All I can say, is if their faith was that fragile that it could be destroyed -- just from the very fear of having Harry Potter in the room - then it wasn't much of a faith to begin with.
And having a fragile faith is not the fault of Harry Potter's author or publisher.
And having a fragile faith is not the fault of Harry Potter's author or publisher.
My, my, aren't we tough, and there I thought the flesh was weak. Silly me.
Faith is a thing that is built in anyone. It takes time and persistence, and indeed requires protection on the part of a parent. This is true in the case of spirituality no less than other evil influences in life. If you don't believe that then I am certain that a few harmless drinks for your kid are OK, oh and how about a little toke, there there, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Here, let's watch some light porn. Horny? Here, go masturbate, they said it's good for you in school... Now didn't that feel good? Oh, I hope she remembers to use a condom...
So it goes. But where does it stop?
You can set your standards and I'll set mine, thank you. If you feel like playing spirital chicken with your kid go right ahead. I prefer instead to focus upon finding that which has proven to be unambiguously decent, uplifting, and intellectually challenging, of which there is plenty. So why not pursue that instead?
I learned about the dark side the hard way, and it all seemed so easy: drugs, loose sex, occult spirituality, you name it. I don't recommend it. I wound up cold and homeless on the streets of Oakland and am lucky to be alive. I had to work my way out of poverty and to rediscover the freedom found in the path of obediance. I no longer think I am so smart that I can properly foresee all the consequences to marginal choices and have chosen instead to pursue my best to follow God's law and teach my children the unvarnished truth. That alone is a demanding enough intellectual and spiritual challenge that such diversions as Harry Potter seem pointless and trite by comparison to what else is available.
It takes a special kind of blindness and tautological reasoning to carry such a path for long, especially when the evidence of its destructive fruits abounds. Even if one escapes accountability by himself, citing special personal qualities for evidence, that public example becomes bait for the many who will not be so "lucky." Look to the lengths Hollywood goes to present such people as examples of success? Look at the consequences of such role models in nearly any public institution, particularly our schools. Can't you see it? As far as I am concerned, it is the flaky reasoning of the impish fool that bandies such adventures for the thrill of disobedience, citing the lack of apparent consequences for justification.