Articles criticizing Harry Potter novels

[Tim_Kirchoff]

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Harry Potter doesn’t call upon demons to do magic, and it would seem that, if HP magic is in fact Satan’s power at work, how is it that people are born with the ability? I don’t think it’s possible for a newborn to sell its soul.

This is getting tiring. SILVERNAME, do you even check the threads you start?

 

[tee_eff_em]

Harry Potter is F-I-C-T-I-O-N…

:twocents:
tee

 

[rocklobster]

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Harry Potter doesn’t call upon demons to do magic, and it would seem that, if HP magic is in fact Satan’s power at work, how is it that people are born with the ability? I don’t think it’s possible for a newborn to sell its soul.

This is getting tiring. SILVERNAME, do you even check the threads you start?

Sorry Tom, I don’t think the debate for or against Harry Potter is ever going to die off anytime soon.

 

[Transformer]

At least the Christians who cite things like “Harry and his friends using lies and deception to achieve their good ends” as a cause for concern have some degree of lucidity and honesty to their criticisms. The charge that Harry Potter has anything to do with demonic powers or the occult in any way has been refuted so soundly, so many times, by so many different individuals that the claim is now something like a running joke.

 

[Transformer]

[Response to SILVERNAME]

Erm… since I can no longer edit posts after 20 minutes (I don’t understand )= ), I’ll have to repost my entire message.

At least the Christians who cite things like “Harry and his friends using lies and deception to achieve their good ends” as a cause for concern have some degree of lucidity and honesty to their criticisms. The charge that Harry Potter has anything to do with demonic powers, the occult, or wtichcraft in any way has been refuted so soundly, so many times, by so many different individuals that the claim is now something like a running joke.

The rest of the article isn’t any better:

In fact, the hero, Harry Potter, doesn’t even understand the marking on his parents’ grave since there is no Bible verse cited… In fact, Harry himself is puzzled by the two biblical inscriptions on the two gravesites in the book, so he (and his friend Hermione who also sees them) clearly is unfamiliar with their Christian, biblical roots.

The inscription on the tombstone is so clearly used in the books in the sense Scripture means it, and Rowling spends so much time developing the (extremely Christian) theme about death behind that inscription, that I find it hard to believe any honest critic would discount it simply because it had no verse listed next to it. The entire perspective betrays an incredibly poor understanding of how literature functions and reveals deeper truth, not to mention an ignorance of the fact that Christian truth can be revealed in a number of contexts without a biblical citation following every passage.

The story in “Harry Potter” occurs after Jesus Christ death and resurrection, but the stories in Tolkien’s universe occur before Jesus Christ’s first coming. As such, the religious ideas in Tolkien’s universe are based on the language and mythology of the elves and hobbits in Tolkien’s world. Consequently, the worldview of the elves and hobbits reflects a primitive form of ethical monotheism that looks forward to the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ and the afterlife.

This argument also betrays an incredible ignorance of literature. The insistence that any fiction set in a time following Jesus’ resurrection must be explicitly Christian is nonsense; great writing simply doesn’t work that way. Tolkien’s world doesn’t avoid explicit Christian proselytization because it is technically set before Jesus’ birth; it avoids explicit Christian proselytization because that avoidance makes it easier to develop symbols, motifs, and themes reflecting Christian truths in a fictional world, and because avoiding proselytization allows Tolkien to reach more people with his Christian message by bypassing their “anti-preaching defenses,” so to speak. Harry Potter certainly doesn’t reflect the paschal mystery any less than The Lord of the Rings looks forward to it.

In contrast, the language and mythology of “Harry Potter” are based on a strange mixture of modern humanism, Gnosticism and pagan/occult ideas about the benefits of witchcraft. As such, it seems deliberately far removed from any kind of monotheism, and certainly from a Christocentric biblical worldview.

Complete, vapid, baseless nonsense; there isn’t even an argument to refute here. All of Harry Potter’s themes reflect orthodox Christianity wonderfully.

Consequently, when, in the seventh and final novel in the “Harry Potter” series, her story suddenly contains strong Christian references and metaphors.

There isn’t anything “sudden” about the Christ symbols and Christian motifs in Deathly Hallows; the other six books are ridden with Christian symbols and themes (even even complete medieval passion plays, as John Granger demonstrates unequivocally).

