"Harry Potter"

Ayn rand Institute ^ | 11/13/02

[RJCogburn]

The movie adventures of child-wizard Harry Potter will continue on November 15. Far from being an agent of the occult, as his critics contend, Harry Potter is the kind of hero children should be encouraged to read about and emulate, said the executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.

"It is true that Harry lives in a magical, fantastical world, but what's important is that he is a hero who wins through intelligence, effort and courage," said Dr. Yaron Brook. "Throughout the series, Harry has developed his talents through hard work and has learned to think for himself, to be honest and to be self-confident. He has friends who share his values and he earns the respect of his teachers. Aren't these the character traits all parents want their children to possess? I know they're qualities I actively try to instill in my two boys."

Dr. Brook said that the critics' focus on the supernatural aspects of the Harry Potter stories is completely non-essential. What is fundamental is the abstract meaning being conveyed during the course of Harry's magical adventures. "The books are, in short, fuel for a child's maturing mind. As vitamins and minerals are essential to a child's healthy physical development, so literature with this view of the world is essential to a child's healthy mental development."

[HiTech RedNeck]

Let me put it this way. You would be unlikely to see any Harry Potter type magic trick as an evidence of witchcraft if you insisted on it. You would however start to notice a pattern of "unfortunate coincidences." By the point you were ready to say "yes, the devil does answer prayer" you might find it hard to extricate yourself.

[Tribune7]

And always will. Jesus is the boss. :-)

[Jael]

I'm sorry, there are a lot of posts flying back and forth and I didn't mean to ignore you. Please forgive me if I appeared to do so.


I have to go to sleep now. I will answer you tomorrow after the football game if that is ok?

Goodnight and sleep well. :-)

[Prodigal Son]

it started getting a lot more fun when Jael said he knew a few witches.

That's when it started picking up for me too. I, on the other hand, know no witches but that spell casting sounds like a handy trick for the stock market.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One;
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.

[Jael]

My reply should have said "They do not like me very much." It would be better said to say they do not like me at all. Sorry, in a hurry, typo.

And yes, I do know (personally) several practicing witches.

[Denver Ditdat]

You said it wasn't real, I said "Go heere and ask a witch". You declined. Case closed.

Well, I alluded to it earlier, now I'll admit it.

I'm Al Gore.

One of the things I regret about inventing the Internet is that I made it so easy for anyone to make outrageous claims without a way to verify truthfulness. Hey, Tipper and I were in the midst of our "Love Story" relationship, I was backing Dad's stand supporting Civil Rights and I was about to head to Vietnam. I had a lot of things in my mind at the time. Oh yeah, and that dang "Look for the Union Label" song kept going through my head. You know how it is. So sue me!

When I win the presidency by a landslide in 2004 I'll think about upgrading you to Internet 2.0 with the truth filters built right in. How's that?

Well, it's late and Tipper is calling me from bed. Something about spelunking for tonsils. I guess she has been talking to Hillary about health care again.

p.s. Speaking confidentially, Jael is right. I watched Hillary turn Bill into a satyr with my very own eyes.

Gotta go -

The Once and Future Prez, Al

[Jael]

I don't think it works that way...... but ask one. YOu can post on the www.nola.com religion forum and get about five to answer you post haste.

[Prodigal Son]

Sleep? It's 530 in the morning where I'm sitting- you'll get plenty 'o sleep when you die ;-)

Seriously, sleep well. You don't have to answer me at all. This thread was good for a bit of entertainment. I knew as soon as I saw "Harry Potter" in the title there'd be someone to show up and tell us what an evil movie it was. Par for the course and I would expect nothing less at Free Republic ;-)

[lizma]

but to what master?

To the one who said "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Isn't that a given??? It is in my house.

[HairOfTheDog]

LOL! - I think this is a good place for me to depart....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


BEDEVERE: What makes you think she is a witch?

VILLAGER #3: Well, she turned me into a newt.

BEDEVERE: A newt?

VILLAGER #3:I got better.

VILLAGER #2: Burn her anyway!

CROWD: Burn! Burn her!

BEDEVERE: Quiet, quiet. Quiet! There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.

CROWD: Are there? What are they?

VILLAGER #2: Do they hurt?

BEDEVERE: Tell me, what do you do with witches?

VILLAGER #2: Burn!

CROWD: Burn, burn them up!

BEDEVERE: And what do you burn apart from witches?

VILLAGER #1: More witches!

VILLAGER #2: Wood!

BEDEVERE: So, why do witches burn?

