Posted on 08/25/2007 10:00:49 PM PDT by monomaniac
Commentary by John-Henry Westen Editor and Steve Jalsevac Managing Director
TORONTO, August 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews receives angry and often hate-filled responses to its news reports on mainly three subjects.
The most hateful and threatening come from gay activists. Apparently, some cannot tolerate objective news reports containing information that in any way contradicts savoured personal opinion. For such, our news reports are "hate", even though hate or even anger is never intended in any LifeSiteNews report. We challenge them to point out where our reports include "hate" but the challenge is never answered because it can't. We just report alternative news that mainstream media refuse to report or distort.
Second, are the angry emails from abortion and population control activists. That has always been expected given the massive deceit and manipulation used for decades to advance their anti-human agendas which we regularly expose. Their control of the mainstream media is no longer as useful as it used to be.
Third has been the bizarre response to our Harry Potter reports, which most will have difficulty finding in the mainstream media or even in many orthodox religious publications. That is our role, to report what most media will not report.
It seems that every time LifeSiteNews publishes an article with an alternative view that is critical of the Harry Potter series we get a flurry of angry and sometimes downright hateful emails from Harry Potter devotees. Our latest, an article by Canadian Catholic novelist Michael D. O'Brien, which we published Monday was no exception. (See "Harry Potter and 'the Death of God'" http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082003.html )
A few of our more colourful responses included scathing ad hominem attacks and a wish for curses on O'Brien, reference to LifeSiteNews.com as a "filthy publication" and Pope Benedict XVI as "a Nazi".
Comments related to the Pope are likely due to the letters - first published online by LifeSiteNews.com - which he wrote praising a German Harry Potter critic for her work in pointing out the dangers in the Potter series. (See "Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online") http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html
Someone identifying him/herself as Ant Johnson wrote:
"To whom it may concern:
Honestly, I found, not just your recent article by Michael D. O'Brien, "North America's foremost Potter critic"--a laughable distinction to be sure--but all of his poorly misguided efforts at measured, non-dogmatic criticism to be pathetic and more than a little jealous. It's the sort of archaic thought O'Brien so classically illustrates in his articles that sends droves of people heading for aisles mid-sermon at Sunday morning mass. Or maybe it's because your pope was at one point a Nazi, and in many ways, still is.
With the sincerest of regards, Ant Jonhson"
Apparently a Gnostic took issue with O'Brien's position that Gnosticism is presented in the Potter books:
"I don't see the Gnostic worldview in the Harry Potter books. I know, I am one.
Because the Old Testament is the book of the evil one, we Gnostics are not allowed by Jesus to engage in imprecatory prayer which is common now amongst the Catholic Churches allies in the Evangelical movement.
Does the catholic church allow imprecatory prayer? Not officially, but you always have it if you want. Imprecatory prayer is Black Magic.
The Orthodox church, not the Gnostics are practicing Witchcraft. Michael is a deceiver but its ok, because the ways of Saklas-Satan are seductive, so its easy to forgive him.
In Jesus name.
Titus Andronicus"
And finally John Wohn in Austin Texas wrote:
"I hope that every witches' coven in the US casts spells to curse Michael O'Brien and everyone who works for your filthy publication."
> Young children can understand the spiritual content in Harry Potter books and films - - it is an unclean spirit; devilish.
I am conscious that I am butting into your discussion and I apologize in advance for doing so. Harry Potter is about as sinister to Christians as “Beowulf” and “The Iliad/Odyssey”, in my day-and-age. Full of heathen stuff, but plenty of harmless fun all the same.
My Mom and Dad raised me to be a Christian, which I still am, despite me reading Beowulf and Homer. If history, it was interesting-but-irrelevant history. If fiction, it was a rollicking-good-read guaranteed to build Character. But nothing more.
Kids aren’t stupid, unless we raise them to be stupid. They can easily discern fiction. Mine do.
*DieHard*
I see them get off the big yellow pervert-o-mobile at our corner, 3:00 daily (when we are in the States), one arm trying to hold britches up, one arm around girfriend’s neck, and no books to carry.
They are bombarded with satanic messages more frequently and consistently today than when “Beowulf” and the “The Iliad/Odyssey” were standard high school reading (Homer’s works required in literature courses in my California high school).
> They are bombarded with satanic messages more frequently and consistently today than when “Beowulf” and the “The Iliad/Odyssey” were standard high school reading (Homer’s works required in literature courses in my California high school).
Crikey! That says heaps about a California education, and all of it SAD. We did that one way before high school...
More satanic than in my day? Doubt it: I grew up as a child of the 60’s and 70’s. Luckily with good parents. Nobody did drugs in our family but plenty of neighbors did.
My Grandfather (RIP) read Beowulf to me when I was six. I read Homer, alone, (upon his recommendation) when I was eight.
Heroditus followed, as did Thomas Mallory, as did William Shakespeare, as did Cicero and the rest of the whole toga-wearing lot. And I was a kid, a product of the 1960’s/1970’s. It was Entertainment, along with Gilligan’s Island and Baa Baa Black Sheep and Wonder Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man and, ultimately, The A-Team.
We did not have PlayStation or MTV or Xbox back then. If it wasn’t in a book then perhaps TV would do OK, and it was a poor substitute. And I did not miss it.
Maybe I’m just getting old.
Impressive list of books.
Our children each read at least a couple of books each week, and they are not short stories, believe me. But they have chosen, for the most part, biographies, histories, and a few historical novels. If there is time they read natural science and naturalist books and journals. My eldest son, now 30, is quite the expert in botany, by his own reading and wilderness note taking. He was reading Thomas Sowell’s books at age 12 (finds himself a Conservative of an older order). His other interest in reading has been weapons and balistics. Not interested in a list that runs from Pooh to Potter.
My 15 year old son is reading late 19th century theologies and political movements. He enjoys the British theatre in both areas. Not interested in fictional spritist stuff. He told me that the “Scriptures (the Bible) have enough about the spiritual realm to make a lifetime study — why waste time on man’s junk on the issue.”
Our kids read through the Bible several times each year. Only 20 chapters per day can get one through the Bible six times each year.
We are grateful to God for the result.
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