The article as a whole is completely nonsensical and totally dishonest. At least O’Brien’s points took a little thought to refute.

God bless, anyway.

 

[Melissa]

At least the Christians who cite things like “Harry and his friends using lies and deception to achieve their good ends” as a cause for concern have some degree of lucidity and honesty to their criticisms. The charge that Harry Potter has anything to do with demonic powers or the occult in any way has been refuted so soundly, so many times, by so many different individuals that the claim is now something like a running joke.

And … it seems rather disingenuous on the part of those critics of HP to complain “Harry and his friends use lies and deception …” when the very same charge could be laid against them (using lies and deception to achieve their ends).

Very nice critique of the article. It seemed to me to be so full of logical fallacies, non sequiturs, and falsehoods that it’s hard to know where to begin.

 

[estesbob]

Harry Potter is F-I-C-T-I-O-N…

:twocents:
tee

No its not-an Owl arrived at my house Toady and I have been appointed Professor of Defense Against he Dark Arts for next term. it appears it is only a one year appointment however… Dont Worry-Muggles cant read this

 

[wisdom_3_5]

[The inscription on the tombstone is so clearly used in the books in the sense Scripture means it, and Rowling spends so much time developing the (extremely Christian) theme about death behind that inscription, that I find it hard to believe any honest critic would discount it *simply because it had no verse listed next to it

. The entire perspective betrays an incredibly poor understanding of how literature functions and reveals deeper truth, not to mention an ignorance of the fact that Christian truth can be revealed in a number of contexts without a biblical citation following every passage.

Its a sola scriptura view of the entire HP series. Christianity is not listed so it must be *anti-*Christian.

C.S. Lewis is known for saying something about getting The Message past sleeping dragons (I can’t remember the exact phrase but it translates into giving the reader a Christian message without being explicit). Rowling has said that one of her favorite authors is C.S. Lewis and she is a Christian. The motto for Hogwarts is, “Never tickle a sleeping dragon” She is getting a Christian message to her readers past the sleeping dragons of the post-modern era (think separation of Church and state etc.)

She doesn’t just tickle those sleeping dragons she jabs at them! Look at her treatment of government, media (newspapers and books- Lockhart), Schools and the courts. They have all felt the acid of her quill! Its not anti-authority as some critics like to point out (harry breaking all those rules) its pointing to the injustice of mis-managed government, biased media, government run schools and "courts with only a pretense of fairness, or an outright assult on the innocent to advance a government position (Harry’s hearing in OotP)" (quote from Unlocking Harry Potter by John Granger). Look at the way the courts defend Roe v Wade against the innocent unborn!

Notice what body is *not *mentioned? The Church. Goodness, Truth and beauty are not found in any of the above institutions except the Church. Her treatment of Christianity by not treating it explicity is a silent nod to where we can find these things, where we can put our faith.

 

[Contarini]

The references are vague, however, and lack any solid context. In fact, the hero, Harry Potter, doesn’t even understand the marking on his parents’ grave since there is no Bible verse cited.

That is a pretty weird criticism. Essentially the author is saying “don’t you dare use Scripture unless you beat people over the head with it!”

The power of that scene is precisely that Harry doesn’t have a clue what it is talking about–Hermione understands it much better. Harry initially thinks that it’s a “Death Eater” manifesto, since Voldemort’s followers are obsessed with “defeating” death. This misunderstanding sets us up for Dumbledore’s explanation at the end that the true “Master of Death” goes willingly to his death rather than trying to stave off death by murder and dark magic as Voldemort does. I think Rowling’s use of a Christian text here (uniquely in the whole series) cannot be an accident.

Admittedly, some defenders of HP exaggerate the Christianity of the books. Rowling is a Christian of some sort and she is using Christian symbolism. But I think her main interest (besides entertainment!) is moral–she is describing in these books the process of becoming a virtuous (even holy? certainly heroic) person. And overcoming death in a Christlike rather than Voldemortian way is the climax. I don’t think she’s trying to bring people to Christianity per se. I don’t even know much about what she thinks about the specific doctrines of orthodox Christianity. But she’s clearly working out of a fundamentally Christian ethic.

