Posted on 03/17/2008 7:44:22 AM PDT by Terriergal
By John-Henry Westen
EDINBURGH, March 12, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The newly released edition of the Edinburgh University Student newspaper, the oldest student newspaper in the UK, includes an interview with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. In the interview Rowling claims to have received death threats from Christians opposed to her novels, calling Christian 'fundamentalists' "dangerous" and comparing them by inference to Islamic fundamentalists.
Asked if there were not some Christians who dislike the book 'intensely', Rowling replied, "Oh, vehemently and they send death threats." Questioned about the 'death threats', she added, "Once, yeah. Well, more than once. It is comical in retrospect. I was in America, and there was a threat made against a bookstore that I was appearing at, so we had the police there."
While she said she could stomach critics, she had little time for Christian criticism. "But to be honest the Christian Fundamentalist thing was bad," she said. "I would have been quite happy to sit there and debate with one of the critics who were taking on Harry Potter from a moral perspective."
Many Christians who have opposed the Potter series have done so after reading comments by Christian reviewers pointing out their moral and spiritual dangers. The opponents, who have been relying on the reviewers criticisms, have often avoided reading Rowling's lengthy Potter narratives, and Rowling uses such cases to paint Christians as if they were insane.
"I've tried to be rational about it," she told the paper. "There's a woman in North Carolina or Alabama who's been trying to get the books banned-she's a mother of four and never read them. And then- I'm not lying, I'm not even making fun, this is the truth of what she said-quite recently she was asked [why] and she said 'Well I prayed whether or not I should read them, and God told me no.'"
The interviewer notes that at that point "Rowling pauses to reflect on the weight of that statement, and her expression one of utter disbelief." Rowling then continued, "You see, that is where I absolutely part company with people on that side of the fence, because that is fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened.'"
"That's what's dangerous about it, whether it be politically extreme, religiously extreme...In fact, fundamentalists across all the major religions, if you put them in a room, they'd have bags in common! They hate all the same things, it's such an ironic thing."
Michael O'Brien, one of the most prominent Potter critics, has carefully read and analyzed the Potter books critiquing the spiritual and moral problems with Rowling's works. O'Brien commented to LifeSiteNews.com about Rowling's mockery of Christians who avoid her works.
"Regrettably, there is a strange new form of self-righteousness at work in the world-a psychological state of mind that is common to post-modernists such as J. K. Rowling," said O'Brien. "One of its symptoms is their inability to discuss on a serious level the truth or untruth of their cultural products. They avoid the real issues and instead take the 'ad hominem' approach-personal attacks against those who raise critical objections to the disorders in their books. From the vaccuum of real thought arises the dreary habit of classifying as a 'fundamentalist' any critic who bases his arguments on religious or spiritual grounds."
Added O'Brien: "This term is used against bomb-throwing terrorists, sweet grandmothers praying silently before abortuaries, and anyone who preaches the fullness of the Christian faith in church and media. It has become the utmost smear word, a weapon that is proving quite effective in silencing opposition. If you don't have an argument yourself, you just switch tactics and cry 'fundamentalist!' Supposedly all opposition will then collapse."
In previous interviews Rowling has said Christian criticism of her works come from the "lunatic fringe" of the church.
Prior to being elected Pope, then-Cardinal Ratzinger expressed an opinion opposing the Potter books. He sent a letter of gratitude to Gabriele Kuby who authored a work explaining the dangers of the Potter story, especially to young children. Made available by LifeSiteNews.com, Ratzinger's letter to Ms. Kuby stated, "It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly."
Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican also condemned the books warning parents, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." Father Amorth criticized the novels for glorifying magic, which he explicitly refers to as "the satanic art", and for presenting disordered perceptions of morality in the supposedly heroic main characters.
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html
Harry Potter Feature Page:
http://www.lifesite.net/features/harrypotter/
To be fair maybe she got a call from Shirley Phelps-Roper or her Daddy.
My son is 14.
My oldest daughter is 12.
