Articles criticizing Harry Potter novels

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Commentary by John-Henry Westen Editor and Steve Jalsevac Managing Director

TORONTO, August 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews receives angry and often hate-filled responses to its news reports on mainly three subjects.

The most hateful and threatening come from gay activists. Apparently, some cannot tolerate objective news reports containing information that in any way contradicts savoured personal opinion. For such, our news reports are “hate”, even though hate or even anger is never intended in any LifeSiteNews report. We challenge them to point out where our reports include “hate” but the challenge is never answered because it can’t. We just report alternative news that mainstream media refuse to report or distort.

Second, are the angry emails from abortion and population control activists. That has always been expected given the massive deceit and manipulation used for decades to advance their anti-human agendas which we regularly expose. Their control of the mainstream media is no longer as useful as it used to be.

Third has been the bizarre response to our Harry Potter reports, which most will have difficulty finding in the mainstream media or even in many orthodox religious publications. That is our role, to report what most media will not report.

It seems that every time LifeSiteNews publishes an article with an alternative view that is critical of the Harry Potter series we get a flurry of angry and sometimes downright hateful emails from Harry Potter devotees. Our latest, an article by Canadian Catholic novelist Michael D. O’Brien, which we published Monday was no exception. (See “Harry Potter and ‘the Death of God’” lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082003.html )
A few of our more colourful responses included scathing ad hominem attacks and a wish for curses on O’Brien, reference to LifeSiteNews.com as a “filthy publication” and Pope Benedict XVI as “a Nazi”.

Comments related to the Pope are likely due to the letters - first published online by LifeSiteNews.com - which he wrote praising a German Harry Potter critic for her work in pointing out the dangers in the Potter series. (See “Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online”) lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html

lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082303.html
 
Special to LifeSiteNews.com

Editor’s Note: LifeSiteNews.com, the news service which first put online the letter signed by Cardinal Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - against the Harry Potter books, is proud to present Michael O’Brien’s latest essay on the Potter series. The author, North America’s foremost Potter critic, has written many articles that analyze in detail the Harry Potter novels. Here he reflects on the significance of the series as a whole.

lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082003.html

This article, just the one i posted earlier from WorldNetDaily, again shows the truth about the evil nature of the Harry Potter series, all Christians, especially Catholics should take this to heart.
 
While the hate mail and name calling is wrong, I also don’t think that the people bashing the HP books and calling them ‘satanic’ have actually read them. If they had they would have seen the Christian symbolism through out the books (it’s not hard to spot).
 
Silvername, it’s no use. No one will listen. They just don’t care.

Gee, I can’t wait until they open up the new Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Orlando where the spokesman said Potter enthusiasts could literally enter into Harry Potter’s world. They can see, hear, and smell everything just like they stepped into the books. Imagine all the “smells and bells”. I tingle with anticipation.
 
While I certainly don’t condone the tone of anyone responding with hateful messages, could it just possibly be the consequence of being bombarded with hateful and condescending messages coming from those who are determined to impose their opinions on why they find Harry Potter evil despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary?

Harry Potter books may indeed not be well-suited for some children, and it is a parent’s responsibility to determine that. It is not their responsibility however to condemn others who do not find such a problem. Just as there are some who feel that the electric guitar is an instrument of the devil, while the overwhelming majority are not so affected, some will be adversely affected by Harry Potter–or any other fantasy book.

It is a shame, but if one keeps poking someone in the eye, eventually they are indeed going to poke back.

Peace,
 
Comments related to the Pope are likely due to the letters - first published online by LifeSiteNews.com - which he wrote praising a German Harry Potter critic for her work in pointing out the dangers in the Potter series. (See “Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online”)
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I think it is only fair to point out,that if you read what the pope actually said, he simply thanked her for a copy of the book, and told her that it was good to be careful about what children read.
This is just plain good common sense!!
Regardless of whether you love Harry Potter, or whether you hate Harry Potter, it is just plain foolish of the media to try to say that the “Pope opposes Harry Potter”. He quite rightly, IMHO, opposes handing over just any old thing to kids to read, without the parents knowing what it is.

Sorry if I come off a bit strong, but I am still upset, because I was a chaperone at a “Potter Party” the evening that the last book came out, & I spent a good part of the night with :mad: steam coming out of my ears over the horrid (and ignorant!) things that some of the other adults were saying about the Holy Father!! They had read the report’s title & the backlash and were:mad: attacking him, without ever trying to find out what he had or had not said!!
 
Wow.

I completely read the first link (the death of God one) and all I can say is wow.

At one point the guy rails that all these people are dying. Next he rails because Potter chooses not to kill his enemies. The dude is not happy. And that’s just a smattering.

It’s too bad because while I don’t always read lifesite - I thought it was good.
That is our role, to report what most media will not report.
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I don’t know, it sounded like it was pretty biased and full of opinion to me.
 