Edwin

 

[SILVERNAME]

If you believe that Harry Potter is evil, do not read it and do not let your children read it. However, unless there is a formal teaching of the Church or Scripture, we Catholics are free make the choice to read or not read this fairy tale.

No formal teaching of the Church or Scripture?

You must be joking, ever read that part of Scripture against withcraft and sorcery?

What is this silly harry potter nonsense is doing is making it look like there is such a thing as a good witch, but according to Scripture and Magisterial teaching, witchcraft is inherently immoral and therefore anyone who practices it is automatically guilty of mortal sin and is therefore immoral, which means there can never be such thing as a good witch just as there can be no such thing as a good prostitute or a good pirate( a la blackbeard) or a good drug addict or a good drunkard ( drunkenness is a sin )

That and that in itself makes harry potter an immoral book and its author, immoral.

All those other Christian symbolisms can never in any way erase that immoral aspect of the book.

If a book teaches witchcraft and not Christian morality, then it is immoral.

If a book teaches both witchcraft and Christian morality, it is still immoral.

The only time a book is not immoral is if it teaches Christian morality and teaches that witchcraft is immoral, just as Scripture says, and DOES NOT teach witchcraft.

There are other immoral aspects as well, and those have already been mentioned in the articles that i have posted.

 

[estesbob]

No formal teaching of the Church or Scripture?

You must be joking, ever read that part of Scripture against withcraft and sorcery?

What is this silly harry potter nonsense is doing is making it look like there is such a thing as a good witch, but according to Scripture and Magisterial teaching, witchcraft is inherently immoral and therefore anyone who practices it is automatically guilty of mortal sin and is therefore immoral, which means there can never be such thing as a good witch just as there can be no such thing as a good prostitute or a good pirate( a la blackbeard) or a good drug addict or a good drunkard ( drunkenness is a sin )

That and that in itself makes harry potter an immoral book and its author, immoral.

All those other Christian symbolisms can never in any way erase that immoral aspect of the book.

If a book teaches witchcraft and not Christian morality, then it is immoral.

If a book teaches both witchcraft and Christian morality, it is still immoral.

The only time a book is not immoral is if it teaches Christian morality and teaches that witchcraft is immoral, just as Scripture says, and DOES NOT teach witchcraft.

There are other immoral aspects as well, and those have already been mentioned in the articles that i have posted.

Which of the seven books you read do you think is the most immoral?

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

shrugs

I see the HP books as transcendent works of Christian fiction pitting the concepts of good against the concepts of evil. The enemy loses because he has no ability to LOVE.

And Cardinal Ratzinger wasn’t even Pope Benedict at the time of his often-misreported statement.

 

[estesbob]

shrugs

I see the HP books as transcendent works of Christian fiction pitting the concepts of good against the concepts of evil. The enemy loses because he has no ability to LOVE.

And Cardinal Ratzinger wasn’t even Pope Benedict at the time of his often-misreported statement.

The Cardinal Ratzinger letter is a classic case of no good deed goes unpunished. It was a polite rather noncommittal letter from a man who obviously had no idea what the books were. The letter basically told her to take her concerns up with the gentleman who had written a book praising Harry Potter.

Although there may be Christian themes in these books I doubt that was JK Rowling’s intention. She set out to write a rousing adventure series and she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. As with any writer her personal beliefs and experiences flow-through to her works. She was personally, if I recall correctly, on a faith journey when she wrote these books.

 

[Contarini]

There are other immoral aspects as well, and those have already been mentioned in the articles that i have posted.

And they have been refuted. You don’t bother addressing the refutations. You just keep repeating the same propaganda.

We are unlikely to have a profitable conversation about the witchcraft issue, because it seems clear to me that the fictional magic in Harry Potter has nothing to do with real witchcraft, and I don’t think I’ll ever persuade you of this. However, the ethics of Harry Potter is an interesting subject, and I’d be interested in seeing you defend some of the remarks your cited authors have made (such as the claim that non-magic people are treated as evil and deserving of any bad thing that happens to them, when in fact a major theme of the books is that only the evil wizards have this attitude toward Muggles).

Edwin

 

[kage_ar]

I know someone who is loudly against the Harry Potter books - yet, they find “The Wizard of Oz” to be a cherished family favorite.

 

[kage_ar]

No formal teaching of the Church or Scripture?

