Posted on 06/27/2002 5:53:24 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
In early December the official exorcist of the Rome diocese, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series. The priest, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said Satan is behind the works.
In an interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Father Amorth said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the devil.” The exorcist, drawing on his decades of experience in directly combating evil, observed that young people could become involved in Satanic practices because they see the invocation of supernatural powers as a simple and attractive possibility, devoid of moral consequences. He noted that J.K. Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, which he insisted must be recognized as “the satanic art.” He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact such a distinction “does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil.”
In the interview, which was published in papers across Europe, Father Amorth also criticized the disordered morality presented in Rowling’s works, noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened and lying justified when they work to one’s benefit.
The North American coverage of Father Amorth’s warnings significantly downplayed the force of his warnings. The New York Times account of the interview, which was carried in many other media outlets, omitted the strongest language used by the Rome exorcist, and did not include his explanations for the warning. It only quoted Father Amorth as saying, “If children can see the movie with their parents, it’s not all bad.” (The Times report also failed to mention that the movie version significantly cleaned up Harry’s image, making it less troublesome than the books.)
In the same provocative language, Father Amorth also sharply criticized the new approved ritual for exorcism, saying that the language of the rite lacked the force of the old version. And he complained that most bishops allow an exorcism to proceed only when there is demonstrable proof of a diabolic possession. An exorcism should also be recognized as a diagnostic tool, he said, and frequently the ritual helps to determine whether or not an individual is possessed.
Are there any happy endings here? Did any accept?
But you know what codie..we are only called to be faithful..the "work' is Gods..
So we need to love and support people..tell them about Christ and trust God to do the work..
There is a very real sense of guilt when you "lose" a patient..you wonder what you could have done or what you may have "missed"
But the bible says we have an appointed time ..it is an honor to be there for someone else :>)
The only thing I miss about not working is the opportunity to offer comfort to the afflicted..
I have a couple kids that are nurses....that is what they love about it too
I read books. I could suggest a few to you that might help with your myopia.
Because if you're not connecting the dots, you're not reading enough.
*grin* I slap alot of them too:>)
Thanks for the link. That was well worth the read.
Click on the link. I think it's more probable than not that the author of the review lives in San Fransisco. Spiritual confusion is as sexual confusion does.
I skimmed the first one at B&N in twenty minutes. I've skimmed sections of the others. Personally, I found the writing to be pedestrian, but I'm not much of a fan of "fantasy" writing to begin with.
Certainly I don't believe that the quality of the story or the quality of the writing explains the series' immense and unprecedented popularity. This fact and the fact that the story revolves around a school for "Witchcraft and Wizardry" explains my interest in the books.
At bottom, I believe that this series of books is an ingeniously clever lie, the purpose of which is to normalize and introduce the occult to young children, particularly "white magic." Like all successful lies, the story contains truth. In this case, the "big lie" that is smuggled in under the superficial good versus evil story is the notion that occult powers can be used for good. Follow Dr. Eckleburg's link for an exhaustive list of examples.
The reason for the appeal of the books is three-fold. First, the books introduce in a sense the truth of "spritual warfare" to spiritually starved children. The idea of an unseen, parallel (spiritual) universe is probably a novelty for most public school-educated children. Secondly, the gnostic idea of secret knowledge (sorcery) and the idea of being one of the "select" to possess this knowledge, which is clearly evident in the books, appeals to the most deadly sin of all –pride. Finally, the series offers to children a way to gain control over reality through the use of sorcery. Any misgivings the child may have regarding the use of magic would be dispelled by the stories' endorsement of "good" magic.
I've noticed this in many children's TV shows in various genres. As examples I can think of "cat-dog" and the "cuddly" two-headed dragon from "Dragon Tales."
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