Articles criticizing Harry Potter novels

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If you dismiss Harry Potter as destructive, then you must also necessarily avoid The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. It’s really impossible to make a case that one is moral and the other is not. Do we really want to condemn Lewis and Tolkien as authors of “evil” books?

Also, there was an interview years ago where O’Brien admitted that he hadn’t read the books yet. He was opposed to them even before he read them.
 
Joe_5859 said:
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.
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For the record, I never implied that he wasn’t intelligent. From the article, it is my honest opinion that he really didn’t read the books. I just don’t see how he can willfully misinterpret passages if he had actually read them.

Here’s just one example: “Conservative people are bad, anti-magic dogmatists are really bad and deserve whatever punishment they get (hence the delicious retributions against the Dursleys).” Anyone familiar with the books easily understands that the “delicious retributions against the Dursleys” have nothing to do with them being non-magical and everything to do with them being horribly abusive people to both their son and to Harry.

I could go on, but I really don’t feel that the article is worth the effort. I don’t mind if people dislike the series, or don’t want their children reading it, that’s an individual matter. What I do mind is the twisting of the story to suit one author’s contentions.
 
aurora77 said:
For the record, I never implied that he wasn’t intelligent. From the article, it is my honest opinion that he really didn’t read the books. I just don’t see how he can willfully misinterpret passages if he had actually read them.

Here’s just one example: “Conservative people are bad, anti-magic dogmatists are really bad and deserve whatever punishment they get (hence the delicious retributions against the Dursleys).” Anyone familiar with the books easily understands that the “delicious retributions against the Dursleys” have nothing to do with them being non-magical and everything to do with them being horribly abusive people to both their son and to Harry.

I could go on, but I really don’t feel that the article is worth the effort. I don’t mind if people dislike the series, or don’t want their children reading it, that’s an individual matter. What I do mind is the twisting of the story to suit one author’s contentions.
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Yep, anyone who has read the books knows the Dursley’s were horrible people. Not only did they lock Harry up in that poor pathetic excuse for a room under the stairs in the begining of the series but you also find out that they starved him. Good Christians do not go around starving people!
 
Sabda said:
Yep, anyone who has read the books knows the Dursley’s were horrible people. Not only did they lock Harry up in that poor pathetic excuse for a room under the stairs in the begining of the series but you also find out that they starved him. Good Christians do not go around starving people!
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But do not forget that the wizards save the dursley’s by getting them out the area and protecting them once the protection on their house disapeared on Harry’s 17th birthday. So even after all these horrible things they did to harry the evil wizard put their life’s on the line to protect the Dursley’s. Seems the wizards were better christians then the muggles.
 
beckers said:
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.
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I LOVE that part of the book…that would be very hard for me to forgive somebody who basically embraced evil…a great lesson for us all to learn.

Sure, HP may not be perfectly symbolic like LOTR or Narnia, but you can’t deny the important lessons it teaches. Fantasy and magic is merely a tool, a vehicle to get the message across. I should know. I’m a writer.

(And just look at my online name…😃 teehee)

BTW, I wrote a long (30 some pages) expository report on HP, whether it’s good or evil, and expository basically means presenting each side in full. After doing that, HP came off as good, and it was after that point I became a full fledged fan 🙂
 
legeorge said:
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.
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me too! Senior trip! 😃
 
I posted this eslewhere, but like I said, magic and fantasy in HP is merely a tool, a vehicle to share the message of redemption, hope, and the power of love.

Yes, maybe it could have been shared without having to resort to creating a fantasy world, and yes, maybe it’s not quite as symbolic as you’d like it to me, as in LOTR and Narnia. It’s more subtle, but it’s there. And perhaps subtlety is a way to reach a new audience. Think of how popular the books have been, how many people read that scene with Harry and Voldemort, Harry giving the epitome of evil another chance. That’s just one example, but it really made me think.

Is it no wonder the children of today are more religious than the last generation (or two)? Maybe there’s a reason. Part of it is HP.

I’m a fan(atic), but I don’t “lash out” at the Pope, and other dissenters. (besides, the letter was refuted. The original was much more neutral, this translation skewed the real meaning of several words. But that’s besides the point.)
All I feel is sadness that many are immediately skeptical. Same sort of skepticism that keep many from giving the Catholic Church a chance.
 
They didn’t starve Harry, (the Dursley’s) they just didn’t let him eat as much as he liked and let Duddly eat and eat, even if it made himself sick.
 
adstrinity said:
They didn’t starve Harry, (the Dursley’s) they just didn’t let him eat as much as he liked and let Duddly eat and eat, even if it made himself sick.
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Ok, I checked the book and on page 287 at the bottom it specifically states that Harry suffered periods of near starvation at the Dursley’s.
 
holly_potter said:
BTW, I wrote a long (30 some pages) expository report on HP, whether it’s good or evil, and expository basically means presenting each side in full. After doing that, HP came off as good, and it was after that point I became a full fledged fan 🙂
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Is that report available online anywhere for people to read? It sounds like it would be very helpful. I would sure like to read it anyway! 🙂
 
By John-Henry Westen

TORONTO, August 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Since LifeSiteNews.com first published online scanned copies of the letters of Cardinal Ratzinger concerning Harry Potter, many have attempted to deny the Cardinal- now Pope’s - statements on the matter.

The latest such claim to hit the news was from a report in the Catholic News Service, the official news agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

An article headlined “Catholic perspective can be seen in Potter series, says priest-devotee,” by Peggy Weber published on June 27 quotes a Fr. Bernier as saying, “Pope Benedict has not said anything actually about the Harry Potter books themselves. I don’t know if he’s even read them.”

The writer then goes on to report: “He told his audience of about 25 people that before he became pope Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responded to a book written about the dangers of Harry Potter. He sent a note to the author thanking her for the book and said if the accusations were true then they would be of grave concern.”

The statements in the article, which has since been republished in a good number of diocesan newspapers, are inaccurate. The Pope did in fact, say something about the Harry Potter books, which was not prefaced with a proviso questioning the truth of accusations. Moreover, Cardinal Ratzinger gave explicit permission for his judgement on Potter to be made public.

lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07082802.html
 
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.
 
SILVERNAME said:
The Pope did in fact, say something about the Harry Potter books, which was not prefaced with a proviso questioning the truth of accusations. Moreover, Cardinal Ratzinger gave explicit permission for his judgement on Potter to be made public.
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Er, no … the Pope did NOT in fact say something about the Harry Potter books, however then-Cardinal Ratzinger did, in fact, say something about a book about the Harry Potter novels. A statement about a book about a topic relies on the accuracy of the book-about-topic on said topic. And–having read the summary of points by Ms. Kuby as well as the actual novels–I can quite confidently say that her book would be about as accurate as a book describing the Bible as a manual on genocide, rape, and xenophobia. In short–the book then-Cardinal Ratzinger commented on was neither Harry Potter nor an accurate accounting of the contents of said novels.
 
Jimmy Akin does a good job of evaluating LifeSiteNews’s claims regarding Ratzinger’s letters in a couple of articles on his website:

LifeSiteNews calls Kettle Black

and

Pre-16 on Harry Potter

I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Harry Potter (haven’t read the books), but it aggravates me very much when people try to attribute sentiments to our Holy Father to further their own agenda, especially when there are other probable interpretations of the two letters in questions. Jimmy Akin does a good job of clearing the air in this regard.
 
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No offense Silvername, but your one trick pony is getting old. You’re not convincing anyone, and destroying your credibility in the process.

Those who have read the books know better, so I’m not sure who you’re trying to convince at this point.
 
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