Posted on 11/25/2001 3:14:41 PM PST by Fintan
In a debate over the influence of a fictional boy warlock, Bible-school professors Tom Allen and Patricia Rahn come down on different sides of the broomstick. Harry Potter and his classmates at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry make sorcery appear attractive and enticing - when the Bible clearly says it's evil, says Allen, an assistant professor at Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne. For pro-Potter colleague Rahn, author J.K. Rowling's best-selling books and the hit movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are fantasies that teach valuable lessons. "The main characters show love, courage, loyalty and sacrifice," said Rahn, who teaches children's literature at the Bible college. "The only thing I would recommend is that parents read the books with their children." Earlier this year, Allen and Rahn sat on a panel discussing the phenomenon that has spawned four best-sellers and a movie that is setting box-office records. Though Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has delighted millions of children, some conservative Christian leaders aren't sold on it. They insist that the mysticism of Harry's world, in which magical people predict the future, change shapes and communicate with ghosts, sends an "unscriptural" message. "There's a real religious concern," says Jana Riess of Publishers Weekly, who moderated a Potter debate at a July convention of Christian retailers. "Evangelical Christians believe that witchcraft is real." "Although the story is fictional, Harry Potter has real-world occult parallels," said Richard Abanes, author of Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick. "The books present astrology, numerology mediumship, crystal-gazing," he said. "Kids are enthralled with it. And kids like to copy." "I'm so tired of people saying he's evil," says Connie Neal, a Christian author who has investigated the Potter claims. "They're choosing to interpret the books in a very selective way." Neal - a mother of three and author of What's a Christian to Do With Harry Potter? - characterized herself as a "discreet fan." Scottish author Rowling calls the accusations about her work "absurd," saying Harry Potter's world is entirely imaginary. "I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, 'Ms. Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch,' " the author has said. Though the religious critics are clamoring, it's not clear how many families are heeding them. Catholic News Service movie reviewer Anne Navarro wrote that the movie is "innocuous fantasy" and no threat to Catholic beliefs. Christians should remember that Harry Potter is make-believe, said William T. Devlin of the Urban Family Council, an evangelical Christian group. Instead of debating a fantasy, Devlin urges Christians to use their energy to confront evil in the real world. "Stop drawing your sword against novelized, imagined and fantasized evil," Devlin said. "Share the love of Jesus Christ at an occult bookstore or meet with a Wiccan. They're in the phone book." But fantasy still has the power to change beliefs and values, said the Rev. J.R. Damiani, senior pastor of the Family Worship Center in Lansdale. "A lot of this stuff smacks of Satanism," he said. "Even though it appears kind of innocent, there is evil at the root of it." The Rev. Charles Dear of Crescentville Baptist Church in Northeast Philadelphia preached a sermon about Potter several months ago hoping to "inoculate" his congregation before the movie opened. The pastor says Pottermania is not harmless fun. "It deals with things of the unseen world that can be played with and that puts both adults and children at risk," Mr. Dear said. "The Bible says that Satan is alive. He is a real being, and both he and his agents that are demons use people to advance his cause, and these things we are not to fool with." Some have called for the books to be banned from public school libraries and have staged book burnings. The Potter books top the banned book listing for 2000, compiled by the American Library Association. But others in the religious world say that if Potter is to be condemned, so must the works of other authors who create fantasies in which otherworldly things occur. "For me to discount Harry Potter, you have to discount J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis because of the worlds they create," said John Oliff, an instructor at Philadelphia Biblical University, citing the authors of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Chronicles of Narnia. "And I don't discount either of them." The Rev. Rich Craven, a senior pastor at Church of the Saviour in Wayne, says the novel must be judged by the manner in which the evil is portrayed in the book. Are evil powers used for selfish gain, he asks. "You can't just look at the book and say it has a wizard and therefore discount it right away to think the book will somehow serve evil ends or purposes," Mr. Craven said. For Rabbi Linda Potemken, Harry Potter is a force for good. Earlier this year, Rabbi Potemken of Beth Israel Congregation in Media led a discussion called "the Torah of Harry Potter." She discussed the ethical wisdom in the books and playfully paralleled them to Torah lessons. "These books clearly delivered moral lessons that would be attractive to people of many different faith communities," the rabbi said. "They speak of the power of love, right and wrong, and the power of our choices to determine who we are. They exalt human virtue." |
The Taliban forbids Kite flying. Wonder what their reasoning is.
