"Harry Potter"

Ayn rand Institute ^ | 11/13/02

[Woahhs]

May time and experience grow you in wisdom...

Please tell me what kind of evidence you require to distinguish religion from superstition.

[latina4dubya]

ditto, 50sDad... as a Far Right Fanatic myself, i completely agree... i've not seen or read Harry Potter, but my husband took our six year old to see the first movie, and they enjoyed it... and it has not touched my son's love for Jesus or his love for learning scripture... the sad thing is, many of our good friends are anti-Harry Potter, actually anti-alotofthings, and so my son is not able to talk about the movie he saw w/many of his friends... i love my friends dearly, but we just disagree on this issue... i have a couple of "BABA YAGA" CDs--and two of my friends attempted to lecture me on letting the occult into my home... puh-leeze! Baba Yaga is a Russian Folktale about a witch--who is never glorified... it's obvious in the stories that she is bad, and she never wins in the end... my 6 and 2 year old love the BABA YAGA stories (and we're not even Russian!)...

[ET(end tyranny)]

Per your #444, I have no idea what post you are referring to. Perhaps you could be more precise.

[js1138]

Would anyone care to move away from the satan stuff and talk about the movie?

I saw it in an "all digital" theater and was very disappointed in the display quality -- like a cheap LCD monitor seen from a bad angle. Low brightness, not enough contrast, and no shadow detail. It reminded me of the low-end projection TVs that try to get a really big picture at the expense of quality.

[Lurking2Long]

If you can't follow simple instructions, don't blame me...

[Pistolshot]

Just looking in from the outside I see a few things wrong on this thread.

The few who oppose HP for the reasons of it being 'demonic', 'witchcraft', and detrimental to children, by their inability to tell right from wrong against those who are what I will call 'free-thinkers'. The Bible is a good book, but it is not the ONLY book.

Those who say it is bad for children who cannot tell right from wrong, have not been parenting their children if THEY are not willing to teach their children what is real and what is fiction. Keeping your children closed off from society will not help them later in life when reality hits them.

This is similar to the crime of 'witchery' in the Midde Ages. Any attempt to advance the sciences was met with this charge, so half of Europe dies from the Plauge because the ones with knowledge were either burned at the stake for heresy or hid themselves.

Those that support the view of HP being entertainment and not harmful have taken it upon themselves to mentor their children in what is real and what is fantasy. It is by the grace of God that man is able to THINK for himself and make decisions based on that process.

Our final judgement is not determined by man, but by God alone.

[nopardons]

Why, so you don't have to look at facts ? LOL

The truth shall set you free. Isn't that better than dwelling in the dark of pathological paranoia ?

[f.Christian]

Good News For The Day

‘The truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32)

"God's dismissal in the 19th century, and the humiliation of truth in the 2oth, was supposed to set the world free."

"The experiment has been under way for some time now, and it is fair to ask, what are the... results---so far?"

"The Nazi experience in Germany provides a case study. There, a government and a society were organized on the principle of God's non-existence. Did liberation come to pass? On the wall of one of the death camps there is a plaque. It preserves the language of one of Hitler's speeches. The plaque overlooks large mounds of human hair, piles of personal effects; shoes, spectacles. The plaque reads: "I freed Germany from the degrading fallacy of conscience and morality. We will train people capable of violence-imperious, relentless, cruel. . ."

"Those sentiments were nurtured on the same continent that gave the world the reformation. Which was more liberating? If someone came today and said: "I am the truth," we would not take him seriously. But when Jesus says it, we are tempted to let him get away with it. If he is mad, it is a beautiful madness; such an attractive insanity. Let us not be ashamed to offer Christ to the world."

‘The truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32)

[Lurking2Long]

It is by the grace of God that man is able to THINK for himself and make decisions based on that process. Funny, I don't remember any scriptures where Jesus says we need to think for ourselves...on the contrary, He tells us to adhere to the scriptures and to rely on the Holy Spirit. That so many of you posting on this thread are so ga-ga about a fictional work tells me that you have little ability to deal with reality.

[stuartcr]

You said, that, according to scripture, we don't need to think for ourselves? How does free-will work with this thinking?

[Lurking2Long]

"Free will" applies to whether a person makes a decision to receive Christ or not...

[stuartcr]

Thanks for the clarification, I thought it meant the ability to make a moral decision, or something like that. Does this mean that people that have never heard of Christ, have no free will?

[JenB]

I just got back from the movie. Now that I have learned evil spells I will turn you into a newt.

Oh? I can't? Why not? Why hasn't it worked? Could it be that magic isn't real?

[Lurking2Long]

I believe in one God, but I do not adhere to any organized religious belief -- Depending on where I am, I occasionally go to Mass, Mosques, and Temples because I find the atmospheres pleasant and conducive to thinking -- Your self-description from your profile page sort of negates your ability to speak for the doctrine of free will as found in the Bible...trying to figure out the mind of Christ without knowing him personally is sort of like trying to fix a 1972 Toyota Corolla with a 1947 Studebaker repair manual...

[stuartcr]

I'm not very good at auto repairs. I never speak of anything as found in the bible, unless it's a useful quote or anecdote. I do not know what the doctrine of free will is, whether from the bible or otherwise. I was merely responding to your comments. Does a person that has never heard of Christ have free-will?

[Lurking2Long]

Yes, they do...Christ is manifest in creation and creation is everywhere...I believe that all have a chance to accept or reject Christ at some time during their existance (no, I did not say "life").

Jesus is a loving Lord who would not let anyone be consigned to Hell without first giving them a chance to accept Him.

[stuartcr]

OK, thank you.