You must be joking, ever read that part of Scripture against withcraft and sorcery?

What is this silly harry potter nonsense is doing is making it look like there is such a thing as a good witch, but according to Scripture and Magisterial teaching, witchcraft is inherently immoral and therefore anyone who practices it is automatically guilty of mortal sin and is therefore immoral, which means there can never be such thing as a good witch just as there can be no such thing as a good prostitute or a good pirate( a la blackbeard) or a good drug addict or a good drunkard ( drunkenness is a sin )

That and that in itself makes harry potter an immoral book and its author, immoral.

All those other Christian symbolisms can never in any way erase that immoral aspect of the book.

If a book teaches witchcraft and not Christian morality, then it is immoral.

If a book teaches both witchcraft and Christian morality, it is still immoral.

The only time a book is not immoral is if it teaches Christian morality and teaches that witchcraft is immoral, just as Scripture says, and DOES NOT teach witchcraft.

There are other immoral aspects as well, and those have already been mentioned in the articles that i have posted.

As many more have said, big difference between magic and witchcraft.

It seems for you and your family, Harry Potter is not allowed. Some of us make other choices

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

The Cardinal Ratzinger letter is a classic case of no good deed goes unpunished. It was a polite rather noncommittal letter from a man who obviously had no idea what the books were. The letter basically told her to take her concerns up with the gentleman who had written a book praising Harry Potter.

Although there may be Christian themes in these books I doubt that was JK Rowling’s intention. She set out to write a rousing adventure series and she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. As with any writer her personal beliefs and experiences flow-through to her works. She was personally, if I recall correctly, on a faith journey when she wrote these books.

I believe Rowling has said (in at least one interview) that there were indeed Christian themes in the books. If I’m mistaken, I take it back!

But if I find the link to the statement I’ll post it here.

 

[estesbob]

I believe Rowling has said (in at least one interview) that there were indeed Christian themes in the books. If I’m mistaken, I take it back!

But if I find the link to the statement I’ll post it here.

She has said that but i dont think that was the focus. It is not, for instance, another “Narnia”

 

[Melissa]

No formal teaching of the Church or Scripture?

You must be joking, ever read that part of Scripture against withcraft and sorcery?

Your conclusion is based on the fallacy of presumption. There is not, as has been demonstrated in the past and clearly apparent to those who have actually bothered to read the books, no relationship between the magical world of the Harry Potter novels and the real-world witchcraft/sorcery. Therefore, Scriptural prohibitions against real-world witchcraft/sorcery are utterly irrelevant to the arguments about whether or not Harry Potter novels ought to be read.

What is this silly harry potter nonsense is doing is making it look like there is such a thing as a good witch, but according to Scripture and Magisterial teaching, witchcraft is inherently immoral and therefore anyone who practices it is automatically guilty of mortal sin and is therefore immoral, which means there can never be such thing as a good witch just as there can be no such thing as a good prostitute or a good pirate( a la blackbeard) or a good drug addict or a good drunkard ( drunkenness is a sin )

That and that in itself makes harry potter an immoral book and its author, immoral.

Not content with logical fallacies of presumption, we move on to personal attacks against the author.

All those other Christian symbolisms can never in any way erase that immoral aspect of the book.

If a book teaches witchcraft and not Christian morality, then it is immoral.

If a book teaches both witchcraft and Christian morality, it is still immoral.

The only time a book is not immoral is if it teaches Christian morality and teaches that witchcraft is immoral, just as Scripture says, and DOES NOT teach witchcraft.

There are other immoral aspects as well, and those have already been mentioned in the articles that i have posted.

The Harry Potter novels do not, in fact, teach witchcraft. This false assertion has been repeated many times by critics of the novels, but repetition of a false statement does not render that statement true. Lying is also sinful, I might add–and an act that takes place in the real world (unlike the magic of the novels of Harry Potter which do not take place in the real world at all).

I am not arguing that you or any other particular person ought to read these particular works of fiction. However, I must ask you and those critics of these novels who rely on second- and third-hand sources if they have ever considered the possibility that those sources are in error?

 

[adstrinity]

Which of the seven books you read do you think is the most immoral?

Has the OP answered this, yet?

Does anybody else here think that, though he believes he is serving his master (whomever that may be), SILVERHAND here will, sooner or later, choke himself?