My take on the anti-"Harry Potter" side is that they're not anti-HP per se, but have a message they want to get out about the scarcity of Christian Values in the mass media in general, a message with which I and many others tend to agree with to differing extents.
The current hype surrounding Harry Potter makes it a great vehicle to get their message read. It's just good marketing ... when HP excitement wears down, you'll see the same message attached to anti-"Lord of the Rings" posts or whatever future movie will garner interest.
And that some witches are good and that some witches are bad. And that it all depends on how you use your preternatural powers. Hmmm...
I agree. As to the first point on your quote mentioned above... I always wondered (still do) why a good Christian Production Company and Director haven't popped up. I think Americans are ready for the old fashioned Disney spectaculars. We haven't had a rash of good "take your whole family to the movies" movies for a long time. Disney just went to "Hollywood" and missed the boat, so to speak, at being the leader in "Techno" Wizardry :o) pun intended!
I also agree with your second opinion. "Lord of the Rings" and others will be the next target. I honestly wish there was a different approach to bringing people to God. I would rather see these energies spent stopping abortion, helping the homeless and the poor. Time much better spent in MHO
Thanks for the reply and discussion! BTW, you live in a beautiful area of the country!! My Dad was born and raised in that area. If you know any Nagles, they are probably relatives of mine :o)
Ideas have consequences.
Hegel --> Nietsche --> Hitler
Satre --> Pol Pot
Marx --> Lenin --> Stalin
Some ideas deserve to be murdered.
Here is the biggest problem of all: interpretation of a translated word.
Perhaps. Will you be selecting those that do for all of the rest of us?
Ideas can only be defeated by other ideas -- not censorship.
I should also add that fantastic fiction is mostly metaphorical. You see "preternatural" powers, but the magic in HP can probably be more naturally translated as a metaphor for any sort of power or talent. You could make a good argument for political power, for example, in book IV when much of the setting and circumstances is so obviously informed by the events of WWII from the Brits' point of view.
But, if you forget that fiction is, well, fiction, you tend to miss that point entirely.
One other problem, adults and children (the target audience for the books in question) approach fiction differently. If you ignore that very basic fact, you will get all sort of misinterpretations. Children do not seek to discover hidden messages when they read any more than they do when they play. That's a function of adult reasoning. They will only "get" many of the messages you fear if you keep pointing them out -- and then they won't "get it" entirely.
Relax. :o)
That pretty much says it all.
Christ --> Jim Jones
Any idea can be mutated into something evil. That is the fault of those doing the mutating, not the original thinkers. It's "Neitzsche" and "Sartre," BTW, not to be pedantic...and I don't really think Pol Pot was an Existentialist...
I remember a statement about whitewashed tombs by someone named Yeshua.
Took a while to understand your point, especially in light of my comment, but I think I see where you're coming from.
My point though is not to burn books/movies, but to caution. Go see the movie, but keep it in perspective (as in all things.)
By all means let the children see it. Use it as a teaching tool for the Christian perspective. Christians can not bury their heads in the sands of ignorance. Times dictate Christians be FULLY aware and share what they learn. Peace.
God bless you!
Do you have a problem with the Bible being censored from gov't school libraries? What about Rosie O'Donnell's autobiography? The point is, someone has to decide what books are going to be worthy of a child's study and what books are worthy for a school library.
Harry Potter doesn't qualify.
You are very lucky. My daughter enrolled in Hogwarts and is leaving next week....
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