No, and I neither do I advocate stoning my disobedient children, or those who commit adultery, etc.
I miss the ol' HP crowd! Amid the mudslinging that's sure to appear on this thread, it could be a happly little reunion.
“Would you care to provide Scripture references to support your contention that Christianity has a dark, coercive, dangerous side?”
How about the entire story of David as he and his Hebrew army sweep through Canaan attacking, burning and sacking every city, killing every man, woman, child and beast therein, and does so because God told him to.
Aren’t all people the children of God? Why would he command David to savagely murder tens of thousands of his own children and ten burn their cities? Because they claimed it was “the land promised to the Jews” so it needed to be “cleansed” first?
I’ve never understood how Christians can believe their God is the same God of Israel. The Christain God is a God and father to all men and women, the Hebrew God is a God for the hebrews only.
You ain't tryin' to bring reason to this thread, are yuh???
Thanks.
Didn’t those threads go into the 500’s or so?
BTW, I’m with Jen on this one.
Sure there are the occasional nutbags like Fred Phelps and his little girl Shirley, but are they actually representative of Christian Fundamentalism? Because frankly, the title "Evangelical" has been coopted/commandeered by the religious left like Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell and others, and the left has coopted the title "Fundamentalist" to illustrate people like Westboro Westbroodofvipers Baptist... so who are the ones in between there? We get lumped in with Shirley Phelps Roper and her hateful bunch simply because we avoid fads for cryin out loud!
Another point she's made is that people who criticize her works haven't read it. There are ways to know objectionable subject matter without having to pour over it. (The examples of those types of material are obvious.)
The keyword there being IF.
And also you might consider proving where they came from. Islamic nutcases issue them from their leadership. The closest Christianity can come is Westboro Baptist not-a-church.
interesting points...
Yeah, nothing like a “Harry Potter is eeeevil” thread to brighten up a Mpnday.
I did stay mostly out of the Dumbledore-is-gay broohah because my arguments were based on my experience as a writer (unpublished) and sounded a little weird to people who weren’t into writing.
Then are you refusing to follow the scriptural dictates against witchcraft?
I too am a Christian, I haven’t read the books, but I have many Christian friends who have read them. There is extremism in all religions, and to be quite honest, I have had some friends that are pretty wacky when it comes to their Christianity. A good example would be the Phelps family, I don’t believe they are true Christians (judging by their actions), and they certainly don’t live as Christ commanded us to, but unfortunately many people consider them Christians. They would be the type of radical Christians that would call in death threats (IMHO).
I agree you should be able to read whatever you want. And NOT read whatever you want, without being labeled a fundamentalist like an Islamic fundamentalist.
But...we also did not do the Santa thing, nor the Easter Bunny, in our house. Didn’t bother the kids not to make believe those things.
There is a difference betwee reading fantasy and reading fantasy that is put forth by many as having a Christian message when it doesn’t. I wouldn’t even say LOTR is a Christian allegory, nor Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, although it seems closer.
The whole D is G thing was like “Whatever”.....
I wonder if people are now going to call Jefferson a “godless RINO sellout.” Probably.
Sheesh.
Lessee... Jefferson didn't listen to Rush; you never saw him with a elephant teeshirt; and his copy of the Koran was used to swear in the first Muslim elected to Congress.
Oh, and he loved France. And his personal life was somewhat scandalous. He drank a lot. His personal finances were often really messed up. And he wasn't strictly Christian. (pops)
Sounds like he was a lot worse than a RINO to me.
/s
Please forgive us, Mr. Jefferson. We are truly not worthy.
I agree. Warning people that they believe there are dangerous teachings in the books or dangerous messages is not the same as having a book burning and confiscating harry potter books from church members or the general public.
That’s like saying the kid who gets the math problem right because he works out the problem correctly is the same as the kid who does incorrect math
Two kids are asked to find the square of 63.
One enters the numbers into his calculator, presses the buttons to produce the answer.
The other multiplies 66 by 60 in her head, adds 9
They both come up with the same answer.
Which one solved the problem in the "correct" way?
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