry Potter was evil in their eyes. Well I just thought that did Jesus not perform miracles. Now do not get all contrversal on me and stuff I just post my thoughts.
I don't even remember writing that comment I made whenever it was ago. (me, thinking) "latin phrases? really?" and then seeing the author. ::sigh::
If you based a book off of realistic situations (i.e., not including witchcraft, etc), then kids grow bored about learning life lessons. Here Harry Potter deals with things that are exactly what everyone else is going through--quidditch equals football, hermoine's smarts equals the bookworms who just want to learn without being tormented, and draco malfoy is the utmost description of your normal bully. Without those wands, their words would still hurt. So it really is "sticks" and stones might break their bones, and they learn that words can never hurt them.
It's Parenting 101. You make the learning fun. Deathly Hollows deals with death. How do you explain death to a child in that particular age group that has had no exposure to it? By letting him read the book. How do you explain that everyone goes through a period of nonacceptance? By reading Sorcerers Stone and (I believe) Goblet of Fire.
Very simple, very simple indeed.
"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity--and I'm not so sure about the universe"
-Albert Einstein
I am a christian and I too enjoy the Harry Potter books, however I can understand why some people are against it. They believe (as do I) that all supernatural power either comes from God or the devil. The problem is that the good guy uses magic too. Most cases it's trying to defeat the evil sourcerer, but that's not the case. Kids could think "well if Harry the good guy uses it it's ok" I personally think it's fine, but I think that parents should have a talk with their kids before they read them. It's a fiction story of good and evil as long as it's taken as such (namely the fiction part) I think it's fine
yeah i dont get why people are so against the books. I personally LOVE THE BOOKS TO DEATH! they are amazing. I think everyone should have a chance to read them cause me reading them throughout the years has really helped my reading skills. They say that reading about witchcraft is bad. then i think those parents should not let there kids go to school or watch tv or play games...cause they is violence on tv at school and everywhere else. I think its pointless.. let them read the books and learn...
I believe in Santa and Peter Pan. Not really.
Why don't poeple bag on the whole Santa jive. Santa, who was once the coolest cat around, is now being used to sell toys and other stuff.
What does Santa and Peter Pan have to do with Harry Potter. Well what doe anything have to do with anything.
It all leads to faith.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
If you are a christian then you will be familiar with what the bible says
"be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND"
NOt filling it up with worldy garbage, no matter how harmless you think it is.
"you can not serve two masters"
Those who do witchcraft, according to the bible, are enemies of God. You are reading Harry Potter which is full of witchcraft. It doesn't offend you but it offends God. You can't serve both, so who are you REALLY serving? You are paying money or supporting that which is against GOd himself.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
So, I take it you don't read any fiction unless it's Christian in origin, hmm? Narnia is completely out, even though many claim that it is a representation of Jesus (the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, anyway).
The books promote witchcraft as much as Elmer Fudd promotes stupidity. It's a stupid argument. Why don't you look at what the books are TEACHING morally, instead of the method to which they teach it. Good wins over evil, and NOT by killing or destroying the evil, but rather by letting it destroy itself. There is evil in everyone, and you should strive to overcome it. Aren't those the ideas you want your children to understand?
~C
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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a story of Jesus in fairytale form. But you're right, CS Lewis wrote it and used "good" and "bad" magic. But as Alenka has pointed out, it's not right in God's eyes if it has magic in it, so the CS Lewis books are full of witchcraft like Harry Potter.
I think you have nothing to worry about.
Its reading for liesure,
not reading for planning.
I love the harry potter books, and can't get enough of them.
I think you have nothing to worry about
that is unless you start talking with an accent, and waiving a twig around.
P.s
the ROMAN part = very strict
so a roman catholic....yeah.
and harry potter still rocks my socks! it's only fiction, it enlarges my vocabulary, teaches me a little latin, and at the end of the day, or of a chapter, i don't pick up a stick of holly and expect it to endow me with magical powers. its a book. people should understand that.