Posted on 11/24/2001 2:08:47 AM PST by kattracks
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:02:25 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
November 24, 2001 -- Is Harry Potter the spawn of Satan?
That's the opinion at one Christian school in southern Australia, where parents voted yesterday to forbid students from reading about the bespectacled wizard and his preteen cohorts.
The vote was just part of a widespread anti-Harry backlash by religious conservatives angered by the best-selling books' blatant celebration of witchcraft and the occult.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Pray for GW and the Truth!
But it all starts with one chink in the armor, one thing that made me look at my faith in ways I never had before and might never have, except some people spent a lot of time spreading BS about hobbies they had decided, with no facts to back them up, were evil.
Oh, incidentally, all the above claims are nonsense, as is the claim that Harry Potter will cause anyone to become a witch.
So no, maybe not all of the people I've named here are saying no-one should read Harry Potter - but all of them imply that if you're Christian, you won't. And I'm sick of it.
Do you lie all the time,or only when it comes to me?
I loved my parents..my mom died when I was 13..my dad a few years ago..
They never uttered the name of Jesus in my home....they went to mass on Christmas (maybe).My dad was an adulterer and a womanizer . now inspit of all that he was a good dad...I still miss him
So to say I "hate them" is an intentional misreading of my words to slander (that is a scripitual word too...but may not be in HP)
Contrary to what some here seem to believe ,a clear reading of scripture says that most will not go to heaven. Now you may not like the plan,and it may not be the what you or I would do it..but God is the one that has laid out the plan of salvation..and unless there was a miracle at the final breath,my parents are lost..Did I hate them NO.But it doesnt matter what I thought or feel.
And I never "condemned you for praying for your sick mom.That would be something that is natural for a believer..but praying for the dead is not..and we can go back if you like and paste and copy your words one more time..that is what you said..
Jesus crying out from the cross is very different than praying for the soul of someone that is dead!
Actually that was my point ...see he happens to have a log in his eye..
Judging believers because one hates the God of the bible..makes alot of people feel superior. it is acceptable to deny the Christ of the bible and to point to logic and intelligence as the proof...
Judgement comes in all forms
In reality, no one is stopping you from reading Potter. If you are fretting because some people say you aren't a Christian because you read Potter, the problem is with YOU, not them. They have the right to their opinion, right or wrong. Claming you have been harmed is rather hyperbolic. I read Potter and I'm not offended if someone says I'm not a Christian. They are entitled to be wrong.
What is offensive is using slurs like "fundie" and "fruitcake" to describe people who don't like Potter. Also, claiming that people who don't like Potter are involved in a vast conspiracy to deny First Amendment rights to people is equally offensive.
No one is stopping anyone from reading Potter. And it's ridiculous to blame people for something that isn't happening.
They mocked and spit on Jesus.....they beat Him with whips....and then they cried out " ...give us Harry Potter", "crucify Him" ...ohh no wrong time frame..that is today!
That in not what the bible says..there are many in heaven now that lived and died before Christ..read Hebrews chapter 11
There are a lot of people out there, of all ages, who like their entertainment to be escapist, because they don't particularly like this planet. Then they come back to reality and live well-adjusted lives. That kind of person wouldn't want the magic to be real. It's hard to explain to an outsider, but we don't want the spells, just the spaceships. Fantasy looks inward; science fiction looks outward. There are hundreds of people who were inspired to careers in science and math because they read Heinlein as children; I have never met anyone who became a sword-wielding mage because he read Tolkien.
Jen,
Mr Hyperbole is not always your friend.
So Snowy what do you think will happen to you when you die? Will you go to heaven ? How do you think one is saved from hells fire?
If banning materials is troubling to you, I'd worry more about the Bible than Harry Potter. I have yet to hear of a public school where kids have been denied the right to read Harry Potter within the schools but there are several cases where kids were not allowed to read their Bible in the same way.
My husband and I have carefully considered what "we" consider appropriate for "our" children, and it is based on "our" understanding our scripture and "our" values. We have no problem with fantasy; I do have a problem with little kids playing at witches who also celebrate Christmas and Easter. The distinction between make believe and the real world was not drawn clearly enough for my family. I also believe some of the passages are quite disgusting.
And last I noticed, the purpose of this message board was to share ideas. I'm glad you don't care what my family reads; however, your cavalier dismissal of my message insinuates that I just as soon have not written anything at all. If you don't want to read opposing ideas, I suggest you stay off the HP threads. Have a very good day.
Nah, we don't really need another bigot, but you'll keep hanging around like a skunk at a garden party, nevertheless.
Name at least 50 [would be book burners] then.
AppyPappy and his 49 clones.
Harry Potter is valid literature. So is Catcher in the Rye but I don't want my 2nd grader reading it in school.
Catcher in the Rye is written for an audience possessing greater maturity than that exhibited by the average 2nd grader. Your argument is either disingenuous or illogical (straw man fallacy).
It has no business in the schools.
Why? Cuz Appy dun sed it don't?
Parents can let their kids read Potter all they want. But it doesn't belong in the schools.
Sure it belongs in the schools, for the reasons I have outlined in my previous post. (That it is a piece of literature with clear language, character developement and plot suitable for the average elementary school aged child). You have made no case for why it should be banned from public schools, other than because you are a displeased and angry little man, much to be pitied.
You know Tony..the bible tells us that Satan comes as an angel of light..the cartoon devil with horns and tail is his best cover.
He comes as a wolf in sheeps clothing..but of course you are free to trust HP over scripture..that is the wonderful thing about America
I have met Satan, in fact I have met him quite a few times, I met him in North Ireland, I met him in Africa and again in the Balkans. He didn’t come as an angel of light usually he was dressed in combats and carried a AK, a Machete or some other sort of weapon.
So you carry on doing what you are doing and that is complaining about a book, and ignoring the real Satan as he parties on down with War, Famine Pestilence and Death.
Cheers Tony
Call your self Christians? Sir/Madam one does not profess his belief in Christ. You don't have to. It should be relevant in your actions. You do neither. Spouting bible verses is irrelevant. You pick and choose the bible verses to fit your own needs. One can find another bible verse to counteract your claim of a non-changing, ever-loving, benevolent, Omnipotent, omnipresent being.
Ask yourself? How did you come to know Christ/God? By a book, by a friend, by a preacher? You rely on earth bound things for your faith. Something the bible tells you to admonish and hate anything of the earth.
Your faith should not come out of a book that has been translated so many times as to lose its original meaning and intent of the message. Your faith should not come out of a preacher's mouth that claims to have saved you. Last I knew, man does not save mortal souls. He can claim he does. That does not make it true. Last but not least. I find it almost surprising to believe that one would judge pagans so harshly. When it was a pagan named Constantine that organized a council of other people like him to make a decision on whether Christ was part of God or was not part of God. Now he was either part of God from the beginning or he was not.
Now, does speaking harshly about Harry Potter make Harry Potter go away? Does speaking harshly of Harry Potter make children not want to read the books? Does reading Harry Potter make children Wiccans, Witches and evil satan worshippers? Well I must profess I am at a loss. My children have yet to turn me into a toad for spanking their behinds by casting any incantations. My children have yet to cast any spell on me to cause me to stop speaking to them when they no longer wish to hear me lecture.
To believe that by calling people witches, devils, satan worshippers will change their view of themselves. Will only make them change their view of your faith. That is no way to make your point of anyone's supposed mortal place in Heaven. In effect of saying you know what will happen to that person's soul you are in your actions acknowledging you know that person's soul. You are not God.
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