[pause]

VILLAGER #3: B--... 'cause they're made of wood...?

BEDEVERE: Good!

CROWD: Oh yeah, yeah...

BEDEVERE: So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?

VILLAGER #1: Build a bridge out of her.

BEDEVERE: Aah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?

VILLAGER #2: Oh, yeah.

BEDEVERE: Does wood sink in water?

VILLAGER #1: No, no.

VILLAGER #2: It floats! It floats!

VILLAGER #1: Throw her into the pond!

CROWD: The pond!

BEDEVERE: What also floats in water?

VILLAGER #1: Bread!

VILLAGER #2: Apples!

VILLAGER #3: Very small rocks!

VILLAGER #1: Cider!

VILLAGER #2: Uhhh, gravy!

VILLAGER #1: Cherries!

VILLAGER #2:Mud!

VILLAGER #3: Churches -- churches!

VILLAGER #2: Lead -- lead!

ARTHUR: A duck.

CROWD: Oooh.

BEDEVERE: Exactly! So, logically...,

VILLAGER #1: If... she.. weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood.

BEDEVERE: And therefore--?

VILLAGER #1: A witch!

CROWD: A witch! A witch! A witch!

[ET(end tyranny)]

I've been trying t oget my son to read Hardy Boys. He won't even try. He likes reading. Loves it really. I don't understand why he won't try the Hardy Boys. I think he'd like them if he tried them. *sigh*

[Jael]

"So you believe they are real because they say they are, whether they actually have the power of a witch or not. We know they say they are witches. The question is are they real witches or real whackjobs?"

Well..... I have met some that I thought were a tad off balance. And I have met some that operate in society just like you and I, except they are witches. They practice witchcraft.

I believe that any power that may be associated with that is Satanic. They however do not believe that Satan exist.

[proust]

What a myopic list.
That shows the danger of taking things way out of context.
I wonder how Wizard of Oz, one of the most loved movies of all time, would fare under this criteria. After all, it has good and bad witches, magic spells, evil, scary monkeys, etc. The Vatican called it one of the "masterpieces of cinematic language and art."

This is what the Vatican says about the Wizard of Oz:

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Dorothy rides her cyclone to the magic land over the rainbow in director Victor Fleming's classic that skyrocketed Judy Garland's career and has given generations of families prime entertainment again and again. The 50th anniversary edition has 17 minutes of material not included in the original release. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences.

This is what the Vatican says about Fantasia:

Fantasia (1940) Walt Disney's only excursion into the world of the fine arts presents eight selections of classical music, including Dukas' "Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Mickey Mouse and a bucket brigade of brooms, Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" with its massive, earthbound images and the macabre vision of Musorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain." Using different approaches and animation styles for each piece of music as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under conductor Leopold Stokowski, the imaginative work was not only Disney's most ambitious undertaking but it remains an enjoyably creative introduction to fine music, especially for youngsters. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences.

http://www.usccb.org/fb/vaticanfilms.htm

[HiTech RedNeck]

I do believe it is Jesus Christ who commands the golden rule. Not Harry Potter!

[Jael]

"But at about post 280 it started getting a lot more fun when Jael said he knew a few witches."

I am a she. :-)

Listen, any time you want to ask them, you can log on to http://www.al.com/forums/religion/ and ask them. Some are professionals. One person who posts there is a noted occult author and occult expert. YOu can look him up on the internet.

One witch who posts there is involved in a public witch ministry.

They are not ashamed and will converse with you about their abilities and beliefs. :-)

[NeoCaveman]

What, no goat sacrifices? No nekkid orgies? No praying to Satan?

Well, I'm awful glad this was posted before I wasted eight buckadingdongs on some boring kids' movie...

LMAO, you fellow South Park Republican...

[HiTech RedNeck]

No personal offense to Roman Catholics, but I think the Vatican has a tendency to believe that it can pull rank manifestations of evil under its wings and make them wholesale into something good.

[Denver Ditdat]

If you can get him to read the first one he'll be hooked. I loved that series as a kid. Another favorite of mine was Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. What kid wouldn't want to be part of a team of private investigators who made their headquarters in an old trailer in the midst of a salvage yard?

The Hardys and Nancy Drew are still in print, but I haven't seen a copy of the Three Investigators in years.

[Jael]

I regret that I wasn't clearer about the witches. It isn't just some web site where a few people who could say anything hang out. I just thought that would be a good place to find a few.

Several of these people are publically involved in Witchcraft, and I know people who have met them, and I personally know a few myself.