[Shadowstrike]

As Christian children, we weren't told we couldn't go see Dracula, or the Wolf Man, or Frankenstein. We were told that these things were not real, that they were 'legends' or stories made up by people. I think it's the same with Harry Potter. Advertising has made it a phenomena, but parents can make their children understand that it's only a story.

[oneamericanvoice]

Good for you! I grew up at around the same time, and I’ve been told that I turned out pretty well. The Potter series is good fun, and teaches alot of good values too. People need to get a grip.

[rlmorel]

Agreed. Personally, if your kid cannot tell the difference between a fictional story they read in a book, or a video game that has shooting in it and real life, then you are failing as a parent.

I just think this anti-Harry Potter thing is just silly. I have not read any of them, but I saw the movie, and...I enjoyed it. No reason a kid cannot do the same.

[Mr. Silverback]

Excellent point. Back in the late 1990s I saw a book in a Christian bookstore which included a couple of chapters attacking Star Wars because the Force is so similar to Eastern religions, and I remember thinking, “What kind of knob can’t teach his kid that Luke making a run on the Death star has nothing to do with the real world?”

[Logan1492]

"I think it's the same with Harry Potter. Advertising has made it a phenomena, but parents can make their children understand that it's only a story." The point being...what? Parents can also make their children understand that the Bible is just a story.

[rockrr]

I read the book backwards and it taught me how to break spells ;'}

[Barnacle]

As Christian children, we weren't told we couldn't go see Dracula, or the Wolf Man, or Frankenstein. We were told that these things were not real, that they were 'legends' or stories made up by people. I think it's the same with Harry Potter. Advertising has made it a phenomena, but parents can make their children understand that it's only a story.

The big difference I see between those stories and the Potter stories is that the others show the weird stuff as weird. Where as the Potter stories shows the weird stuff (the occult) as something that can be accessed to one's advantage.

Thus, whereas only the very weird child would aspire to create a Frankenstein or be a Wolf-man. The Potter books present the occult in a palatable sense, with heroic possibilities and broad appeal.

The occult is real, and it's real dangerous.

[television is just wrong]

operative word, “fantasy” people.