Harry Potter Books Spark Rise In Satanism Among Children

The Onion ^

[4mycountry]

(Heavy sigh)

End of times, man........end of times.

[Skywalk]

Perhaps, but I wasn't making the statement that it bothered me :)

[Michael2001]

Do you consider every type of fantasy to be a bad thing. I remember when I was in high-school I loved reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I do, however, understand where you're coming from; kids with pre-existing conditions and kids from bad homes, these books may be a bit much for them. I think it's fine as long as we explain to our kids the difference between fantasy and reality.

[Michael2001]

I do understand where you are coming from, but I also think it's important as parents that we do not become too paranoid and too overprotective. Some friends of mine want to ban Halloween; kids are brighter than we think, most of them understand the difference between fantasy and reality,

[Archmagus]

It was probably found amongst the documents detailing construction of nuclear weapons, too.

*chuckles*

[spycatcher]

I agree, check out the above link by Lentini. People should understand what to look for in these fantasy worlds to discriminate between healthy literature and unhealthy seduction.

To an intellectually lazy person it's "all the same stuff"

[knuthom]

There is no relationship to what happens in the Potter books and modern pagans or Wicca. Can these people make objects move across the room by themselves? Can they turn themselves into animals? Can they make "magic potions" (as opposed to drugs)? Do they have invisibility cloaks? What about dragons and unicorns?

Pagans cannot do any of these "magic" tricks. The stuff happening in these books is not real or possible. Most adults and many children understand that. Any kid who tries to do "witchcraft" and spells will be sorely disappointed because it will not work.

[spycatcher]

It'a not the specific spells or attempts to fly or whatever that are the problem, it's the worldview promoted by a particular fantasy world that can burrow deep into an immature soul. Some worldviews are more corrosive than others, and some are designed to burrow deeper.

[grellis]

They were polite though, and told her not to feel bad as the Onion's parodies are so well done.

Possibly her confusion was due to a well constructed irony...I think two things are more likely, however: either she is the type of Christian who is so hell-bent on finding Satan everywhere that she is no longer capable of seeing something as simply harmless, or she is just that stupid.

[grellis]

NONSENSE. Children reading books along the lines of the Potter series are no more likely to traipse down some dark path than those who don't read them. A child's beliefs are introduced by their parents. How strongly a child holds onto their beliefs has everything to do with the convictions of their parents and of the religious community to which they belong. I read Tolkein growing up. I read The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. I read the chronicles of Narnia (now try telling me that CS Lewis was some kind of Satanist!). I also went to church every week and was active in youth groups with the church. I had parents who shared their beliefs with me. I was in no more danger of becoming a Satanist than I was of being turned into a dairy cow. Get a grip. Kids today understand reality better than a helluva lot of adults I know.

[spycatcher]

Try reading the posts before wasting time with a rant. As I said before...to an intellectually lazy person it's "all the same stuff"

[lavaroise]

The problem I have with RV is that there is no sure way to find the RVer liable in case he did a sloppy job. You can tell whether an engineer was sloppy in his calculations, but you can never tell whether the RVers is just a spy working and BSing you or the real thing. They are not liable for their errors, and the irony is that they always need those targets, those informations, that can be useful for the enemy to know where we are looking.

[Michael2001]

I don't disagree with you at all. I also think it is the responsibility of the parents what their kids watch or don't watch. I have friends who will not let their kids read harry Potter and that is fine by me. What I find scary are people in my Church, friends of mine, who want to see books like Harry Potter banned; this should never be done. Banning books is what the Nazi's did, and is IMHO very scary.

[jammer]

Well, I agree with your thrust (no pun intended), but, I must say that I've never run across a discussion of nose-tongueing in the Old Testament. I'm waiting for some good kinky cheese discussions.

[VoodooEconomist]

I always enjoy a good satire on America's own Taliban. Thanx.