I especially loved this quote “anti-magic dogmatists are really bad and deserve whatever punishment they get (hence the delicious retributions against the Dursleys).” Did this guy actually read the books??? The Dursleys weren’t bad and deserving of punishment b/c they hated magic, they were bad b/c they’re horribly abusive people, both to their own son and to Harry. It’s like he started with his own ideas about the books and then tried to justify them by manipulating the story.

While writing angry letter to those I disagree with is not my style, I can understand why some would feel that way after reading The Death of God article.
 
I already read O’Brien’s article and as I mentioned on your other thread, I was less than impressed. I’ll give Granger’s article a read later.
 
Oh please, this person has obviously not even read the book! Like many smarter people have said, witch craft is a supporting charactor in the book. And it does not take a genius to spot the Christian symbolism. One of the guys that my brother works for was complaining about all the christian symbolism (the guy isn’t very religious). He was saying that J. K. Rowling should have left it asjust a fantasy novel.
These HP bashers are doing nothing but grasping at air, trying to find lame excuses to bash the HP books. They need to just drop it, and realize they’ve been defeated already!
 
All this article proves is that he hasn’t read the books. I wouldn’t be proud to present this article–any half decent high school debater could rip it to shreds.
 
aurora77 said:
I especially loved this quote “anti-magic dogmatists are really bad and deserve whatever punishment they get (hence the delicious retributions against the Dursleys).” Did this guy actually read the books??? The Dursleys weren’t bad and deserving of punishment b/c they hated magic, they were bad b/c they’re horribly abusive people, both to their own son and to Harry.
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And it is made clear that they do not “deserve whatever punishment they get.” Or, at least, that it is Harry’s responsibility to protect them from the evils whose reality they refuse to acknowledge–saving Dudley from the dementors, for instance.
It’s like he started with his own ideas about the books and then tried to justify them by manipulating the story.
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Yes–I think he starts with the assumption that because they contain magic they are evil, but he’s smart enough to know that this isn’t enough on its own.

Edwin
 
"child_of_God85:
Oh please, this person has obviously not even read the book! Like many smarter people have said, witch craft is a supporting charactor in the book.
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aurora77 said:
All this article proves is that he hasn’t read the books. I wouldn’t be proud to present this article–any half decent high school debater could rip it to shreds.
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While one might not agree with all of O’Brien’s conclusions, I don’t think its fair to accuse him of not having read the books, or implying that he is not very intelligent. If you’ve read any of O’Brien’s books, you can see he very intelligent and well read. His book Landscape With Dragons spells out in great detail where he is coming from in his approach to reading fiction. In that book, you can see that he does not condemn the use of magic in literature in and of itself. He does not criticize the Harry Potter books for ***using ***magic, but for the ***way ***that magic is used in the books. You can disagree with him, but to dismiss his observations out of hand is not wise. At the very least, he deserves the sort of thoughtful rebuttal that Granger took the time to write.

Note that in John Granger’s rebuttal article, he **urges **people to read Michael O’Brien’s article, saying:
**It is a big step-up **from the borderline incoherent nonsense written by Ms. Kjos and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, two other Christian critics of the Potter books. Mr. O’Brien may or may not have read the last book, a point that I think is not settled by the references he makes to the Deathly Hallows story-line in his article, but he writes eloquently and about important issues, however mistaken he is. This is the sort of Harry Bashing that “serious readers” need to be aware of and read closely.
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WARNING QUOTES FROM THE BOOK DOWN BELOW!
SILVERNAME said:
Special to LifeSiteNews.com

Editor’s Note: LifeSiteNews.com, the news service which first put online the letter signed by Cardinal Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - against the Harry Potter books, is proud to present Michael O’Brien’s latest essay on the Potter series. The author, North America’s foremost Potter critic, has written many articles that analyze in detail the Harry Potter novels. Here he reflects on the significance of the series as a whole.

lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082003.html

This article, just the one i posted earlier from WorldNetDaily, again shows the truth about the evil nature of the Harry Potter series, all Christians, especially Catholics should take this to heart.
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like he simply skimmed the book and did not really read it. The book is full of Christian symbolism as others have said.

First off anyone who has stuck with the series and actually READ the book knows that she teased her audience when it came to Snape’s character. It was NEVER truly clear whether he was good or not. The last book made it clear that yes he was.

Secondly as far as his claim about God not being in the book, then please explain to me why Harry Potter (at the very end) ask Voldemort to think about all that he had done and to try for some remorse? Telling Voldemort that it is all that he has left that Harry has seen what Voldemort will be otherwise? Not to mention what Bill says in page 78, after the safe return of family and friends from a very close call “Thank God! Thank God!”

Like I said I have serious doubts that he actually sat down and really read the book. It appears to me that he simply skimmed it.
 
