'HARRY' CATCHES HELL FROM CHRISTIANS

New York Post ^ | 11/24/01 | TODD VENEZIA

[kattracks]

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.

[Bush2000]

I know the difference between clever sarcasm and a death threat. And I'm sure you do, too.

Then maybe you can tell the rest of us where we can find a coliseum and a bunch of hungry lions to throw the Christians to ... Geez, you can't possibly be that stupid, right?

[Bush2000]

Who is ramming what down who's throat?

Face it: Most people (including most clergy) don't accept your interpretation of Harry Potter. I know that that's gotta bother you and the other pointy-heads ... so, if you don't like it, protest or move yourselves and your glassy-eyed cohorts to Guyana ... where you can roam free and drink whatever Kool-Aid makes you happiest...

[JoeSchem]

Nice dodge. You are apparently not that knowledgeable about the Bard of Avon. Witchcraft permeates his works. Guess that means you've brought 'the Evil One' into your heart without even realizing it. LOL.

Actually, the moral viewpoint of Shakespeare is quite Christian. And yes, he does treat witchcraft to be real. Just as Christians do. But it's hardly presented as a good thing. "Boil, boil, toil and trouble . . . . " is a long way from Harry Potter!

[Timmy]

The American Library Association says there have been attempts in at least 13 states to ban the book from schools and public libraries.

Yes, they can believe whatever they want, but when they start trying to ban books (or burn them, as happened in Pittsburgh last year), it worries me.

Well, let's be fair. The ALA considers any questioning of the appropriateness of a book (like, for instance, not wanting your sixth grader to read Slaughterhouse 5) to be an attempt to "ban" the book. The ALA is truly more wacko than most Harry Potter critics.

Personally, I simply have not come to the conclusion that Harry Potter measures up to the quality of books my kids should read. We are Christian home-schoolers who believe that our kids' books should teach and reflect what is good and noble.

I don't let them read the Goosebumps trash. I have purchased a paperback copy of the first Potter book, and my wife and I will determine whether it measures up. It probably will not. That doesn't make me a nut, as some of you would insinuate. It makes me a discerning parent.

[JoeSchem]

Then maybe you can tell the rest of us where we can find a coliseum and a bunch of hungry lions to throw the Christians to ...

If there is such a place, it lies in the future, when people like you are numerous enough to take over, and no longer have to coda death threats with, "I was only joking!"

Geez, you can't possibly be that stupid, right?

Well, the more time I spend talking with you, the dumber I feel.

[Woodkirk]

My answer to your question is the answer to this one: Does the name "Harry" mean "Satan" or "the Devil" in Webster's Dictionary? It is the same answer as this one: Did JKRowling, who is supposedly so versed in in occult literature, know this when she chose the name for her supposedly so innocent young "Harry".? And it is the answer to this one: Is the art of magic the art of deception and is the magic of Harry Potter living up to iits magical purpose? Did the author hide the true character of HARRY POTTER in the title of the hero that all of the ungodly world is coming to worship? Will young Harry magically evolve into Old Harry before your very eyes? Will JKR never answer any of these questions truthfully?

[JoJo the Clown]

You are so right. I was introduced to witchcraft through "The Wizard of Oz." I tried hard to be like Glenda, but once exposed to the world of magic, I ended up modeling my life after the Wicked Witch of the West. I eventually found my way into Oz, which is a very real place, you know. I can honestly say I regret ever taking that yellow brick road, but I blame it all on Ray Bolger and Jack Haley. They just made it look like so much fun. Now, to this day, whenever I hear a Judy Garland song, I start brewing up a cauldron of frog noses, and howl at the moon. Then there was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Don't go there. Don't even get me started. But what do I know? I'm just a clown.

[ICE-FLYER]

A well-argued post from you, thank you very much. I don't share your faith but I have to agree with you that it should be your, and only your, decision what your children read.

Thanks. I do appreciate it. On the other hand, you'll have to admit that the vast majority of people think you are wrong in your view of the Harry Potter books, and, for full disclosure, I am one of them. Hence trying to alter the world so it fits your model of reality, e.g. by banning the book from schools, means imposing your faith on others. If you have a faith which is different from that of the vast majority of people, then you'll have to bear the consequences, take your children out of public school or any private school which doesn't conform to your faith, and either homeschool or find an institution that does.

