I expect this to be my last try.
You started out the conversation referring to people telling folks they'd go to Hell FOR reading Harry Potter.
I said I'd never heard of anyone saying that.
You cited an article that claimed that a church group told children they WERE going to Hell, AND warning against Harry Potter books as evil. The direct quotations of the pastor verified the latter, but no direct quotations verified the former.
So maybe the did say that. Or maybe they warned the children against going to Hell, AND warned against Harry Potter books. The direct quotations do not settle that question.
And no quotation has the church folks telling the children that they WOULD go to Hell FOR reading Harry Potter books.
You owe me a couple of unqualified apologies. But that doesn't happen much on FR, no matter how appropriate, so I'll not be holding my breath.
Dan
Why do you think these people have ANY right to be "concerned" about other people's children? Especially when their "concern" and "Christian love" is shown by shrieking that they are going to hell?
'Yes we scared them, but I'd rather scare them to heaven than just let them go to hell -- because hell's kind of scary."
the 'pastor' implied via the above statement that reading hp would cause them to go to hell, and seeing how it was in response to his harry potter protest it would appear to me that he was implying that reading hp would cause them to goto hell. you see, i have had this done to me, not with hp but with dungeons and dragons so i know how people like this think.
playing clintoonesq word games will not change the fact that you and i both know what the 'preacher' meant. religious people who say that hp is witchcraft then in another breath say that those that watch/use anything related to witchcraft will go to hell are saying that hp will send kids to hell. they use a lot of words, but that is what they are saying.
people like that preacher and other who preach against hp/dnd/rock, with out trying to understand them, drive more people away from god -shift key is broken, the preceding g should have been a capital- then drive people to god.
Pastor Tommy Turner said:
"I don't want anyone to go to hell, and the bible says if people use sorcery and witchcraft they will go to hell."
http://www.hpana.com/news.cfm?nids=17092_another_harry_potter_book_burning
the Arkansas Baptist Convention passed a resolution condemning the Harry Potter books and movie Nov. 7, labeling the literature "anti-Christian."
http://www.baptiststandard.com/2001/11_19/pages/potter_debate.html
basic google search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=goto+hell+for+reading+harry+potter&btnG=Google+Search