Y’know, I don’t want kids reading about magic, but I would much rather them read about it as it REALLY is. Not this wand waving nonsense, nor what those wiccans say.

Burn the Witch! Suffer not the Sorcerer to live?

I think Our Lord could have and would have drawn the line between a prostitute and a magician!
 
Contarini said:
And it is made clear that they do not “deserve whatever punishment they get.” Or, at least, that it is Harry’s responsibility to protect them from the evils whose reality they refuse to acknowledge–saving Dudley from the dementors, for instance.

Yes–I think he starts with the assumption that because they contain magic they are evil, but he’s smart enough to know that this isn’t enough on its own.

Edwin
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Being sorcerers, they ARE evil. Just quote GOD, that SHOULD be enough. As they say, God is sufficient, or the alpha and omega, ext.
 
Sabda said:
WARNING QUOTES FROM THE BOOK DOWN BELOW!

Sounds to me like he simply skimmed the book and did not really read it. The book is full of Christian symbolism as others have said.

First off anyone who has stuck with the series and actually READ the book knows that she teased her audience when it came to Snape’s character. It was NEVER truly clear whether he was good or not. The last book made it clear that yes he was.

Secondly as far as his claim about God not being in the book, then please explain to me why Harry Potter (at the very end) ask Voldemort to think about all that he had done and to try for some remorse? Telling Voldemort that it is all that he has left that Harry has seen what Voldemort will be otherwise? Not to mention what Bill says in page 78, after the safe return of family and friends from a very close call “Thank God! Thank God!”

Like I said I have serious doubts that he actually sat down and really read the book. It appears to me that he simply skimmed it.
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Not only that buy Sirus is harry’s what?? GODPARENT. Harry becomes Tonks and Lupins babies GODPARENT…They also get Christmas Break not winter break

Spolier Alert::::::

I love the part at the end with Vodlemort. Harry has seen what Voldemort soul will be like if he is to die without remorse. Harry actaully has “feelings” of pity and such for Voledmort. Even at the end harry can’t bring himself to kill his enemy. He tells Voldemort to repent and Voldemort’s pride won’t let him and end the end he ends up killing himself. It’s a beautiful christian anaglogy. We know what sins does to the soul. We don’t condem those with sin but try to help them repair their souls. It’s a constant battle but in the end you have to empty yourself of your sins and fill it with God’s love and graces. Harry did that. He sarficed himself for all of his classmates and friends and faced death freely. He also faced his greatest enemy someone who he should have great angry and resentment for killing his parents but harry could not face being the decision maker between life and death. He choose to let Voldemort live but Voldemort choose a different path.

Most of these people who haven’t read the book or only watch the movies miss a lot of the symbols and such of christian vaules throughout the book. It gets very tiring try to ask people to think for themselves. If your not interested in the book series then that is your issue. No one is forcing you to read anything but please don’t go off suggesting that you know more about the “real” meaning in the books then those who have read them.
 
beckers said:
Not only that buy Sirus is harry’s what?? GODPARENT. Harry becomes Tonks and Lupins babies GODPARENT…They also get Christmas Break not winter break

Spolier Alert::::::

I love the part at the end with Vodlemort. Harry has seen what Voldemort soul will be like if he is to die without remorse. Harry actaully has “feelings” of pity and such for Voledmort. Even at the end harry can’t bring himself to kill his enemy. He tells Voldemort to repent and Voldemort’s pride won’t let him and end the end he ends up killing himself. It’s a beautiful christian anaglogy. We know what sins does to the soul. We don’t condem those with sin but try to help them repair their souls. It’s a constant battle but in the end you have to empty yourself of your sins and fill it with God’s love and graces. Harry did that. He sarficed himself for all of his classmates and friends and faced death freely. He also faced his greatest enemy someone who he should have great angry and resentment for killing his parents but harry could not face being the decision maker between life and death. He choose to let Voldemort live but Voldemort choose a different path.

Most of these people who haven’t read the book or only watch the movies miss a lot of the symbols and such of christian vaules throughout the book. It gets very tiring try to ask people to think for themselves. If your not interested in the book series then that is your issue. No one is forcing you to read anything but please don’t go off suggesting that you know more about the “real” meaning in the books then those who have read them.
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Nice, but they don’t have souls. They’ve sold them to satan for demonic power.
 
Clonereject1138 said:
Y’know, I don’t want kids reading about magic, but I would much rather them read about it as it REALLY is. Not this wand waving nonsense, nor what those wiccans say.

Burn the Witch! Suffer not the Sorcerer to live?

I think Our Lord could have and would have drawn the line between a prostitute and a magician!
Click to expand...
Would you say the same thing about the Lord of the Rings books? That book has magic in it of the wand-waving type and yet it has wonderful Catholic symbolism in it.
 
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