I reread my post to the forum and see that I failed to mention that I would not Ban the book persay. I would be involved in keeping it out of school. Just because it is public school does not mean that it has the same "anything-goes" justification that a public library would. School is for learning and learning alone. Yes, some could be learned at school from Harry potter. Interest in reading is one. However, it could easily be said that you could do this with a bible, but they say IT is not allowed. There is murder, decite, devil worship and a whole host of other such racey things, but it is in context of a living God of absolutes. In contrast, the schools want Harry Potter, who is a Wiccan and that, is a religion too. Double standard.

I don't want to send the wrong message, so take this with a grain of salt, but the VAST MAJORITY is not always right. But, I do sincerely appreciate your seeing my viewpoint from the perspective of an involved parent who has reasoned it out for at least my own children.

[AppyPappy]

A couple centuries, it was burning witches. Today, it's Harry Potter fiction.

It was feeding Christians to the lions. The same way we ban the Bible from the schools.

[Woodkirk]

Do you believe that Satan is real?

[Politicalmom]

Um. The Marauder's Map didn't show up until Book Three, when Harry isn't permitted to go to Hogsmeade. That might be why it isn't in the movie. : )

[Tuxedo]

My God! Are you THAT hooked on Potter that you would suggest these things like Guyana, lions, and etc. for Christians??? Geez.. someone hit a nerve there? I think YOU are the one who needs to take a chill pill. Read your posts carefully before you put them up for show. That sort of vindictiveness is not healthy.

And if that is not good enough, then POYV.

I don't personally subscribe to this view of HP that a few fundamentalists have, but I see their point enough to understand where they are coming from.

You pro-Potterites though ought to read your own rants though. Sounds to me (as pretty much a neutral on this argument) that you folks are the ones acting like loons. Without the Christian Right, Gore would be our President today. Ah, but then you'd just blame us for not showing up at the polls....

[Demidog]

If you play Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven" backwards, there's some kind of Satanic message I heard....

[Frances_Marion]

"I find that the attacks on Christians who protest Harry Potter are often from the same people who ridicule anyone with religious convictions, attempting to live a spiritual life. Nothing new here. In those cases the Harry Potter fad just becomes a vehicle non-believers can use to criticize and mock Christianity while appearing to be oh-so open-minded and intelligent about the whole thing."

If protesting Harry Potter = religious conviction, then I guess I'm a heathen. Of course, Harry Potter and Darth Vader are more deserving of your attention while Al-Qaeda thugs are sharpening their knives. Yeah, very rational. Nevermind that suspicious package, THE SMURFS PROMOTE WITCHCRAFT! Blahhhhhahah

[Demidog]

"Boil, boil, toil and trouble . . . . " is a long way from Harry Potter!

And you would know this how? Have you read either?

[Tuxedo]

Haven't you people been reading any of this? You take these opportunities to bash all Christians as loons, yet all these topics are started as warnings from Christians to Christians. FR is a conservative board, and many Christians are conservative, therefore they get a lot of their news here. If you are offended by their stance, then don't read the post, or don't reply. Why ridicule them? Does it make you feel better about yourself? So what if they think Potter is demonic. That is their right as guaranteed in the USA. Their faith points them in that direction. Yours may not. I doubt this type of topic consumes them such that they don't think about anything else.

[Demidog]

I'm betting she chose the name Harry Potter from a real person by that name. Are you also then suggesting that Inspector Harry "Make My Day" Callahan was also Satan? Was it an accident that they chose that name for Clint Eastwood's character?

Most of you people who slam the books have never read them.

[Tuxedo]

One doesn't need to do drugs to know they are bad for you. So, one does not need to read the book to suggest that it is wrong. There is so much information out there on the content, that I doubt anyone needs to read them to get the gist. Again... I am neither pro- nor anti-Potter. But, I am a Christian, and will stand up when other Christians are attacked unfairly and with malice.