Harry potter, a question for those who know about spiritual warfare

[rocklobster]

Liberalsaved:

I guess if I read a book about cults, it makes me a cultist. I gotta watch out for that.

Or if I read a book about a serial killer, I might become one.

 

[bones_IV]

Liberalsaved:

Good for the Holy Father. I’m way past the soul-formative stage.

But even the mature ones can get sucked in. With God anything is possible. If one wants to read Harry Potter, fine. But I personally stay away from it.

 

[Liberalsaved]

rocklobster:

Or if I read a book about a serial killer, I might become one.

hides books about serial killers

 

[Melissa]

Hildebrand:

With regard to your “gateway to the occult”… Lord of the Rings has been a “gateway to the occult” to a select few children who were probably devoid of a moral foundation. In these cases the children were probably “naturally” (for lack of a better word) inclined to “dark powers”(for lack of a better word) because…

While knowing that to be true, there is still a difference between HP & Narnia/LOTR. There are strong Christian elements in Narnia/LOTR. Defenders of HP can say there are strong moral elements and maybe some basic Christian elements. I still wouldn’t risk exposing my children to those books/movies.

That sounds more like post hoc, ergo propter hoc than establishing any true causal relationship (whether we’re talking about LotR or HP).

I’m not arguing that anyone and everyone ought to read these books. We’re not all required to have the same tastes in fantasy (or even like fantasy at all). I’m just arguing against using falsehoods to condemn the series of fiction.

Perhaps it’s just my experience, but the people opposed to the novels are dead-set upon convincing others that no one ought to read the novels, while the group that enjoys the novels generally doesn’t care what others choose to not read, and would never be out ‘promoting’ HP if it weren’t for the need to defend their own reading choices from the falsehoods hurled. The only thing I want to convince those ‘on the other side’ of is that they should eschew falsehoods and simply stop at the “these books are not for me and mine” point, and then we can go on to more productive topics of conversation (such as what others do like to read … I do not believe we need to restrict our libraries to the Bible, hagiographies, and theological treatises–but then I’ve met very few books that I haven’t enjoyed reading).